Saturday, November 18, 2017

Athletics Day 2017

What an awesome day to be outside! We had an excellent turn out and great participation. As well as the normal track and field events we had fun events such as: sack races, piggy back races, whole school dancing and, of course, the Whanau Chants.



















Sunday, November 12, 2017

This Is How We Roll...

Week 4 Whanau Days were all about Forces and Movement. Students researched, then created, marble tracks using recycled materials. Then some students also chose to try it on large scale by going to OGO for a full-sized roll.










Monday, September 25, 2017

AMAZE ME

What beautiful weather we had for our whanau days in Week 9. Have a look at the video link to see some of our antics at Amaze Me

Saturday, September 9, 2017

Student Writing

Our writing focus has turned to narrative writing for the rest of the term. This week students wrote to describe a setting using specific nouns and descriptive adjectives. Here is some of their work...


Deep in the Jungle stands a rickety abode. Its roof looks as though it will collapse any minute. The door of this building crumbles at the very touch. Vines grow strong around the broken down structure. Cruddy windows of the second level were overgrown with furry green moss. Centuries old wood creaks with every gust of wind. Grey stones that cover the ancient structure drop with every step closer. The steps are slightly submerged into the dampened grown of the jungle.

By Bianca


Scenery Writing

The bright green grass was waving in the wind.
The road was flat like a pancake.
The brown tree trunks were rough like sandpaper.
The trees were leaning like they were falling.
The sun was shining on the crusty leaves.
The flowers were smelly like a bath bomb.
The road was grey like a rainy cloud.
The wind was soft like toilet paper.

By Zianne

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The sand burning the bottom of my feet.
The fluffy white clouds making mysterious pictures in the sky.
Palm trees waving their  leaves like hands.
The gorgeous  water waving over the crystal white sand.
The never island so far far away looking so lonely.
The sparkling  blue water never smeling so salty.
The stunning lagoon sparkles in my eyes.
The pretty blue and white tones making beautiful colours.

By Maia


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The waterfall drops like a shower of a rain.
The trees are green like a rainforest surrounding  the falls.
The flowers bloom like a gate opening to go inside.
The peacock is more colorful than a rainbow.
The peacock colors are red, blue and white like the french flag.
The  feathers are beautiful like a colorful rainbow that glitters.
The peacock stands like she is the leader of her group.
The peacock’s eyes are black like she sees death in another person.

By Mairangi

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Blue water and don't forget the purple and orange sky. 
Red leaves and the brown branches waving in the wind.
The sun is setting on the horizon.
Birds flying past, you can hear them chirping,
Baby birds crying for food.
The water shining because the sun’s reflection.

By Isaak


Stepping onto white sand like walking on salt.
Small gentle winds that sway the waving palm trees.
Blue skies with white patches of pale candy floss.
Cold ocean water splashing against my body.
Burning like a bbq under neath the deadly heat.
Blue furriness tickling under my feet.
As the water ripples it takes away the stress.
The hairy fale’s sit in a line on the crackling sand.

By Te Okewhare

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The sun rises early, as the clouds start covering the skies.
The gigantic mountains reach their peaks.
The trees surround the land with green.
The water reflects on the wonderful reality.
The snow slowly covers the gigantic mountains.
Clouds slowly pass as the sun fades away.
The beautiful pale white snow covers the tree tops.
The branches shake as the wind blows past.

By Taylor

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The enormous Moon lighting up the lake.
The sky with a calming blue.
Stars blinking and shining in the night sky.
The water holds the reflection of the sky and moon.
The swans relaxing on the cold, calm water.
Trees reaching and branching over towards each other.
Trees swaying, wind howling.
Hard day, best night.

By Dontay Rapana

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The water is as still as a statue.
Shining bright, the sun is as sparkly as diamonds.
As the waterfall drops, it is as fast as a cheetah.
Water as blue as the sky, ripples move across the lake.
Standing tall the trees are surrounding the water
like soldiers.
The rocks stand strong as the waterfall flows through them.  
The floating clouds as fluffy as candy floss.
The scene brings a feeling of happiness and peace.

By Rahapa Ririnui

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The bright ball of yellow fire sits high in the night sky.

The red reminds me of blood, sweat and tears in rugby.

The sun is setting  over the high mountains.

The colour yellow turns to orange and red.

Light  shines upon the dark drifty day.
 
The mountains are abandoned.    

By Liliano Sabatini






Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Rotorua Girl's High and Rotorua Boy's High Visits

Wednesday was the day we visited the local Boys and Girls high schools. Both schools were extremely hospitable to us - providing buses for transport and delicious kai for morning tea and lunch. The trip was fun, informative and entertaining!

Here are some photos from the rotations the girls were part of on the day...

The Humanities...girls had to create a map of New Zealand using wool and then label it with various place names.


P.E....girls played 4 different games to help remember the story of  Te Ao-kapurangi. 


Science...Chemistry, Biology and Physics...the girls had a sneak peek into the 3 areas of science with some hands-on experiments and observations.
  

Technology and Fashion...girls designed and created badges to take home with them. 
  




Saturday, August 26, 2017

The Steamers in the Taeotu Learning Centre!!!!

Wow, weren't we lucky!?! Four Bay of Plenty Steamers players came to talk to Taeotu Whanau about rugby, leadership, inspiration and how to achieve your goals.

Read the news article here

SELFIE: Steamers prop Jordan Lay takes a picture with Rotorua Intermediate pupils. PHOTO/BEN FRASER

It was great to see the students really think about the different ways leadership can be shown - from sporting roles to classroom roles to personal decisions. I will leave you with this wise advice from the players:

"Be prepared to make decisions no one has had to make before. Follow your decisions 100 percent...follow through, and learn from them."


Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Getting Ready for High School...

Over the past few weeks, Year 8s have been visited by the four local high schools. Teachers and students from each of the schools came to give information about how a typical day would look, classes available, sports teams to participate in, and much more.


Below is the information about Open Days that students will attend this term.




Monday, August 7, 2017

How is learning organised in the Taeotu Learning Centre?

Every week, students receive a weekly timetable in their "Planning" folders on their Google Drive. As well as being a timetable, this document has links to Numeracy (Maths) tasks, Literacy (Reading and Writing) tasks and reflections. Students have access to this information wherever they have access to their Google Drives and can work on tasks wherever and whenever they are online.

Here is an example of the Weekly Timetable:


Students have regular weekly tasks to complete and are also in Maths and Literacy groups where they have workshops, and additional tasks, tailored even more specifically to their needs. 

Literacy planning example:


In just two short weeks, it has been great to see students become confident with the new planning style and competent in navigating their way around it.



  



Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Term 3 in the TLC

The Taeotu Learning Centre has been humming along with the start to the term. Students are becoming accustomed to the new weekly timetables and are taking considerable responsibility for organising themselves into groups and workshops, without being reminded - well done Taeotu 1!

In the new room our focus is obviously still on core learning areas but we have timetabled 2 afternoon sessions for what we are calling "kaupapa". We have kickstarted these sessions by dividing the 3 classes into 4 groups. Each group then attends rotations with the 4 different teachers over a 2 week period. This fortnight the groups have attended:
- a Te Reo Maori session
- a session on Learning to Be Resilient
- team building with a P.E. focus
- "Minute To Win It" team building

Here are some photos of the Minute to Win It games - they sound easy until you try it!

Sticky Stack - balance dice on a stick

Cookie Face - move an Oreo from your forehead to your mouth (No Hands!)


Card Tower - highest card tower after a minute wins!

Toss the Stick - a point for every popsicle stick that lands on the target.

Everyone had great fun, and it has been an enjoyable way to establish new relationships (and strengthen old ones) as we have merged the 3 classrooms.