Our Clay Day

First we had a Clay Play Day when we could explore using clay.  Then we had a Clay Day when we made a tile and  a flower to sit on top. We learned how to take the air bubbles out of the clay; how to roll it into a square shape; fashion petals and stamens and attach them securely to the tile.  We made a criss cross pattern on the areas that touch and used plenty of slip to stick the petals in place.

We now have to wait about three weeks for them to dry out before firing them in the kiln.  You will be able to see the finished tiles at the Art Expo later this term.

Here we are rolling out the clay to make a tile.  We kept turning the board around to make sure that our clay was a square shape, and not just a long ribbon shape!

Here we are banging the air out of the clay.

We pressed in a glue stick lid to make the round centre of the flower, and then fixed petals around the circle.

Wed made sure that we scored the clay with a toothpick in a criss cross shape to help

We had to work carefully - our tiles took us a whole day to make!

Grandparents Day

On Wednesday, 26th July, the Junior School hosted a Grandparents Day where people shared their things and memories of school in the olden days.  We made a venn diagram with stickies to compare then and now.  It was interesting to see what was the same, such as skipping and chess; and what was different, things like computers, inkwells, fidget spinners and . . . the strap.  We also heard about games like Kiss Chase, school pet days and making terraniums.  Maybe we should try some of these!

After a sharing time, we served our guests morning tea.  Thankfully, there was plenty for everyone, including all the students.

Everyone made an invitation to send to a family member - here is a selection of invites

Everyone contributed to our venn diagram to compare past and present school life,

Kate O's Granny shared her photo album.

We played this board game from China, which is a lot like chess.

Mathew s with his Nana and Pop.

Kyan with his Nana.

Rhubarb - the Mystery Fruit

Leaf or stalk

Chopped up and ready to simmer.

Fruit starting to mush up.

The Lions read the  Junior Journal 44 story, That's the Idea, about gardening and the Zebras read Leaves.  Then we harvested some rhubarb from the school vegie garden; should we eat the leaves or the stalks?  Most people thought the leaves!  We chopped up the stalks with apple and cooked them  with water and sugar on a hot plate in the classroom.  The smell was delicious!  After the fruit had cooled, most people tried a little sample after lunch.

Kelly Sports

 Kelly Sports came to Cockle Bay and took every class at the school for a Kelly Sports session. It was a great way to start the new term!

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths)

We changed the slope of the ramp using more, or less, Maths books

We have one STEM lesson a week in Maths, with a different theme each term.  In term 1 STEM (Science),  we measured and recorded length in metres and centimetres to see how far different balls and marbles travelled down a ramp, and made comparisons.  In term 2 STEM (Technology,) we measured quantities in grams to make different substances.  In  term 3 STEM (ICT), we are learning to use and read non-digital code.

Matariki

We read the book, Matariki, and then we telescopes so we could view the Seven Sisters.  We drew Maori designs around the telescope, and cellotaped black paper at one end.  We pinpicked seven hopes in the black paper to make the constellation, which we could see when we held the telescope up to the light.  We started these in term 2 and just had them finished in time for the end of Matariki in week 1.

Reading Logs

We counted up the total nights of reading we have done since the beginning of the year, and then we stood in order of number.  Hinus was our champion with 104 nights of reading - fabulous work!