Happenings and thoughts from Room 14

Hi all,

A nice 'normal' week at school. Everything has run pretty much as supposed to.

On Monday we had Marg Wright in the Maths class. She was there demonstrating specific Maths lessons for the benefit of the students and the teachers. I found it interesting, thought provoking and very useful. It is great for us to invite quality people in to help us improve what we are already doing. "If you do not improve you will only stand still- thus go backwards because others around you are improving".

The inquiry process is moving along nicely. The students have generally thought about the questions they are asking. These range from "What is the best diet for an Olympic gymnast?" to "What happens to the Olympic villages after the game?" to "What are the influences that lead people to take performance enhancing drugs?"

The first round of the enrichment Science has come to an end. Mrs Franklyn will give the teachers the assessment results and we will be talking to the students to see how much they enjoyed it and what they got out of it. This has set us up for next year when we will be entering into the South Canterbury Science Fair.

Mrs Best was in on Wednesday and the children seem to enjoy her style and the fact she is teaching them Japanese (language and culture). If you have the chance ask them to share a few phrases/words at home.

We have had our first Puberty lesson. It was good to break the ice and get started. A few giggles were had in the class at the various names of body parts and during the introductory DVD. The points I kept making are that although some start earlier, go through it faster etc.. we all have to go through it and whatever happens is supposed to.

The weather has been FRUSTRATING! Having 27 Year 7 and 8's in the class all day can be at times testing for all parties but they have done well. The odd run round the court and game in the hall has seen them be relatively settled. The ground has been saturated. On Tuesday I went out to see the state of the grounds and I literally had water over my toes. As the students leave the class I see the state of the back of some of their shirts. Mud is rather clear on maroon.

Well done the the Maths Hat makers. They did well with their "Maths Hats". Some grumbled and moaned but all made one. Some were outstanding. Have a look at the attached photo and judge for yourself.



ROOM 14 and their Maths Hats.

 Camp is arriving soon. The students have been given their bunk rooms and groups. It should be a fun week. Hopefully the weather stays fine enough for me to get them to do a few activities that they should enjoy and hopefully push them well outside their comfort zone. They all have been given a gear list which we have gone over in class.

I found this old(ish) add and thought I would share it with you. I like it for numerous reasons but I wont influence your thoughts. Have a look at it and if you get anything out of it that's cool, if not simply enjoy. (This is not a test!!)

The Olympics are over so sleep patterns are getting back to normal. There were many highlights but a few for me were...
 1. The Chinese 100m hurdler after breaking down at the first hurdle hopped to the wrong point so couldn't leave (red tape again!!) then had to hop down the track to the exit point. Two /three other runners helped the last bit after he kissed the final hurdle to say goodbye to his career. (This is what the Olympics are about)
2. The Canadian triathlete (woman) who had a horrible day and simple was not on her game (just one of those things). She had stopped, cried, and then carried on. At the end watching her cross the line she was saying "I'm sorry" over and over again to someone. This really showed the true colours and great character of a person who can fail, not make excuses and then apologise for her failure to those her support, train and guide her.
3. Finally the guy who one the 100m and the 200m... what's his name?? Um you know the one... This was a highlight because he simply "talked the talk and walked the walk."

Well th th th that's all folks ( who can remember that cartoon)

Cheers
Hamish