Week 5, Term 3

This week we are learning:

Maths
Room 17 and 19: Addition and Subtraction Strategies
Room 18: Multiplication and Division knowledge and strategies such as;

• Triangles: Understand that x is the same as 'groups of'.
• Circles: Use known times tables to solve unknown times tables.
• Squares: Use doubling and halving to solve multiplication problems.

Reading

This week we start our Guided Reading Programme again.  Children will be bringing books home each night that they have read in class each day.  Please expect a book everyday from Monday to Thursday.

• Lions: Word attack skills
• Vampires: "I think that means..."
• Cats: "I think that means..."
• Kiwis:"I think that means..." and clearing roadblocks.
• Tigers: "I think that means..." and clearing roadblocks.

Writing

This week we are starting a new unit on Character Descriptions.  A character description follows this scaffold:

• Title
• Introduction
• Characteristics
• Evaluation

Our Writers Workshop focus will be:

• Physical description of a character.
• Describing a character.
• Person v Nature

Inquiry

This week we will continue conducting experiments.  The experiments we will be doing this week are:

• Make mine green and fizzy.
• Chemical popguns
• Dancing currants.

Winter Poems

Snow is like a blank piece of paper.
The snow is like foaming bubbles.
Sometimes it snows, sometimes you 
snuggle up by the fire.


By Sunny Day




When Snow Falls


Snow is like an egg, but softer and colder.
It can be as light as an eagle feather.
All snow is white like paper and pale is
what paper and snow should be like together.


By Te Karere




Snow


Snow, snow all white and puffy.
I could eat it, it looks like vanilla icecream.
Snowmen look like real people.
All nice and warm in your bed.
Have a milo to keep you warm.
Put the blanket over your head.


By Ariana




Windy Winter


The snow is cold.
The wind is as cold as Antarctica.
Frost is slippery.
The rain is as wet as the ocean.
Sometimes there are storms or it snows.
Snow looks like fluffy clouds.
At the supermarkets there are no crowds.
Mum says I can't go outside because I get
too wet.


By Heavenly




Snow is like a melting icecream falling on me.
White bits of snow all the way I see.
Snow is as crunchy as apples when I step on it.
Outside snow is to be thrown.
No bit of grass is to be seen.
You know snow is as smooth as your clothes.


By Claire




Snow
I like snow because it is fun.
Snow is bright like a light.
Everyone likes the snow.
So get outside and play in the snow.
I love snow because you can build
snowmen and forts.


By Shyloh




Snowy Snowballs
Snowy snowballs shiny as gold.
It's so bright it's like a diamond falling 
from the sky.
It's as easy to make a snow ball as
one, two, three.


By Jayden






Fluffy Snow
Snow is like a ball of white fluffy string.
It is white and fluffy and as cold as ice.
Snow is as soft as my cat's fur.
But snow is much colder than fur.
Snow is as fluffy as a white teddy bear
but it is as cold as a piece of ice.


By Taylor






Snow shines in the light.
People playing in snow.
Snow is as white as a polar bear.
Gumboots are worn outside.
Snow is cold like a freezer.
In warm homes with the heater on.
People having hot chocolate and watching TV.
School's closed for days.


By Marshall




Falling Snow
Snow can be thick to play in.
Snow can be cold.
Snow can be cold to pick up.
Snow can freeze your body.


By Caleb




Snow is like a big puffy cloud.
Now it is crunchy like an apple.
Our people scream so loud!
Whoa! At night it kind of glows.
Men don't melt, but snowmen do.
Even though you like to play in the snow
it is freezing.
Now you're inside nice and warm instead
of in the cold.


By Isobelle

SCHOOL IS OPEN!!

Avondale School will be open with a 10am start tomorrow - Thursday!  See you all then!


Remember your gumboots, slippers and warm clothes!

Duvauchelle Trip

Our trip to Duvauchelle has been postponed for tomorrow.  Details of a new trip day will follow.  This is currently being organised.  

I am not sure yet if school is open tomorrow  - but if it is...

I am not sure if the book parade will still be happening tomorrow for book week.   Children might want to put a costume in their bags just in case.  The theme was movie characters or movie stars (celebrities).

If school is open we will be running an alternative programme tomorrow in Room 18.  It will be based around the theme of snow, winter etc. 

 Please send your child to school in gumboots tomorrow and give them alternative shoes/slippers to wear in class.  Also ensure your child has warm clothing incase we have an opportunity to get outside and run off some energy.

SNOW DAY NUMBER 3!!

Avondale School is closed today (Wednesday)

See a list of activities posted on Monday.

You could also:

• use a digital camera to take photo's of the snow around your house and neighbourhood, print them and practice writing captions for them.  Bring them to school and show us.
• Write a character description about your snowman.
• Write a report about the weather we have been having.
• Complete your Current Events homework so you are ready to present it when school opens.  Remember your second report needs to be about something that has happened in New Zealand, but not in Christchurch.
• Write out the recipe for something you have eaten during the snow days.
• Write a poem about the snow.
• Draw a picture of what you can see out your window.

SNOW DAY NUMBER 2!

Avondale School is closed again today (Tuesday).

Please see the post from yesterday for activities to do at home.

Keep warm!

SNOW DAY!!!

Avondale School is closed today (Monday) due to snow!

Enjoy making snowmen, having snow fights and playing in the white stuff.  If you get bored remember you could:

• Read a lexile book and take a quiz.
• Complete some activities on Studyladder.
• Write an acrostic poem about the snow, winter etc.
• Do some of the activities on the websites to the right of this post.
• Write an imaginative story.
• Follow a recipe to make something for lunch (procedures).

Have fun guys and stay warm!  Dig out the beanies, thermals and scarves you were given at school and have some fun in the snow!

Book Fair

Remember the school book fair is this week. Come down and check out some quality books for purchase in the school library.  There will be lots of fun events going on at school during the week too.  Encourage your child to participate.

Week 3, Term 3

Wow - week 3 already!

This week we are learning:

Maths

This week there have been some changes to our maths programme and maths classes.  Some children have changed rooms for maths.

Room 18's maths class will be beginning multiplication and division.

Room 17 and Room 19's maths classes will continue addition and subtraction.

Reading

This week we will continue the AVAILLL reading programme.  Our movie is 'The Tale of Despereaux".  The children are doing really well this term with the activities that are related to the subtitles.

Writing

This week we will continue our procedural writing topic.  We are going to create a board game and write the rules that go with the game. Then we will test our games and see if our rules work, or if we need to make some changes.

Topic

This week we move onto the exciting 'gather and process' phase of our inquiry.  We get to actually start mixing some substances to see what happens!  We will be conducting two experiments this week.

Reminders

• Our trip to Duvauchelle is this Thursday.  Please ensure your child is at school before 9am as the bus will be leaving at 9am.
• Keep working on the current events presentations.  This weeks presentations have been excellent.
• On Tuesday we have some students from Mairehau High coming to speak to us at a Duffy assembly about why reading is important.
• Keep encouraging your child to read lexile books and complete quizzes.  
• Current Events presentations for this week: Marshall, Matrie, Te Karere, Jayden, Josh, Heavenly, Chloe, Isobelle, Harlem, Jasmine M, Sunny Day and Samara

This week's MVP is Chloe

Our assembly award went to Corban

Our Duffy award went to Ariana

Our first Lexile certificate went to Samara!

Week 2, Term 3

What a great week we had last week.  Everyone was refreshed and ready to learn again.

This week we are learning:

Maths
This week we continue working on different addition and subtraction strategies.  For the children who work in Room 18 for maths this is our last week on addition and subtraction.

Reading
This week is our second of four weeks in this block of the AVAILLL programme.  We will be read/watching two different movies this week.  The first is Earth, the power of the planet and the second is The tale of Despereaux.  The children really enjoyed Nim's Island last week.  There are two versions of this movie which have been printed as a book. One is the original chapter book, the other is a simpler book.

Writing
This week we continue our work on procedural writing.  This week our focus is writing recipes.
A procedure follows this scaffold:
Title
Goal: What is to be done?
Materials: What do we need?
Steps: How do we do it?
Evaluation: Was the goal achieved?

Topic
We will be continuing our topic on Fizzing and Foaming.  This week we will identify our supporting questions to help us answer our big question.  Then we will plan how and where we will find the information to answer our big question.

Reminders

• School photo's are this week.  Please ensure your child is in correct school uniform.  This means girls should not be wearing leggings under their dresses.  Children should not be wearing different coloured sweatshirts.  
• Encourage your child to read lexile books.  They all have new lexile levels, so a new range of books to read.  Completing quizzes on books means they earn points towards a lexile certificate.
• Current Events presentations begin on Monday.  Children presenting this week are: Sage, Corban, Ariana, Daniel, Taylor, Claire, Caleb, Jasmine AB, Te Ani, Samuel, Shyloh and Tahani.
• This term in art we are learning about painting.  Any egg cartons you have at home that you don't want we would appreciate.  Children will earn a green light towards the heart of achievement for each one they bring to school.

The MVP for this week is Josh.

The Duffy award winner was Jayden.

The class certificate went to Samara.

Welcome back to Term 3!!!

Welcome back to school for Term 3!  Gee those holidays went fast.  I hope you all had fun playing in the snow.

This week we will be learning...
Maths
All classes will continue working on addition and subtraction strategies for the next couple of weeks.  These strategies may include

• joining sets
• counting on (in ones and tens)
• using place value
• using compatible numbers
• splitting large numbers into smaller chunks

Reading
This week we begin our last four weeks of the AVAILLL reading programme. We will read/watch the movie Nim's Island and complete activities based on the subtitles.

Writing
This week we will begin a new writing unit on procedural writing.  A procedure follows this format:
Title:
Goal:  What is to be done?
Materials: What do we need?
Steps: How do we do it?
Evaluation: Was the goal achieved?

Inquiry
This term we are beginning a new Science inquiry on Fizzing and Foaming.  This week we will identify things that fizz, foam and ooze.  We will learn what these words mean.  Our big question is: What happens when two substances are mixed?

Reminders

• Encourage your child to read lexile books.
• Please make sure your child has warm, named clothing for cold playtimes.
• Our library day is Wednesday.  Please make sure your child has their library folder.
• Soccer on Friday - Children will need their uniforms.
• This term our art unit is painting.  We would appreciate any egg cartons you don't need to pour our paint into.