Number Talks and Rocky Pools

The past week has seen plenty happening both in and out of the classroom. The sailing on Monday and Tuesday managed to take place despite the windy conditions. Unfortunately the snorkelling on Wednesday couldn't take place, but we hope that the weather will enable this to happen on Thursday.

This week, we've begun focusing on developing discourse around mathematical concepts to deepen children's understandings. Number Talks are a method that encourages students to question, clarify, discuss, think openly and inquire around a specific mathematical prompt or focus. Using these Talks, we are aiming to have children share different strategies and collaborate as they build their number knowledge and skills and address any misconceptions around maths.

Here are some images from one of the Number Talks held this week and the prompt that they were inquiring into:

We'll be continuing to build this method into our maths learning during the coming months as we look to develop the students habits of mind.

 

Last Friday, when the sun was still shining, we managed to head back down to the beach for a fantastic session with Katie Fenton and Kimi Moana Whiting. The children stretched marine life as part of our artistic project for developing the Pou with Kimi. With Katie, they researched into the local rock pools marine life and recording data. There was an amazing amount of life discovered the closer we looked into these ecosystems.

We are looking forward to continuing this inquiry over the coming months as the seasons change and we can monitor how this ecosystem changes.

Philosophy for Children P4C: The Hidden Forest

 

The Hidden Forest is a picture book which introduces us to the wonders of the underwater world. Using it to introduce students to upcoming snorkelling experience was also a hook into some deep thinking. Our students are practicing philosophical thinking; noticing, observing, discussing, provoking, challenging and most of all, questioning.  

Some of the key ideas were connected to the inspiration and challenges offered if we are to explore an unknown environment.  It inspired many to think about how we can treat the sea with more respect. 

• Only hunt sea creatures if you absolutely have to
• Observation leads to understanding
• Balance
• Face your fears
• Nature is equal to us

We noticed that the book had many layers of meaning and that it meant different things to different people.  We eventually chose the question of overfishing to dig deeper into.  Again, real quality thinking.

• Fishing seasons
• Limits and quotas (and some interesting discussion about these)
• Protection for endangered species
• No drag nets or other big nets
• Stop factory fishing ships

Our Mathematical Superpowers!

We have been thinking about our Mathematical Superpowers so that we can build our Community of Inquiry. We all have different strengths in Maths. If we collaborate and use our different strengths then we are stronger! We have created our own Maths Justification League...

Miramar Rangers - Football Tournament

On Wednesday our eager Year 3 and 4 tamariki had the opportunity to head to Miramar Park and compete against other schools in the Miramar Rangers Football tournament.

Students improved their football skills, practised working in a team and demonstrating good sportsmanship. They had the talented Miramar Rangers Football coaches there to support.

Mapping the School - Enviroschools

 Building on the work we have been doing in measurement our Maths for the last few days has been centred around trying to accurately map the school. No mean feat! We have been estimating distance and dimensions, noticing the actual size and shape of things and identifying the parts of the school important to us. 

                                   A couple of examples of fine maps.

We are working with Chloe our Enviroschools educator, looking more closely at the natural environments within the school.  Students were invited to connect to an Atua, an idea to help notice and connect them to the Taiao or environment. We are thinking about Tane and Tangaroa for our project in The Arts too.  More on this later. 

Ethan Q: My special place is the fairy garden. It is a relaxing place and I enjoy it. The breeze is as nice as a little fan and as cool as an ice block. I chose a rock on the ground in the fairy garden because it reminds me of a calm gentle forest. The fairy garden is a relaxing place and we play camouflage there.

Fabian: My special place at this school is the pizza oven and I chose a rock because on the floor of the pizza oven there are lots of rocks there. It is also very fun to play around there (when there is no fire going) there are also trees close so you can climb them if you are waiting for your pizza. It is also really nice there.

Zor: I like climbing a tree at school because first of all trees are a part of nature. I also love to climb trees, but in New Zealand, I find it harder to climb. I want to get better at climbing trees. Trees are fun and sometimes when you don’t know what to do try climbing up a tree it’s relaxing. Sometimes it’s better to relax and enjoy it. I like to climb trees because you can see lots of things and it’s a wonderful view.