Term 3 is well underway and we are super excited about your children's learning this term! We have decided that in this newsletter you will hear from the children so read on and enjoy!

Up and coming dates

• Assemblies 

- Room 1 on the 17th August,
- Room 4 on the 31st August
- Room 3 on the 28th September

• Sausage sizzle days

- 24th August Rm 5 parents
- 14th September Rm 6 Parents

• Teacher's Strike School Closed 15th August
  
• Ukulele Jam 29th August
  
• O'Mathalon Competition 30th August
  
• Have a go day for middles only 7th September
• Capital E Show 21st of September
  

When you read below you will find the students' writing on the following topics:

Cross Country
Inquiry in the Middles
Senior Rock Band
Columba College Egypt Expo
Chess Competition
Year 6 Balmacewen Visit
Inquiry in the Seniors

Cross Country 

I had so many butterflies in my stomach and as I heard the clapper I started to run. As I went up the hill I saw a mad pit of mud that I thought 6 pig’s could roll around in all day. As I went over the mud, I slipped. I was thinking this is so cool. I splashed into the wet mud. I got mud all over my shoes and pants and t shirt. I started to crawl across the slippery bog of mud and came out the other side and was ahead just a little bit. Then lots of other people past me. I was so out of breath but I still went on even though lots of people were passing me. As I poured up the slope I slipped again and crawled the rest of the way up the hill. When I went down the hill it was a whole different feeling! I was so close to a girl from another school I tried to pass her but she saw me coming. Then she tried to pass me and after what seemed like hours she got in front. When I got to the finish line I had got the place 22. I was determined to do it next year. I saw my mum and waved to her and she waved back at me and I was so happy.

By Huxley

It was a hard run out there! Some of the track was so muddy, that a few of us had to scramble on our hands and feet. The mud was so squelchy that it took some of us a bit of time to get out of the gooey mess. The rest of it was just flat, which made it pretty easy for the rest of the way. The walk there was very quiet. We had just a few roads and bends. The race was only 800 meters. It was a bit hard. I tried to go my fastest the whole way, but some of it was too hard at some places.

Henry Hodgson

The cross country is fun. To put in a good effort it takes some practice. You will have to run at a steady pace at the start so you don’t sprint. At one point when you go up a hill there is this giant muddy bit that people can slip over. People can get really muddy and they get puffed. Everyone had to go through the red and white flags until you got to the end of the race. The year 4s ran 800 metres. At the end the top 20 got a ticket to say what number they came in.There was a drone to film when you were running. The grass was a little bit muddy but is was fine.

Charlotte Watkins 

I was very excited. It was my first cross country. The cross country was a great experience. We went on a run three times to see who would get in. It was quite tiring. We trained hard and even if you didn't win you're still a winner.

The cross country hill is a hill behind a tree in the corner and it is very muddy. I slipped over but I got back up. At first I was 8th, then at the cross country hill I slipped over and ended up in 17th place. At the end I sprinted and placed 15th. I’m very proud of myself even though I didn’t get first second or third.The year fours ran 900 metres.The top 20 Got a ticket to be in the Otago team for the cross country. My friends were in it with me.

Just being there makes me a winner!!!

Brooke Elizabeth Beaman 

My head was scared but my heart was excited. I had done it once before, when I was year 3. Yet I was still worried about the cross country. My mind was wandering I couldn't focus. I remember looking at the clock every 5 seconds waiting for 12:10. Then finally it came we grabbed our bags.

I raced to the library. Just in time! Charlotte, Brooke, Ellie and I, grabbed our lunch and chomped on it. We talked about how nervous and excited we were. Then Mr Reid did the final check and we were off. My toes were just behind the lin. I knew the course. “Ready set BANG! The clacker smacked together. I’m not a strong starter so I was at the back. I kept telling myself “just keep running”. I saw a hill, it was sooooo muddy. Some people stopped and walked around and went on all fours, I just ran. it splashed in peoples faces... But they’ll get over it! Once I got out I was very far out front. It was nearly half way now. a couple people passed me. Brooke caught up to me then we ran together. My legs were hurting now but I knew I could not give up. We finally reached the finish chute. what a relief! She crossed the line before me but only by a inch. I felt a little dizzy but that is half the fun. They gave me a ticket that said I came sixteenth.They made us lineup to write our names. My family came to congratulate me and that made the day even better [it was already pretty awesome ]. That was my Cross Country, I hope I get in next year.

By Freya Glover.   

Inquiry In the middles

In Room 5 we have been learning about Significance in our lives.

Significant means……. A thing that make an impact or difference.

We started by looking at role models in our lives and who makes a difference and help us for example my Dad or Mum is significant to me because they do a lot of jobs for us they work hard so they can provide us with food, clothes and a house.

Then we looked at famous significant people who have made an impact in the world …….such as the Queen, The prime minister, singers, olympians, Albert Einstein and lots more people.

We are currently looking at significant buildings around the world such as….Burj Khalifa, Eiffel Tower, Twin Towers, Big Ben, the London Bridge and lots more!!!

We are searching information about them and creating models of them out of cardboard and scraps.

We are going to start searching ways we can be significant and make a change in our school and community.

What significant change can you make?

Lil Irwin and Mackenzie Porter

Senior Rock Band

At kaikorai 5 people are in rock band Meg, Emilia, Jack, Tayla, and William! We are playing two songs. which are ‘When I come around’ by green day and ‘count on me’ by Bruno Mars! Hope you enjoy all the hearing about what we play in rock band instruments.

Bass (Tayla)

The bass is really deep. I like playing it because it's not to hard but it’s not too easy. I really enjoy rock band, I recommend that you should try it. My favourite song to play is count on me by Bruno Mars.

Guitar (William)

I’m in rock band. I am the only guitarist in the rock band my favourite song is When I come around by green day. I start off most of our songs.

(Jack the 1st drummer) I play the drums. In my opinion drums are the best thing. I sometimes play to loud that you can not hear the vocals. In the second song I do basically do the same thing but do double then one then double again on the snare. The drum kit is a adult drum kit that is now small. 1 high hat, 1 cymbal, 1 snare, 1 bass/kick drum, and 1 normal tom. I have been the drummer since rock band was made. As a year 3 rock band. At the end of songs I always to a drum solo ending. It is not really a solo but it is were I do a drum part and no one is doing anything.

Singing (Meg & Emilia!)

We are on the vocals! Rock band is every wednesdays. We have lots of fun during it , and we love when people are at the door enjoying our music! Our first performance of the year, we are performing on Friday 12:00! We have had a great time singing all the songs. If you want to join rock band then next year you can ask Mr Hartley and audition! Hope you all love our performance if you want to come!

Thank you for reading our write up about Rock Band!

(by Meg, Tayla, Jack, Emila & William)

Columba  College Egypt Expo

On the 31st of July, room 2a and room 6 went to Columba College to see the year eight’s ancient Egypt exhibition in the Columba library. When we walked in we saw two rooms on either side of the door. In each room there were lots of different projects. Some were interactive and some were visual.The year eight social studies students were all standing around the projects. The students had all worked on different things, some had even made food! One of the projects had a classic Egyptian dessert called Basbousa. Basbousa is a semolina and yoghurt cake often topped with a sliced almond. My favourite project was one where you got to create your own hieroglyphs. A hieroglyph is an ancient Egyptian way of writing. The hieroglyphs are little pictures that are supposed to look like a picture of the thing they are writing about. One group was learning about pharaohs. A pharaoh is an Egyptian king, the pharaohs are put in a tomb when they die along with their cat. After we had a good look around it was time to go, we thanked the students for the experience and then we headed back to school in pairs.

By Clara Deans

On Tuesday July 31st 2018 Room 2a and Room 6 of Kaikorai Primary School went to Columba College to see the awesome Egyptian exhibition that the Year 8 Social Studies girls made! It was very amazing! The first thing I saw was a replica of an Egyptian boat that carried stuff like coffins, cattle and wheat, And I’m pretty sure It was made out of clay and popsicle sticks.

There was also a cool Cleopatra mannequin head that was made out of a mannequin head foam, wig, lipstick, eyeliner, jewellery and I’m pretty sure that was it! It was very cool and it looked like the real Cleopatra!

There were also really cool bread and biscuits that tasted quite bizarre! I also saw some cool coffins that were made out of clay!

The girls even sewed their own Egyptian dress! Anyways there was heaps of other cool stuff that I have not mentioned, and the girls did an outstanding job on their Egyptian exhibition! 

By Josh

Recently room 2a & room 6 had a visit to Columba College to check out the year 8s main project, which was an Ancient Egypt assignment. The year 8s set it up in the Columba College library. As the classes entered we were amazed by all the effort the year 8s have set up for us. We were first all put in to groups of four then we had a look at the students work.

I was really inspired by the work they put up for us and I wanted to learn more, my favourite one was the Ancient Egypt quiz. I also really enjoyed the food that the Columba students made for us such as, Basbousa (that made my mouth water as I saw it!) and some bread dipped in oil with some seasoning. There were also some competitions such as drawing competitions and a quiz. There were also some girls dressed up in Ancient Egyptian clothing. They were wearing gold straps along with white dresses. Overall I really enjoyed the experience, it was really mouth dropping and I would like to thank all the teachers who let us come visit!

Maggie Murdoch 

On Tuesday 31st of July R6 and R2A went to Columba college for an Egypt expedition.  Me and my group had load of fun. I thought that the food was REALLY good. Finn

We went there to learn about Egyptians. I learnt that they put mazes in pyramids to keep out thieves so they can’t find the chamber with the gold and stuff. Ilsa

When we went to Columba college, we saw all these AMAZING things about Ancient Egypt. There was the Valley of the Kings, the Eye of Ra, and making your own hieroglyphics (I liked that because you got jelly beans). There was also food like bread dipped in spicy sauce and seeds. Toby

The columba visit was good. We learned a lot of stuff about the Egyptians. One of my favourite things was the clothes that the people made and the food. For the food there was cookies, a nut cake thing, a thing with bread with nuts, and an olive oil thing.

By Issy

Year 6 Balmacewen Visit

Last week all of the year sixes went down to Balmac for an visit. I did foods and hard materials. In hard materials I made a wooden spoon. You had to get it all smooth with sandpaper . You had to draw a line where you were gonna cut . Food Tech was my favourite when I was there we made American pancakes/pikelets. We ate them after and we could but on jam, maple syrup and cream on them . We went there to look at the subjects that they do at Balmac overall it's pretty fun.

By Zac

When I went down to Balmac for visit to check out Balmac subjects. I have to say It's pretty cool I did fabrics we made a mouse. We used a needle and thread , stuffing, glue and fabric. We folded the fabric into a taco shape and then got a needle and thread and weaved through fabric and when you got to the end, you would fill it with stuffing and then you wound finish sewing It up and put a tail, eyes,ears and a nose. To finish It of and then you have a mouse. It was really fun visiting Balmac.

By Tom

Balmac last week we did this thing they call at Balmac Tech. The first tech activity my group done was ‘Camlab’. Camlab is Balmac spelt backwards. The teacher that taught camlab name is Pip. She does teaching at our school as well. Pip showed us an app called Tailblazer. It is an augmented reality app. An augmented reality example is Pokemon Go where go around an area looking for information about the school. It was a race to find all 20 pieces of information in half an hour. My group finished first.

By Hope

Inquiry in the Seniors

On the 17th of August Room 1 is hosting an assembly about significance. This term we are learning about significance such as significant things people, events and places. We are making props by using cardboard, tape, hot glue and paint. There are many groups including the big bang, the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, the Pearl Harbour attack, the greatest games, the moon landing and many more!!!

The order is the big bang, the end of the dinosaurs, moon landing, the titanic sinking, the pearl harbour attack, P.T Barnum, Greatest Games, singers, mid winter carnival and last but not least climate change.

We feel exhilarated and excited. It is fun making things for the assembly and writing scripts and storyboards.

Written by Conor, Jordan and Jonty

In the Senior Syndicate this term we are focusing on significance.

In Room 2 we have learned that Emma Bolter’s grandparents worked in  hospitals and schools in Nepal and regularly met Sir Edmund Hillary and his family. Emma Bolter’s mum even got named by Sir Ed and his family! Sir Ed definitely made a positive impact on piles of people’s lives. We hope that lot’s of other people do things like Sir Ed and Emma’s grandparents.  We found out a lot about people’s parents and what significant things they have done or are doing. We also looked at how our relatives are significant.

Another example was Louis Robertson's relatives.  They did something significant.  His grandparents lived together in a remote community and didn’t use lots plastic or waste resources which means that they were making a positive impact on the environment. Their whole community only spent only $15 on their weekly grocery budget!

Bella Bamford’s grandfather used to save people from mountains for 53 years. People get stuck in storms, caves and other stuff all the time and cannot get back, so Bella’s grandfather would save them! Imagine you are stuck on a dark, icy mountain, and no one knows where you are. Well,  Bella’s grandfather would risk his life to save you. Imagine that feeling when you see him climb over the lip of the mountain.

To be significant you don’t have to be famous, you just have to help your community. You can help people, the environment  or even work for people! You don’t need to get paid at all. You just need to care and do what’s right!

By Ben, Louis and Eva

We have learnt about amazing people who have made the world a better place.

One of the interesting thing we did was a homework task where we had to find a close relative or friend who has made a ‘significant positive impact’ on their community. We all learnt so much about our classmates families and what they have done.

Some examples were: Ben’s father was working on a vaccine for typhoid fever for third world countries;  Bella’s grandfather was part of the NZ Alpine Cliff Rescue for 53 years and Alisa’s grandmother works at a children’s hospital in Russia.

We were inspired on hearing these stories and they made us want to do things, like what these people achieved.
We also learnt a lot about Sir Peter Blake, who was a champion sailor before turning towards the environment and making the world a better place. We learnt what he liked to do in his spare time, his career and sadly his death. It was caused by pirates when they boarded his ship. Another was Sir Edmund Hillary who not only climbed Mount Everest for the first time but also built many hospitals (which Emma’s Grandparents helped run), and schools in Nepal. Some other significant people we have found out about include Kate Sheppard, Rosa Parks and Louis Braille.

All of these people have changed the world positively, and we can look up to them and aspire to be as impactive as they have been. 

by Emma, Bella and Joseph