Monday, March 20, 2017

Pohutukawa's Student Councillors!

The students never cease to amaze us. Check out their list of attributes they thought our student councillors should have!





The list of names on the left is everyone who self-nominated after considering these attributes. We discussed the idea of setting personal goals if some students thought they were weak in one of these areas. There'll be plenty more opportunities to stand for Student Council in the future!

Congratulations Bella, Henry and Tawini for being voted in by their classmates...and also to Sylvie and Reuben who will be our reserve student councillors.


Saturday, March 11, 2017

Observational Drawing - Week 6

Last week the children were given the task of drawing each other! They took turns at 'posing' for one another and the artist had only 5 minutes to capture their partner.

We discussed the possibility of our drawings looking 'silly' and the unlikelihood of them looking like a photo. The students instead were committed to recording the details of their partner's face and/or body they noticed the most.

This activity always reminds me how important it is that children get opportunities to draw without fear. They did an amazing job!

I wonder how many adults could do this?











Maths Problem Solving: Cars in Garages

Some students have been working hard to solve maths problems.

Cars in Garages:
I own 5 cars and a very large garage.
If I can see 2 cars parked outside the garage, how many are inside?
How many different ways can I park my cars inside and outside the garage?

Learning Outcomes:
Give many names for the same number by drawing a picture, using equipment or acting it out.
Use a mental image of 5 to work out the missing number in the number pair.



Ranginui Art

The students have been working hard to complete their art based on the picture book In The Beginning (the Maori creation story). The children have also written about their pictures.

Xandra was busy putting these up on the walls on Friday. Come in and view/read your child's efforts.

Here are a couple of photos of some children dyeing their work.



A Visit From Capital E!

Pohutukawa had the privilege of being visited by a a team of actors and script writers from Capital E last week. This was not the usual 'sit down and watch' performance, but was interactive and collaborative from the outset.

"We want to play with you!"

Organic in their approach, Capital E fostered a sense of fun and inspired energetic responses from the children. One explicit learning intention was how a set of objects can be grouped in a variety of different ways - a critical concept that crosses over all curriculum areas.

100% of students were actively engaged.

Have a look at the excitement (and sometimes chaos) that ensued!











Observational Drawing - Week 5


On this occasion the children were looking at a variety of fruit and vegetables. We discussed how rotting or decaying foods were more interesting to draw as they provided the artist with more lines, shapes and blemishes to notice and record. 






Can you identify the vegetable or fruit in these pictures?

Is it an eggplant, parsnip, courgette, apple or an orange?


















Observational Drawing - Week 4



This week, the children observed the patterns and intricate details of garden flowers. No fear here! 








Observational Drawing

This term, Pohutukawa will be drawing from observation regularly. We've scheduled it for alternate afternoons straight after lunch, to support the children into settling quickly back into classroom expectations.

Observational drawing is an activity that helps develop the following skills:


  • Looking
  • Noticing patterns
  • Attending to detail
  • Hand coordination


It also provides an opportunity for children to take risks in a safe environment and increase their self-confidence.

Pohutukawa has been doing an incredible job of making the most of this activity and recording what they see in front of them. Check out these photos!

Week 3









Welcome to Pohutukawa 2017!

Xandra, Amanda and Marlaina are working together to support life long learning. Please come in and meet us if you haven't already. There will be two of us in the classroom at any one time.

We've had a fantastic start to the year. Putting together strong and engaging literacy and numeracy programmes and setting up routines to provide a fun and safe classroom room, has been our priority.