She'll be 'right mate!

What does kiwi culture look like?  

Today the kids had to brainstorm what kiwi culture looks like.  They formed into groups of four, where the rules dictated no discussion was allowed.  Each person had to contribute to the list their ideas on what our culture looks like. Piece of cake, right?  Yeah, nah bro.    

          A voting system was then used to decide on the five most important items on the list. (The photos attached were taken prior to the voting process.)  The kids did not know it then, but from tomorrow they will begin shaping a marketing campaign that will promote New Zealand culture and identity to an international audience. Reckon it'll be sweet as, but they'll have to go hard out, eh?

        The kids will have to decide on a marketing strategy and then present their ideas to a panel that will consist of the teacher (me!) and three of their peers (whose names will be pulled from a hat).  Reckon that they'll be mint,eh?  It'll be choice cuz!

              As part of their campaign, they will have to sell the idea of New Zealand's unique culture, and so in keeping with this, we will also be looking at Kiwi colloquialisms/slang and iconic New Zealand attractions (specifically the kiwi obsession with sculptures of big fruit, veges and animals).   

          Selling our natural beauty would be too easy.  Here's hoping they'll be all good. 

Chur!

Welcome to our first eco-friendly island ....

Wow! Our first island is complete.  Samuel and Joseph have impressed me and produced something beyond my wildest expectations.   I'm so proud of you boys.  Your information is great, your island looks fantastic and I love the research you did on inventions designed to address pollution problems.

Awesome stuff!  I can't wait to see more of the islands up on the classroom walls as they are completed.   

Island Progression

Nessa, Ishika and Caitlin are using windmills to power their resort.  They will be growing their own food.  This means that they will not need to bring in supplies from off shore. 

Nicholas is using solar panels.  The energy will be converted into electricity

Ruby is providing a natural salt water pool.  Water will be replenished when there's a high tide.
Joseph and Samuel are collecting rainwater runoff from the roofs of their units.  This will be used as drinking water at their resort

Nadia has decided it is more responsible to have her guests stay in tents.
"I don't want people to stay in something that used stuff (resources) from the natural environment."

Eco-friendly Resorts - in the midst of the action...

Our islands are slowly taking form with paint now being applied, and our vision for creating eco-friendly and sustainable resorts is being fleshed out.  Yay and super yay!

As you can see, the kids are working hard (even hosting Room 6 this afternoon).  All of the groups have identified the problems that lead to pressure on our natural environment and are offering up solutions to minimise the impact of tourists on the land. Many have even incorporated ideas and systems that will result in positive change. 

Brayden is planning on using tourist guides who will provide education on rare plants and the marine reserve, and almost every group is choosing to plant gardens where fruit and vegetables will be grown and harvested.  If you don't fancy using a long drop, you may not want to visit Ishika's island, but if sleeping under canvas is something you'd consider, then perhaps you'd like to visit Joseph's?  I have heard rumours those staying at Jacob's island will be sleeping in hollowed out trees... I'm looking forward to seeing that design!

This week we will continue to work on our documents that lay out what we are trying to achieve. The kids will be encouraged to research how alternative energy systems work and will learn that New Zealand is considered a leader when it comes to the use of our natural resources to keep the lights on, and the internet running.  (Gee whiz, imagine a world with no internet! Totally shocking!  Doesn't bear thinking about.)

For extra photos, feel free to follow this link to the awesome Miss Coffer's blog:
http://room6shs2017.blogspot.co.nz/2017/03/eco-friendly-islands.html

It was a game of two halves but, at the end of the day, research was the winner

What a day!

As the kids dug up the soil in the name of science, no-one could have anticipated that the estuary beach would bite back, but it did!

Marine Metre2 is a longitudinal survey of the health of our foreshore.  The kids had to take core samples and record the animal life they found.  Ruby, Samuel, Brayden and Nicholas found mud crabs, turret shells, large horn snails, clams and even a polychaete worm.  This information will be put into a database that will be used by the University of Otago.

Most of us felt the weather was the main threat (as we recorded our observations), but we were wrong.  No one was prepared for the battle (and hilarity) that ensued when the Sunnyhills Kids and Parents ended up versing the Gloopy Mud in the match up of the decade.

Nicholas did the hard yards when he took on the mud. Sadly the mud won.  Poor Ruby came up short when she tried to tackle a seemingly innocuous seawater puddle.  Tandia had to go to plan B when she ended up sitting in the mud. BaiLin backed himself but also came up short against the mighty power of the mud bath.  Mrs Foster really put her body of the line, but, alas, also ended up with a wet bottom. Man of the match went to Mr Raman, who, in his attempt to do the heroic thing and save a mud swamped group member, very nearly ended up needing some saving himself.

A big shout out to all the parents who helped today; I am very grateful.
It was a game of two halves but, at the end of the day, research was the winner.
Mrs Nicole Wallace

An Island is born ...

Whereas Maui pulled the North Island from the sea, and volcanoes erupt (creating new land), in Room 2 we are crafting our island the old fashioned way - using papier mache and elbow grease.
            The islands we are constructing represent the ones we were marooned on in our Robinson Crusoe Challenge.  Now saved (probably as a consequence of those essential items we packed), we have returned to our islands as guardians.  We can use the land for tourism, but we cannot abuse it, or damage it in any way.
            We want visitors to come on over, but we also want to ensure that sustainable practices are adopted in the management of our island. We want to protect our island, so, it'll be eco-friendly initiatives all round!
         We are currently researching world-wide problems like pollution, and then providing solutions that will ensure our islands remain healthy. Many of us are currently researching alternative energy and power sources; most have decided to ban plastics completely, and some groups have even set up marine reserves, and breeding programmes (for endangered tropical species) as they want to give back to the world that looks after them.
           In terms of learning, we are having to do a lot of  research on the negative impact of pollution, but then we need to think about how we can use this information in making critical choices that will ensure our islands remain clean and green.  This exercise is about the application of knowledge, and making learning purposeful; this is not learning for learning's sake.

Watch this space as our mission to build our islands continues.

Our islands are currently under construction, so watch this space.  We are also using the Cornell Method to take notes on sustainability and eco-friendly practice.

Understanding Thinking Skills and the Key Competencies

We are doing Mrs. Wallace's Robinson Crusoe Challenge at the moment.  We had to decide on 'must have' items we would take if we were marooned on a tropical island. 

This exercise requires critical thinking, but more importantly it highlights how Key Competencies are the threads that run through the fabric of our learning.

We worked in groups of three to do our initial brainstorming, and then we had to reduce our list to only ten critical items. This may seem simple ... especially if you were working as an individual and had total control, but we were working in collaborative groups.

Working in a group comes with its own set of problems.  How do you ensure your views are represented?  How to you ensure everyone feels included? What responsibilities do you have to work hard for the benefit of your group?  How do natural leaders learn to help others to succeed (and rein in their natural tendency to dominate)?  These skills are not just important when working at school, these are the skills that children will carry into real life.  

The Key Competencies we talked about before working on this challenge were - Thinking, Relating to others, Managing self, and Participating and contributing.

Let's just say yesterday's noise level reflected the passion and determination of the kids to see their items included on the final list.  It is really difficult to accept that others might have views that don't reflect our own. Learning to subdue our own views for the benefit of the group is a skill that takes time and needs to be practised.

We will eventually link this exercise into our 'Environment' work.  The kids don't know it yet but when they are eventually rescued from this desert island they will be turning it into an eco-friendly resort.  As caretakers of this 'piece of paradise' they will be responsible for ensuring its health and will need to consider how human impact could threaten or enhance this.

Buckle up, it could be a bumpy loud ride!

Asaro Mudmen?

No, the Year 6 kids are not learning about the culture of the 'mudmen' of Papua New Guinea's eastern highlands, but they are trying new things, facing fears, and learning about their limitations

        Survivor (Lakewood Lodge style) might not provide quite the challenge of the TV show, but the kids learned the hard way that there's nothing quite as unpalatable as a cold sausage, and there's nothing quite as frustrating as trying to get mud out of your nostrils, ears and hair post the mud run.

Thanks to all the parents who supported the kids during their fun-filled camp week.  We honestly couldn't do these things without your help.

Is there a doctor on board?

Yes, there's 27!   Sadly, they're not medical doctors.

Samuel is now Dr. Samuel.
Allie is now Dr. Allie.
Jake is now Dr. Jake.

The kids in Room 2 have all been awarded (imaginary) doctorates in the field of Zoology - with first class honours, I suspect.

The Brief: As zoologists with a global conscience, we are focused on developing captive breeding programmes to help identified threatened species.  We need to choose five animals that are vulnerable; research their breeding habits (recording the number of babies they are likely to have with each pregnancy), and then create a spreadsheet that shows the projected number of births (and therefore benefit of the programme) after seven, twelve and thirty three years.

This learning experience incorporates many skills and is complex in its demands.  Mrs Wallace calls this sort of learning Thinking Skills.  Mrs Wallace loves Thinking Skills.  Mrs Wallace loves pizza, but loves Thinking Skills more.

So what are the kids learning?

1. The kids are being encouraged to see that can be agents of change in the world.
2. The kids are learning to think critically, e.g. that some animals are endangered as a consequence of their sluggish breeding habits. This fact will affect the success of their breeding programme.  Another threatened animal could be significantly boosted by human intervention because the birth rate is affected by conditions that can be altered and controlled.  The children need to think carefully about the animals they include in their breeding programme.
3.  The children are being asked to use mathematical reasoning, e.g. BaiLin asked how to record data on an animal that has between 1 - 4 babies per breeding season.  Mrs Wallace suggested BaiLin (strong in mathematics) put 2.5 per year, and then asked him to consider how this was possible.  Mrs Wallace talked to BaiLin about using the average, calculated over a two year period.  BaiLin loved the fact Mrs Wallace challenged his existing belief that it's impossible to have a half baby.
4.  The children are learning to use technology; more importantly they are learning that they can tell computers how to think, and that they can do work for us, e.g. when inputting formulas into Google Sheets.  The kids loved it when Mrs Wallace changed one number on her sheet, and then by simply pushing 'enter' the spreadsheet data completely changed.  Mrs Wallace pointed out she was not a magician, but had simply made the computer her slave.


Here is Mrs Wallace's spreadsheet.  As you can see it's incomplete.  Can anyone remind me about the formula I need to use?!  Email me your answer.

Btw, the dictzy dog is SERIOUSLY on the brink of extinction! ;-)

Instructions for Life in Room 2

.... that moment when you know you have an awesome class and it's going to be a great year!

Yes, I know some people hate incomplete sentences, but still .....

We have been working on our alternative to the conventional class treaty; we took a quick look at 'instructions' written by the Dalai Lama for living well.
           The Room 2 kids are so insightful; far more mature and reflective than I ever was at ten or eleven.  Have a look at some of their top tips for getting along in life.  This is just a sampler.  Enjoy!

Have fun!

Be awesome!

Think positively

Mistakes prove you are trying

Don’t let something small ruin your day!

Make sure you’re happy

Be yourself

Manage yourself

Believe in who you are!

Show responsibility for your actions

Don’t lose your temper when someone provokes you

Creativity is da key (like the creative spelling here! ;-) Mrs Wallace)

Everyone is good in their own way

Be yourself, everyone else is taken

Be happy

You’re beautiful just the way you are

Anything can be done with confidence

Stand up for yourself

Honour, respect, loyalty

You’re not bad, you’re just learning

Things aren’t perfect - expect that!

Have fun with friends

Learn from your mistakes

Laugh and live

Care and Share

Don’t be rude

Be grateful for the stuff you’re given

Never swear

Don’t get mad over silly things

Eat healthily

Never have too much sugar

Practise makes perfect

Good things come to those who go out and earn them

Light can be found in the darkest of places, if one remembers to turn on the light (Albus Dumbledore)

Determination

Co-operate with classmates

Laugh often and learn well

Be kind to other people