Room 5
Welcome to Room 5!
Hi everyone! My name is Maria Cameron.
I am excited to join the Tauwhare team this year.
My passions in teaching are Literacy and Physical Education.
In my free time I like to be active. I play football for the Cambridge women's team in the weekends. I also enjoy horse riding in my spare time.
Please feel free to pop into class to see Room 5's learning!
Don't forget to check out our class Facebook page.
maria.cameron@tauwhare.school.nz
Term 2 , 2023
Term 1 , 2023
Maungatautari Trip
What a fantastic trip we had today. Thank you Ms Quinn for all of the organisation, and to everyone that helped out, allowing the day to run so smoothly. We had an amazing group of helpers. The kids had such a great day and got lots out of this visit. Well done Room 5 for representing Tauwhare School so well today and for all of the learning you have done leading up to this trip. You did us proud!
We look forward to delving into this topic even further now that we have been to the sanctuary ourselves. If you would like your child to collect their 'Kiwi Guardian Medal' earned today, visit: kiwiguardians.co.nz and enter the code 'Mauri'.
A visit from X-man
This week we were lucky enough to have X-man in, looking at where our rubbish comes from and where it goes when we are done with it.
We did a school wide rubbish audit (every student had gloves etc) and made a plan to reduce your waste across the school.
A big thank you to Pare Kore for this amazing service, and to Paul (X-man) for being the most enthusiastic, knowledgeable educator. The kids got so much out of this experience!
Apple Day
Room 2 and 5 did a great job of cutting, juicing and sieving apples to day to make apple juice. We managed to serve the whole school with our juice and it was a big hit!
We also had fun creating art using apple 'prints'. Nice work Room 5!
Welcome to Room 5, 2023
Term 4 , 2022
That's a wrap...
Merry Christmas everyone and thank you for a wonderful year. It's been an honour to see your tamariki grow (in more ways than one!) and I can't wait to see all they achieve in both Room 5 and Room 4 next year.
Have a lovely (well deserved) break if/ when you get one and look after yourselves.
Thank you for a fantastic year!
Amy
Drive in Movie Day
Another successful 'drive in movie day'. Thanks to all the parents that helped their tamariki make their cars, and well done to all the kiddos who gave making their own cars a go. There were some very impressive creations! Ka pai.
Big Book Art
Room 5 have done a fantastic job completing their Pasifika art (based off our Big Book 'Lavalava' by Lino Nelisi). We spent a lot of time researching various Pasifika patterns and carefully designed our own petals/ flowers. Check out our finished products...
Dog Safety
Today we had Zoe and Koe visit us to teach us all about dog safety.
Some important tips we learnt today to keep us safe were...
1. Check it's sweet - before you meet!
2. To understand - they sniff your hand!
3. Chin or chest - that's the best!
4. To meet a pup - ask a grown-up!
5. If a dog has a snack - keep well back!
6. Keep your face - out of their space!
7. Don't run and shout - it freaks us out!
8. A dog's not a toy - don't tease and annoy!
9. Quiet and slow - is the way to go!
Term 3 , 2022
Making popcorn
Room 5 had a great time this Term making popcorn as part of our procedural writing. We had to write down the equipment and method and make sure our instructions were clear enough for anyone to follow. We did a fantastic job of including precise verbs and listing our instructions in order.
First aid
This term we were lucky enough to have a session with Alicia from Saint John's, teaching us all about keeping safe in an emergency and helping others.
She went through what to expect when you call 111, how to clear a space in an emergency, how to put someone in a 'side safe' position and also taught the children some bandaging techniques for bleeding.
Some things you can go over with your child are:
The 'Emergency button' on your lock screen- how to dial 111 in an emergency (without needing to know your PIN code etc)
Teach your children their address
number/ street name/ town/city, so they can direct emergency services if necessary.
Practice the 'side safe (recovery)' position. Can they roll you on to the 'safe side' following the steps they learned?
A huge thank you to Saint John's for providing this service to schools and to Alicia for being so engaging. We absolutely loved it and learned heaps!
P.s. if your child has an interest in this and they would like to pursue this or learn more, check out the 'Saint John Youth programme'. It is about $10/$15 per term (excluding a uniform) and sounds like an excellent programme!
Cross country
A HUGE congratulations to everyone who participated in cross country this term. It was a fantastic day and the kids all tried their best and had a smile on their faces. I had several parents come up to me after the event to commend everyone on their sportsmanship, and we were all blow away not only by your effort, but by the way you supported others at the finish line.
A big thank you to Mrs Reeve for your fantastic organisation as usual.
Well done to everyone who participated. You did a fantastic job!
Past and Present Unit- MOTAT trip
This term we have been working hard on our 'Past and Present' unit, learning all about; technology, transport, school and day to day life in the past. We have been amazed at the difference between life back then compared to the present day, and have loved hearing some stories from our Grandparents/ Great Grandparents about what life what like for them as children.
As part of this unit we took a trip to MOTAT, where we got to experience some great hands on activities and see for ourselves what life may have been like. A BIG thank you to Ms Quinn for your wonderful organisation and for all of your hard work organising this trip, and to any parent helpers that came along. It was a fantastic day that sparked lots of questions and it really supported our learning, so thank you.
Feel free to pop in any time to check out our topic books, wall displays or writing around this unit. We have been working really hard and would love to teach you what we have learnt!
Grandparents' Day
What a very special day Grandparents' Day was. Thank you to everyone that came and helped make it so special. It was lovely having all of your special people here and getting the chance to tell them how wonderful you all are.
Well done Room 5 for being so brave and for getting up on stage. You made your Grandparents giggle with your funny stories throughout our class performance and completed some fantastic writing.
Here are some examples:
When I am 100 years old my skin will be like cooked noodles. I will ride in my wheelchair as slow as a sloth. I will enjoy reading the newspaper, but my eyes will be so old they will pop out. I will be proud of being old. My hair will be grey like metal.
Blake
When I am 100 years old I will be a lazy old lady. I will be happy because I will not be alone because I will have grandchildren. I bet you I will spoil them and live my best life. I will have a husband, but I know he will be lazy.
Edyn-Rose
When I am 100 years old my hair will look grey, like clouds. I will talk like a Yorkshire man. I'll be proud of reaching 100 and I will have fun with my grandsons. I will think back to a time when I was six and I had a brother called Sam and a family I love.
Chris
You can read the rest of our awesome Grandparents' Day writing HERE
Term 2 , 2022
Matariki
This week we learned all about Matariki and why it is a special time to spend with friends and whānau. We did some awesome writing and weaving, and even topped the week off with some yummy kai at our Matariki breakfast. Thank you to everyone who came to help us celebrate this special time of year together!
Check out some photos of our breakfast and weaving HERE.
Charlotte Wilkinson
This week we were lucky enough to have 'Charlotte Wilkinson' -a wonderful mathematician, and author of the Pearson maths books, visit each class and work with the teachers as professional development. It was a great opportunity and Room 5 really showed her what wonderful mathematicians we are, and will continue to be throughout the year. As teachers, we are so lucky to have these opportunities for professional development at Tauwhare School. We are always learning and growing alongside the children and it is fantastic for them to see that we are learners too!
New Junior Playground
Having fun on our new playground. Thanks Ms Bradley, we love it!
ANZAC Day
At the beginning of this Term we learned all about ANZAC Day and why we commemorate it. We looked into 'mascots' and learned all about Caesar the dog, a brave companion and war hero that saved many soldiers lives. We wrote about the war from the perspective of Caesar and described what he would have experienced. We produced some awesome writing and really used our senses to paint a picture in our readers' minds. Check out our art and some of our fantastic writing here.
Term 1 , 2022
Autumn Art and Writing
We love Autumn in Room 5. Check out some of our fantastic writing and Autumn art that went alongside learning about changing seasons. What is your favourite thing about Autumn?
Star writers
Room 5 truly brought the classroom to life with their use of personification, adjectives and adverbs this week in their writing. We even had some Principal awards handed out!
Great work Room 5. Don't forget me when you are famous authors please!
Our School Garden
Picking tomatoes from our wonderful school garden. They were delicious!
Thanks Mrs Reeve and Room 2 for all of your hard work in our vege garden this Term. It's looking fantastic!
Term 4 , 2021
Merry Christmas from Room 5.
Thank you all for such a wonderful year. Have a safe and happy holiday and look after yourselves! We will see you all in the new year.
Virtual visit to Auckland Museum and the Hamilton Zoo
What. A. Week! Phew, I'm exhausted. This week we; made fossils, had three calls with the Auckland Museum (to learn about dinosaurs, sea monsters and insects), completed in depth research AND went on a virtual tour of the zoo.
It's been a fabulous week! What was your child's favourite part? Thanks for another awesome week Room 5. You all rock!
Water Safety:
This Term is all about water confidence and safety. We have been learning lots of awesome survival skills to ensure we stay safe in, on and around water this Summer. Great work finding out what could keep you afloat should you ever capsize Room 5! And remember, always check what is under the surface before you dive on in.
Potato Olympics
Room 5 have had a fantastic time following along with the Olympics this Term , so we decided to combine forces with Room 2 to compete in our very own 'Potato Olympics'. We had all kinds of events; the potato roll, horse races, pass the potato- to name a few! We had to design an "athlete", come up with it's profile (researching its country of origin) and plan the event, not to mention use our measuring skills to decide a winner. It was a great day! Well done to all "athletes" that took part. I hope your potatoes did you proud!
Term 3 , 2021
Cross country
Wow, what an awesome effort at today's cross country! Every single person in Room 5 tried their absolute best and we are so proud of them all. Well done for your perseverance today Room 5 and for having such positive attitudes.
A big thank you to our wonderful Mrs Reeve for organising such a great cross country course and for making it happen, even under the current circumstances.
Harold
How lucky were we to have had Harold this week! What an incredible learning experience for our Tamariki. We learnt all about our emotions, our brains and how we can best help ourselves respond to situations, rather than react. Awesome work Room 5!
What did your child learn with Harold and Sarah this week?
X-Man
Room 5 have had the most fantastic week with X-man, learning all about reducing, reusing, recycling and compost. We loved X-man's enthusiasm and passion for the environment and came away with some very practical ways we can do our bit to reduce waste heading to the landfill. Thank you X-man! It was great working with you and your tiger worm friends!
Term 2, 2021
Geometry work
We've had an awesome week this week starting our 'Geometry' topic. We learnt about lots of different shapes and their attributes, found shapes around the school and even built 3D shapes using nets. What shapes can you find around your house? How many 3D shapes can you name?
Keeping Ourselves Safe
Over the last few weeks we have been learning all about keeping ourselves safe. This is such a valuable programme and we are so lucky to have the support from our fantastic community constables Tom and Mario. Together we learned the proper names for body parts, talked about our bodies being our own, what makes us unique, how to say no confidently and what to do if we get lost. We even got to see some cool police gadgets and explore a police car. How fun! Keep an eye out in your child's homework book for some work you can complete together to keep these conversations happening at home.
One idea I also thought I would share is the idea of a family 'safe' word. This word can be used to pass on if another adult is picking your child up that doesn't usually, and shows your child that that person has your permission to collect them. Something to think about...
Human Energy Generator
This week we were lucky enough to have a 'human energy generator' on loan, kindly supplied by Genesis Energy. The kids had a great time learning about power and where it comes from, enjoyed experimenting with LED and standard light bulbs, and worked out which light bulb is more cost efficient long term.
A HUGE thank you to Genesis Energy for letting us borrow this machine! What an awesome learning experience.
Which do you think is more cost effective long term?
Term 1, 2021
'Eat Right, Be Bright' Magic Show
We had an AMAZING time at the 'Be Bright, Eat Right' magic show. What a fantastic way to teach children about healthy eating! Just quietly, I think a few of the teachers were spellbound too. What was your child's favourite part of the show?
A tiger in our classroom!
We had a frightening start to our week this week...there was a tiger in our classroom! Can you believe it? Luckily he was friendly and he didn't gobble any of us up (although I'm sure he was tempted!).
To get ourselves acquainted with our new friend, we have been busy researching different species of tigers, reading non-fiction texts and factfiles, creating surveys for our statistics studies, comparing lengths and weights and even been creating some tiger art! I'm exhausted just thinking about it! We are now extremely knowledgeable, so do stop by and ask us some fun facts about tigers. I'm sure we'll blow you away!
Floating and sinking:
This Term we have been learning all about floating and sinking. We investigated why some objects are more buoyant than others and why some objects sink. We have had some really interesting conversations about density, natural force, shape and air, and even formed our own hypothesis and experiments. Were there any objects that surprised you in our experiments Room 5?
Making boats
To wrap up our 'floating and sinking' topic this Term we made boats out of recycled materials. The kids drew up some fantastic plans, made equipment lists and produced some designs (based on some pretty solid research!). We had so much fun racing our boats from one side of the pool to the other! What do you think about our creations?
Teddy Bear's Picnic
To celebrate the end to a fantastic Term we had a 'Teddy Bear's Picnic'. We even got to drink fruit tea! What a lovely way to end the Term. Have a safe and happy break Room 5- you definitely deserve it!
2020
Funfair
We had an awesome time at the Funfair organised by our wonderful Year 5 and 6's. We had animals, games, crafts and all kinds of other exciting things. Well done Year and 5 and 6 for putting on such an engaging afternoon. I think the teachers had as good a time as the kids!
Sports Waikato
This week Room 5 enjoyed a visit from Kara at Sports Waikato where we learnt a new game called Te Uru. The game required us to develop our ball skills and space awareness, and really helped strengthen our teamwork and communication skills. It was a great new game, similar to netball and we had a lot of fun learning these new skills. Thanks Kara!
Maths work
Room 5 is filled with fantastic mathematicians that like to solve problems (using a variety of strategies) in the most efficient ways. We have got pretty good at fractions, multiplication, division and place value this Term and have been displaying our learning in exciting ways. Great work Room 5. You are mathematicians indeed!
First aid
Tauwhare School was lucky enough to get a visit from Saint Johns this Term, teaching us some basic first aid and how to remain cool, calm and collected in an emergency. We had a go at bandaging our friends up, practiced calling for help in an emergency and got to ask some important questions to our very experienced instructor. It was a great day and we certainly learned a lot. Thanks Saint Johns!
This Term we have been learning to use speech marks and have been planning and creating our very own comic strips. They are pretty awesome! So is our superhero art- check it out!
Procedural writing
Room 5 had a great time this Term making popcorn and jelly lollies as part of our procedural writing. We had to write down the equipment and method and make sure our instructions were clear enough for anyone to follow. We did a fantastic job of including precise verbs and listing our instructions in order. Our popcorn and lollies tasted delicious!
Magic Jelly Beans
Some very mysterious things have been happening around Tauwhare School this Term.
This week Room 5 received some magic beans and some instructions on how to plant them. We planted the beans under an old oak tree, and you'll never guess what happened...they grew into lollipops! We couldn't believe it. We did some awesome writing about our experience and are hoping this isn't the last of the magic to happen this year. It is definitely very mysterious indeed. Who do you think left us the magic seeds? Have you noticed anything unusual around Tauwhare lately?
Teamwork activity:
To start off the Term, Room 5 had to complete a 'teamwork art' challenge, where they were to produce a piece of art in groups in keeping with their chosen theme. The challenge... to work together sharing only one pencil, one glue stick and one pair of scissors between the group! Each group worked extremely well, listening, sharing, communicating to produce their shared art piece and it was a great exercise in collaboration. Well done Room 5 artists!
Holiday fun
Room 5 wrote a recount about their holidays and put their stories in their sunglasses!
drive.google.com/drive/folders/11PJm4QlyvfW7MPGiM-HpdR29B3HtD8JX?usp=sharing
Room Five has had a lovely time studying the Rocky Shore, after our visit to Whale Bay. We created a mural of all the amazing creatures we saw.
