WEEK 9!
The last week of Term 1. A very fast and furious term but also very successful! A huge thanks to all my students for giving everything a go this term and for just being an awesome class. I am really looking forward to Term 2 with my class. Also a huge thanks to parents: helping on camp and class trips but also for your support for your child and support for the school.

Here are some samples of Room 3 Powhiri recounts:

To this day I still hear the Haka, feel the movement of the ground and also hear the Karanga. (Zade)

All I felt on the day of the Powhiri was 100 butterflies bursting out of my chest. While we were walking I had millions of questions in my head, like what is going to happen? (Cody)

I finally felt a part of Balmacewen and being welcomed into a huge school is amazing. (Ariana)

I could already feel the goose bumps coming and the Powhiri hadn't even started. (Catherine)

The silence was sudden and unexpected. The boys stood around protecting the girls in the middle. There was the call, "Haere mai, Haere mai." The Powhiri had begun. (Jeremy)

As we slowly crept down the driveway and flowed into the hall, tension started to build up inside me. We were greeted into the hall by a powerful Haka. I was nervous, BUT wow, what a performance! (Eddy)

Scorching! We stood there being cooked by the hot afternoon sun. The sound of the Karanga wafted around our ears like smells to our noses. It had started! (Jason)

The year 7's had a formation of the boys in a horseshoe protecting the girls in the middle and the Year 7 teachers with us. You could smell the burning rubber on the soles of people's shoes. The sound of the shoes on the concrete sounded like a rush of people going to a gigantic shoe sale. (Shaniia)

The sun was blazing outside and I really don't want to go outside in the open. It was perfectly shady in here. Anyway I had no choice, I had to go. So I slung myself out of my chair (very miserably). (Mikayla)

We walked into the hall to the Haka. The Haka sounded like rolling thunder. (Chance)

As soon as we entered there was a tsunami of noise. (Grant)

As I strolled into the hall, my jaw dropped. I was stunned at the sheer volume by the proud haka. It was a scene of red jerseys everywhere I looked. (Gene)

My ears tingled. The time has come, we're doing a school powhiri! My heart was pounding. Room 3 anxiously walked to the hall. (Fabian)

We were like sheep, being herded, what were we about to do? What were the teachers going to say? Why were we doing this? We were about to find out.... (Jess)

Watch our Science Fair slideshow!

Week 6:
Time is flying as we approach the end of Term 1. However there is no time to slow down as we still have heaps to do!!
Otago Early Settlers Museum Trip:
It was a great day out visiting both the Milford Art Gallery and the Museum. We learnt alot about early Dunedin and how both early Maori and Scottish settlers viewed this region. We dressed up as early settlers on the Philip Laing - one of the first boats to Dunedin. We role played how we would have travelled to Dunedin and explored some of the hard ships faced by those early settlers. We are using some of this knowledge and experience to help with this weeks homework. I am looking forward to reading your application letters to the New Zealand Company! Remember these are to be displayed so put time into publishing and presenting.

This week we have started a Reading Log incentive chart. We will record the chapter books read both here at school and at home. Once certain goals are reached then stickers will be earnt. Once 4 stickers are reached then there is a reward of 15 minutes FREE TIME!
This will help build up reading mileage but it will also be very cool if we can share the cool books we are reading.

This week we started learning to play the marimba for music. A great start.

Next week we will start into our Inquiry for the rest of the term. Our big question is: HOW ARE WE SHAPED BY OUR PAST? We will look at forming questions around this big question and investigate to find answers. We will also be using interviewing as one form of research.

Next week:

• Swimming on Tuesday 16 March from 9.30 - 10.00
• Parent Interviews - Tuesday and Wednesday
• Swimming Sports - Friday 19 March ( a notice has come home about this)

Here are some photos from our Musuem trip last week: