Tigers, Makey Makeys and Olympics? Check out what the Middles have been up to...

You may have been into Room 3 and seen the amazing tigers hanging from the ceiling. The tigers were inspired by an amazing artist called Dean Russo. First of all we used indian ink to draw the outline of our tigers. We then used bright chalk pastels. We had to choose analogous colours (colours that are beside each other on the colour wheel) when colouring a section . After we chalked our art we used starch paste to mix the colours and hold the chalk in place. The final step was to use oil pastels to draw patterns on top of our tigers. They look amazing!

Recently Room 4 have been looking at the paralympic games. We were lucky enough to have Anna Grimaldi (long jump paralympian) come and talk to the class about what it is like to win a medal at the paralympics. The class asked many interesting questions and learnt a lot from this! We have also been busy with our communities inquiry, making basketball hoops to put over our bins to encourage putting our rubbish in the bin. The SPCA came and talked to us about how we can help look after the animals in our community. We can’t wait to share what we have learnt with everyone! 

In Room 5 this week we have been learning how to use the makey makeys kits. We have created a poster that shows how important bees are to our environment. We connected our copper posters to the make makey wires and recorded interesting facts. When you push the button on your poster it plays a voice recording of it. You are welcome to come in and check them out in week 11.

Room 6 have been working hard to create a range of models for the 2018 Winter Olympics & Paralympics. After creating a plan individually or in groups, they then used a variety of resources, and have certainly let their creativity to shine through. As they worked through the making part of their model, many had to make adjustments to their creations. Many children have created a range of models, taking inspiration from what they have seen and talked about the Olympics, and also from each other. Their final job is to create a slideshow to share their work with others.

For fifteen minutes after lunch the middle syndicate have spent time sharing books and reading with buddies. It has been a great opportunity for old friends to reunite and more importantly for them to view a range of books that they may not necessarily choose to look at. This helps to expand the subject and types of texts that they read independently. Reading for enjoyment is an aspect of the New Zealand Curriculum and one we have encouraged through buddy reading.