Fill a Stocking - Advent Calendar 2021

This year Team Awa got to create the Ohaeawai School - Fill a Stocking Advent Calendar.

 We made a list of things that we could do for others that would be helpful, kind, and thoughtful.  We also talked about how by doing the things on our Advent Calendar we will be doing things for others and that this would 'keep the magic of Christmas" going.  

In Team Awa's own words ...

"Christmas is about doing things for others". 

"Christmas is about spending time with others".

"Christmas is about making others feel special" 

We hope you enjoy it.  Please send us messages about things you are doing to 'Fill a Stocking'.

 

Swim Safe - Dry Land

An adult supervising you in the water should be someone who is over 18.  You can drown in 2 cm of water so make sure around the house that you empty water/baths.  Always make sure you are safe before you support anyone else siblings.

Life Jackets

We wear these when we are on a boat when we are swimming (sometimes), when on a Kayak, A Jetski, or paddleboard.  You need to wear a life jacket all the time. 

You need to check that the life jacket is the right size.  They are meant to be tight because this means that they won't go up over our heads.  Always do up the buckles as well as the zip.  Tighten them as well so that they are nice and snug.

A life jacket might have a whistle, reflectors, and sometimes even a torch.

What to do if you fall in (with or without a lifejacket)

If you fall off you need to get into a help position.  You would then join a huddle (group of people) if possible.  Hold their backs or if they have life jackets on, hold the sides.  If someone is feeling sick then they go into the middle this means that the huddles can keep them warm.  It also means they won't just let go.  When you form a line to try and direct your group of swimmers to a certain place you need your line to be in height order - This is because if you don't the smallest person at the front they might get pushed under by bigger people by accident.

River swimming safety

Test river before you jump in.  This is for hidden dangers as well as to check the current/flow of the river.  You can do this by getting a stick and throwing it into the river.  If you can walk alongside it, it's ok.  If it goes faster than you can walk then you know that it isn't safe for you to in it. 

Sea

Rips

It's like a current that takes you out.  If you get into a rip then you want to get on your back.  Don't panic, stay calm and float on your back.  This means that you can breathe and you can also put your hand up so that people can see you.  When you get out you can then either swim back in or wait for help.

Big Breakers

Don't swim in the big breakers, always ask a parent before you go so that they know and can help you choose a safe place to swim.

Flags

Always swim between the flags if the beach is patrolled

Rockpools

You could slip off the rocks or slip and hurt yourself.  You should have an adult with you. The rocks are really sharp so closed shoes are a good idea. Make sure you are playing where it is calm.

Playing 'Sarah Said...'

We played a game of 'Sarah Said' to practice making the help position, raising our hands, pop questions about what to do to test if rivers were safe to swim in, life jacket sizing, and swimming at the beach safely.

We all had such a great time.  We can't wait to get in the water next week for our Swim Safe water sessions.

Year 3 & 4 Camp

 After being all prepared to head off to Coopers Beach we all heard the announcement that the Far North region was moving into Level 3 restrictions.  This meant that we had some very sad children.  On Wednesday the teachers worked hard to come up with an alternative plan for our Year 3's and 4's. 

With this in mind, we headed off on our adventure on Thursday to visit lots of local sites that are of interest to our Tamariki.  This included Kawati Caves and Glow worms, Bay of Islands Pools, Heritage Train Rides, and the new Hundertwasser Library building in Kawakawa.  We organized a bus to take the majority of children and a few extra cars.  We had some very tired but excited children by the time we headed back to school.  It was such a fun-filled day.

On arriving back to school we then had a yummy afternoon tea, were the first people to use our school pool for the year, and had dinner followed by toasting marshmallows.  Just as we were about to start our game of Spotlight in the dark it decided to rain so instead we got to head back inside to sleep in the classroom (girls) and the school library (boys).

Here are 2 videos that Nakita has created from footage that Mrs G and a few parents took on our adventures.  Watch this space for more camp movies.

Lockdown Day Fifteen - 1 Sep 21

Awa News - Wednesday 1 September 2021

Well, today we have a fun morning google meet planned.  We are going to be candling the eggs we have in our incubator so we can see which eggs are developing chickens.  For this morning's google meet it would be a great idea to bring along a piece of paper and a pen/pencil so we can record our findings.  This afternoon we also have science again with Mrs Dryden and we will revisit our bouncy egg experiment.  I know the ones we have sitting on our bench have definitely been reacting with the vinegar and bubbling away.

Remember ...

Mrs G, Mrs C and Mrs Dryden are online throughout the day if you have any questions or just want to pop in for a chat.

There are extra create tasks to complete - We love seeing your creativity shine in these so keep them coming.

Read feedback that teachers leave and REPLY (do not resolve).

Today we have an extra hangout.

1pm - Mrs Dryden will run a science session.

Lockdown Day Fourteen - 31 Aug 21

 

Awa News - Tuesday 31 August 2021

Yesterday the Prime Minister announced that northland will remain at Level 4 until Thursday at 11.59pm provided we continue to get negative covid samples between now and then.  This is exciting news for everyone.  For us learning this week, everything will remain the same for the remainder of the week.  Mrs Edwards sent out a form for parents to complete so please encourage parents to check emails and do this.  

We had some fantastic News Reports sent to us yesterday. If there were some that didn't get published please send Mrs G an email so we can pop that up today.  We have also had a few people put their hands up to do news updates for later in the week and we really appreciate this as it's great to have different people posting daily news for our site.  

Today we have a couple of extra hangouts.

1pm - Mrs Dryden will run a TeReo session

1.30pm - Mrs Dixon would like to catch up with Production Main Characters.

Lockdown Day Thirteen - 30 Aug 21

Awa News - Monday 30 August 2021

On Friday the Prime Minister announced that on Tuesday at 11.59pm Auckland and Northland will remain at level 4 while the rest of New Zealand will move to alert level 3. This means that for the time being we will continue with our online learning.

Last week was a huge success with how we all worked together to help and support each other, so a big well done to everyone.

All work can be viewed from our timetable below but ALL slides are shared with you in your DRIVE.

Today we have a couple of extra hangouts.

11:30am - Mrs G will run a session on recording and uploading your Awa News Updates to drive.

1pm - Mrs Dryden will run a science session.

Reminder: that it would be great to have little 'kiwi kids' clips emailed to Mrs G (and shared in google drive - pop it in your media folder).

Lockdown Day Ten - 27 Aug 21

 

Awa News - Friday 27 August 2021

Thanks Ivy K for the Awa Lockdown News update! Well done everyone for we have all made it to the end of our first full week of lockdown 2021 style. It has been amazing to see all the creativity and effort you are all putting into your learning and we are looking forward to the announcement this afternoon so we can know what we are doing next week.

Today we plan to have Garden to Table like we normally do on a Friday but in the comfort of your own home. And now your parents get to see and feel the magic of Garden to Table. Mrs Clarke and Mrs Gardiner would also like for you to blog one thing for each of the areas of reading, writing and maths. This might be by downloading one page of the slide as a PNG and then adding a blurb to explain what you are learning and also what your liked about the task.

I am still wanting to know the answer to how can we work out if their is a chicken developing inside an egg?

Today we have an extra hangout.

11:30am - Mrs G will run a session on uploading to your blog.

Reminder: that it would be great to have little 'kiwi kids' clips emailed to Mrs G (and shared in google drive - pop it in your media folder).

Lockdown Day Nine - 26 Aug 21

Awa News - Thursday 26 August 2021

Well done everyone for doing such a great job of getting to our hangouts and completing your online learning activities.  Thanks, everyone for getting back to Mrs G with information on how long eggs need to be incubated.  What temperature.  What humidity.  and if we need to turn the eggs?  We now know that the eggs need to be at 37.5 Degrees Celcius and have humidity set to 55%.  We also know that they take 21 days to hatch and we need to stop turning them at day 18.

Another question we have is how can we work out if there is a chicken developing inside an egg?

Today we have 2 extra hangouts.

11:30am - Mrs G will run a session on creating your Awa Class News Update (optional)

1pm - Aimee will run a library session for us.  If you have a book you would like to read or share please bring it with you.

Reminder: that it would be great to have little 'kiwi kids' clips emailed to Mrs G  (and shared in google drive - pop it in your media folder).

Lockdown Day Seven - 24 Aug 21

Awa News - Tuesday 24 August 2021

Yesterday we had a fantastic Google Meet with lots of students joining online at 9:45.  Our meeting time each day will be and 9.45am and our nickname (code) is Awa. 

Today we are hoping to have lots of sharing about how to incubate eggs as we want to get the incubator turned on ASAP.  Questions that would be fantastic to have answered are... How long do eggs need to be incubated?  What temperature?  What humidity?  Do we need to turn the eggs?  Do we have to stop turning the eggs?  How and when can we tell if a chicken is growing inside an egg.

Reminder: that it would be great to have little 'kiwi kids' clips emailed to Mrs G  (and shared in google drive - pop it in your media folder). 

Lockdown Day Six - 23 Aug 21

Awa News - Monday 23 August 2021

Over the weekend your teachers have been very busy creating packs to send home and organising contactless pickups of both these packs and devices. We are excited about seeing you all online at 9:45 this morning. Our nickname (code) is Awa.

In our google meet we will have time to catch up, and chat about our learning for Monday. Remember to mute your microphone before entering the google meet. Headphones are a great idea as it stops lots of feedback. Apart from our google meet time you can set your day up as you feel comfortable and complete learning at your own pace. There will also be a teacher in the google meet link until midday if you need extra help as you go. To log back in just use the same code.

Reminder: that it would be great to have little 'kiwi kids' clips emailed to Mrs G (and shared in google drive - pop it in your media folder).

Lockdown Day Three - 20 Aug 21

Awa News - Friday 20th August 2021

Nakita seems to be keeping on with this Awa Lockdown News Idea, so this is becoming part of her morning routine. Collecting facts, writing her script, and then recording herself, and then filing it in her media folder so she can share it to her blog. If anyone else would like to start creating these we would love to see them. Just remember to file them in your media file. Mrs G would love to have people share a photo of them in their family bubbles. These can be emailed to Mrs G .

Mrs Clarke and Mrs Gardiner are enjoying seeing people start to share their work with us. It is great to see you all enjoying your lockdown learning. Again the main focus of learning in our Level 4 bubbles, is having fun together.

We are looking forward to the announcement at 3pm today to find out what is happening with the alert levels.

Reminder: that it would be great to have little 'kiwi kids' clips emailed to Mrs G (and shared in google drive - pop it in your media folder).

Lockdown Day Two - 19 Aug 2021

Awa News - Thursday 19th August 2021

Please bear in mind that this is a student-made video (mum was doing admin stuff).  It is a great idea and we welcome students to do this for themselves to keep a record of what they are doing in lockdown.  

A reminder that for the rest of this week we are focusing on bugs and there are some activities on our timetable below to inspire you in your learning.  Your teachers would love to see your work so remember to share this with us.  This could be photos, emails, or something else.  Remember that for these activities you do not require a device and as it looks like such a lovely day make the most of this opportunity to get outside and do some fun outdoor activities relating to your learning.  Kia Kaha and stay safe.

Again the main focus of learning in our Level 4 bubbles, is having fun together.  

Reminder: that it would be great to have little 'kiwi kids' clips emailed to Mrs G (or shared in google drive - pop it in your media folder).

Lockdown Day One - Awa News 18-Aug-21

Awa News - Thursday 18th August 2021

Please bear in mind that this is a student-made video (mum was doing admin stuff). It was a great idea and we welcome students to do this for themselves even.

This week's plan is designed that devices are not required and that you and your child have the flexibility in how and when you complete tasks. If you have other great ideas please feel free to let us know as well. The main focus is having fun together with a little bit of fun learning added into the mix.

Movie Making with Harley

Today we had Harley the movie man come and work with Team Awa. 

First, we watched a movie called 'incoming call' that Harley had produced.  It took him 3 months to make it.  We were watching it to learn even more about movie angles and shots.  It had a really interesting storyline.

We learned about 'Camera language'

Director says:  "quiet on set"

Camera person:  "Camera speed"

Sound person says:  "Sound Speed"

Clapper person says; "Rob and Kelly. Take 1"

Director says:  "Action"

We looked at how a movie also has a script for its characters and that the angles we use when capturing our movies add to the effect.  This was great to reinforce what we already started learning last term.  

Harley talked to us about how every story has a beginning, middle, and end.  He related that back to our movies and how every movie you made needs to have this too.  He told us that if your movie is 3 minutes long, the first 1 min should be for the beginning, the next minute for the middle, and the last minute for the end.

We got to have a play with some of his gear including the clapper which was lots of fun.  We used boom mikes so we could capture the sound closer to the action.  

After that Harley worked with us in small groups to catch up with what our movie storyboards and scripts looked like.  He was really impressed at the through we were going into and had lots of positive feedback for us all.

Thanks for coming again, Harley.  It's always fantastic to have you.

DDF Dance Group

Today we had a special treat of being able to watch the DDF dance crew perform for our whole school.  Before they started they told us that they would be awarding up to 4 scholarships to students from our school to attend next term's lessons.  

We were all excited and loved to watch them perform.  After they performed they taught us a dance.  Students then had a dance-off and in the end, 5 students were offered this opportunity.  Team Awa had 2 people chosen.  We are so excited for them.  here are some photos and videos of our time with DDF.

Keeping Ourselves Safe

Today Matua Hoani visited today to begin working with us around Keeping Ourselves Safe.  We talked alot about needing to know our address and situation when it is important.  We knew that it was when we are lost or when we need help like with an ambulance, fire, or police.

We also talked about how when we are in a shop if you get lost then a good person to ask for help from is shop keeper.

We also talked about what number we ring if we are in an emergency.  We know that we need to ring 111.   When you first get through they will ask do you want Fire, Ambulance, Police?  We practiced working out which one we would need to choose if we were ringing by talking bout different scenarios'.  

We also know that the next thing they will ask is "What is your address?" so they can start sending someone straight away.

Knowing your own phone number and being able to ring it is a great thing too

We also talked about things that make us special 

 

Blake Foundation

At the beginning of the year, Teachers attended PD and were introduced to the Blake Foundation.  They were all so excited about the opportunities this could offer students at Ohaeawai School so the Blake Foundation was invited to our school.  This was such a magic opportunity for our students to see technology in action and using it to experience being totally immersed in a new and meaningful learning environment they would have never been able to experience before.

Today students were able to view and learn about what makes a healthy and unhealthy marine environment.

Technology opens the eyes and the hearts of our students so they can experience and learn both in and about environments that are important to us now and in the future.  Sustainable change must come from the heart.

Sphero Racing Movie

Here is an inspirational movie Team Awa made as a result of their Sphero racing.

We hope you enjoy!

 

Team Awa's Sphero Racing

We have been learning about the America's Cup. We have done lots of learning about the teams, the history of the cup and how the boats race. 

We have done lots of different learning and activities to help our understanding. Here are some of our results from the Sphero races. 

Team Awa's Sphero Racing Recounts

We have been learning about the America's Cup. We have done lots of learning about the teams, the history of the cup and how the boats race. 

We have done lots of different learning and activities to help our learning. Here is some of our writing.

 By Dan

 By Nakita

 By Nate

 By Connor

 By Rakai

By Kole

Team Awa's Sphero Racing Recounts

We have been learning about the America's Cup. We have done lots of learning about the teams, the history of the cup and how the boats race. 

We have done lots of different learning and activities to help our learning. Here is some of our writing.

Waste Wise with Anouk

Today we had Anouk come and visit Ohaeawai School to share with us some Waste Wise tips and tricks.

We had a chat about the different sorts of rubbish that we make and discussed how we can reduce our waste in different ways and that this is essential for our environment.

Here are Anouks 5 R's to Reduce

Reuse - Choose thing that can be reused multiple times.

Refuse - Say NO to things you don't need.

Remake - Use old items to make something new.

Rot - Compost food scraps as these don't need to go to landfill

Repair - Fix things that are broken rather than just throwing them away.

We also talked about the need to Recycle and to recycle correctly, by checking the numbers on the plastics and not scrunching up paper.  This was especially important as we are all going to have a turn at being Team Awa's  'Waste Wise Warriors' 

Thanks Anouk for all your sharing.  We also had some great races to help us practice our recycling skills.

Self Portraits using Crayon and Dye

Miss Stewart and Mrs Henderson taught us how to draw our faces and get our facial features in the right place. We used crayon and dye to complete our portraits. Here they are. 

Rainbowfish Friendship learning

In Class we have been working on a shared book called Rainbow fish.  This is a story that many of us knew but one that has lots of messages, and a lot of these relate to friendships, learning how to work with others, share and resolving issues proactively.  We did lots of talking about these messages and about friends themselves and we will create a class treaty based on many of these ideas.  This is alway a great way to start back at school when were have new people in our class and we are all learning how to work with each other again after a long Christmas break.

Below are a few videos that students created based around Rainbow Fish and some of the learning they were doing.

Kawa of Care #1

We have been learning about how to look after our chromebook. We made a movie about our Kawa of Care point number 1. Here is our movie.

 

Chromebook Unboxing 2021

Each year at Ohaeawai our Year 4's anxiously wait for the 'Chromebook Unboxing Day'.  This year was no different.  Everyone in Ohaeawai School filed into the Room 2, and the bomb timer was waiting for us on the screen.  

We had some fantastic speakers from Team Moana (our Year 5's and 6's) who wanted to share with the whole school about their experiences with using Chromebook's since they received theirs last year or the year before.  These students explained the tasks they enjoyed doing and how being creative on their Chromebook's and sharing their work with others was important.  They also talked about making the most of opportunities and always doing the right thing on your Chromebook.  Following this we said our thank you's to the parents who were present. 

The countdown was then started and the whole school counted backwards.  Ribbons were torn off, boxes were ripped opened and the excitement on the children's faces was captured with both video and cameras.  The noise was deafening.

It was such a fun and exciting day that will stay with these year 4's for the rest of their lives.

  

We hope you enjoy our little movie of what this experience was like for our Tamariki.