Raising a Reader - Visual Literacy Inquiry

Our Visual Inquiry learning/ reading has inspired us to create our own zines. 

This is us planning what we will include. 

We have stumbled across a great article in the New York Times, By Pamela Paul and Maria Russo, "How to Raise a Reader." This article has tips for parents about how to raise a reader at every age and stage.  

Some key points:

• Read throughout the day 
• When reading with kids, introduce your own preferences
• Respect the child's preferences
• Choose a range of books/ texts
• Don't make reading work, reading is fun!
• Format does not matter- comics can help students become avid readers
• A book about a computer game is still reading
• Some kids prefer non-fiction

We are all very excited about our ongoing Visual Literacy Inquiry. We have been reading a range of texts that have visual images or diagrams. 

We’ve been working on our reading comprehension skills, using some exciting comic and graphic novels stories. We are being reading detectives and learning to read both the words and the pictures to gather information. We are making predictions about what characters will do next, and inferring the reasons for their actions from the information we have. We are practising saying why we think these things by referring to the text for evidence.

Outdoor Classroom Day

Thursday was "Outdoor Classroom Day." 

Some ākonga started the day with a Character Strength hunt around the school. They worked with younger students to find posters placed around the school. It was wonderful to see the Curiosity, Leadership and Zest. 

Students have been using their creativity and imagination, channelling Andy Goldsworthy by creating environmental artwork. Students have been interacting meaningfully with their surroundings. They are developing the strength of Appreciating Beauty and Excellence.

Some students worked on their mapping skills and made treasure maps around the school.

Some students used the Te Reo for the gardening which we have been learning.

Students made fitness circuits for younger students with a goal to improve their Positive Health. 

There are so many benefits for children to play and learn outside. Research shows that it improves children's mental and physical health. Find out more: https://outdoorclassroomday.com/about/

WBS Cross Country

Isabella:
Cross Country

Year 1’s, do a half lap.
Year 2’s, do the same.
Year 3’s, do one full lap.
Year 4’s, do one full lap.
Year 5’s, do two whole laps.
Year 6’s, do two and a half laps.

If you do a whole lap you would run to Annie.
And if you did a half lap you would run to Chloe.

Year 4’s were late so the order got muddled up.
So it was year 1’s, year 2’s, year 3’s, year 6’s, 5’s, 4’s and that was the order of the year groups.

John would line year group by year group “Ready, steady, GO” he would say, and then we where on the run.

Leo K: 

When the Cross Country was happening, I was really nervous. When the person said "Year 5 boys you needed to run on the hard sand because it was easier to run." Last year I did not get on the hard sand but needed to go on the soft sand. This year I gave it all I've got and needed to run to the end of the beach and back 2 times. The good news is that I came 4th place! I am really happy and felt Positive Accomplishment and I made it to the Eastern Zones. After I ran, we cheered the other people on. 

Fabian: 

When the run started I was very nervous but a little excited. I was getting more nervous when I saw the little kids run. When the race started I was a little scared but when the race was finished I used a lot of Grit and bravery and I persevered a lot.

Locky:

The Whistle blows. I ran with everyone, at first I was scared I wouldn't make it in the top five. I was in 8th at the time. Heaps of people were in front of me. I was running so much we were all in a group running we made it to the rock we ran. I sprinted as hard as I could towards the hill. I was going quite slow because of the sand under my feet. I ran when I got to the other side of the hill. Somebody ran in front of me. Then we were almost at the finish line, when the person in front went the wrong way. I knew that was my moment to run! I ran super fast, he was right behind me. I was at the finish line, I ran as fast as possible. I needed to dial up perseverance because it was hard. I got there and fell over from how tired I was.

Lisa: 
I walked in a line onto the start.
“Okay you have to run around Jeffrey the rock up the path along the grass and back to here. Do that two times and half a lap, which is where you just go up the path and on the grass and to the finish” John bellowed.
Ready set GO.
me and 6 other year 6 girls sped off the start line. I was in 4th, but when we got to Jeffrey there was water sloshing up to the rock so we couldn’t run around it. Annie made a line we had to cross. I was coming in first place.
All of us were running in pairs, me and Olive were having a nice chat  year 6s had to do 2 laps and a half lap.
When we came up onto the path lots of people were there cheering us on on the grass and at the finish line.

I had to dial up perseverance and zest!

Finn H: 

Cross Country was awesome!
It was SO cool because I. Got. Into. The EASTERN ZONES!!!!😃😃
At the start I stayed just behind the people in the front (because I was just jogging), then they got tired out once we were about half-way across the beach because they had used all their energy. People started to drop back like flies! I had to use Perseverance to keep going. At the end I felt good, tired and a stitch. But it was worth it!

Gigi:

Cross country is when you do a big run. I’m going to say what had happened when I did Cross Country. I was pretty nervous. It was a long run. I was going barefoot because we were at the beach. It was a cold day and that was a good thing so I would not get too hot. When it was time for the Year 5 boys to run everyone started running full speed and I got 9th place so it good. I had to use lots of Grit because I didn't want to give up. I wanted to keep going without stopping. I felt really proud of myself when I finished. 

Scarlett: 
We were getting ready to run.
Year 1,2,3,6,5,4 it was a crazy day!
When it was the year 4s turn my heart was racing so fast like a plane.

Olive:

My heart was thumping in my chest like crazy, as I stepped onto the starting line. The wet sand crunched under my feet and the cold breeze whipped across my face.
The sky was grey and the sea was icy and dark.
“Listen up!” Yelled John. “You’ve gotta run from here to jeffery, cut up the path past the changing sheds, along the grass and back here, Do that twice and then do a half lap, just up the path and along the grass again.”
“Right, On your marks, get set, GO!” Hollered John.
Seven girls sprinted off the starting line, then I remembered mum’s words. “Don’t sprint at the start, jog. Make it feel like a big long trail run.”
I slowed down, so did Lisa. One by one the girls dropped back, we took the lead.
Up ahead, I saw Annie in a bright yellow vest waving us to jeffery. I touched the line she had drawn in the sand and took off again. “GO YOU GUYS!” Yelled Lucy as we passed her.
As I moved onto my second lap, my breath began to sound raspy. I kept on going.
The parent’s and the other kids cheered me on as I shifted into the half lap. The sand felt soft under my feet as I ran up the path. The grass soaked my shoes as I ran on the grass.
“GO OLIVE! GO LISA!” Everybody was screaming.
I felt my heart race as I raced into top speed. The crowd cheered wildly as I crossed the finish line. I was overcome with Positive Accomplishment!

EZ Netball

 

On Wednesday 18 of May the Worser Bay School Netball Team (Worser Bay Stars) went to the ASB centre for Eastern Zones Netball. We played 5 games each 18 minutes long. We got two ties, two losses and one win. We really had to use our Team Work, Leadership and Bravery to get through it. It was very fun to play netball all day even though it was hard, we had lots of fun in between the games too! Our team would like to say a big thanks to Kristy our coach and Margie our manager.

By Charlotte and Marigold

Strengths

Research shows that character strengths can help children succeed at school and in life. Strengths are the positive qualities individuals have, as reflected in their thoughts, feelings, and actions. They promote the well-being of themselves and others. 

Have a watch of our latest little vignette - this time an introduction to Character Strengths 

Positive Emotions - Quick Writes

We have been using Positive Emotions to guide our Quick Writes recently. The idea of a Quick Write is to get ideas flowing while also thinking of spelling, punctuation and handwriting. 
 
We are focusing on Positive Emotions, the students are asked to recall a moment in time when they felt this emotion, what it felt like and what the meaning of the emotion is. This is a form on 'Savouring' as well as developing vocabulary around emotions (there is more than happy, sad and hungry!!).

Savouring is an idea linked to Fredickson's Broaden and Build theory,The first component (i.e., the broaden hypothesis) is that positive emotions broaden attention. The second component (i.e., the build hypothesis) is that broadened attention leads to increased engagement. Essentially, if we broaden our attention to positive emotions we will feel them more.

If you're interested, there is more to read about Savouring and Positive Emotions here

'Joy is like a cross between excitement and happiness. I felt joy when I was at Laserforce for my birthday party. Joy feels like you want to sing a rock song and do cart wheels in front of the whole world, and if you graze yourself you just want to get up then smack yourself and keep on singing! ' - Finn H

Positive Emotions at Swimming

Positive Health and Fitness

We have been working on our Positive Health by trying to improve our fitness. 

We know that exercise is good for us and that we need to make it fun, so we're doing a range of activities!

This term we will be tracking our fitness by recording data. We will be regularly doing push ups, tricep dips, planks, leg raises and burpees. We want to improve the amount of exercises that we can do in a minute. We also want to improve our technique.

We have also done the beep test. We will see if our scores improve later in the term.

We are looking forward to the Worser Bay Cross Country on Tuesday. We know that we will need to show 'Grit' to do the best that we can!

Regular exercise has lots of health benefits for ākonga, such as:

• improving fitness
• providing an opportunity build and enhance Positive Relationships
• increasing concentration
• improving learning focus
• enhancing Positive Accomplishment
• building a stronger heart, bones and healthier muscles
• encouraging healthy growth and development
• improving posture and balance
• enhancing Positive Emotions
• encouraging a better night's sleep

'Ta Da' Goals to Enhance our Wellbeing

We have been thinking about ways to enhance our Positive Health. We started to make our own "Ta Da" lists. These are lists of things that we will try and do every day to enhance our wellbeing. We are taking small (Kaizen) steps to achieve our goals.

'Kaizen' is also known as continuous improvement or a 'change for the better'. Kaizen is a philosophy we implement at Worser Bay School. Kaizen is a Japanese word. Kai, meaning change and Zen meaning good. The type of change is small and incremental. Small changes in the right direction add up and eventually we are able to meet our big goals.

The "Ta Da" list idea was inspired by Sue Langley, a leading advisor in the practical application of positive psychology. In her 'Walk and Talk with Sue' podcast she discusses “How do small actions and behaviours propel us towards reaching our overarching goals? Research shows that being accountable in one area of our life, leads to improvements in other areas too. Creating a ‘Ta-Da’ checklist of 10 things for 10 days is a great way to start!”

Here are some of the things that ākonga added to their "Ta Da" lists: 

Drink 7 glasses of water

Do 3 star jumps

Run 100 steps

Do 4 burpees

Do 10 push ups

Eat 2 pieces of fruit per day

Do 5 finger breathing at least once

Practise my handwriting for 5 minutes

Practise my typing for 5 minutes

Do 5000 steps

Add 3 new Māori words to my Māori book

Read for pleasure at least 10 minutes

Say 3 things I am grateful for

Write down one Art idea every day

Do 10 minutes of yoga

Do something kind for someone

Help mum and dad with a chore at home

Practise my Maths skills for 5 minutes

Run for 200 steps

Practise the trumpet for at least 10 minutes

Work with someone different in class

Eat all of my lunch every day

Tell my parents what went well at school

Go to bed early (without complaining!)

Practise gymnastics for 10 minutes

Do 10 minutes of walking

Walk to school, instead of going in the car

Draw

Spend some time in nature

Spend some time each day in the ‘Flow’

Climb a tree

Have cuddles with my dog

Attempt the splits

Spend 5 minutes in the garden

Tell my friends a joke

Go rollerblading for 10 minutes

Limit my device time to 20 minutes

Get my heart rate up for 10 minutes

Make sure that I sweat

Bounce on the trampoline for 10 minutes

Practise my spelling words for 5 minutes

Dance!