The Teachinator!

So today was all about one thing and it was a lot of fun!  Big props to Helen for taking part, that guy is big! There was a bit of waiting round to be done in between intense sessions of full-on-ness.  The children were kept entertained by the What Now presenters and Helen and I helped to calm our nerves by talking to fellow competitors.  It was done in 3 sessions - 1. The Walk in. 2. Talking the Smack 3. The Main Event. Helen and I are both exhausted now and looking forward to a well earned rest.
We don't yet know when the episodes will air, but we'll let you know when we find out.

The next event will be shave for a cure - let me know if you're keen to take part and we'll run a school shave session

Late Post

I am late posting today as I spent the afternoon at a course about ERO for principals.
I've also been looking for something suitable to wear tomorrow when I take on the Teachinator at What Now? I don't like my chances, but Helen might do alright. Hopefully she goes first so I can get a few tips watching her. A reminder to the classes going that they are to all be in mufti please, no uniform.
I'm thinking of joining shave for a cure too, but I'm a little late so I'm not sure how much I'd be able to raise. Anyone else keen to join me?
http://www.shaveforacure.co.nz/

Assembly

It's nice to bring the school together for assembly and it gives the classes the opportunity to share with each other what they have been doing. The students put preparation time into their presentations and develop skills for talking to a group of people.  We also discussed the importance of being able to manage everything you do so some of the children may want to write a list of all the things they do and talk to you about how they manage them.

The Year 6s have finished their first news bulletin for the school and shared it with the Year 7s & 8s this afternoon.  We will look to share it with the school and then investigate uploading it for parents to view.

It is great to see what they have achieved and we will now look at the movie from a critical perspective and see what they could have changed about the process to improve the final product.

Zones

Today was the zone swimming sports and we sent 11 representatives, with Luka and Finn finishing 4th in their finals. Congratulations to the finalists and well done to the whole team for representing the school.

I was in Sarah's class for reading today and everyone had brought along their favorite T-Shirt in response to the T-Shirt poem they were reading. They spent time drawing and describing their T-shirts and took turns in groups to work with Sarah on their reading books.  It was an interesting lesson to be a part of and  it is activities like this that really engage the class and progress their learning.

Sunkist iPads

Thanks to those who are supporting our drive for Sunkist orange stickers.  These are coming in nicely, but we need more. Feel free to buy Sunkist fruit by the trailer load and we will happily remove your stickers. If we get the most per capita we win 8 iPads!

I was in Moira's room this morning and the class during reading time.  It's a real joy to watch and listen as this age group develop their skills in this area. They are fortunate to have someone as skilled as Moira to help them along the way.

I was in Karen's class at maths time and Chloe, a student teacher, has started today and will be with us until the end of term.  It's exciting have a student teacher in the school as there is so much we will learn from her. The maths groups were busily working away on their various tasks and and were engaged in what they were doing.

Photo A

We are looking for help from the community to identify someone who was caught breaking into the cabinet outside the office this morning.  Do you know the person in photo A?

Photo A

Fortunately the perpetrator was then kind enough to make the cabinet into a stunning display of art and information.  Thanks Kim! It looks great.

Buddy reading is always a valuable experience with the school coming together to talk, read and share.

Pub lunches are a popular option and a good way to support the Governors Bay Hotel who always look after us when we drop off the order and they then have to work through our various envelopes of money to ensure our accounting is accurate, and it always is.

It was good to see all of the classes outside this afternoon after the wet weather we've had.  Kereru started working on their small ball skills in PE.  Everyone passed the initial assessment and then went on to bigger challenges.

How many people can throw a ball higher than a mountain?

High Praise

I knew today was going to be a good one when my son, Bradley, lost his first tooth this morning. He was very excited and regaled us with the story a number of times. No doubt he will want to write about it in his blog.

We all know what a wonderful school Governors Bay is but it's always nice to hear it from others.  Hollie Sutton from the ASB worked with all of the classes yesterday and wrote this in an email to me:

"Thanks for having me along today. I had an awesome time in all your classes and your school has a really neat vibe about it!"

Thanks, Hollie. 

After a wonderful  camp, it was interesting to view some of Piwakaka's camp books today as they worked on a range of activities.

In Kereru they had a technology challenge to make a waterproof suit out of plastic bags. Luckily these suits were well made as they were tested with a hose!

The latest newsletter was emailed home today but if you didn't get a copy, you can pick one up from our website or at the office.