Reflection 2017

We have had a great year together in Kepler....


What went really well:

• Modules - art with BJ & Katie
• Reading tasks including Google Drive projects
• Listen to music while working
• Code club & 3D printing
• Challenges, a bit of a change
• Coding in modules
• Gottchas - turn in for rewards
• Different classes for inquiry
• Leadership opportunity for Year 6 students in Community Time
• First camp for Year 4
• Class earning reward time - more ways of earning the neurons
• Robotics with Carol
• Fitness - to break up learning times

What we might change for 2018:

• Behaviour and expectations in our space
• Flexible learning time - iTime, reward if completed tasks
• Cooking - for the school
• Fidget spinners?
• Hands on activities
• Quiet spaces for calming down - designated space
• More sports activities - athletics on day a week
• Language lessons - more Māori
• Sometimes longer fitness times
• Lockers - cover for privacy
• Use the kitchen more
• Less time sitting on the mat - more time acting
• Independent licence
• Soccer goals out more
• Finding ways to have quiet spaces in the classroom
• More security around the school after school
• A way to encourage kids to get their home learning in
• A system to help us look after our stationery
• Noise level chart

Crazy Dreams:

• Hammock in the class
• Nerf wars
• Lunchtime activities - capture the flag etc
• A class code hour or challenge
• Do coding in other subjects like maths
• Listen to music as individuals or a class
• Turn the Zone into a Chill Space
• Classroom pet
• Class PE equipment
• Independent licence - can go anywhere in the school to learn
• Creative hour - challenges
• Tech challenges
• A snooze sone for a wee sleep
• Have motobikes at school
• Make stress balls
• Shared lunches
• Build a tree hut in the school
• Build a tree in the classroom - to do your work up it. 

Post-visit Beach Education Survey

In week 8, Kepler went to Waimairi Beach for our biannual beach education trip. Surf Lifesaving New Zealand would like us to complete this post-visit survey:

Survey - After our visit

For the first question, make sure you put 'Springston School - Kepler' so they know which group you are coming with.

Christmas Maths and Art Ideas

Geometric christmas tree card


For those keen on origami and have lots of persistence:

Christmas around the World

Check out these links to complete your project. Compare three different countries to find out what is the same or different about how they celebrate Christmas.

Christmas around the world

Mindlab Challenges

Mindlab challenges Link

Check out the paper folding to make a headband. 

More detailed written instructions here. 

Tangrams - FIE Internal and External Lines

Tanagram Game Link

Beach Education Survey

In week 8, Kepler are going to Waimairi Beach for our biannual beach education trip. Before we go, the Surf Lifesaving New Zealand would like us to complete this survey:

Water Safety

For the first question, make sure you put 'Springston School - Kepler' so they know which group you are coming with.

One person's rubbish is another person's treasure.

How could you use this movie to persuade people to look at rubbish in a different way?

  

Biographies: Reading and researching

Over the next few weeks, some of Kepler wil be reading, researching and writing their own biographies of people they find inspiring and interesting.

Here is a link to some basic information about our possible choices:

Biography links

David Williams

Simone-Biles

R.L. Stine

Jeff Kinney

Dav Pilkey

Usain Bolt       Biography

John Deere   Biography 

Technology to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Plastic

Here are some ideas to start researching:

Wearable Arts: Reusing Plastic

Make-a-basket-out-of-plastic-bags - these could be great to use at school for collecting soft plastic recycling.

Make a plastic bag jump rope!

The-plastic-bag-hoodie




  Reusable Shopping Bags 

No sew net t-shirt bag

How-to-make-tote-bag-from-t-shirt-no-sewing/

No-Sew-10-Minute-T-Shirt-Tote

Bags for Fruit and Vegetables





Beeswax Food Wrap

DIY handmade sandwich Wrap

Waste Food Wipeout

Waste Food Quiz

So we have waste food but what are we going to do with it?

Check out these options to make an incformation sheet about:

1. Cold Composting

2. Worm Farms

3. Bokashi

4. Chickens, What to feed them, Going green with chickens

Chickens

FIE: Brain teaser

In FIE, we have been learning about perception. Being systematic and using a process of elimination to solve puzzles - here's one to try:

Have a go BEFORE watching the solution below. Post your answer in a comment. Share your systematic method. 

Making Butter

The girls thought about how the Early Settlers made things when there were no supermarkets.The made instructions and took a video to help you make butter at home. 

Maui's Fish Reflection

Watch our movie.

Virtual Museum: Polynesian Navigators by Hannah, Ella and Frida

Virtual Museum: Early Farming in New Zealand by Jed, Campbell and Sam

Virtual Museum: Polynesian and Maori History by Emily, Phoebe & Chloe-Rose

Virtual Museum: Early Maori Food Collection by Nathaniel

FIE: How to draw a freehand circle

Maui and the Big Fish

Check out the re-telling of this awesome myth that reminds us to work as a team. Varley, Katie and Libby worked together to re-tell the story in this movie with their own original art to illustrate it.

Which Weapon to use - Māori Land Wars

Ben, Rylan and Kingston have investigated the different weapons used in the Māori Land Wars and which one was the most effective. Try out their Scratch Game to find out about the patu, musket and taiaha. Have heaps of fun!

Catcher game coded on Scratch

Kase and Deklyn made this code game in Scratch, so you can learn about different apples that the early settlers brought to plant in their gardens.

How to make butter

Year 4 and 5 students, Renee, Sienna and Amelia were inquiring into how to make butter because the people in the olden days didn't have supermarkets and so had to make their own butter. They made their own butter, and turned the instructions into a video on how to do this yourself.

How Maui slowed the sun - an ebook

How Maui slowed the sun

Click to read this book, made with Book Creator

https://read.bookcreator.com

James and Jayden (both Year 4 students in the Kepler learning team) have retold the story of how Maui slowed the sun. They have worked together to draw their own book images using the Drawing Pad app and AutoDraw on a chromebook. They have worked hard on their oral reading of the words they wrote for their book. Their book is awesome, and will also be available to read as an eBook.

The Taniwha of the Rakaia River

Daniel and Sjaak have created their own drawings and used these to retell the legend of the Taniwha of the Rakaia River. They have rewritten the story in their own words, and recorded it as storytellers. Great job, boys!

Making butter at school

Renee, Amelia and Sienna have been thinking about life for the Early Settlers. They have been writing instructions on how to make butter and this is what they created today..... yummy.

1. Get the materials.




2. Pour in the cream - 1/2 the jar full.




3. Shake until the cream is whipped.




4. Keep shaking till the curds split and there is solid and liquid.




5. Knead the butter till all the liquid comes out and add pinch of salt.




6. Chill in the fridge then enjoy on banana bread!

FIE - accurate, precise and detailed descriptions.

As part of our FIE session we played a barrier game. To create the image in our buddies head, they needed to use a few strategies.
1. Break the shape into smaller pieces - analysis.
2. Describe the section in detail.

The listener had to take the pieces and put them back together - synthesis.

Collecting Facts

We are learning to collect the facts for our Museum Exhibits 

1. Polynesian Navigators 

• Look in your 'other' book  - Picture Dictation and Timeline activity 
• 'Exploring the pacific' and 'Traditional Navigation' Fact Sheets 
• School Journals 

3. Local Maori myth and stories 

• Books 
• Blog posts The Fish of Maui, How Maui slowed the sun, Creation Story
• Copies of our local stories 

4. Arrival of the Early Settlers 

• 'The house that Jack built'
• Look in your 'Other' Book 

• Land Wars documentary 
• Maori Weapons 

5. Settling Canterbury 

• Settling Canterbury information
• Dr Barker's V hut 

Schools 

• See pictures and Springston School book 
• Early Canterbury Schools 

Farming 

• History of Farming Factsheet
• Canterbury Farming
• Deforestation

Home Learning Links - Week 7 & 8

If you have chosen to practise your Pepeha for home learning this fortnight. Check out Whaea Allana's post on what to do here:

Springston Te Reo Blog

The Tiny Crusader

Check out this movie step at a time to write the story of a useless blacksmith.... or is he?

Stop the story after each sentence to quickly write down your own version. I am looking forward to seeing what you create. Could you add a second adventure?

Save the Eels

The boys wanted you to think carefully about what goes down our drains.....

A+ Accountable

So what does it look like at school?

Moonhack

Moonhack is a world record breaking hackathon for kids. Last year 10,207 Australian kids participated in this free event. This year we're going global! From Sydney to Seoul, Dhaka to Durham, kids all over the world will get the chance to collaborate and code this August 15th.

Let's get started.....

1. Log into your Scratch account.
2. Click on this link for step by step instructions. 
2. Click on this link to the project file.

Getting started tasks:

Step 1: Make Scratchy walk

Let’s start by creating code that will make Scratchy the Cat walk

Step 2: Create Jumping Blocks

Let’s create our own blocks that will make Scratchy jump up and down

Step 3: Scratchy Jumps

Let’s create code that will make Scratchy jump depending on which planetary object he is on.

Incase we get stuck....

Polynesian Navigators

We are investigating the early Polynesian migration to Aotearoa/ New Zealand. 

Research Task 
1. Read or listen to the information titled 'Exploring the Pacific' (use class login on the board) 

2. Complete the  Exploring the Pacific Quiz. Write your results on sheet. 

3. Fill in the missing dates on your map. 


If you have time you can read 'Traditional Navigation' and complete it's Quiz. 

What does AD and BC mean? Find out here

The fish of Maui

Check out the myth of how Maui fished up the North Island. What hidden values can you find in this story?

How Maui slowed the sun

Check out how Maui slowed the sun. What hidden values can you find in this myth?

Creation Story

What Māori values can you see hidden in this story?

What is a museum?

What is the purpose of a museum?

• Store / share information
• Present models
• Share history - our past in NZ, ancient past
• How things have changed over time
• Fun
• Learn
• Protect, secure and preserve treasures

Good points about museums...

• Living history interactive
• Real life animals outside & native plants, garden
• Options of food or a place to eat lunch
• Things to touch and investigate - like rocks
• Using good technology
• NZ museums are free

Museums are boring because......

• Too much to see in one visit
• Not much variety in displays
• Too far to walk - sore legs
• Parents won;t let you investigate
• Too much to read and parents take too long
• 
  

Ellesmere Heritage Park

We have been invited by the Ellesmere Heritage Trust to advise them on the content and presentation of the museum exhibits they are developing, with a particular focus on making it interesting to children.

Letter link

From our learning in FIE, we understand that a big task like this needs to be broken down into smaller parts. Here are range of resources that might help us develop some questions. 

Te Papa  - gather ideas

Interactive activity Trails - gather ideas - sheet from teacher

Māori culture resources Te Papa

Where is the Ellesmere Heritage Park?

Photos on Allana's iPad - Heritage Park

Okains Bay Museum

Early Settlers

Māori voyage to NZ

Here are our questions:

1. In Queenstown you can feed and see the fish. Could we buy food for the pigeons at the museum or have olden-days animals? Jed
2. Could you have cart ride on special days? Lexie and Varley
3. Could we get some artefacts from the Marae? Robert
4. Could we get some kids games from the olden days so they can play them? Lexie
5. Could you have plastic hammers asn plastercine or modelling clay for kids to try being a smithy?
6. How do you catalogue the things and find out their history? Zoe
7. Have realistic models to show people working. Adele & Aria
8. Could you do .... museum in the dark challenge with torches? Sam
9. How could we make museums interesting to kids?

FIE Tangrams: Analysis or synthesis?

This week we are looking at the principle of finding the parts with a more complex whole. This could be a shape inside a larger shape, a simple machine inside a complex one, a engine inside a car, a secret ingredient in a yummy recipe!

A Tangram is a good place to start thinking about this. According to mathsisfun website. A Tangram is "A traditional Chinese puzzle made of a square divided into seven pieces (one parallelogram, one square and five triangles) that can be arranged to match particular designs."

Here is a link to some of the tough Tangram challenges we will be attempting to analyse (break apart)? or is it synthesise (put together)? What do you think?

End of Term 2 reflection

The good stuff:

• Nice quiet learning times - Katie
• Modules - loved music, & Kia Kaha - Varley
• We are beginning to use the anger chart - Thomas
• Lots of bricks being tested - Aria
• We are getting better at ignoring distractions - Robert
• We are working better as a team - like in music and arcade games - Tia
• Great chances at robotics and writing workshop - Amber
• We are earning neurons - Chloe Rose
• We are making new friends with the new kids - Deklyn
• The zone is a good quiet place to have - Charlotte
• Wow - we loved the arcade games because it was challenging and fun at the end to play them - Ollie 

Things to change for Term 3:

• Use a wider range of fitness games - Kase
• Work in being more friendly and kind - Hayley & Ollie
• Try really hard to not interrupt during others talking - Sam
• With home learning - could we have lots of ideas and some free choice - Lexie
• More outside activities like sports - Nate
• Us to remember to put our faces up for the register - Libby
• Introduce more science like chemistry like mixing potions - Benjamin
• Try having a few more options between teachers or topics e.g. in topic or modules - Zoë
• To stop yelling and running in the classroom - Jayden
• Try moving our book boxes around so the Halberg and Moller spaces are more mixed up - Aria
• Have more free time - earned - Toby
• Have more free writing - Toby
• Try having choices about what spot their book box is - move them around - Eva
• Swap classes for modules - Adele
• Give us options to vote on the fitness game - Chloe Rose
• Maybe have your own spaces - Robert
• Maybe some places around the class are quiet places - Robert
• Two teachers = 2 fitness games.

Science Celebration - arcade fun!

Kepler students (Years 4-6) have been putting their science learning into practice! 

We have been working collaboratively to create arcade games, applying the principles of physics. 

We included explanations of the physics involved, and then had fun playing the games we had built. What better way to learn our science?!

Instructions - Weaving Matariki Stars

Do we have all the details we need?

Can we write the instructions as a team?

This is another way to make the star.

Wacky Hair Day !!!

Just a preview from today... 

Spot the Simple Machine

If we are going to create an effective 'Pinball' or Rube Goldberg Machine then we need to see how our simple machines might be used as a small part of the whole. 

1. Check out these videos and look for different ways each machine is being used.

2. Sketch the details of how they work, adding labels to explain each part.

Try to get 2-3 examples for each simple machine....

Video 1:

 Video 2:

PE - Winter Sports starts at Springston

We started our session with Amy from Sports Canterbury on Thursday. Winter Tournament practice starts this week on Tuesday. Let's hope for more fine weather like last week!

Where is Zoë

This one's a bit more difficult. I am on an island which is part of an archipelago in the North Sea off the North East Coast of Scotland. This place is known for the cute little bird, the puffin.

Where is Zoë

It is very cold and I am standing underneath a famous castle. Where am I?