Discussion: What is "Home"?

As part of our Inquiry "Where we dance" we read some different stories to get us thinking about community. We listened to the story, Quaky Cat (this is a story from a cat's point of view about the  earthquake in Christchurch.) We had some great discussions and debate about what is the definition of home. We came up with some interesting ideas about what "home" means. 

During our discussion we put ourselves on a continuum. Some of us agreed with Henry who said you don’t need a house to feel at home (you just need to be safe). Some of us agreed with Caspian who said home should be a building (a shelter).

Caspian

A home is something that shelters you. It usually has somewhere you can sleep, somewhere where you can eat, play and cook. Alex’s idea is home is something that you like. If you are homeless you sleep in a blanket or cardboard box. Alex would say it is home for a homeless person. It is just putting a cardboard box and sleeping there waiting for some money and it doesn’t have shelter for you. It is like putting a chair in the middle of the road. You can’t call that your home.

Griffin 
A home is a place where you feel safe. Even though some people live on the streets they still call it a home. Some people were born on the streets and love living on the streets. They would still call anything a home, maybe a tent, a shelter, a bench or anything as long as it feels nice and comfortable. You might think it has to be a shelter but it doesn't, if it was then a house would be called a home.

Chris
home is not a quake or shiver

home is not a piece of life 

home is not to tear you apart 

home is not a monster. 

Home is not for you tear apart 

Home is here for YOU !

Jasmine and Stella

Home is a place were you feel safe and secure. Home is somewhere you can meet your family and live with your family. Home can be a place can be out side on a beach or in a park. Home is a a place that you will never forget till you die, even if you go round carrying a blanket and you sleep in the same place. It is still a home.

Alex

The Definition Of A Home Is: 

A warm/cozy place that you feel safe in. 

A place where you can make/ have memories. 

Where you can rest and stay sheltered from bad weather or bad people. 

A home is a place that makes you happy in the heart and soul. 

A place where you can eat, sleep and proses your pride positions. 

All around a place where you can live. 

Not A Home: 

Cold ,dark and empty place 

A bus stop 

A place where your not happy

Thomas
What is a definition of a home? where your family come together. When you feel safe and have an eco-friendly environment. it’s a place where you can rest and just be yourself and calms you down after a hard day at work. A home can be any were but you need to feel safe. A house is just a building but a home is safe happy and cheerful a home is were you belong.

Flynn
A home is a place where you live which doesn't have to be a building like you could live on the street but if you keep coming back it is sort of a home or it could be a building. Some people say a home is wherever you feel safe but I can feel safe in a hug but that isn't my home because it isn't where I live.

Hunter T

A home is a place where you are safe, 

A home is a place where you can rest and relax, 

A home is a place where your family can come together, 

A home is a place where you can play games and be silly. 

I like home because I can invite friends over, 

I like home because I can pick a clover, 

I like home because I can be with my Dog, 

I like home because I usually don't see a hedgehog. 

Home is what I call nice because I see dead mice. 

Home is what I call cheerful because 

Everyone has a home in their life.

Library Student Council

We have been learning how the books in the library are organised. We talked about how fiction books are organised by the last name of the author and got into a line that showed the order books we write would be put in. Lots of us have last names that start with S so we explored what would happen next, Sm (Smith) was before So (Sorsa).

Then we explored the Dewey Decimal System. We chose something we wanted to explore and took a guess what it was about then went and saw if we could find a book about that.

"Today we learned about the Dewey decimal system which is a system used in libraries to organise non-fiction books. The books are organised in numbers. We were interested in which categories animals were placed in and we guessed 500 and we guessed right 599.7."
By Alba and Nela

Where we dance

We have started a new Inquiry "Where we dance". We are looking at our neighbourhoods - who is in them, what is in them, where are our special happy places. We have done some quick writes with initial ideas, and some poetry and songwriting about these places. We hope to make our neighbourhoods places where people connect more often.

Here's some of our writing:

What is in our local area In our environment three are living things like humans, animals and plants. One of my favourite of places in our local area is the beach because it's so beautiful. Our local area is special because it has great views and secret paths that are filled with trees, flowers and other plants. Our peninsula is called Miramar peninsula it was originally was behind a big hill so they had to cut a whole through it to make an entrance to Miramar. That's why Miramar is surrounded by hills it has to beaches that lap around Wellington. Miramar is lovely in the summertime it's so nice we got to the beach go rock pooling their and we have a paddle board that we go out in sea deep on and look at the beautiful sea life and my absolute favourite thing in Miramar peninsula is eating ice creams at schorchorama cafe in Scorching Bay.

By Yasmin



What is in my neighbourhood? Hello my name is Eleanor and I go to Worser Bay School. By the way if you live in Wellington (oh and I live in Wellington) you need to go to Worser Bay School! In my neighbourhood there are lots of kids from school playing about. there are lots of lovely people in my neighbourhood. They're so kind and loving! I smell the fresh NZ air and NZ native birds chirping 24/7. The water evaporates under my feet as I slowly walk to my friends house that is right next to mine. Katherine is one of my closest friends and she is kind and the best Gymnast I ever know! Kids running home with ice creams in there hand and their smile is as big as their face! The sun strong and the wind is calm. Water everywhere, people screaming and laughing. THAT IS JUST THE BEGINNING!!!!!!!



In Townsend Rd you can see lots of things like cats, dogs,t rees and lots of tree houses but the most best part about it is that everyone is friendly. (Except this one lady that's always raging angry). In our neighbourhood we get lots of tuis, fantails, bell birds and magpies, mainly because we have a massive bird feeder.

By Cameron



Quick write about worser bay and Miramar

What is in our local area? 

Our local area is worser bay and Miramar. Our area is really nice and free. One of the things in worser bay or Miramar is living near the beach because in the summer all you have to do is pack some stuff check with your parents maybe phone up your friends to find out if they are around a go down to the beach. On the beach there is also the worser bay boating club. I like to walk up to the prison on the top of the hill and look at this old building. When you come down from the prison there is this garden that is almost impossible to see because it is inside the bush. When you know you come across the garden is when you see a beautiful well and a little path leading into a clearing with butterflies. It is so magical. 

What makes our place special? 

Our place is special because we are not like other places because most other places are strict about kids walking alone and just popping to the play ground. Our place let’s kids walk alone and i think everybody is kinder than other country’s because if you saw a child that looked lost then they would come up to them and help them. I like the outer place because we are lucky to have the most amazing bush,hills and animals. 

Where do you hang out? 

I like to hang out down at the beach. I like playing at the beach with my friends. The secret garden is my favourite place. I like walking and hanging out in the bush because it is so magical almost as magical as the secret garden. How do you feel about these areas? I love these areas because they use a lot of nature and is inspired by the world around them. I feel like this area is magical and free.

By Nell



Worser bay, Worser bay. It’s where the seagulls squawk and wail. The waves crash on the beach and where dogs chase their tails. The school is always loud and you can hear it from the beach it’s a rowdy place on the outside but take a look in the rock pools and you will change your mind forever.

By Peter

I am Connected- Tuakana Teina Whānau Buddies

Our Learner Attribute for this term is I am connected.

As part of building on our Learner Attribute of I am connected, some of the year 2, 3 and 4's have become tuakana (older) whānau buddies for the new members of Worser Bay School from Autahi as they begin their learning journey at our kura.

Over the next few weeks, they will get to know each other and do different activities together to build their relationships.

First, the tuakana (older) buddies made an introduction card for their (younger buddies).

Next, one group of tuakana got to know their teina buddy by interviewing them, making connections and then spending some time playing games.

Here are some of our thoughts from the afternoon:

Tuakana buddies:
Eddie- It was exciting to meet my new buddy because it was fun to get to do something with someone you have never done something with before.
Lillian- It was fun to show someone little how to do things.

Teina buddies:
Leo- I want my tuakana buddy to help me make more friends.
Violet- I want my tuakana buddy to help me learn maths.

I think, I notice, I wonder...

We have been learning to think like Mathematicians. We have been thinking, noticing and wondering. This stimulates curiosity and helps to make new connections.

Please add to our slow Number Talk below. What do you think, notice, wonder?

 

Making Connections to help us with our "Maths is Beautiful" Inquiry

Eiffel Tower by Caspian

We have been thinking about the beauty in Maths. As part of our Inquiry, some of us have been thinking about Architecture and Maths.

One of our questions was: What was the design and building process for making the Eiffel Tower?

Our friends at Brindas School in France helped us to answer some of these questions and they made a movie for us. 

Caspian and Sammy responded: 

Dear Friends at Brindas School (CM2), 

Thank you for making the video about the Eiffel Tower. We are interested in the Eiffel Tower in France because it is a different shape than a normal building. It is different from the many varieties of buildings in the world. Its structure and shape is interesting. We wanted to study this more. 

There are 4 arches holding it up and they are on an angle. It is interesting how the arches can hold all of the weight of the tower. 

The video was really cool because it showed us the building process. We knew that the Eiffel Tower was built a long time ago but we did not know it was built in the 1870s. We liked the shape part of the video. We liked the statistics too. There is a Paris restaurant in Las Vegas. It is built in the shape of the Eiffel Tower. 

Thank you again, 

Caspian and Sammy

Brindas School and some other schools also added to these slides about the Beautiful Ideas in Maths:

Our learner attribute focus for this term is "I am Connected!" We are really excited to be connecting locally, nationally and internationally... 

Here is our Learner Attribute:

Athletics on the Beach

Today we had a great time on Worser Bay Beach taking part in our Athletics event. Everyone showed great bravery, perseverance and resilience. 

We will be in touch regarding Eastern Zones Athletics. Watch this space!

Together we are stronger!

At Worser Bay School, we creating a "Community of Inquiry". This links with our three underlying principles in our vision; valuing the whole child, knowledge building and inquiry and embracing collaborative learning.

We have been taking on different roles in groups. We know that everyone has strengths and that if we combine these strengths then together we are stronger!

These students are working on a collaborative Maths task. They worked together to problem solve and explore different vocabulary linked with geometry. 

Our whole school focus for this term is "I am Connected!" We are connecting locally, nationally and internationally... 

Tangrams

On Friday we learnt about Tangrams. These are traditional Chinese puzzles made of a square divided into seven pieces (one parallelogram, one square and five triangles) that can be arranged to match particular designs. We spent some time exploring different ways that we can arrange the shapes.

You can try making some of your own online: http://www.abcya.com/tangrams.htm

Shake Out

Last week we had an earthquake drill. We need to know about earthquakes and how to be prepared in case we are in an earthquake. We already know a lot of what to do when there is one but it's always good to remind ourselves so we feel confident and prepared.

Here is a funny clip from the Shake Out website:

Maths and Architecture

Falling Water. Frank Lloyd Wright.

We have been thinking about the Maths used by Architects and whether this is part of their creativity.  What inspires architects to design amazing buildings?
We noticed all kinds of shapes from nature in buildings and thought that the Architect might have been inspired by things like shells, waves, reptile's scales, cliffs and other natural forms.

Hundertvasser, who designed the building above didn't like straight lines at all because he wanted the buildings to replicate the forms of nature.

We are asking questions to investigate and explore connected with this.
Does the Beehive in Wellington share anything in common with natural beehives?
What was the design and building process for making the Eiffel Tower?
What are the strongest shapes and materials in building?  Can these withstand earthquakes?
These are some of our questions.

We will be sharing our learning with the kids in Tautoru next Friday.

 

Kapahaka

Today we started Kapahaka with Henare Parata. 

This is us doing the "kapo kapo ringa ringa" waiata:

 

Connecting our Inquiry to everything we do

We are connecting our Inquiry, Maths is Beautiful, to lots of different parts of our day.

In sketching, we looked for pieces of nature (that were on the ground) that had patterns. As we sketched them we explored these patterns and what could be going on mathematically. One of the things we noticed was that the leaves we found were all very easy to shade over when tracing them. We figured this was because leaves have texture and 'different levels' so by shading over them, the different levels can be shown.

We also looked into our own shadows and how our shadows change size dependant on where we stand.

Maths seems to be everywhere!

Maths Parent Workshop

Message from Jude: 

In Week 9, Term 3, we had the Parent Workshop on Maths Learning. As I said, we are very proud of our Maths academic results. In 2017 a colossal 86% of our children were at, exceeding or well exceeding curriculum expectations in Maths for their year level. And we are tough on our judgments, as the reviewers from the Education Review Office noted in their feedback to us! But that doesn't mean we rest easy. We have never known so much about how students learn - thank you to the inventors of MRI scanning technology.

All of our teachers are undertaking Maths professional development through Stanford University - focussed on the latest research and thinking in Maths education as to where and how you get the biggest shifts in achievement. The Board recognises the importance of ongoing teacher development and, as a consequence, Nicola was awarded a study grant this year, yes - you guessed it - focussed on Maths. Nicola and Ximena have also been selected to present at the largest national educators' conference ULearn these upcoming holidays, which we are really proud of. (And their session is booked out!)

So we were very excited to have the opportunity to share our ongoing learning and thinking with many of you last week. We started with a little activity - asking parents to simply answer this question:

BEFORE: What did Maths mean to you at school? (3 words)

Then at the end of the interactive workshops we asked this question:

AFTER: What does Maths learning look like for kids at WBS? (3 words)

Please find the first and second Word Cloud results below:



This was really great and informative feedback for us, and I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up on a screen in Auckland at ULearn sometime soon as part of a presentation!

If you couldn't make it, you may find this Jo Boaler Ted Talk interesting. Or What our Children Think.