Welcome to Room 1
Room 1 is a Year 6 classroom and is taught by Mrs Kirsty Gilroy (aka 'Mrs G') and Ms Philippa Melton. Room 1 is a fun, vibrant and energetic classroom - we are busy building leaders of the future, so every student is encouraged to realise the potential in themselves and in any situation - much like Colin Murdoch. We want Room 1 students to be independent, to take risks and to take responsibility for their learning and achievement of their goals.
We strongly believe that education is a partnership between home and school, so if you have any questions, concerns or queries at any time, or just want a chat (!!), please do pop in and see us, or send us an email - ap@tauwhare.school.nz
Please scroll down to see what we have been up to.
Kia ora koutou. I have taught at Tauwhare School since 2009 and I am also the Assistant Principal and SENCO. My husband Mike and I have two adult children and we live on a 20 acre block along with our cows, sheep, cats, dogs and an extraordinary number of frogs, ducks, pukekos and skinks! I enjoy mountain biking, camping, and spending time at the beach and I also love music and the theatre and attend as many concerts and shows as possible. I believe in teaching the whole child; that emotional wellbeing, resilience, social awareness and relationship capabilities are just as important as physical health and academic or sporting successes and abilities -:
"How powerful would our world be if we had kids who were not afraid to take risks, who were not afraid to think, and who had a champion?"
"Every child deserves a champion, an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they become the best they can possibly be." Rita Pierson, Educator
MEd (First Class Honours), GradDipTch (Primary), BAppSocSci (Psych), Dip.Psych, Dip.OrgPsych & Dip.Bus.Mge.
Room 1 Newsletters
Read on for all the news, trip notices and sports events which the pupils in Room 1 will be involved in this year. Please do send me an email if you have questions at any time.
Facebook page
Home Learning
Click on the links below for websites to support home learning -:
Term One 2023
Portrait Art
Check out our Portrait Art! We did this by using a photo of ourselves as a prompt, and then created a pencil sketch. It was a long (and sometimes challenging) process, but the results look fantastic and it was wonderful to see the art skills progress over the term.
Guess Who I Am?
Click here to see the student's writing about themselves - such a neat way to introduce who they are and to share a little bit about their families and the things everyone does at home. Enjoy!
Welcome back to school for 2023!
Please join our Facebook page to see updates and photos of the things your children are doing at school. Click here to request to join.
Term Four 2022
2022 School Camp
We had the most wonderful time at camp! A huge thanks to our adult helpers, and to all our transport and activity providers who ensured we were happy, learned lots, and enjoyed every minute.
Because of Covid, we were not able to hold our usual Camp Presentation evening for our parents to see everything we did, so the students have instead made individual slideshows of the things they personally really liked. We hope you enjoy viewing the photos as much as we enjoyed experiencing the moments.
View all Camp 2022 photos here
Room 1 - Individual Camp Slideshows
Writing Cup Entries 2022
Each year our Year 6 students enter a piece of writing to compete for the honour of being awarded the Writing Cup. These entries are judged by an external expert, who does not know any of the students at the school - we label each student's submission with their initials only, and then send these off.
Traditionally, the standard of writing is always very high, and this year was no exception. You can read all the entries here - and see why the judges commented on what a very difficult task it was to choose the top writers as they are all deserving and have individual merits, which I think you will agree with.
Enormous congratulations to our placegetters -:
1st - Lily Hayward
2nd - Mackenzie Harrison
3rd - Ruby Sampson
4th equal - Tabitha Sharman & Jack Brown
Term Three 2022
War Writing
The students have been doing some wonderful writing with Ms Melton - in Term 1 & 2 we focused a lot of our learning around the history and happenings of WWI and WWII and the ANZAC stories. You might enjoy reading the students' diary entries and their letters from the trenches.
Speeches Update!
Well done to all our speechmakers, you did yourselves proud!
A special congratulations to our placegetters who will go on to represent Tauwhare School at the Cambridge Rotary Speech Competition, as well as at the Country Cluster Schools Speech Competition.
We loved the variety of topics and ideas - you can enjoy reading these speeches here.
Speeches
This term Ms Melton will begin working with the students on their speeches. Please do chat with your child at home about their speech and help them to think of topics to talk about which they are interested in and can speak enthusiastically about. We will be writing the speeches in class, but you are welcome to help them at home too - their speech will be typed on a Google Doc in Classroom, so that it can be accessed easily from home as well.
All the children will present their speech to the other students in Room 1. From here, the semi-finalists across Room 1 and Room 2 will be chosen and they will then present their speech in the Multi-Purpose Room in front of students and teachers. We will have a panel of three teachers (who have not helped with the speech writing) to be our judges and to select around 8 finalists. The finalists will present again in the Multi-Purpose Room and we will get an external judge to come into the school and decide who our winning speechmakers are for 2022. You are welcome to come and watch the semi-finals and finals - the dates will be advertised in our newsletter and are also detailed in the information sheet which has been given to the students.
We do appreciate that public speaking can be nerve-wracking for many people; we will ensure that your child is well-supported and that their experience is a positive one, so that they are well prepared for speechmaking when they progress on to middle and high school. Of course, if you have any queries about the speeches, please do get in touch with either Mrs G or Ms Melton.
Term Two 2022
Writing
The students have been following their 'wonderings' in their Space research, completing some effective sketches of the moon, and writing evocative pieces based on a John Lewis advert, called "The Man On The Moon". You can enjoy reading their pieces here.
Art
They are finally complete! The students began making papier mache masks in Term 1 with Mrs G, and it's been a long process...but we think you'll agree that they look fabulous.
Art
The students have completed some gorgeous Autumn Art with Ms Melton!
Term One 2022
Writing
The students have been doing some wonderful writing with Ms Melton in class.
Follow this link to read some of the latest pieces -:
Maths
We have started exploring number patterns and the students are working together to solve the challenges.
So neat to see them discussing, challenging, explaining and justifying their answers!
Term Three & Four 2021
Speeches
This term Ms Melton will begin working with the students on their speeches. Please do chat with your child at home about their speech and help them to think of topics to talk about which they are interested in and can speak enthusiastically about. We will be writing the speeches in class, but you are welcome to help them at home too - their speech will be typed on a Google Doc in Classroom, so that it can be accessed easily from home as well.
All the children will present their speech to the other students in Room 1. From here, the semi-finalists across Room 1 and Room 2 will be chosen and they will then present their speech in the Multi-Purpose Room in front of students and teachers. We will have a panel of three teachers (who have not helped with the speech writing) to be our judges and to select around 8 finalists. The finalists will present again in the Multi-Purpose Room and we will get an external judge to come into the school and decide who our winning speechmakers are for 2021. You are welcome to come and watch the semi-finals and finals - the dates will be advertised in our newsletter and are also detailed in the information sheet which has been given to the students.
We do appreciate that public speaking can be nerve-wracking for many people; we will ensure that your child is well-supported and that their experience is a positive one, so that they are well prepared for speechmaking when they progress on to middle and high school. Of course, if you have any queries about the speeches, please do get in touch with either Mrs G or Ms Melton.
Term Two 2021
ROBOTICS WORKSHOP AT HILLCREST HIGH SCHOOL
On Thursday, four Year 6 students were given the opportunity to explore robotics at Hillcrest High School. It was a wonderful experience in programming, debugging and running the LEGO robot to see if it could drop off some spare parts to the rocket which had crashed on the moon. Cooperation and communication were the order of the day and successfully accomplished by Alyssa, Stevie-Lee, Easton and Harrison.
I was presented with some very interesting expressions of interest to attend the next robotics morning at Hillcrest High School Computer Lab for another group of children to have a go at programming robots. This was such a great learning opportunity for the 5 students to learn how to programme the robots using LEGO robots, communication and cooperation as they worked together to solve the problem of getting the robot to the crashed rocket on the moon. Lots of changing parameters, debugging, trial and error but as you can see by the videos the robot got there in the end. Mahi pai tamariki.
Matariki Digital Technologies
Room 1 have been working with Ms Quinn using the story the Seven Kites of Matariki as the motivation for a digital unit incorporating Geometry, (Seesaw, Tinkercad and 3D Printer), Kites (traditional Maori kites as well as other cultures), Literacy with Digital Storytelling (using ArtRage & Explain Everything ). Using these apps we have all learned the importance of following directions, thinking about detail and being organised.
All of the children retold the legend in their own words and with their own ideas. Their published stories are here.
We have made digital stories using Artrage for the art and Explain Everything for the animations. We have animated the characters and then recorded the story over the top. Enjoy our digital stories here.
Genesis Energy Human Energy Generator
Genesis energy lent us their HEG or Human Energy Generator for a week so we could learn about the energy savings using LED instead of Standard lightbulbs. The students had a turn powering the standard bulb which took quite an effort to produce a low level flickering light and were amazed by the miniscule amount of effort needed to brightly light an LED bulb.
Science Roadshow
Room 1 & 2 visited the Science Roadshow for a morning of Scientific exploration and experimentation. The demonstrations were thought provoking and reactionary especially when hydrogen met oxygen with a very loud bang and nitrogen showed its freezing properties! Magnets, solar power, electricity, honey-tasting, colour spectrums, periscopes, friction and many more were all available for hands-on learning.
Term One 2021
Buoyancy & Density
Room 1 students have been scientists! We have been learning all about buoyancy, density, mass and volume. This week we have been designing and making boats. The boats need to be able to get from one side of the pool to the other, so the students have been thinking carefully about how they will power their boats. Sail? Motor? Paddle? Balloon?
Click on the link to see the wonderful range of boats they have created.
Visual Pepeha with Mrs G
The students combined their 'About Me' writing with their pepeha work and their portrait art, along with a chalk pastel rendering of their maunga and/or awa, to complete their visual pepeha. They are on display in Room 1, or you can view a photo of their work here. Enjoy!
Art with Ms Melton
Come and look at the art the students have been doing with Ms Melton. This work is in response to their writing, which can be viewed here.
Maths - Statistics & Data
This term, Mrs G tasked the Room 1 students with conducting an independent inquiry into a question of their choice. They needed to design the survey question(s), collect data from students across the school, collate and analyse their data, identify themes and findings, critically review their research method to identify anomalies or causes for incorrect data, recommend future actions and areas of additional research, and finally, use Google Sheets to present their graphs and research report. Whew!!
'About Me' Writing with Ms Melton
Click on the link here to read some fabulous writing 'About Me'. The students wrote about themselves and their families, in conjunction with creating their visual pepeha. These are on display in our hallway and we'd love you to come and have a look!
Room 1 Portrait Art with Mrs G
The students have completed some fabulous portrait. First, they needed to go with a partner and take a photo of each other. Next, we changed these into black and white and printed them out for reference. The students then needed to sketch themselves, using the photo as a guide. I think you'll agree that they've done an amazing job!! Please do pop in and see them on display in Room 1.
Term Four 2020
Term Four Writing
Follow the link to read some about our school T-Ball - we have some wonderful writers here!
Term Three 2020
Speeches
Here is the link to Room One's speeches.
Elastics
We have been learning how to play that old-fashioned game of elastics. The students love it!!
VID_20200616_142004.mp4VID_20200616_143242.mp4VID_20200616_143259.mp4Ki O Rahi
Here are a few photos from our Ki o Rahi games - we have loved learning how to play this game - if only we could enter a tournament or two. I like to think we'd be pretty tough competitors!
Nanogirl
Nanogirl came to visit! We loved her experiments and being able to take part in real science, using items that can be found at home.
Term Two 2020
Lockdown
Term Two has been a term like no other!
A national lockdown has moved our learning online and it's been a learning curve for us all.
It has been wonderful to see so many photos and stories being shared via our classroom Facebook page and to see the amazing skills and talents that so many of you have.
Thank you for taking the time to share - it has helped us feel just that bit more connected.
Writing over lockdown
Anzac Writing
Term One 2020
This Is Just To Say ...
We have been working on a project with Mrs G called Keep NZ Writing, which has been put together by SchoolKit.
This year the focus was on poetry and we were challenged to write our own version of the poem 'This Is Just To Say' written by William Carlos Williams and to publish these using a programme called Canva.
Writing
Check out some of the writing we have been doing with Ms Melton over Term One:
Learning from 2019
Sir Peter Blake Award Recipient
Congratulations to Helena Brown who was the recipient of the annual Sir Peter Blake Young Leader Award for 2019. Helena is a very deserving recipient and we were delighted to be able to share this occasion with her family. Congratulations Helena!
Room 1 Writing
The students have been doing some wonderful writing with Ms Melton - have a look at our recount writing and our poetry work here.
Science Fair
We had a wonderful science fair here on Thursday, 12th September. Have a look at some of the photos and our science boards.
ANZAC Learning
The students have written some very powerful pieces around Anzac Day which you can view here and have also created stunning artwork. Do pop in and look at their wonderful work!
Lego Engineering
We have begun our Lego Engineering and it has been wonderful to watch. They are fully engaged in being either the supplier, builder or engineer --- and in resisting the temptation to take over someone else's role. It's a fabulous way to teach patience and the need for specific and purposeful language.
Get NZ Writing
Watch this space to see the work that we are engaging in with School Kit and their endeavours to Get NZ Writing!
So far we have been looking at colour as the inspiration for combined poetry. We are really focused on how words sound and how careful placement of words can create a sense of rhythm, cadence and feeling.
Here are a couple of photos of our work in progress as we take our individual ideas, collate and order them and then combine to create a class poem.
Check back in to see the finished piece.
Physical Education in Room 1
At school we do a lot of teaching around physical education and health. In Term 1, the focus has been on swimming and includes aspects such as stroke development, endurance, water safety and survival skills. The Sports Leaders in Room 1 have organised and very ably run a Tabloids event for the Senior Syndicate and we have also had Project Energise in who have been teaching ball skills - here are a few photos of our physical activity fun!
Kiwi House - Enviro Learning
Kiwi House have been working in the native bush area on a Friday morning as part of our Enviro learning. They have made the task of spreading mulch into a game and have been so much fun to be around!
Learning from 2018
Kapa Haka
Many of the Room 2 students are involved with our school Kapa Haka and on 25th June, we had a visit from Matua Heemi Walker of Hillcrest High School, as well as two former Tauwhare students - Puhangawai Wheki and Raumati Beazley. It was fabulous to see our former students!
They came to work with our Kapa Haka roopu to help us prepare for the upcoming Tai Ohinga Maro festival we are performing at, on 31 August.
You can see the photos and hear the songs we are learning for the pōwhiri here.
Grandparents day
What a fabulous Book Week and Grandparents Day!
It was wonderful to see so many of our whanau at school for Grandparents Day - and we thoroughly enjoyed showing you around our beautiful school and hosting you for morning tea. We also loved the challenges that Mrs G set for us - you can see photos of our building challenges and the video of our paper plane flying competition here.
Mihi
The students are learning about their own whakapapa / genealogy and this will continue to be a focus in Term Two. As part of this, they have been writing their mihi. They will be learning their mihi and we hope to record the students presenting these. Keep an eye on this page, but in the meantime, you can check on their progress with writing their mihi here.