Monsters vs Aliens

This morning Tui class had a mystery activity to complete.

1. Children were put into pairs

2. Pairs were split, one person to one side of the room, the second  person to the other.

3. The class were told their activity was a surprise so they had to stay on their side of the room and ensure their backs were to their buddies and their work was hidden.

Have I given you a hint about what the lesson is about?  The children were a little scared as to what was going on but excited too!

4. I took each group outside separately and gave instructions.  They were designing a creature however they liked, using whatever colours, shapes and sizes they wanted.  They had to think about what features they would want included.  One group was told to draw an alien, the other told to draw a monster.

5. The groups went and created their assigned creature.

Then.... 

6. Once the pictures were finished, children were told they had to write a title "How to draw my..." 

7. Children then had to write instructions on how to draw their creature.  They had to think about how they drew it.  Instructions would need to be clear and detailed.  

How would we know we had been successful? 

8. After we had completed our instructions, the pairs were reunited and swapped books.  Each person was given a new piece of paper.  Following their buddies instructions they drew the creature.

9. Once completed, the buddies presented their pictures.  Did they look the same as the original creation? 

Why? Why Not? 

10. Reflection time! Were we successful? Why? Why not? What would we change? What might have worked better if we were to do it again? Are instructions important? Why? 

This was a fun activity with some awesome learning.  Check out some of our examples below!

   

🏃 Beep Test Fitness 🏃

We have started cross-country training!

On Mondays and Tuesdays we do a run (either in school or a loop out of school around the road) and on Thursdays we do the beep test.  The aim is to personally improve our fitness. This is a time-lapse Mrs Cutler took this morning 😁

Human Digger Track

Today's Mahi Tahi task (where the Year 5 - 8s come together each Tuesday to work as one) was to create a human digger track.  All of the team had to be on the inside.  The track needed to be strong and the team had to communicate effectively to ensure the track moved them from one end of the court to the other. This task required critical thinking, communication and collaboration.

We saw the tracks being strengthened by folding paper, adding extra layers, laying paper over top of the joins in a brick like fashion. 

When everyone had finished we had groups test their tracks in our Mahi Tahi Space - Piwakawaka.  Then those that were successful went out to the court to race! It was great fun to make these and work together - we were really successful! 

Reflecting... 💭

We are always reflecting on our learning in Tui class. At the end of each day we chat about something we found interesting, something new we discovered, something we found challenging or an act of kindness we saw.... Last week we stepped this up by creating our own digital weekly review ..."A Peek at the Week". The prompts for the week go up on Monday so that the children have these in mind as the week goes by.

Tui kids are able to get creative on Google Draw with their weekly review. We then share these reflections to our blogs.

Reflection is important, it helps us to set new goals and think about ourselves, our progress, and challenges in our learning. It also really helps us when our big people ask how our day was!! We can share more than just... "gooooooooooooood"

G.R.E.A.T

Today is Marcellin Day.  Marcellin is the name of one of our whanau groups and he is also a saint.
We celebrate Marcellin Day by giving service.
This morning at Mass, Father discussed what it means to give service and be 'great'.
He gave us an acronym to help us to remember how to be great.

G - Generous.
Be generous with your time, be generous with your words, be generous with your kindness and service.

R - Reliable.
Be the kind of person people can rely upon.  When you say or offer something, follow through.  Keep your word. Make sure people can trust that you will be there for them.

E - Encourage.
Encourage others, be supportive, be kind, give put ups and affirmation.

A - Accepting.
Accept others without judgement.  Be respectful of differences. Understand that we all have different opinions and ideas, we all are individual and unique and that's OK!

T - Thankful.
Be grateful for all that you have.  Acknowledge what you have and thank all who have contributed to it.

We had some amazing discussion in class after Mass about how to be GREAT.  Tui kids completed an activity in their Faith Journals to remind them 😇