Term 4 is flying by!

Oh dear - I just realised I haven't posted anything since the end of last term! Apologies, it has been a whirlwind 4 weeks, and I think the remaining 5 weeks are going to be the same!

Here are a few highlights from the term so far:

Firstly, we welcomed a new student to our class! Grace joins us from St Joseph's School and has settled in really well. That takes our number of students up to 8, so things are pretty busy now! Because of this, we have also welcomed Tania (who was next door in Rm21), into our class for the rest of the year to give us a hand - thank you Tania!

On Thurs 18th Oct we participated in the New Zealand Shake Out - a national earthquake drill. We watched The Turtle Safe song and practiced for several days prior. Then at 9.30am on the 18th, we pretended there was an earthquake and all dropped to the ground and covered our heads. Some of us hid under tables too. It was a bit strange, and some of us were a bit unsure about what we were doing, but it was good to practice so that if the ground does start to shake - we all know what to do!

Another project we have been working on is getting some awesome artwork done for the Ashgrove School Santa's Grotto, which opens on Friday 30th November. Every student in our unit has created their own unique canvas about 'What Christmas means to me". They look awesome and we can't wait for them to be displayed at the Grotto - make sure you come down and check it out!

Our topic this term is called Friends of the Earth, and we are learning how to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. As part of that, we have been learning to grow our own plants so all had a go at planting some seeds in a little pot. So far (2 weeks later) we have had 6 of our 8 pots sprout and are keeping our fingers crossed for the other 2. Once they are big enough we will plant them into our school garden so they can continue to grow.

 We were all very intrigued when we saw a new concrete pad being poured in the park next to the bars where we play at morning tea time. We all guessed what it was for, then about a week later we watched as a truck brought a new bench seat! We loved giving it a try and are grateful that we have somewhere to take a break during our play time.

The weather has been a bit crazy this term. During our very wet week last week we made a fort in the breakout room! Lots of blankets and cushions were used to create it. We loved watching everyone work together and taking turns in the hut. What a fun way to spend a wet lunchtime!

We also have acquired a little sandpit for our outside area this term! Thanks to the generous donation from the Allenvale PTA. It has been a big hit with everybody, and since we are learning about reusing and recycling - we decided to make some scoops out of old milk bottles, and use yoghurt pottles and other containers, rather than buying tools to use in it.

Finally, as part of our topic work, everyone has been practising how to sort our rubbish into different materials. In the photo below Kieran is separating our rubbish into paper/cardboard, plastic and metal - great work Kieran! We have also added 'Recycling Monitor' to our weekly jobs, and this person is responsible for taking our recycling bin over to the big bins by the caretakers shed and emptying it. And all our food scraps are collected in a bucket for Liz's chickens and compost heap.