We had a visit from the chickens!

We were very lucky to have a visit from Mrs Johns and her new chick (and adopted mother hen). Taimalie told us about the life cylcle of a chick and some interesting facts about how they hatch and get raised.
Check out the photos and videos!

Our School Focus for weeks 7 and 8 is...

100 word challenge

Cultural Festival - The Mexican Group

Check out the awesome Mexican Group that performed 'The Mexican Hat Dance' at the Cultural Festival this weekend. An amazing day had by all. So much talent.

Will post photos of the other groups as well and the students will write a recount of their experience and put it on their blog - watch this space!

School Kit writing activity

Here is the awesome Rm23 with their letters that they are hoping to get to their chosen New Zealander who has made a difference. 

Here's the catch - they can't just send it to them or give it to them personally. They have to get it to them by passing it through peoples hand only (unless they are in another country/island and then another person can mail it to another person - not the actula person, Phew!)

We are testing the theory of 3 degrees of seperation where everyone is connected in some way within 3 people e.g my neighbour has a hairdresser who is friends with Nadia Lim's cousin so I am 3 degrees of seperation away from Nadia Lim!

We are passing the letters on today and we hope to get some responses before the end of the school year (the letters ask the person to email a picture of them holding the letter to the students email).

Out of 27 students we are estimating we might ger 6 responses. Watch this space!

Our School Focus for weeks 6 and 7 is...

Our School Focus for weeks 3 and 4 is...

Mexican Cultural Group

Here is the slideshow for our Mexican Cultural Group. The song is on the last slide for you to practise our dance. 

Diwali Performance 2017

We were very lucky to have Diwali performers all the way over from India! Check out the Rm23 students blogs to see their recounts of the show.

Term 4 School Focus for weeks 1 and 2...

Mindcraft the Musical

This term, the Kauri Team have been working exceptionally hard to put together an epic production called 'Mindcraft the Musical' Written by Rachel Sutherland. In association with 'takeabowproductions.org" .

We split into 4 groups: The cast, the choir, props and costumes and met regularly to practise songs, make scenery props and design, and create, mindcraft box heads and other awesome costume pieces.

The production was written with great humour and high relevance to our technology saturated world and the students (and adults) took away the message that although technology is fun and important - friends and family and being good people is more important.

We performed the play on the 21st September both as a matinee performance in the day and a night show which had a fantastic turnout and recieved great reviews from the parents.

Check out this slideshow of photos:

Getting ready for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.

Congratulations to Rm23's speech finalists!

A big congratulations to the 4 speech finalists from Rm23 who represented us in the Kauri speech finals!! Awesome work guys!

From left to right:

Rawiri - We should have gaming at school

Aaron - Coding club at school

Olivia - Horse riding lessons at school

and

Ossian - Tigers are not medicine.

Absent: Lukas - Ethical Consumerism

Extra big congratulations to Rawiri who came thrid equal and Aaron who came 2nd equal. 

School Focus for the rest of Term 3

Book Week Fun

Our school focus for weeks 5 and 6 is...

_____________________________________________________________________

Check out this great video about staying calm and BREATHE.

Excel characters

We are doing a Production this term called Mindcraft the Musical (based on minecraft and the cyber world). To tie that in with our developing tech skills we used Google Sheets to make our own 'excel' characters that would look like minecraft ones.

Check out Room 23's great work!

Our School Focus for weeks 3 and 4 is...

Our School Focus for Weeks 1 and 2 is...

Blues Training Day

Wednesday 28th of June

On Wednesday Anthony and I went to see the Blues for a skills and drills day. We saw most of the team. Sonny Bill Williams was in Wellington with the All Blacks. We had all sorts of drills. We also got free milo! There were other schools there too. We had this one drill where we had to tackle the tackling bag. We also had this passing drill too and there was a 1 on 1 one too.

Then finally at the end we got some merchandise like sunglasses, a wristband and a poster. Anthony even won a Blues shirt!

Thanks Mr Bennett for organising such an awesome experience!

By Dwayne and Anthony

MOTAT visit

Last week we had an awesome time at MOTAT learning about Forces. Check out all the students blogs to see the Wevideo they made showcasing the time they had.

Here is Olivia's video:

Our School Focus for the last 2 weeks of Term 2 is...

Swim safety at Phillips Wave Pool

Philosophy for Children (P4C)

Today we had a philosophy session where we discussed our choices if we were 'gifted' the choose of two options. They were:

Wealth or Friendship?

and

Intelligence or Courage?

and

Security or Fame?

Post a comment and tell us what you decided. Remember to justify your thoughts!

Also - can you come up with your own 'either-or' option?

Another fantastic session at Garden to Table!

Our School Focus for weeks 7 and 8 is...

Buddy Class 2017

Sustainable Coastlines

We are having our Green Week this week and we had a talk from someone from 'Sustainable Coastlines'. We did a bit of research about the videos from their website. Check it out!

Our School Focus for weeks 5 and 6 is...

Life Ed

Over the last couple of weeks we had 2 sessions of Life Ed with Harold. We learnt about Empathy and Decision Making.
Please comment with something you learnt and discuss why it is important.

3rd round of Chapter Chat

Garden to Table Session 2

Another delicious meal gathered and cooked for Garden to Table this week. Curry, Roti, Rice and pumpkin muffins - Kapai Room 23!

Swimming lessons Term 2

For 2 weeks we are heading off to 'The Wave Pools' for swimming lessons.
It is a great opportunity for the students to learn very important swimming skills that will keep them safe and help them enjoy the water that surrounds NZ.

'Ms Bixby's Last Day' Chapter Chat Week 2

Congratulations to last weeks certificate winners!

Garden to Table

Room 23 is lucky enough to be taking part in Garden to Table this term. With valuable knowledge learned in both gardening, cooking and being healthy G2T is an awesome chance for all of us. Check out some of the yummy food that was made this session.

Chapter Chat Term 2

This term we are taking part in Chapter Chat with several other schools around NZ. We are reading the book 'Ms Bixby's Last Day' as a class then completing a chosen activity based on the book. On Fridays we enter into a Twitter collaboration with the other participating schools, sharing our work and answering questions about the book.
Check out our 1st week of activities. Awesome work Room 23!

Our School Focus for weeks 3 and 4 is...

Term 2 2017

Another exciting term is about to begin here in Room 23 Owairaka School.
Here are some key dates to remember that are coming up...

Week 1:
Tuesday - Science in a Van vising. Make sure you have handed in your $3!

Week 3:
Monday - Life Ed session 1
Tuesday - Otahuhu School visit

Week 4:
Tues/Weds - Table Tennis coaching
Wednesday - Life Ed session 2

Week 5:
Thursday - Cross Country

Week 6: 
Monday - Queen's bday (no school)
GREEN WEEK
Assembly Friday which Rm 23 and Rm 6 are hosting.

Week 8:
Wednesday or Thursday - MOTAT

Week 10:
Wednesday - Reports home
Friday - Last day of term 2! Disco 11.20

Lots on this term so make sure you are organised and eager to get involved every day. Let the fun begin!

Our School Focus for Weeks 1-3 is...

Softball

We were lucky enough to have softball instructors in for two training sessions. Check it out!

Our 'Get NZ Writing' buddy school

The buddy school we shared our 'Get NZ Writing' postcards with was Rm 12 Goldfields School in Cromwell.
Check out the awesome work they shared...

Race Relations Day 2017

An amazing effort from all Owairaka students and staff on this years Race Relations Day. A great opportunity to celebrate the diversity of our school and share our amazing food and cultural traditons with each other.
Big thank you to Claire's mum, Victoria, for coming in to teach the class how to make paper window flowers. Awesome!
Check out some of the photos from the day...

Duffy Assembly magic

We were lucky enough to be visited by the very talented Madison Nonoa this afternoon at our Duffy Assembly. She shared her passion for reading and her talent in singing. Amazing!
The students all got their Duffy books this afternoon and have rushed home to read.

 Here is her bio:

Madison has a Bachelor of Music with first-class honours from the University of Auckland. She is a Sir Edmund Hillary Scholar at the University of Waikato, where she is studying French and German. A Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist with New Zealand Opera, she this year performs Papagena in The Magic Flute. She is a former member of the New Zealand Youth Choir, an alumna of the New Zealand Opera School and New Zealand Singing School and has been a finalist and winner of many aria competitions around the country. In the 2014 Lexus Song Quest, Madison was the youngest semi-finalist and RNZ Concert Listeners’ Choice Award winner. 

Get NZ Writing project

Rm23 recently took part in a great initiative called 'Get NZ Writing' where classes around NZ buddied up to share their creative writing and a snapshot of who they are.

Check out the photos of our work...



We can't wait to get the awesome work of our buddy class from somewhere in NZ. Watch this space!

Fonterra Office Takeover

School focus for Weeks 8-11 is...

Words Rm23 like the sound of...

What words do you like the sound of?

Fonterra Fun!

Our very dedicated and awesome milk monitors had a chance to visit the Fonterra Offices. They got to see how the office operates and have a little fun with the workers. They played a few fun games and sang them a song about how awesome milk in schools is.

Thanks for all your hard work milk monitors - You rock!

NZ writing - Iain Sharp poem

We are taking part in the 'Get NZ writing' project which helps students connect with other schools around NZ by sharing their writing. We have been looking at a poem by Iain Sharp and then made our own version for Rm 23. Next the students will write their own and pick their best line to share with our sister school.

The Iain Sharp Poem

Iain Sharp is a fat parcel

of mixed groceries

tied with a clumsy knot.

Iain Sharp is a black kite

adrift on changeable winds.

Iain Sharp is a pile of scoria

tricking softly to the sea.

Whenever I peep in mirrors

Iain Sharp frowns back at me.

It’s terrifying.

Iain Sharp is a runaway tramcar.

Iain Sharp is a chunk of moonrock.

Iain Sharp is nine letters

wrenched from the Roman Alphabet.

Look there and there!

Bits of bright confetti

blow from chapel to chapel.

I chase them with outstretched hands.

They might be Iain Sharp

If our class were a kind of vehicle what kind of vehicle would it be?

A Lamborghini speeding past the other cars. Leaving them for dust. A bright yellow Suzuki Swift zipping through the streets A Landrover taking on all different terrains A rusty ho trod waiting for all the parts to be put together again. A Toyota Highlux driving through a four wheel riding track in the bush A double decker bus that holds so much yet has room for more. Formula One car zooming around the corners

If our class were a kind of building what kind of building would it be?

A skyscraper aiming for great heights and achieving so much. A skytower because we tower over everyone else. A skyscraper - individuals yet together as one.

If our class were something you find in your community what something would it be?

The Lego store because we join together to make bigger, better things. The Mt Roskill shops because we have everything ready for anything.

If our class were a kind of meal what kind of meal would it be?

Burger King cheeseburger stunner meal with lots of deliciousness. Burger Fuel chicken burger in it’s massive size A five course meal with a wedding cake at the end. A pavlova with a hidden surprise of ambrosia inside. A happy meal with a surprise toy.

If our class were an item of clothing what kind of item would it be?

A high-viz vest that stands out in the crowd. A pair of fuzzy socks that keeps our little toes warm and snug A Room 23 t-shirt that brings luck to all who wear it. A Tuxedo that looks sweet A tie-dye t-shirt that blends all the colours together as one.

Green Day Fun

Another great Green Day had at Owairaka School. Check out the posters we made to raise awareness for caring for our environment. Some of Room 23 made slideshows about how lucky we are to have the Earth and Isaac even wrote a story from the perspective of a piece of rubbish. Check out the students blogs to see what they did...

We also spent a small amount of time cleaning up our field. 10mins to be exact. Check out the amount of rubbish we found in a very short time! Very disappointing. Hopefully now we can all work together to keep our awesome school clean.

And look who we found among us...

Our very own Green Day Mascot. Awesome effort Rawiri!

Pasifika Festival coming up...

School Focus for Weeks 7/8

Buddy Class

For our recent buddy class session we have been helping our buddy class learn to use Google Slides and how to write similes. Awesome work guys!

Our School focus for weeks 5 and 6 is...