What is this?
How is this important to Central Otago's history?
Why is it important that we learn about our history?

Warbirds Over Wanaka

On Wednesday an Iroquois landed at Mount Aspiring College. We all watched it circle our school then land in their grounds.

Our Popcorn Enterprise

Here are some photos of our Popcorn fundraising on Wednesday. It was a very successful day with lots of money raised for the 'Coins For Bricks' project. We raised $240 but also learnt a lot about the process and production of popcorn. Thanks to all our parent help. We sold about 500 bags of popcorn at 50c per bag. Thanks also to Callum and Andrea from Cinema Paradisowho lent us the popcorn machine and donated the popcorn kernels (a whole bucket of kernels) and we used them all! Thnaks also to Wanaka Four Square who donated the extra when we ran out. With all our costs removed we made $240! Amazing considering the children are 7 and 8 years old! Fun but very busy day.

Technology - Making Popcorn Containers

Can You guess what our Term Two Inquiry might be about?

Make your own slideshow at Animoto.

Designing Our Popcorn Containers

Busy at work!! Designing our popcorn containers today. Firstly, we decided on who our popcorn containers are for then decided on what information would be on the container. Next we draw and labelled our package/container. We needed to include details of colours and materials to be used.On Thursday we will evaluate our designs.

Guide Dog Fundraising

Just to let you know we raised $481! Thanks everyone.

Guy Claxton

I had the pleasure of listening to Guy yesterday. He likened curriculum to a braod fitness programme, the classroom to the gym and the brain a muscle. We need to challenge and stretch children through the activities we provide. Children need to 'flounder intelligently' and that learning should be hard/difficult as this is how we stretch the brain. The thinking, social and emotional skills we teach children need to become habits and the challenges and risks are all important to developing our brain to meet life in the twenty-first century. A lot of what he said was not new to me and is the way I teach and how my children learn as well as how we do things at Wanaka Primary. But he challenged me and made me think more deeply about what I do and why. Brain developing stuff! He introduces us to four new ‘Rs’ that he would like to see replace the three traditional ones: •Resilience: 'being ready, willing and able to lock on to learning'. Being able to stick with difficulty and cope with feelings such as fear and frustration. •Resourcefulness: 'being ready, willing and able to learn in different ways'. Having a variety of learning strategies and knowing when to use them. •Reflection: 'being ready, willing and able to become more strategic about learning'. Getting to know our own strengths and weaknesses. •Relationships: 'being ready, willing and able to learn alone and with others'. He emphasis is on equipping students to lead more fulfilling lives, but the promise is that these methods will also lead to results in the classroom.

Mindset

Psychologist Carol Dweck has given us one of the most positive educational concepts yet to be developed – mindset. Like many good ideas it is deceptively simple – but the implications for schools are profound. Quite simply, mindset is the belief that ability is not fixed – that people can acquire new skills through targeted effort and practice. Simple.
I love her quote



"The more I practice the luckier I get."

We accept this belief in sport all the time – we are all familiar with the story of basketball hero Michael Jordan who was dropped from his high school varsity team and wasn’t recruited by his first choice basketball college.  So he practised ... and practised...and practised...until he became Michael Jordan – rated on the NBA website as the greatest basketball player of all time.
Just like sporting abilities and physical skills, mental aptitude can be improved.  Your brain is like a muscle and it gets stronger with use. Every time you learn something new your brain forms new connections over time.  You can increase your intellectual skill with practise.  It is so empowering for our children to know and understand this concept.
Watch this You Tube video

Popcorn Sales - 'Coins For Bricks'

We are selling popcorn at school on Wednesday to raise money for Kate Lloyd's and her family's project in Vanuatu. ‘Coins for Bricks’ is a project they have undertaken in Vanuatu, under the Right to Read Charitable Trust.
The 'Coins for Bricks' project is assisting Ni Vanuatu to purchase bricks. For every brick that the family raises money to buy, the Coins for Bricks Project will buy three additional bricks. This is working on the concept of ‘teaching a man how to fish’. They are trying to educate families but found that they can make more of a a difference at the family level, where parents could be ‘freed up’ in their struggle to provide a sustainable future for their children would allow them the luxury of putting their focus into educating their children for the future The popcorn will sell for 50cents per bag. This is our 'Taking Action' part of our inquiry. 

Technology - Packaging and Containers

This week we are looking at packaging and containers for technology.  We will be bringing two packets/containers to school  on Monday.  There are some key things we will be ;looking at...

Is all the packaging necessary?

Can the material be reused?

Do you like the packet/container? Why?

The next part will be looking at the writing and pictures on the container.  We will copy the main pictures and writing off our boxes. 

Then we will respond to the following questions...

What colours are used most? Why?

Does the packet/container stand out?

The next thing we will do is open out our packets/containers and look at the nets .  We will then draw the nets. The following questions will need to beanswered.

What important information was on the packets/containers?

Does the packet have tabs?  How is it held together?

THEN THE FUN PART ...We will design our own container to hold popcorn.  We will look at a couple of popcorn packets/packages too.

Mathletics Reminder

The last day to register for Mathletics in Monday 2 April.  Don't forget to bring your form and money.  $22 is the price you need to pay for the next 10 months  Room 16 got 11 certificates last week!  Go guys!.