Livestock Day

Stanley Avenue School was a hive of activity last Friday, with the back field covered with lambs, calves, goats and very proud owners. 

Students have been busy preparing, training, grooming and loving their animals for the past few weeks/months, to make sure their animal was ready for Livestock Day. It was fantastic to see the bond they have formed with their pet (just check out the photo's below for the evidence!), and the knowledge they have of them.

Well done to all participants, we loved seeing your hard work paying off. 

Olympic Visitor to Room 10

Throughout this term we have been busy learning all about the Olympic Games. We have had a blast learning all about the Ancient Olympics, the motto, the values, the Olympic Events and Athletes.

This week we had a special event in our Olympic learning journey - we got to have a real New Zealand Olympian in our classroom! It was extremely exciting to talk with someone who has represented New Zealand at not 1 but 2 Olympic Games.

Robbie Manson is a Rower - who has represented New Zealand at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the Double Sculls Event.

He spoke with us about the training required, the importance of setting goals, working hard, enjoying what you do, respecting others, what is required and what it is like to be a top level athlete.

We were all shocked to hear about the intense training that is needed - 3 training sessions a day, 6 days a week! It is a full time job to be a top level rower and train to represent New Zealand at the Olympics.

It was also interesting to hear how athletes are selected to represent New Zealand at the Olympics. With rowing there are a lot of steps to achieve to be selected to go to the Olympics - first the boat needs to be qualified and then the people need to be selected. This means that you might win a race at the World Championships and earn the boat a spot in the Olympics, but this doesn't mean you have a spot in that boat. You still need to trial for that spot to earn yourself a spot in the boat!

The two most important messages we can all take away from Robbie's visit are:

1 - There is a sport out there for everyone. Keep trying sports until you find one that you enjoy.

2 - To be a successful athlete it takes hard work, motivation and determination. You need to enjoy what you do and be motivated to go out there and better yourself every time.

Classroom Newspaper

We have been very busy journalists in Room 10 this week.

To be able to write an article, we learnt that you have to learn the facts, and write a piece that is easy to read and factual.

Here is a copy of our first Newspaper. We are very proud of it, we hope you will be too.

Training

Welcome back to Term 3 in Room 10 at Stanley Avenue School.

During this term the big event of focus within New Zealand and all around the world is the Rio 2016 Olympics.

There is a lot we can learn from the Olympics, and the countries and athletes involved in them. Over the term we will be looking at what it takes to be an Olympian - not only the commitment it takes to be an outstanding athlete, but the values that they must show: Friendship, Respect and Excellence.

We will be working hard to demonstrate these values ourselves, as we strive to "#betheinspiration" at our own Olympic Games, being held in Week 7.

Every athlete knows that the first step is having a dream and setting goals. So that is exactly what we have done in Room 10. Cross country is only a couple of weeks away, and we are going to be training hard to run to the very best of our ability. To help us determine how fit we are, and set realistic goals for ourselves we had John Muir, from Sport Waikato, come and time us around a 550m track. Unfortunately the weather didn't play its part, so we had to be timed around a small track in the Rec Centre.

Being on an inside track proved to be insignificant, with a number of our class providing very fast times. John has a record of times from students all around the Waikato, and was able to tell us that 2.30 minutes is a very quick time for an 8 year old. We had two students go under this time - Justin recording a 2.27 minutes and Harry a 2.30 minutes. A number of others were under the 2.40 minute mark - which is also very impressive.

Now that we all have a starting point time we can begin setting goals for us to work towards, learning about what food and training is best going to help us achieve these goals.

Keep checking back in to see how we are getting on working towards achieving these goals throughout the term.

Here is a short clip of us during our self reflection with John Muir following our 550m run.

Wig Wednesday

Wow what a fantastic day Wig Wednesday was!

It was wonderful coming to school this morning and seeing all the bright, wacky and exuberant wigs swarming the school. The school was a sea of colour as we supported Child Cancer.

Today was extra special for us at Stanley Avenue School as Olivia from Room 13, was selected as a Wig Wednesday Ambassador. We were extremely proud in Room 10 to be part of this amazing fundraiser, where we raised over $600!

Have a look at some of these fantastic photos from our big day.

What was your favourite part of the day?

Who do you think had the brightest coloured wig?

How much money did each House raise?

How long was the coin trail?

Auckland Museum

Wow - what a day we have all had at the Auckland Museum!

As part of our Middle Syndicate Inquiry this term, we headed up to the Auckland Museum to learn more about our history and culture.

We had a wonderful time exploring the museum and learning about Ancient Civilisations in a lesson with Josh. Josh talked to us about some different Ancient Civilisations - Maori, Vikings, Romans and Egyptians. We enjoyed getting to have a hands on experience with ancient artefacts and getting to know more about some gods and goddesses.

Some of the highlights from our exploring was the WWI exhibition, the volcanoes and dinosaurs. It was extremely humbling to wander around the WWI exhibit, and get a feel for what the soldiers and their families went through. The conversations being heard around the display was fabulous, with every discussing what different items were, and who would have had them. It was clear how much learning everyone has achieved through our ANZAC unit, and it was great to be able to finish up all this learning in such an exciting way.

We are now inspired to learn more about our history and cultures. Now armed with plenty of questions, and ideas, look out on here as we work hard to find the answers and explore new learning! How exciting it will be to continue being archaeologists.

A huge thank you to all our parents and grandparents who made this day possible, being amazing team leaders.

Check out some of our photos...

ANZAC DAY

On the 25th April each year we celebrate Anzac Day - a day where we take the time to remember the brave soldiers who have fought for our country.

We have spent a lot of time reading about WW1 and all the brave New Zealand men and women that risked their lives for our country.

Throughout our learning we learnt that 10% of the New Zealand population went away to war, and from this over 50% were casualties war. We worked this out that if the 24 of us in Room 10 went to war, 12 of us would have been injured or killed. This made us really think about how lucky we are to live in such a safe country, where we are able to experience all the wonderful opportunities that we have here in New Zealand. We are proud of the men and women that fought for us, and what they have achieved for our country, and for their efforts we will continue to remember them.

At the going down of the sun,
And in the morning
We will remember them

Check out our amazing Anzac Art

Room 10 was extremely fortunate to have Stan "Pop" (Ashley's Granddad) come and share his knowledge and stories about ANZAC with us. We had a great time looking at all the different objects the soldiers had in the wars.

Here are some of the pictures from our visit with "Pop". Who can remember what each of these items are? Put your answers in the comments.

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