Term Four Thursday Night Touch

Steve Potter is once again organising the popular Thursday night touch.  There are 2 grades Years 5 & 6 and Years 7 & 8.  I have taken names today and will send a notice home at the beginning of next term.  Unfortunately this information came to hand after the last newsletter went out this term.

Entries close Wednesday 23rd October with first grading games starting on Thursday 24th at 5:30pm - Pioneer Park.  Each team needs to have a contact person who will be responsible for the team's behaviour, referee and responsibilities.  A referee's name must be included on the team entry. Basic rule books are available to referees if required.

Rules:

• correct footwear must be worn
• all players must be in team colours
• application must be filled out in full - this includes a contact person & referee for each team entered.

A large number of people have put their names down to play, which means that we will be able to enter several teams as long as we have managers & referees.  Please think about whether you are able to help in this way, or perhaps know of a DHS student who would be happy to be a referee.  Rules are no referee = no entry.

Dunstan High School Music - Friday

Rooms 3 & 4 are lucky enough to have a last minute opportunity to be the audience for the Dunstan High School Senior Music presentations at Dunstan High School  on Friday beginning at 1:30pm. These will be outside if the weather is fine.

Please make sure that your child has a jacket, as the weather forecast is for showers.  As we are representing the school we need to wear full summer uniform. No tracksuits or sports uniform tomorrow please. Dresses are easy for swimming.

We will leave school to walk at 1:10 and will need 2 or 3 parents to accompany us (thank you Lisa Reilly).  Please let me know if you are able to do this.

Week 9 Term 3

What a great day we have had today, Mercy Day Liturgy, painting, swimming and the hockey tournament was fantastic - thank you Mrs Flannery.  It was awesome to see so much encouragement and also to see Room 4 step up as leaders for the junior house teams until the Room 6 leaders arrived from swimming.  Well done to you all - a wonderful way to celebrate Mercy Day

A busy last week for us.

Camp Surveys: if anyone still has theirs at home could you please return these as soon as possible so that groups can work on graphing the findings ready to report to you at our Wow night early next term.  It would be great to have this work completed this week, although there is just so much going on.

Round The Clock Race - Friday  night.  Team notices went home today.  Please meet Mrs Williams at 4:45pm at the Linger & Die.  You are representing the school, so full school sports uniform including tracksuit needs to be worn.  Be sure that you have sturdy runners.  The race is to the number 6 on the clock and back.  Please have sports uniform and runners at school each day this week as Mrs Williams will take a lunch time practice if there is time.  For those of us not running - we need to be there to cheer our teams on! 

Float: we are at the stage of painting our bugs - they are looking super and will add small detail to the amazing float put together by the junior staff and a committed group of parents. We deserve to win, so if you are purchasing any of the 'special tickets' - 5 for $20 available now - please give the vote part to Mrs Williams - this saves trying to get to the right bucket on the day before voting closes.

Everyone got their free ride ticket today which I see is valid for Saturday only. If you are not going to be at the park perhaps someone else could use this.  On this flyer there is also the opportunity to win a $100 Paper Plus book voucher for the school. If you are not going to be at the park, I am happy to take yours to put into the draw - the more that go in the more chances we have at winning.

Eisteddfod Speeches: were of a very high standard.  Well done everyone.  The Eisteddfod assembly is at 1:30 on Thursday in the hall. Those representing Room 4 are: Celia, Joshua, Reuben, Molly, Brieanna, Adrianna with Padraig being the reserve.

A huge Thank You to all the parents who have helped Room 4 this term - Ski Camp fundraisers, parents who organised the food  for the camp, parents who skied with the kids, winter sports team coaches and a special thank you to the parents who have provided transport to and from the pool.  Without you all we would not have been able to achieve so much.

Homework

• Reading
• Maths Buddy - Statistics

Have a great holiday.  We start the term with athletics training for the sports which are on Thursday 31st October - the Central Otago event on Wednesday 6th November.  Please have your sports uniform at school every day for the first 2 weeks of term 4.

Tuesday House Hockey

On Tuesday as part of Mercy Day we will be having a house hockey tournament to conclude our hockey lessons we have had this term.

Children are to wear house colours, but gear appropriate for playing hockey. Each house will have a senior and a junior team and will play a round robin of games.
If children have hockey sticks, shin pads or mouth guards please bring these.

We will be leaving school at 12.15ish and having hockey games then a picnic lunch in the park. We will return to school at 2.30pm. Please feel free to join us.

Please no lunch orders or pie warmers.

Monday 23rd

Please join us for prayer in the church - it is our turn to lead.  Joe & Zoe are reading.

Speeches will be heard on Monday morning. There is a great selection of topics so should be an interesting morning.  People were practising with partners today and many sounded really polished.  Well done.

Swimming

Thanks Kath for the river safe photos this morning, we found it very different swimming in our clothes and learnt how to enter the water wearing a life jacket safely, huddle and support each other.

Winter Sports Meeting & Newsletter

A reminder that there is a debrief/drinks meeting at Monteiths at 7pm tonight.

This year Rebecca is putting together a winter sports newsletter and wants to include information about any children who have been selected for representative sports or who have won trophies for their sports - they do not just have to be about school sports teams.  So that includes you Brooke with your karate. Hannah - gym? There are probably other people in Room 4 too. Please have the information to Rebecca by lunchtime tomorrow.  Check the school newsletter for the exact information from Rebecca.

Week 8 Newsletter

A big thank you to the parents who continue to transport us to our swimming lessons.  Much appreciated.

Red Sock Day: Wednesday - get behind Team NZ - I know that we might look like Christmas trees, Celia!  Please wear correct items of school uniform (except socks).

Speeches:
Everyone by now should be well on the way to having their speeches completed.  There have been a wide variety of topics chosen and class questions about these topics should have helped with the research.  Speeches need to be 2 - 3 minutes in length. Please bring your book with your speech in it to school every day. There is class time to work on these each day, including time for learning and practising.  A reminder that a written copy of  the speech needs to be handed in by this Friday.  Congratulations Levi and Jake who have both done this - great time management, boys.
Eisteddfods will be heard on Monday morning - everyone will have their homework books for the weekend.

Camp Surveys:
As the last part of our camp work we are designing surveys about the ski camp.  This is our statistics unit - this week we are writing the surveys and gathering the data so that we can use this data in our maths work next week.  We are trying to make these surveys really user friendly - ranking statements on a scale of 1 - 4, with perhaps a place for comments at the end of the survey.
The first survey (for parents who went on camp), has come home tonight.  Please help the girls by taking the time to fill it in - 5 questions & a comment is all it will take.  Your opinions are important to us. This is our consultation with you.  You may be asked to complete several surveys from different groups as they gather their data.
Surveys will have an identified audience: parents of the class, the students, parent participants.  Everyone will have an opportunity to respond.  If you feel that you have important comments for future ski camps that are not covered in the children's survey, please email me, so that I can include them for future reference.

Assembly:
No assembly this week.

Tuesday 24th  = Mercy Day:
We have swimming, then the inter house hockey tournament that was planned for earlier in the term.  Lunch at the park & games.

Homework:

• Spelling
• Reading - fill in your reading log
• Eisteddfod Speeches
• Maths Buddy - how has this been for you?

Clothes For Swimming

For the last three lessons everyone needs to bring a long sleeved top and long pants - not jeans.  In the past we have found light pants such as pyjama pants have been ideal for these next activities.  Spread the word.

Kapahaka

Ms Tamati has begun teaching a new waiata, which some of us found difficult to learn just by singing after her.  There is a youtube clip that may help - the song is "Tihore Mai Te Rangi" - this is sung a lot faster than we have been learning it, but it may help to sing along to get those words into our brains.  It would be great to have a group of people confident with this on Monday.
Oh no, weekend homework.

School Fair 3 November

Yesterday a note went home asking for support for the fair and the loan of gazebos, picnic tables/chairs, trestles.  It would be great if your notice could come back to school as soon as possible as Angela and her team are working flat out behind the scenes and are very aware that there is a two week holiday between now and the fair.

Could you please be aware that we can not have alcohol of any sort in the mystery bottles unfortunately.

Next term each class will be making things for a stall.  We are going to use ideas presented by Brooke and Eilish as part of their morning programme "How to ...", - wheat bags and photo frames.
I will need some mums with sewing machines to assist with this - more information and details at the beginning of next term. We have wheat, but will need to get bright cotton materials.  If you have anything in cupboards that you have no further use for, we could possibly use this.  I will also purchase fabrics.

Help Please - Float

There will be a working bees sticking on flowers tonight at 7pm.  Head down Ellis St (off Boundary Rd) and go straight ahead through the gates - you should be able to hear where people are working.
Next working bees will be Sunday 15th at 3pm, then 7pm Monday - Thursday next week.
"Many hands make light work"

Week 7 Term 3

It was great to see some of you able to attend assembly last week when we presented a snap shot of camp.  We always seem to try and squeeze too much into our assemblies, so once again those who were sharing their skiing acrostic poems will need to save these until the beginning of next term when we will share at a WOW evening.

Congratulations Will and Joe who were 6th in their respective races at the Otago Championship Cross Country held in Dunedin last Friday - amazing results.  They were also part of the Central Otago Year 5 & 6 Boys team that won the cup for this age group.  We are so proud of you both - especially as we know that you have both trained hard this term.  "Success through effort".

This week as a class we will put together a survey about the recent camp as part of our inquiry.  It would be great if there was a response to this from all families as well as the students.  We will use this information as we look at the EOTC plan put together last year after the consultation with parents.

Softball/Teeball: permission slips were given out last Friday by Mrs Williams - these need to be in to her by this Friday.  It would be fabulous if you could have them back before this time.  Remember NO FORM = NO PLAY. It's easy for you to make sure that you make the team!

We are thinking of Tess who has been in hospital with pneumonia and of Simone's mum, Debbie who is having surgery this Wednesday - please keep them in your prayers.

We welcome Bishop Colin Campbell to class prayer in the morning.  He is going to share something about  'vocation' in the church and perhaps of his life journey if he has time.

Homework:

• Reading logs
• Spelling - keep working on conducting and tooling
• Maths Buddy - everyone has their own log in - make the most of this free opportunity
• Eisteddfod speeches - written copy to me by Friday 20th, in class presentations Monday 23rd.  I do not read these speeches until after the oral presentations. We are working on using paragraphs in our writing this term - easy to achieve when we use the "hamburger" - check the Speech Writing Blog entry for an explanation of this.
• Swimming togs - Tuesday & Friday  Thank you to those people who have helped us with transport.  Please check the Blog page to see where we need help.

We wish Room 3 a fantastic Ski Camp this week. 

Eisteddfod Speeches

Our writing topic for the next two weeks is speech writing.  We began the process today by assessing a speech given by myself using a P(plus), M(minus), I(interesting) assessment plan.

Everyone has discussed what worked and where improvements could be made, then decided on the things that they will think about when writing and presenting their speeches.  Having a great introduction and a bit of humour to keep everyone interested were two of the ideas we thought were important.

Speeches need to be about a topic we know something about and are enthusiastic about.  We also need to think about the audience and choose something that Room 4 will enjoy learning about.

Everyone will write a speech within the writing programme - this may or may not be the one chosen to present for the eisteddfod on Monday 23rd.

Good luck everyone.  

It is always a very entertaining and informative morning when we present these to the class.

WALTs:

Writing:

• Write a speech sequencing ideas logically.

Do this using the Hamburger format:

• Have an appetising introduction – an exciting question or ‘did you know’, and tell briefly about the other things that will be in the speech.
• Use Layers: each layer will be about a different part of the speech topic, each layer will flow to the next layer, because it makes sense to speak about it next. (A new paragraph for each new idea.)
• End our speech with a Conclusion which will remind the audience about what the speech has been about, or leave the audience with a thought provoking question.

Presenting/Speaking:

• Speak clearly so the audience can hear all that is said.
• Maintain the interest of the audience by speaking slowly and carefully, trying to change the tone of voice, and by using pictures or other props.
• Become so familiar with the material that there is eye contact with the audience.

The Assessment Sheet for the presentation

Content        / 9	Almost Never	Sometimes	Usually	Almost Always
Speech is well organised (opening/body/close) and has an appropriate structure
Speech ideas are appropriate to topic
Vocabulary suits purpose of speech
Delivery               / 16
Volume is appropriate
Clarity is satisfactory
Expression is evident
Pace is appropriate
Eye contact is made
Stance is relaxed and confident
Gestures are used appropriately
Rapport is established

Eisteddfod Speeches Time Management Planner

 SPEECHES 2013

Oral presentations = Monday 23^rd September.

Last minute nerves because of lack of preparation =  plan your timetable now:

Task	I will do this by	Done it!
Choose your topic taking the audience into consideration.
Brainstorm all you know about this topic.
Think about what questions our class might ask & jot them down.
Research under headings, answering these questions.
Write your speech using the hamburger format.
Read, read, read your speech over, until it is very familiar – learn it!
Highlight keywords that you can use as guides, if necessary write these words on cards.
Practise using any visual aids. Mark on your speech where you will use these.
Deliver your speech to the mirror in the bedroom. Remember to practise using pauses or gestures to increase your confidence.		Ready to GO.

Check a calendar and plan today the dates that you will complete each task.

Glue this planner into your homework book.

Written speeches need to be handed in by Friday 20^th September.