Class Dojo in Class Term 2

Term 1 is done and dusted. Thanks, Room 18 for all your hard work this term.

Next term, we are going to start using Class Dojo and I have just been creating your class avatars. Aren't they cute? I can't wait to start using these! You will get individual or group points for things like mastery of learning, beautiful bookwork, working together or being ready to learn. At the end of the week we will have rewards for the highest scorers like extra minutes in Golden Time or "game time" on the iPads.
 

Have a happy and safe holiday, Room 18!

Spelling Homework

I have had a few parents say that the weekly spelling words have not made it home with the homework so I thought I would upload the spelling lists the children are currently working through so that they can be accessed from home should the notebook go AWOL.

The children will write down new spelling words for the week on Mondays and will be tested on Fridays. In the back of the children's homework books is a graph where they record their score on the test so that everybody at home can see how they are progressing.

The whole class are working on the same list and at the moment we have just finished List C. Sometime next term when I will retest the whole class to see if any children can be moved on to the next level.

The lists until the end of term will be the following:
Week 6: List D
Week 7: List E
Week 8: List F
Week 9: List G
Week 10: List H
Week 11: List E- (Test on Thursday)

Happy spelling, Room 18!

Pasifika Showcase

After the fabulous success of our Pasifika Showcase last year, we decided to do it all over again this year. The Piwakawaka Team are discovering all about the Cook Islands and will be presenting to you a song and a dance as well as a play.

We are super busy in class learning the words and tune to the beautiful song Tiare Maori. I would love for the children in Room 18 to practice singing the song at home as well so that we are the class in the year group which sounds the best.

And we have held auditions and have selected a group of 18 girls from the Piwakawaka Team to perform a dance. They have been busy learning to dance with the grace of an Island girl. Girls, if you wish to perfect your moves at home this is the link to the dance.

We are looking forward to sharing our items with our families in Week 8 on the 27th of March.

2015 in Room 18

Hi there Parents and Guardians,

I am really looking forward to getting to know your children this year and working with them. I can't believe how quickly the time is flying by and that we are into Week 5 of the first term already!

This year in Room 18 we have a composite class. This means we have two year levels within the one class. There are 15 Year 3 children in the class and 11 Year 4s. We are the only composite class in the school this year which is actually pretty special because we because we have lots of different capabilities and strengths within our class.

For those of you who don't already know me, I have been a teacher for about 13 years. I for taught for five years in London and have been back in NZ at PCS since 2006. I am a parent myself and have a three year old son, William.

I love teaching and am passionate about seeing your child succeed at school. If you haven't already popped in to introduce yourself to me, please do so as I believe a child's education is a partnership between the child, the school and home.

You are also most welcome to drop me a line: jenniferr@pcs.school.nz with any questions, news or queries you may have.

Here's to new adventures in Room 18 in 2015,

Jennifer Rands-Trevor

Swimming Slideshow.

Here are the pics I took last term of our class at the Papatoetoe Centennial Pools. See how much fun we had! Term 3 in the Papatoetoe Pool on PhotoPeach

Term 3 in Review

I am just looking through the homework books and reading the lovely comments from my class about the term we have just completed. I thought I would share some with you.

Joanna: My proudest moment was when I won two gold medals in inter-school chess. (Joanna, you are fabulous!)

Ritorya: My proudest moment was when I came 5th in inter-school cross country. (Ritorya, you are amazing!)

Gaylene: My proudest moment was when I came 1st in the school cross country. (Gaylene, you are very fast! I bet you will go to Zones next year)

Abhinay: My proudest moment was when I was selected to represent my school in the inter-school cross country. (Abhinay, you are a great sportsman with a super attitude)

Lucy: My proudest moment was when I competed in inter-school gymnastics (Lucy, your scores for the beam and mat were outstanding!)

Andy: My proudest moment was when I did the writing sample. (Andy, you are getting to be such an amazing writer!)

Paul: My proudest moment was when I got a better score in the PAT Maths test. (Paul, I am really pleased with your progress, too)

Phoenix: My proudest moment was when I got a Ka Pai for excellent number knowledge. (Phoenix, I am really enjoying seeing your confidence in Maths improve)

Manav and Sahibdeep: My proudest moment was when I performed in the Pacifica Showcase. (You guys were fab)

Mary: The funniest moment was when we were on the mat and my teacher's phone was like "Hello, hello, hel-lo-ow!" (My Minions are not supposed to call me during class time)

Damien-Joe: My favourite part of break time is when I go to the garden. (Damien, we love having you in the gardening group)

Puipui: My favourite part of break time is when I go to gymnastics training. (Puipui, it's really neat to see you making the most of the break time opportunities at PCS)

I loved reading about how much you enjoy playing with your friends at break times as good friendships make your days at school so much more enjoyable and rewarding. It is great to see you are still making new friends in Term 3 as well. (Raj, Mary, Balraj, Fazileen)

I love the goal setting I read from Fazileen, Nathan, Savyo, Raj, Balraj and many others. Keep up the good work, guys!

I just want to add... as a teacher, everyday I am grateful for the opportunity to work with such an amazing, talented group of kids. It is a pleasure to come to school each day and see you all progress in your own unique and incredible ways.

Keep up the excellent work as we head into Term 4.

So, how was school today?

This is a post for parents.
I was thinking the other day about how little I used to tell my parents about my school day and noticed that now I am a parent myself, when I ask my son about his day I also get very short answers. I went in search of some ideas on how to draw some decent answers out of children about how their day went.
I thought I would share these with you all. I know everyday in our class is different and fun and interesting and that every day your child is learning a little bit more... but when I hear the kids telling you about their day outside the class at 3pm, I can hear they too are giving you the boring answer. So how about giving a few of these questions a go to see if you can get a better answer than "Fine" or "Good"? Because I am very sure that if you ask the right question you will get the right answer.

1. What was the best thing that happened at school today? (What was the worst thing that happened at school today?)
2. Tell me something that made you laugh today.
3. If you could choose, who would you like to sit by in class? (Who would you NOT want to sit by in class? Why?)
4. Where is the coolest place at the school?
5. Tell me a weird word that you heard today. (Or something weird that someone said.)
6. If I called your teacher tonight, what would she tell me about you?
7. How did you help somebody today?
8. How did somebody help you today?
9. Tell me one thing that you learned today.
10. When were you the happiest today?
11. When were you bored today?
12. If an alien spaceship came to your class and beamed someone up, who would you want them to take?
13. Who would you like to play with at break that you've never played with before?
14. Tell me something good that happened today.
15. What word did your teacher say most today?
16. What do you think you should do/learn more of at school?
17. What do you think you should do/learn less of at school?
18. Who in your class do you think you could be nicer to?
19. Where do you play the most at break?
20. Who is the funniest person in your class? Why is he/she so funny?
21. What was your favorite part of lunch?
22. If you got to be the teacher tomorrow, what would you do?
23. Is there anyone in your class who needs a time-out?
24. If you could switch seats with anyone in the class, who would you trade with? Why?
25. Tell me about three different times you used your pencil today at school.

I found these gems on the Huffington Post website and just loved them. Give a few of them a try and let me know how you get on....

Jennifer