Room 2
W e l c o m e T o R o o m 2
Room 2 is a Year 5/6 classroom and is taught by Mrs Kirsty Gilroy (better known as 'Mrs G') and Mrs Leona Robinson. Room 2 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 2 students to be independent, to take risks and to take responsibility for the 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 Kirsty an email.
Please scroll down to see what we have been up to.
Who is Mrs G?
If you want to find out a little more about me, feel free to follow this link, which I shared with the students at the start of the year. My overall teaching philosophy is based on the thoughts of Rita Pierson, Educator -:
"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."
Room 2 Newsletters
Read on for all the news, trip notices and sports events which the pupils in Room 2 will be involved in this year. Please do come and see me or send me an email if you have questions at any time.
Marae Trip - Thursday 3rd May, Term Two 2018
Welcome to Room 2 - Term One, 2018
Year 5 & 6 Camp 2018
Our Camp this year is from 12-16 November - all information will be available here -:
Camp Information Evening Wednesday 7 March
First Camp Newsletter - Term One, 2018
Peter Snell Youth Village - photos of camp from 2016.
Room 2 Home Learning Links
Click on the links below for websites to support your home learning -:
Term Four
Welcome back!
Welcome back to school and the last term of 2018. It's going to be a busy one!!! Here is the latest class newsletter, for your reference. :-)
Term Three
Kapa Haka
Many of the Room 2 students are involved with our school Kapa Haka and we have had very successful performances at both He Tai Ohinga Maro and at the Matamata-Piako Festivals. Please do check out the Kapa Haka page for links to photos and videos taken at the events.
Spelling
A message from Mrs Robinson:
Spelling in Room 2 is taught explicitly by Mrs Robinson through the use of the Switch onto Spelling workbook.
The students in Room 2 are also working through the Gaye Byers spelling lists located here on the school website. They are provided so that if you wish, you can do extra home learning with your child.
Mrs Robinson will test spelling words on a Friday and the on same day, 10 new words are selected to be learnt for testing the following week. Students are tested on the next level when they have completed a list.
Notebooks can be taken home but must be back on Thursday as we spend additional time working on their words that day. Should you have any questions about the spelling programme, please do get in touch directly with Leona at leona.robinson@tauwhare.school.nz or pop in and see her on either Thursdays or Fridays in Room 2.
Wearable Arts
This term, Room 2 spent many days making wearable arts and turning trash into fashion using a Kiwiana theme. Check out some of the photos of their creations !
Cross Country
Congratulations to all our cross country participants - you have been training hard and it was wonderful to see so many of you achieving, whether it was placing in the finals or achieving a personal best. I was very proud of you all!
Term Two
Heat transfer & Insulation
This term Room 2 have been working with Room 3 to learn about and experiment with heat transfer. The learning was triggered by wonderings around food can be cooked in the ground and how enough heat can be transferred from the stones to the food.
We experimented with different types of metal rods (stainless steel, bronze, mild steel and aluminium) to see which of these is a better conductor of heat. We then wondered about how things stay warm - so we experimented with different types of insulation and measured temperatures, to see which kinds of insulation are more effective at retaining the heat inside a freshly boiled egg.
Tractor pull!
Super exciting times at school in preparing for the Tractor Pulling Competition at Mystery Creek.
Here are a few photos from the practices - there are some wonderful expressions to be seen!
Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award
Congratulations to Heikura Wheki
Heikura was nominated for the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award and Westpac came to present this award to Heikura on 2nd July. It is a real honour to receive this award and we are all very proud of her.
You can read the details of Heikura's nomination here.
Matariki CELEBRATIONS
Room 2 has been very busy learning about Matariki.
We have read the story of The Seven Fishes which is one interpretation of Matariki and Mrs Robinson has been working with the students to develop a play which retells this legend.
We have also been weaving flax to make stars and small mats to make a Room 2 Matariki Star art piece. The classrooms have been responsible for one star each - the finished artwork looks fantastic and you can view these Matariki Stars in the Multi-Purpose Room.
Then, on Friday 29th June 2018, Tauwhare School celebrated Matariki by performing for our whanau and friends - you can see the Room 2 Matariki Performance here.
We ended our term with a shared hakari and an afternoon of sports.
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 pÅwhiri 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.
Term One
I Like ........ Because ...
In Term One the students were given a piece of paper with their name on it and five empty lines, which they were asked to leave on their desks. Each student then had to go to another student's desk and write down why they liked that person.
The students went to different desks five times, so that by the end of the session, each student had five reasons why their classmates like them. The comments made are really lovely and show that the students in Room 2 appreciate the uniqueness of each other.
These are on display in our hallway, but you can also see what was written here.
school kit - get nz writing
Room 2 were kept busy in Term One with the School Kit initiative around connecting students across New Zealand. We received a writing pack which contained an information poster for us to complete, as well as 32 'postcards'. On one side of these postcards the students wrote a metaphor which described themselves. The other side was coloured in and when matched together, they created the message:
"Every person is a new door to a different world"
Metaphor Poems
As part of our writing with School Kit, the students wrote Metaphor Poems about themselves. The students are currently working on publishing these and you can view their progress with this here.
Self portraits - 2018
Mrs Robinson will be responsible for the majority of art lessons in Room 2. In Term One she worked with the students to create self-portraits. They look absolutely fantastic!
They are on display in the classroom or you can view them 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.