Last post for 2020

 Well we are finally on school holidays.  What an emotional end of the term.  I never usually cry but this year I did.  We went through so much as a class and to say goodbye was so hard.  Although I had nothing left to give I would have continued because I have loved coming to school everyday and seeing your child's smiley faces.  

I would just like to say I was absolutely overwhelmed and touched by all the love and gratitude you showed me through all the gifts.  My heart was bursting to think I have made such a difference to your children's lives. I have brought them all home and they make me smile every time I see them including all the cards and decorations on a very special Christmas tree.  All my special handmade cards are still on the wall in the classroom and will greet me next year

I hope you and your families have a safe and happy holidays. Love from my family to yours.

Ginny Massey X

Week 9 - Performing Plays

 The children have been working really hard practicing their plays for the past few weeks.  Finally we had time to perform them in the busy time at the end of the year.  The children did so well and I was so proud of them.

Week 9 - SVA Special Prize

 Congratulations to Millie for being chosen to get a special SVA t-shirt and certificate that was presented by Mr Goulstone.  A very well deserved prize.

Week 9 - Prizegiving Song

 

Week 8 - Habitats

 Room 11 have been studying and learning about insects as part of the Sharing the Earth inquiry.  As a culmination of this unit they had to create an insect that was perfectly suited to a habitat.  There was so much learning behind this finished habitat and insect.  I hope you enjoy learning about these newly discovered New Zealand insects.

Click on this link to view the Habitats and Insects Slideshow

Week 8 - Shared Lunch Fun

 

Week 8 - Music Concert

 Our wonderful musicians put on a concert for us...  We were so proud of them.

Week 8 - Our butterfly hatches

So exciting to arrive at school and our butterfly had hatched.  We took some photos and then let her go free in the bottom forest.

Week 7 - Cricket Skills

 This week Counties Cricket come to school to share some cricket skills with us.  It was so fun and we got a free swimming bag and cricket information as well.

Week 6 - EOTC Week

 Click on the link to see a slideshow

Week 5 - International Kindness Day

 Lots of girls in Room 11 have been busy making the most giant loom band snakes.  On Friday it was International Kindness Day so I decided that we could all learn how to make loom bands.  One for us and one for a friend.  The leaders of Sulize, Rose, Siaan, Yvonne, Katie and Emily T took a small group each (including me) and taught us how to use the loom bands.  Gosh it was so much fun...

Week 5 - Room 11 Student Volunteer Army

SVA Valley School

Follow the link above to learn more about the Student Volunteer Army

Week 5 - Chub Chub the millipede

This is Chub Chub the millipede.  He measures over 13m long.

Caleb watched Mystery Doug and learnt how to make a centipede.

He then spent his Golden Time and mornings working with Ronaldo to make a 8m long millipede which he took home.

Caleb, Ronaldo and Logan decided to make another even longer millipede that would reach from 1 side of the classroom to the other.  

Every morning they worked hard to make the millipede with help sometimes from some other children. They then used the m ruler to measure how long he is.

Chub Chub is amazing and if you want to see him he is crawling over the lines in Room 11.

Week 4 - Halloween colouring in competition winners

 So what does a teacher do when the colouring in competition she gave her class closed not long after she gave it to the class... have her own prize winners of course.

Week 4 - Athletics winners

 Congratulations to Henry for first in the 60m and 100m sprints.  Jett for 3rd place.  Millie also placed in the top 3.  Good luck for group day!

Week 4 - Creating habitats in the playground

Sulize and Emily found a snail.  They decided to create it a home in the playground complete with a pool and garden.  By the time we came out to take the photo the snail had moved on but the girls were still happy with what they had done.

 

Week 3 - 5 Inquiry through Play

 Here are some photos of the children over the past few weeks enjoying Inquiry through Play.  This is a lovely time in Room 11 where the children decide what they would like to play...  I am the photographer and the creator of a safe space for them to develop the key competencies which are part of our New Zealand curriculum.

Key competencies are the capabilities people have, and need to develop, to live and learn today and in the future.

The New Zealand Curriculum identifies five key competencies:

• Thinking
• Relating to others
• Using language, symbols, and texts
• Managing self
• Participating and contributing

Millie, Rose and Katie loved making fortune tellers.  Millie made the smallest one and then they cooperated to make a giant sized fortune teller..

Sometimes children will hear about something on the news and then have to recreate it in their play to make sense of it...

I love the creativity by this time of the year in the play.

I have watched Nate develop in his play over the year.  He began the year making towers by himself that were small.  Through the year the towers have got bigger and more elaborate.  He has now started to include other equipment and even give the towers names.  This week for the first time he invited Angela into tower making.  Look at the creation they made together...

What happens when you empty the blocks out of a box?  Well by this time of the year you get really creative and make a car...