Stonefields Rocks

Grasshopper Tennis

2012-03-08T15:31:00.000+13:00

Today we were lucky enough to have some volunteers from Grasshopper Tennis come and teach us tennis skills. We had so much fun with them and can't wait until they come to see us again next week!

Marine Rescuers

2012-03-07T10:27:00.004+13:00

Marine rescuers rescue underwater animals that are trapped.

Kelly Tarlton's has a lot of underwater animals. Marine rescuers rescue sharks, turtles, penguins and small fish, seals and stingrays and lots of other underwater animals. Kelly Tarlton's is near Kohimaramara Bay.

If the animals are caught in a net the marine rescuers untangle or cut the net. Marine rescuers are very good for underwater animals and the environment. They feed the animals for a while then they let the animals free into the sea.

Marine rescuers rescue underwater animals because they care about them and if all the animals die there won`t be any animals in the sea and that would be sad.

Top Town!

2012-03-06T10:50:00.002+13:00

On Sunday, a group of learners from LH2 went to top town at Glover Park. They had lots of fun doing all sorts of crazy activities, and were given certificates and prizes at the end! Thanks so much to the parents who helped make this possible. Check out the awesome photos!

Breakthrough 2012

2012-03-02T21:07:00.000+13:00

We have had our next breakthrough session for 2012 and there is so much learning going on! Some learners are investigating water, others are creating puppets, and still others are building a worm farm. Check out these photos to see more of what we are doing!

Juliana's Holidays

2012-02-23T13:33:00.001+13:00

Juliana had a fantastic holiday break and kept track of what she did by writing a journal. Then she and her Dad put together this video. Check it out!

Making Friends

2012-02-21T14:00:00.002+13:00

Stonefields School has so many friends that you can make friends with. To make friends, we use our school values. Being Respectful is very important, because if you not respectful or not playing fair to your friends, they would say " I'm not playing with you anymore, I will find another friend." That's why respect is a very important thing to do with your friends.
We are also Inclusive at Stonefields School. When there are new people at school, we include them by asking them if they want to play with us. When I started at Stonefields School, I made so many friends to play with because they included me in their games. Now I have lots of friends to play with and I include other new people in my games.
It is easy to make new friends at Stonefields School.

About Breakthrough

2012-02-19T12:26:00.000+13:00

On Friday it was Breakthrough. Breakthrough is something that you choose to learn more about because you are passionate about it or something that you are interested in. For breakthrough my hub and I were doing different sorts of things. There were activities on the computers and some things on the floor. First we got in little groups and then we started doing the activities. We only had 15 minutes on each activity. The ones that I enjoyed the most was art, sewing, time, machines and marbles. It was very fun doing Breakthrough. Next week we will start our own Breakthrough projects based on our passions. I can't wait!

Going to the Wetlands

2012-02-17T16:15:00.000+13:00

Last Thursday we went to the wetlands for a picnic. In this picture we are all having lunch there. We got to play some sports and some games. The game was tag and I was in. I had fun at the wetlands and it was cool there. We saw our friends and we played with the skipping rope too. We got to play with the parachute and there were some people that were the sharks and they tried to get our feet and pull us under. Then we had some races. Finally we went back to school. It was a fantastic day.

About LH2

2012-02-14T10:38:00.006+13:00

Learning Hub 2 is really cool and it has a lot of fun things to do, like doing really cool stuff on the computer. We also do art and do reading and maths. We make a lot of friends. New people come in hub 2 and we are inclusive of them. There are lots of year 2's and year 3's and year 4's. Our teachers are called Mrs Hamilton and Miss Campbell and Miss Rennie. We have three teachers in our hub. They are really cool and funny. Mrs Hamilton is my guardian teacher. There are 56 of us in our hub. All the people in Hub 2 are my friends. My best friend is Ashton. Luca is my best friend too he is funny. I love hub 2 and Stonefields School.

New year, New Learners!

2012-02-10T17:44:00.001+13:00

Welcome back to Learning Hub 2 in 2012! We are so excited to start the year with 3 teachers and 56 learners, all learning together. We have enjoyed getting to know each other and learning how to collaborate together. Today we had breakthrough and started with an immersion day so that we could learn more about what our passions and interests are. Next week we will be choosing a passion led project to begin! Take a look at us discovering in Hub 2.

Celebrating our Foundation Year

2011-12-16T16:33:00.002+13:00

We have reached the end of our foundation year at Stonefields School. We have learned so much! To celebrate, we all created a piece of art on canvases, called "Foundation Celebration." Take a look and see how amazing they are!
Thanks so much to all our followers and commenters, we'll be back next year ready to share more exciting learning with you. Have a fantastic holiday, see you next year!

Visitors: Hub 2 2012

2011-12-14T09:36:00.000+13:00

Today we had visits from all of the children who will be in Learning Hub 2 next year. We played collaborative games, wrote poems about what we are looking forward to, created art about our strengths and looked at the Stonefields School learner qualities. Here are Josiah, Thomas and Georgia showing us one of them. Can you guess which one?

How to Take Great Photos: Photography of Objects

2011-12-07T12:02:00.000+13:00

This week, our photography goal was to take photos of the same object that showed it in different ways. Have a look and see what we came up with! Which is your favourite photo? Leave a comment and let us know.

Taking Great Photos

2011-11-29T13:50:00.000+13:00

This week we have been learning how to take awesome photos. We have looked at lots of different photos and discussed what makes us like them. We built our knowledge about different angles and compositions of photos, made meaning by comparing different photos and sorting them into groups. Finally, we applied our understanding by taking some AMAZING photos. Take a look and tell us what you think!

Writing: Harry's Strange Acts

2011-11-22T07:58:00.000+13:00

Here is Harry to share with you his writing. What do you think of his story? Leave him a comment and let him know!

Inquiry Learning: How Camouflage Works

2011-11-11T15:23:00.000+13:00

Miss Rennie's inquiry group have been learning all about how camouflage works. Take a look at their pictures of their interesting creatures that can mimic their surroundings!

How to give good instructions: Blindfold Edition

2011-11-08T10:18:00.000+13:00

Today as part of our learning how to give good instructions, the Year 2's got into pairs and blindfolded each other. Then they tried to walk from one end of the hub to the other, listening to their partners instructions. It was hard work and meant that their partner had to give clear instructions using words like turn, right, left, sidestep and STOP!
We got better and better as we practiced and now we know more about how to give good instructions.

By Ashton and William.

Math Concepts: Greater than and less than

2011-11-03T19:52:00.002+13:00

Lawson has created this slideshow in iPhoto to share his learning with you about greater than and less than symbols. Check his equations - has he got them all right? If so, leave him a comment and tell him so!

Giving Instructions

2011-11-01T15:47:00.002+13:00

Here we are learning how to give clear, exact instructions. We are going to be learning all about how to write instructions this term, so practicing giving them has really helped us! Who do you think gave good instructions and why? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Inquiry: How things work

2011-10-26T13:59:00.001+13:00

This term, Learning Hub 1 and 2 are collaborating to learn all about how things work. We had a very exciting discovery time on Tuesday and got to wander around LH2 and look at all the interesting displays. We read books, looked at movie clips and had some hands on fun with different equipment. Then we got to choose an inquiry group - buildings, space, bones, camouflage or food science. We are going to be in these groups for the first part of the term, before we get to choose another inquiry and do it all again! It will be interesting to compare our two inquiries and make connections between them. Have a look at the slideshow to see us exploring!

Amy's cPhone

2011-10-12T19:16:00.000+13:00

Here is Amy to tell you all about her amazing product, the cPhone. See if you can work out why she named it that!

Michelle's Advertisment

2011-10-05T19:24:00.000+13:00

Here is Michelle's ad for her amazing invention. Were you persuaded to buy it? How much would you pay? Let her know in the comments!

Learning Showcase

2011-10-04T19:22:00.000+13:00

Last week, our parents came to school to find out all about the learning in LH2. We showed them our inventions and got them to participate in a silent auction to win the honour of a photo with the invention! It was heaps of fun and our parents were fantastic sports. Take a look at the photos to find out more!

A True Poem

2011-09-29T12:36:00.000+13:00

A True Poem (it is a lie poem)

We jump on our heads
we eat upside down
we eat banana skins
as we wear a crown.

We live out in space
our faces are square
which means we can't race
and that we can't bear.

By Zeb

My Pet Mammoth

2011-09-27T11:55:00.004+13:00

My pet Mammoth

My pet mammoth is silly

so I called him Billy.

Billy can walk on two legs and drink tea.

Billy adores me.

He goes where ever I go

but some times I say NO!

He keeps me company when I am sick

and when I'm bored I teach him tricks.

His favourite food is sheep

and eating makes him go to sleep.

He ways 100,000 tons

and he is a lot of fun!

By Savannah.

Ethan at the Rugby

2011-09-21T11:30:00.000+12:00

In the weekend, Ethan went to the rugby in Hamilton with his family. Then he and his Dad made this movie. Check out Ethan's time at the rugby!

Poem by Lawson

2011-09-20T16:18:00.000+12:00

Breakfast For a Hawk

Along the orange edge

of day

a shadow webs through

the black forest

for a black breakfast.

He clamps

upon his prey satisfied

with himself,

he eats in comfort.

Oral Language

2011-09-19T16:03:00.000+12:00

We have been focusing on persuading others for oral language this term. Today we each picked an object in the class that we thought we could sell to other people in the hub. When the music stopped, we tried to sell the object to the first person we saw. The winner then challenged another winner, until we ended up with two groups trying to persuade each other to buy two items. Take a look at the photos to see the items that we chose to sell!

Construction Day!

2011-09-15T16:16:00.001+12:00

Here we are constructing our future technologies. It was a really fun day full of assembling, gluing and lots of interesting wonderings. Thanks to our parents who came to help!

Values: Respect

2011-09-09T08:13:00.001+12:00

Here are Dasha, Jaxon, Sarah and Michelle to share how they showed respect for others. Well done, guys!

Values: Respecting Others

2011-09-08T07:58:00.003+12:00

Here are Miduran, Caleb, Kush and William to share their movie about respect! Leave them a comment and tell them how they went!

Reading: Noeramiah's Poem

2011-09-07T11:02:00.000+12:00

During reading time, the Pumice group have been learning how to "make connections between text types and identify text features whether they are reading text or being a writer themselves." This week, they read poems from different school journals, looked at the different text features that made that poem special, and then wrote a similar poem themselves.

Noeramiah read the poem from SJ Part 2, Number 3, 2009 called Blackbird. She then wrote this poem:

White Bird.

There is twitter,
there is flight,
there is a sweet song
with other birds.

Feathers soft,
eyes are blue,
wings up
in the air.

Breezy air
across the sky,
wings fluttering
up and down
with other birds -
family and
friends.

There are chirping
sounds I hear,
a sweet song
in the trees,
the most beautiful
sounds I have heard
from a white bird.

Have a look at the school journal if you'd like to compare this poem with the original! Leave Miah a comment and tell her what you think.

Values: Respect

2011-09-07T07:57:00.000+12:00

Here are Muatau, Amy, Lawson and Josiah to show their movie about respecting others.

Respect from Stonefields School on Vimeo.

Values: Showing Respect using iMovie

2011-09-06T07:48:00.000+12:00

Today, Anthia and Dasha taught us all how to make a movie using still images in iMovie. They were very good teachers, and we were soon off to make our own movies about the value of respect. Here is Ethan's group to share their movie with you.

Respect from Stonefields School on Vimeo.

Cricket Fun!

2011-09-01T14:23:00.011+12:00

We got to learn all about cricket today, with the help of Nick from Auckland University Cricket. We ran and threw and caught. We got to play really fun cricket games. One involved a lava pit! Check out the photos to see us in action. Can you see us throwing underarm and overarm? Leave us a comment and tell us how you think we went!

Measurement: Volume and Capacity

2011-08-25T14:54:00.000+12:00

Today we have been exploring volume and capacity in LH2. We pretended we were throwing a party, and did lots of fun activities like finding the right sized bowl for our jelly, choosing cups that would be a good shape and size and designing lolly baskets! Take a look at the clip above to see us in action.

Our Visitors: Vietnam

2011-08-23T08:58:00.000+12:00

We have been investigating the places our visitors come from. Lawson, Francis and Miduran found out the top ten facts about Vietnam. Here they are:

1. The presidents' name is Nguyen Minh Triet
2. There are more than 55 languages spoken in Vietnam.
3. Vietnamese food is considered one of the most healthy yet divine foods world wide.
4. Vietnamese people wear clothing similar to the clothing that is popular around the world, although in high school, Vietnamese girls may wear the Ao Dai.
5. The weather in Vietnam is tropical which makes it great to travel to.
6. In the 1980's the people lived in villages but now they live in cities.
7. The population is 83 million.
8. The land area is 329, 566 square km.
9. The capital city, Hanoi, has 4 million people.
10. The official language is Vietnamese.

Position and Orientation: Reflection, Rotation and Translation

2011-08-18T13:11:00.001+12:00

We have been looking at reflection, rotation and translation recently during strand maths time. Take a look at the clip to find out what these words mean and look like!

Recount Writing: Holidays

2011-08-12T07:51:00.000+12:00

Here is Muatau to share his recount of the holidays with you. Has he used all the features of a recount? If so, leave him a comment.

Muatau’s day off school.

On my holidays, on Wednesday was the best day ever because me and my family went out shopping at Silvia Park on 12 0’clock,The road was as wet as a pond and it was cold. Meanwhile my little sister was at school. We went to Dick Smith to get our new TV. It was as busy as a traffic jam. I was playing on a play station, it was free .While I was playing I was afraid that my parents will leave without me.I watched as other people were watching the TV in display on the shelf.

Five minutes later I was in the car. My dad and mum had a walk behind Dick Smith, then we stopped,that’s where we got our TV. It was quite heavy. We drove home for about a few minutes, we past one of my friends house from my old school.Then we got to St Johns, that's where I live.

I was sitting on my couch watching TV, but the antenna was not on the roof, so I had to climb onto the roof of my house. It was terrifying; I was so scared I thought I was going to fall. After that I went back to
watching TV. I felt fine and it was nice to relax and watch.

By Muatau

Our Visitors: France

2011-08-10T08:51:00.000+12:00

We have been looking excitedly at the world map on our blog this week and have been amazed at all the different countries who have been visiting us! We thought it would be a great idea to learn more about the countries our visitors come from, since some of them might even be coming here for the Rugby World Cup! We got into groups of 2 or 3 and researched some of the countries. Caleb, Zeb and Ashton researched France, using keywords so that they could find the information they needed easily. Here are the top 10 facts they discovered about France:

1. France is the largest european country as it is nearly 20% of the territory.
2. The most popular sports are football, rugby league and rugby union.
3. Good morning in French is "bonjour."
4. Good evening is "bonsoir."
5. 54% of French people identify themselves as being christian.
6. The capital of France is Paris.
7. Almost 70% of the land in France has been reserved for National Park.
8. The city of Paris has 2,160,000 people living there.
9. The average temperature in January is 39F and in July is 69F.
10. The Eiffel Tower is the most famous symbol in France and is in Paris.

Holiday recounts

2011-08-05T17:37:00.000+12:00

Over the holidays we were kept very busy by catching up with their friends and family and visiting different places. We are learning how to write recounts that include lots of detail and have time connectives. Please read our stories and see how you think we went.

Sleepover fun!

By Kush

On Saturday I was going for a sleep over at my friends house. When my mum and dad dropped me off it was time for the fun to begin! After a while there was a knock on the door. I wondered who it might be. Then out came our friend- he was having a sleep over too. We said that we wanted to watch Cars 2. The adults said “yes” and we spent about half of the night watching Cars 2. Then we started to argue about who was going to tell a story first. In the end we decided that Cars 2 was our story, then we drifted off to sleep.

When we woke up my other friend (whose name is Jushant) and I were teasing our other friend, Smit who was still in bed. Suddenly Smit’s brother, called Rudra, crawled into the room when we were not looking. But me and Jushant saw him and jumped onto the bed. Then he tripped and landed on sleeping Smit. “ Arghhhhhhh” Smit groaned.

After that we went to the museum. We saw volcanoes, dinosaurs and tree houses. It was fun, especially when we saw the BMW. Then we went home.

My trip to Wellington

By Roquia

On the first day of school Holidays was my best day ever because I was going to Wellington in an airplane .First we jumped in the car and drove to the airport with my family.

We had already packed our bags soon as we climbed in the airplane everybody put on their belts. After we waited for the plane to start I felt exited. Then the plane started I felt like I was growing bigger and bigger when the plane went higher and higher.

Then the plane started to go straight. I felt like I was at a place with lots of chocolate and ice cream with jelly on top. I waited for an hour then we hopped out of the plane. We kept walking till we got to the Wellington airport .

My family waited for my uncle to come then we skipped into the car to get to my uncles house. When we got there I watched some Nickelodeon movies and it was spongbob then we watched a scary movie and the part where I got scared was the part where I fell asleep.

Then I woke up up at midnight when everybody was sleeping I crept into the living room and kept watching the movie.Then my mum woke up she saw the TV on so she grabbed the remote and turned the TV off then she went back to sleep I felt sleepy too so I went back to sleep.

On the next day I went to the warehouse and I bought a book,shoes and a beanie I also bought gloves. Then we watched a movie it was yogi bear .

Then we got in the car and drove back to Auckland. During the time where we were in the car I saw a mountain and it was full of snow.

I felt like I didn't want to leave Wellington but I had to. Finally we got home.I had the best day ever at Wellington.

School is out!
By Michelle

In the school holidays I helped my Mum in the cattery.

The first thing I did was to let the cat out of the cage so then I could clean the cage out so then it was clean for them to enjoy.

The second thing I did was to empty the dirt tray. Next I had to take the bed out to brush all the fur off because the other cats might go into the cage and the other cat might of had the fleas and that cat would get the fleas.

After that I gave the water bowl to my Mum to clean ready for the next cat to drink out of. Next, I filled all the clean dirt trays with litter for the next cat to go. Then I played with the other cats for ten minutes. Ten minutes later I helped my Mum give the cats fresh water.

Near closing time I started to gather all the litter , leaves and fur so then the cat don’t eat it and get sick. When I finished sweeping the tiles the last customer came to bring their cat I gave the cat its water and dirt tray and put the cat in the cage and went back in the office.

Outside the cattery I played with all the cats through the wires and one of the workers came up to me and gave me the keys to put it back in the draw. Then I went back outside to play with the cats and the cats went into a fight so I stopped playing with them and went inside.

Around the World

2011-08-03T17:26:00.001+12:00

Welcome back to Term 3! We are all excited about the new learning opportunities we will have this term. We have begun the term by looking at the world and using a map to look up other countries. This week, we all brought an item from another country to school. We shared our item with the class and then put pins in the map to show where it came from. It was very interesting to see all the different ways Learning Hub 2 is connected with the world. The slideshow above shows you all our items. Can you guess where any of them came from? Leave us a comment and share your ideas!

Breakthrough: Robot Instructions

2011-07-28T13:07:00.000+12:00

Noeramiah, Josiah and Natasha were given a problem at the start of the term. Mrs Jackson had a robot that had no instructions and she didn't know how to use it! They accepted the challenge of finding out how to operate it and putting together a book of instructions for Mrs Jackson. Here are the finished instructions, put together in iPhoto. What do you think? Could you operate the robot using these instructions?

Wetlands Inquiry: Savannah's Pamphlet

2011-07-27T13:01:00.000+12:00

Savannah's Pamphlet is the final piece of our website to be finished and is now available to be downloaded on the website! Click here to visit the website and see all the content on the Stonefields Wetlands. Haven't we done an awesome job? Leave us a comment and tell us what we should add next!

Breakthrough: Amy's Solar System

2011-07-26T12:33:00.000+12:00

Amy has been learning all about the solar system. She put together this keynote to share her learning with you. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them for her to answer!

Bat Ball

2011-07-23T13:04:00.000+12:00

During his breakthrough time, Francis has been learning all about how to create a game. First, he researched different games and the parts that were needed to make them work. Then he made lists of all the parts he might like to include in his game. This was called making meaning. Finally, he synthesised his information and created a new game called BAT BALL to apply his understanding. See if you can play this game with your friends and leave Francis some feedback!

BAT BALL
By Francis

Equipment
3 cones
tennis ball
20 people (2 even teams)
cricket bat

Area
Hall, grass or hard surface

Formation
Three cones in a large triangle

Instructions
The batter stands with the bat at one cone.
The bowler stands with the ball at another cone.
Bowler throws the ball underarm to the batter.
The batter hits the ball and run to the third cone and back again. This is called a ‘gallop.’
The fielders have to try to catch the ball before it hits the ground, or throw it back to the bowler before the batter reaches the 1st cone again.
The more times a batter runs to the 1st and 3rd cones and back without the ball going back to the bowler, the more runs they get.
The batter stops running when the bowler gets the ball.
The game continues until all the players in the batting team have run.
Both teams switch positions.
The team with the highest gallop score wins.

Breakthrough: Dinosaur Animation

2011-07-21T12:24:00.001+12:00

Miduran and Muatau have been learning all about dinosaurs in their breakthrough time. They decided they wanted to share what they had learned by creating an animation. They got lessons from Mr Hale and then put those lessons into practice all by themselves. Take a look at their first animation, created using I Can Animate.
Dinosaur Animation from Stonefields School on Vimeo.

Term 2 PMI: Part 2

2011-07-19T12:20:00.000+12:00

Here is the second half of the highlights, challenges and next steps for the children in Learning Hub Two. We hope you enjoy hearing all about it!

Savannah performing Rockin' Robin

2011-07-17T15:17:00.000+12:00

Today Savannah performed a concert for the learners in Hub 2. During her breakthrough time she learned how to play the guitar, organise a concert and put together an advertising poster. She had to make sure that the songs she chose were going to be fun for her audience to listen to. Here is one of her songs, Rockin' Robin.

Term 2 Reflection: Part 1

2011-07-16T13:13:00.008+12:00

We have been reflecting on our learning here in Hub 2. We have had an exciting term full of lots of fun learning experiences. Here are some members of LH2 to share their reflections with you. Look out for the other ones later in the week!

Plants at the Wetlands

2011-07-15T09:01:00.000+12:00

Anthia and Francis have been researching the plants that can be found at the Stonefields Wetlands. They created a poster showing what they have learned. They had lots of help from the kind people at Natural Habitats Landscapes, who designed the wetlands. Thanks heaps to them for their help!

Wetlands Virtual Tour

2011-07-14T09:57:00.000+12:00

Muatau and Miduran have created a virtual tour of the Stonefields Wetlands. They wrote the script, filmed and edited it all themselves. Great job, boys!

Wetlands Virtual Tour from Stonefields School on Vimeo.

Wetlands Destruction

2011-07-13T15:53:00.000+12:00

Here are Lawson and Kush to share with you about what has been happening to wetlands all over New Zealand. What do you think we might do to help our wetlands? Leave Lawson and Kush a comment and let them know what you think.

Wetlands Inquiry - It Is Finished!

2011-07-12T15:45:00.000+12:00

We have finally finished all the fantastic projects that we set ourselves to do with being guardians of the Stonefields Wetlands. Over this week and the next, we will publish them on the blog. We have also made a website to host all of the information we have gathered, which will be ready very soon!
To start us off, Sarah and Roquia have written a song about being guardians of the wetlands and what it means to them. It is called "Wild Wetlands." We hope you like it! Please leave them a comment and tell them what you think.

Orange Day

2011-07-08T20:33:00.004+12:00

Our school participated in the annual Auckland City Mission's Orange Day. It is a day where people can bring along food, bedding and clothes to help Auckland people in need. Stonefields School decided to bring along food to help. This day was organised by William, Miduran, Kush and Muatau. They had to arrange notices, contact the Auckland City Mission and make sure that all the hubs knew about this special day.

We used our vision principle of Collaboration. This principle teaches us about the importance of working together and making a contribution to society. What can you do to contribute to your society?

Orange Day from Stonefields School on Vimeo.

Maths: Position and Orientation

2011-07-07T12:20:00.000+12:00

Today we learned all about position and orientation for maths. We learned how to make quarter turns, half turns and whole turns when following directions. We also learned our lefts and rights! Then we got to follow some fun instructions that our teachers had made and go all around the school. We are getting pretty good at following directions. Watch the movie and tell us what you think.

Wetlands Inquiry: Birds

2011-07-04T20:21:00.000+12:00

The Year 2's have been learning all about birds and their adaptations recently. They know what kinds of beaks birds need to catch their food, and the types of feet that are needed for different habitats. Today Miss Rennie asked them to design their own bird and describe the habitat that their bird would live in. Take a look at the clip and look at their amazing creations!

Reading With Expression: Roquia

2011-06-30T15:52:00.000+12:00

Here is Roquia to show you the expression in her voice while reading "Bowled Over." How do you think Callum was feeling in this part of the story? Leave Roquia a comment and tell her if she was successful!

Reading With Expression: Anthia

2011-06-29T19:08:00.001+12:00

This week, the Obsidian group have been working on reading with expression. Here is Anthia to share with you her reading of a page from "Bowled Over." See if you can guess how Callum, the main character in the book, is feeling by listening to her voice!

Learner Led Conferences

2011-06-28T18:33:00.000+12:00

Next Wednesday, Stonefields School will be conducting it's first ever student led conferences! Each learner will have 50 minutes to show their parents their learning and will connect with their teacher for 10 minutes of that time. In LH2, we have come up with lots of fun learning experiences to do with our parents and can't wait to show them all the things that we have been doing! Meanwhile, we are practicing hard so that we will have lots to tell them when we share where we are at with our learning. Watch the video to see a sneak peak into our practice sessions. How do you think we're going? Leave us a comment and let us know.

Pukeko Art

2011-06-24T17:01:00.000+12:00

Check out our amazing pukeko art! We have been working hard on drawing what we see, and the pukeko visitors on our fields and court make for great observational drawings! We used vivids and dye to create our masterpieces. What do you think?

3D Shapes

2011-06-22T16:10:00.001+12:00

This week we have been learning all about geometry. Miss Rennie showed us a cool presentation about faces, edges and corners of 3D shapes and then we created our own shapes from nets. Take a look! We think they're pretty cool...

Using Your Manners

2011-06-16T10:41:00.000+12:00

This week during oral language we have been looking at good manners. Here are Savannah, Dasha and Daniella to show you their awesome skit about tidying up after yourself. Great acting, girls! Leave them a comment and tell them about situations where you use your manners.

Wetlands Inquiry Update

2011-06-15T10:10:00.001+12:00

Our wetlands inquiry is heating up... The Year 3's and 4's are busy with passion led projects to do with how they can be guardians to our wetlands, while the Year 2's are learning all about the birds in our wetlands and how they can help them to survive. Soon we will have a wetlands website, a virtual guided tour around the wetlands, information on all the different flora and fauna at the wetlands and so much more for you to see and get involved with! Check us out, hard at work, in the slideshow.

Wetlands Inquiry from Georgie Hamilton on Vimeo.

Daniella's Report about Tearno

2011-06-14T08:16:00.000+12:00

Tearno Ricardo is nine years old. He is a boy. He lives with his sister, Daniella, his dog, Electra, his mum, Evelyn and his dad, Aston. He has brown eyes and he has black spiky hair. His mum is 27 and his dad is 34. His sister is 7. He likes to eat cucumber, lollies, cake, McDonalds and Wendy’s. He likes to play playstation and lego. Tearno goes to Stonefields School and he is in Hub 3. He is a Year 5.

By Daniella.

Ethan's report about his brother

2011-06-13T15:49:00.003+12:00

Ethan has been practicing his report writing skills and particularly keeping one idea to one sentence. Here is his report on his brother, Lochlan.

Lochlan Grant B is a boy. He is four years old. He lives with his mum, Brenda and his dad, Brad and his brother, Ethan. Ethan is six years old. Lochlan has blonde hair. He likes to watch girly movies and fight. He goes to kindy all day.

Charcoal Art

2011-06-10T09:54:00.000+12:00

In Learning Hub Two, we have been learning how to draw what we see. First, we practiced drawing animals that might live in our wetlands using sketching pencils. Then we experimented with charcoal to find techniques that would help us bring our animal to life. Finally, we used charcoal to create our animal. Take a look at the slideshow to see our process!

Zeb's Tahiti Adventure

2011-06-08T14:08:00.001+12:00

Zeb's Tahiti Adventure from Georgie Hamilton on Vimeo.

Zeb has put together this presentation to show the amazing time he had in Tahiti. He got to stay there for a whole week and he sure learned a lot! Take a look at the presentation.

Report Writing: Michelle

2011-06-03T13:33:00.000+12:00

Caleb would like to share with you his report about Michelle. He is working on using paragraphs effectively. How do you think he went? Tell him in the comments!

Michelle was born on the 17th of February 2003, in Auckland, New Zealand. She goes to Stonefields School in Mt Wellington and is a member of Learning Hub 2,

She has an older brother called Craig, who is in Hub 3. She lives with her mum, dad and brother. Her parents have their own company called Paws-a-while. They look after cats whose owners have gone on holiday. Michelle often helps her parents out by looking after the cats as well. She has her own cat called Porcha. It is black, white and ginger.

Michelle’s favourite sport is netball. She enjoys exploring places that she has never been to before. The most exciting thing she explored was when she was in her garden and found a red plant that has spikes on it.

When Michelle grows up she wants to be an animal rescuer.

By Caleb.

2011-06-02T12:49:00.000+12:00

Here is Muatau to share his report on Roquia. He has filmed himself in photo booth. His writing goal is to reread his writing to check if it makes sense. Does his report make sense? If so, please tell him!

Report Writing: Noeramiah

2011-06-01T11:26:00.000+12:00

Here is Lawson's Report on Noeramiah. He is working on using the correct structure for a report. Do you think he has succeeded? If so, tell him in the comments!

Noreamiah is an eight year old girl. She was born on the 28th of September 2002. Noreamiah is 136 centimeters tall. She does not like to play outside mostly but loves playing tag. When Noreamiah is outside she'll be playing tag. Noreamiah's favorite colour is light green. Her favorite food is grapes. When she grows up she would like to be a dancer.

Noreamiah has black hair, and she often wears a blue head-band. Her earrings are the same colour as her head band. Her eyes are dark brown and her skin is a little bit less dark as her eyes. She a fringe that sometimes goes over her eyes.

Noreamiah's family is large. She is the oldest child in her family and has a younger sister named Pativai and a younger brother named Clayton. Her sister is five years old, and her brother is three years old. Noreamiah has nine aunts, eleven cousins, four grandparents, a mum and a dad. Her mum is twenty eight years old and her dad is twenty nine years old.

Report Writing: Muatau

2011-05-31T11:09:00.001+12:00

Here is Roquia to share her report on Muatau with you. Can you identify the different paragraphs in her report and what they are about?

Report Writing: Savannah

2011-05-30T11:52:00.001+12:00

We have been writing reports about a buddy in LH2. First we had to write some questions that we wanted to ask them. Then we had to ask them the questions and write down the answers. Finally we had to make the answers into paragraphs to write a report. We also had to take a photo of our buddy and download it onto the computer.

Savannah

Savannah – Nicole was born on the 11^th of August 2002. She is eight years old .She was born in London.

Savannah has bushy dark brown hair and she has dark brown eyes. She is 142cm tall. Her skin colour is light brown.

Savannah is the only child in her family. Her dad came from Brazil and her mother came from London and Jamaica. Her mother is a teacher of children with Special Needs. Her dad is a hair dresser and he does not live with her. She has five aunties, five uncles and three cousins.

Savannah likes to ride on a horses. She would like to learn how to ride them properly. She likes to write reports about herself and other people. Savannah attends Stonefields School in Auckland, New Zealand. Her favourite subjects are maths and reading. Her favourite sports are foot ball and volley ball.

When she grows up she would like to be an animal rescuer.

By Miduran

Miduran's writing goal is to use the proper report structure. Has he succeeded? Leave him a comment and let him know!

Roquia, Sarah and Savannah's Jingle

2011-05-24T09:17:00.000+12:00

Sarah, Savannah and Roquia have written a fantastic jingle all about their learning at Stonefields School. Listen to their lyrics and see if you can recognise the tune!

Coral and Coral Islands by Muatau

2011-05-23T09:22:00.000+12:00

Here is Muatau's latest breakthrough project. In our reading time, we read a story which mentioned coral. Muatau wanted to know more about it, so he researched the different kinds. Then he created a keynote to apply his understanding and share what he had learned with his audience. What have you learned by watching Muatau's keynote? Leave him a comment and tell him!

Noeramiah, Anthia and Juliana's Breakthrough Song

2011-05-20T16:17:00.000+12:00

After a whole term of hard work, building knowledge about the song writing process, making connections between the different ideas they each had, and applying their understanding by writing and recording their song, Noeramiah, Anthia and Juliana have finally finished their song! Have a listen and tell them what you think. A special thanks to Miss Rennie who helped them put their song together in Garageband.

What's going on with the sports shed?

2011-05-19T16:09:00.013+12:00

On Tuesday night Zeb, Lawson, Francis and Ashton presented their vision for the sports shed to the Board of Trustees. They told the board all about their journey, from Zeb noticing the problem and talking to Mr Bradbeer, to the visits to other schools that were made, and finally they shared their design and solutions for building shelving. The board loved their presentation and has said that they can go ahead, with the help of a builder, to make their vision a reality! Well done, boys, this was definitely a breakthrough moment, we are all eager to see your finished sports shed!

Swimtastic Swimming

2011-05-18T15:26:00.000+12:00

We had our first swimming lesson on Tuesday. Here is Noeramiah's recount of the trip:

This morning Learning Hub Two walked to swimtastic for our first swimming lessons. We got given swimtastic caps. We got into groups. I was with Anthia, William and Natasha. My instructors name was Lucy.
Secondly we went into the water with our swimming gear on. We floated on our back. After that we did some strokes. Also we blew some bubbles under water.
Finally Learning Hub Two got out of the swimming pool. Then we went into the changing room to put our uniform back on. We had a great time at swimtastic and can't wait until swimming on Thursday.

Mad Scientists Day!

2011-05-13T16:26:00.000+12:00

Today was Mad Scientists Day at Stonefields School. We all dressed up, some of us as scientists who had made exciting discoveries, some as scientists who had taken risks and made mistakes, and some of us as experiments gone wrong! It was wonderful to see everyone getting immersed in science, all ready for our inquiry learning this term. Check out the fantastic costumes in the slideshow!

The Wetlands Trip

2011-05-12T16:21:00.000+12:00

Today we went to visit the wetlands. We walked there from school and it only took ten minutes. We looked at all the different plants and we even saw a few different types of birds. We are going to keep visiting the wetlands to see how they change over time and with the seasons. We took 10 cameras with us and came back with over 200 photos! If you'd like to check out a few of them, please watch our slideshow.

All About Natasha

2011-05-12T13:38:00.001+12:00

For writing, Natasha is working on putting a full stop at the end of an idea. Check out her report all about herself and see if she's met her target! If you think she has, please leave her a comment!

My name is Natasha. I am five and a half. I am a girl.

I have blonde hair and blue eyes.

I live with my baby brother, my Dad and my Mum.

I like to do Mathletics and sewing. At home I am sewing a dress with my Mum.

All About Ashton

2011-05-10T17:30:00.000+12:00

Here is Ashton to share his report with you. His goal is to use full stops in the right places. If you think he's succeeded, leave him a comment.

My name is Ashton. I am a boy and I am six years old.

My hair is brown and my eyes are brown. My hair is short.

I live with my Mum and Dad. I have a sister called Isla.

I like to play on my bike. I ride my bike to school. I also like to laugh.

Report Writing: All About Me!

2011-05-09T17:24:00.000+12:00

We have started our report writing this term and have been learning about the parts of a report. Daniella wrote this report all about herself. Can you see where she has included bundles of facts about herself? If you can, leave her a comment!

My name is Daniella. I am seven and I am a girl.

My hair is brown and short. My eyes are hazel.

I live with my mum, dad and brother Tearno. Soon I will have a baby sister. I have a dog called Electra.

I like to take my dog for walks and to play mathletics.

Term 2 Inquiry

2011-05-04T11:34:00.000+12:00

This term all the learners in Learning Hub 2 are getting into science! We will be looking at the environment around us to inspire our inquiry. We are lucky to have a fantastic environment in Stonefields. We even have a wetlands a short walk away. On Monday we started to learn about the wetlands by writing some questions in groups that we would like to know the answers to and then using books and computers to find the answers. It was lots of fun. Take a look at the slide show to see us in action!

Breakthrough Time

2011-04-15T18:31:00.000+12:00

Today was our last Friday of Term 1, and just like every Friday, we had Breakthrough time. Every kid is involved in a different project that they want to learn more about. Some learners are working on building a robot using the picture instructions, others are finding out all about the moon, while still more are writing and recording a song about our school. Here are some photos to show you the highlights of our day, which finished with a free Subway lunch! Have a happy holiday, see you next term!

Stepping Out: Hazards

2011-04-12T15:19:00.000+12:00

Today Constable Julie came to talk to us all about keeping ourselves safe on the road and in cars. We learned all about the hazards in our community! We went for a walk and there was lots to see... Take a look at our photos taken by Muatau, Lawson, Amy, Noeramiah, Miduran and Zeb and see if you can spot the hazards too!
Fun fact: Did you know that unless you are over 148cm tall or over 10 years old, you should be in a booster seat in the car? Our teachers learned that today!

Miduran's Haiku for Japan

2011-04-06T12:48:00.000+12:00

I wrote this haiku to the people in Japan because I was sorry for what had happened to them. I took this photo of me helping Roquia get something down from a tote tray because I would like to help the Japanese people as well.

Are you all alright?

we are thinking about you

do you need some help?

Sarah's Haiku for Japan

2011-04-05T12:33:00.000+12:00

I wrote a haiku to share with you how I feel about what happened in Japan. Then I drew a picture using Paint. My picture shows you that it won't always be sad because things will get better.

happy times will come

we hope you will get better

I feel so sorry

William and Ashton's Haiku for Japan

2011-04-04T14:18:00.001+12:00

In Japan there was an earthquake and a tsunami wave. It broke a lot of buildings and houses. It hurt some of the people there. We wrote a haiku together about it to tell the people in Japan that we are thinking about them.

we were so sorry

to hear about the earthquake

thinking about you

Muatau's Haiku for Japan

2011-04-04T13:09:00.001+12:00

This is my haiku for Japan. I wanted to tell them how we sorry we are about what has happened to them.

Do you need some help?

we can build you some houses

we hope you have food

Haiku for Japan

2011-04-04T12:08:00.001+12:00

Last week, we wrote some special haiku. We heard about the tsunami and earthquake in Japan and we thought that since haiku poems came from Japan, we should write some to them to tell them how we felt. Miss Rennie has a teacher friend in Japan. She is going to contact him so that he can get the students in his class to practice English by reading them. Each day this week we will publish some of our haiku poems. Here is Ethan to share his:

hope you are okay

sorry that there is sadness

you will be alright

Stonefields School Haiku

2011-04-01T12:17:00.002+13:00

Recently we have been looking at poetry in our writing time. We have learned all about haiku poems and have collaborated to write some fantastic haiku about places around our school. We took pictures to go with the place we wrote about and have put them all together as a book. The book has gone into the school time capsule which we have buried in the center garden in the playground as part of the official opening day of Stonefields School. In the future it will be dug up. We wonder what those children will think of how the school looked at it's beginning?
All photos taken by the learners who wrote the accompanying haiku. Enjoy the music - the Stonefields Vision song instrumental!

Our Disposition Strengths

2011-03-29T11:19:00.001+13:00

As part of our vision principle, Building Learning Capacity, we have been looking at the seven dispositions that we need to have as learners to help us to build our learning capacity. To be good learners we need to reflect, connect, think, be self aware, be determined, question and wonder. We looked at ourselves and thought about which one of these we were good at and why. We thought we should display this information so we used our new skills in blending hot and cold colours and collaborated with our friends to draw the outline of our heads. We put it all together and made these amazing posters. Take a look!

What does collaboration look like?

2011-03-25T09:44:00.001+13:00

One of the vision principles of Stonefields School is collaboration. In Hub 2 we have been looking at what this means. On Monday the learners got into groups of two or three, took a camera and set off to take photos of what collaboration looks like. Here are the results:

Reading Group Obsidian: A Team Player

2011-03-23T07:59:00.001+13:00

Here are Roquia and Miduran to share what they thought the author's message of our story was. We drew these pictures using paint.

Reading: A Team Player

2011-03-21T10:50:00.000+13:00

For reading this week, the Obsidian group have been looking at the author's message. We read a Sails book called, "Team Player." It was all about a girl who is learning to be a good collaborator when playing on her soccer team. When we finished reading our story, we talked about why we thought the author had written this book. What was his message for us? Here are Josiah and Sarah to share what they thought the message of the story was. Please leave them a comment and tell them if you agree!

Michelangelo by Muatau

2011-03-14T11:29:00.000+13:00

During Breakthrough time, Muatau decided to investigate one of the quotes on our hub wall. He found out that it was written by Michelangelo and while investigating the meaning of the quote, he learned heaps of interesting information about Michelangelo. He made it into a keynote presentation so he could share his learning with you! Tell him what you think in the comments.

Introducing... Learning Hub Two!

2011-03-09T16:40:00.001+13:00

On Friday to support Christchurch our school dressed up in black and white to raise money. We gave the money to Miss Martin who will send it to the schools in Christchurch to help them rebuild. We had a great time in our mufti and were glad that we could help the kids in Christchurch. Have a look at our slideshow to see how cool we are!

A Rumble and a Grumble

2011-03-01T07:58:00.000+13:00

For reading in Week 2, we looked at shared book called "A Rumble and a Grumble." We read the book together every day. Then we split into two groups and focused on different aspects of the story. The Year 2's looked at how characters were feeling, and the Year 3's and 4's looked at finding a cure for snoring. Watch the clip to find out how we went!

Painting Our Feelings

2011-02-28T16:51:00.006+13:00

In Hub 2 we explored how different paintings make us feel. Our aim was to use colours to express our feelings. We looked at some paintings by Vincent van Gogh and discussed how we felt after looking at them. Then it was time to become artists! It was fun using our fingers instead of paint brushes. On reflection, we all had different opinions and feelings about the paintings. Our hub realised that it is okay to have different views about things.