Writing Informal Letters

Writing, writing, writing... what fun we have learning the skills of being able to write in a range of genres! At the moment we are writing informal letters. This of course, is always popular with the kids as they get to write to a friend or a family member they haven't seen in a while, they don't have to use perfect language and they can write their news as well as ask the questions they want to of the recipient of their letter. Here is a little slideshow to give you some tips on how to correctly write an informal letter. Just remember, in New Zealand we put the address and date in the top left instead of the right. Room 18, you can practice your letter writing skills whenever you feel the urge to put pen to paper- and I am sure your friends will love to receive your letter and will hopefully even write back!

Steps of writing an informal letter from Ibrahem Abdel Ghany

Steps of writing an informal letter from Ibrahem Abdel Ghany

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Term 3

Wow, it is term 3 already! This term is another busy term in Room 18. We will be doing gymnastics all term every Tuesday morning- so we will be pretty flash by the end of the term! We are also going to swimming lessons from Week 3 to Week 7. This will tie in really nicely with our Health unit on Water Safety. Living in a country completely surrounded by water makes this a really important topic to teach. We also have Three Way Conferences in Week 3. The kids get to go home a little earlier but the expectation is that they will all come back with a caregiver or two to have a chat with me about how they are getting on at school. I am really looking forward to this as I love sharing the children's successes with their whanau. (Parents: you can book your interview time on the PCS website or at the school office) Later in the term, we are planning a trip to the Auckland Observatory- The Stardome which is pretty exciting, too. This ties in really nicely with what Miss Erakovich is teaching in her Science and Technology lessons. It's going to be another fabulous term at PCS.

John Britten- Backyard Inventor and Inspirational New Zealander

We have been learning about inspirational kiwis here in Room 18. We have been really taken with the story of John Britten, the man who built a superbike with his mates in his backyard and took on the world's fastest at Daytona in 1993. Check out our storyboards we made using Comic Life. Nice work Mary, Manav and Jackson!

We Live in Aotearoa

Term 2 is underway already and Room 18 are busy learning all about this beautiful country we live in. We began our Aotearoa adventures this week by starting to use atlases and the internet to find out about the geography of our country. Can you answer these questions? What is the name of New Zealand's biggest lake? What is the strait of water between the South Island and Stewart Island called? What is the name of the National Park in the southwest of the South Island? Who was the first European to visit New Zealand? When was the Treaty of Waitangi signed? What is the largest city in New Zealand? What is the northernmost point of the North Island? Who is the current Deputy Prime Minister? Where and when were the last Commonwealth Games held in New Zealand? What was the first, second and third capital city of New Zealand? We are feeling pretty please with ourselves because now we can all tell you the answer to these questions. We are looking forward to discovering more about New Zealand in the next few weeks.

The Write Way

It's nearly the end of Term One already. Room 18 have been working hard all term and it's showing in their work. We recently did our writing sample and so many children have moved on from their levels at the end of last year! We have been enjoying writing narratives and have written about being shipwrecked on an island, finding a friend in an abandoned dog and a mystery story. We also retold the story of Lily and Ermine and wrote our own endings. You can watch the Lily and Ermine story if you like- it might make you want to get writing like Room 18 did! And remember, if you practice your spelling every day, you will see your writing get a little better every day, too!

A Day at Auckland Zoo

Check out the pictures of us at Auckland Zoo. Click on the images to view the pictures as a slideshow

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2014

Wow, another year is well under way. Week 4 already!

Welcome to Year 4, children of Room 18! We are going to have a fabulous year- I can't wait to get to know you all better and to see you learn lots of new and exciting things.

This term we are focussing on our school wide theme of Being a New Zealander. We are going to spend some time finding out about our country's amazing native birds as well as learning about some of the famous people, famous places and the cities of this beautiful country we live in. And later in the term, we will be going on a trip to somewhere I am sure you will all love but I am not allowed to tell you about that, yet!

A big change for you guys this year is going to be homework. Homework is given out on a Monday with your spelling words and you have until Friday to complete it and hand it in. Then I can mark it over the weekend to get it back to you and ready for more homework the following Monday. We will have a spelling test on Fridays, too and there will be prizes at the end of the term for the boys and girls who have learnt the most words.

I look forward to seeing you all next week with you parents, if they have the time, when we have Meet the Teacher Night on Thursday.