Readers Theatre

For the last 3 weeks, students in Room 7 have been rehearsing 3 'readers theatre' plays. 'Readers Theatre' plays are designed to be listened to, rather than watched.

Room 7 is proud to present three plays: "The Enormous Turnip", "Rumplestiltskin" and "The Gingerbread Man".

You can listen to these plays on Voicethread by clicking on the links above.

Mr Dobson got this email from Matthew in France...



Bonjour room 7..

I could not access the blog so I am writing on email.

I arrived in Pouzolles on the 1st of Septembre and started school on the 3rd. The teacher is much more strict, we have to do dictations and the play area is 68 times smaller than in NZ.

Every few days Oliver and I run down to the bakery to buy baguette and croissant. Yet on Wednesday (no school) we have pain au chocolat as a special treat.

I have just joined a football team which has been going really well. The coaches are really experienced and strict.

In most weekends we go swimming in rivers, streams, lakes or the the Mediterranean sea. It's warmer than in NZ (and lots of ladies don't wear any tops!!).

It's a shame that we have missed the season of the snakes but we still see lots of lizards.

Au revoir

KEEP WORKING HARD FOR MR DOBSON EVERYONE!!!!

Matthew

P.S the photo is in front of my school

Listening to the first audio-conference

At 1.30 today we listened to the first "Kakapo" audio-conference. Andrew and special guest, DOC Ranger Steve Horn answered questions from Ashburton School and Rosehill Intermediate. The topic being discussed was "Quarantine for kakapo on Codfish Island".

The audio-conference lasted about 30 minutes, and 10 questions were answered. After listening, we made a basic 'Question + Answer' mind-map on wallwisher to help us remember the information we had heard.

Here is our mind-map:


Tomorrow's audio-conference topic is "Kakapo - a unique parrot".

P.S. We were really amazed to see that Andrew, the LEARNZ teacher leading the virtual field trip, posted a comment on our blog. Thanks Andrew!

We're going on a (virtual) field trip

We're going on a (virtual) field trip to look for Kakapo. We will learn how the Department of Conservation have tried to rescue the Kakapo from extinction.



The virtual field trip is organised by LEARNZ and will take us to Whenua Hou (Codfish Island), where there is a Kakapo sanctuary. We will listen in on 2 audio-conferences, where children will ask special DOC guests questions about how the Kakapo was saved from extinction. These Audio-conferences will be held on Wednesday and Thursday this week. We will also be able to email the LEARNZ teacher Andrew with our own questions during the week.

From the LEARNZ website:

The kakapo field trip plan

Tuesday 15 September: Travel day

Join Andrew as he sets the scene. Get on the plane and take off to one of the most southern cities in NZ and the world, Invercargill. It's our destination in preparation for our trip to Whenua Hou tomorrow. We'll take a look at the sights on the flight down from Christchurch.

Wednesday 16 September

Get your gear and bags checked at the southern islands quarantine store in Invercargill. Take a plane trip to Whenua Hou and land at low tide on Sealer's Bay beach. Get to know the restrictions for visitors and the quarantine requirements needed for access to this special island sanctuary. Then help check traps around the coast line.

Thursday 17 September



Spend the day caring for kakapo chicks. Learn about their dietary needs and whip up a tasty treat for them. Take a close look at their vital statistics as they are measured and weighed during a health check. Check out the track and bowl systems on the high plateau. Find out about how to locate kakapo using triangulations from transmitter signals.

Friday 18 September

Finish off Conservation Week with a look at how the kakapo recovery programme is saving these amazing birds from extinction. Examine some of the gadgets used for monitoring kakapo. Catch a plane on the beach as we leave Whenua Hou and head back to the mainland at the end of our adventure.

Our Visit to Te Papa #2

The interest generated from our trip to Te Papa has been amazing!

Most children have presented to the class something that they found 'fascinating' during the day. The classroom 'newsboard' is chocka-block full of posters, mind-maps and visual aides that children made to support their mini-presentation.



The 'Colossal Squid'exhibit really seemed to catch our imagination! I found the online version to the 'create a squid' activity at Te Papa. Click on the link below to have a go!

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http://squid.tepapa.govt.nz/build-a-squid/interactive

Clean up New Zealand!

This week is "Clean up New Zealand" week.



The Year 3-4's went down to the beach and helped by spending half an hour looking through the dunes for plastic and paper rubbish.




There actually wasn't that much rubbish so people must be really getting the message that littering is really really wrong!

New Homework blog

I have created a new homework blog to help inform you and the Room 7 students of any 'different' homework that might be set this year.

As you may have noticed, sometimes the set homework is a little different from the usual 'spelling and basic facts' routine.

This new blog is designed to help answer any questions about any 'special' homework that might be set.

It can be viewed at

http://room7homework.blogspot.com/

or by clicking on the link on the right hand link bar.