Year 5 Speech Finals

In Year 5 we had to come up with speeches in hopes of getting into the speech finals and win the year 5 Speech Competition and be awarded the Year 5 Speech Cup. The results were very close together and there could easily have been 16 boys in the finals but only 8 were allowed through from each class. The finalists were Toby Marks, Charlie Plimmer, Max Abbot, Josh Kemp-Wimp, William Smith, Jim Lockwood, Kyle Foo and Jacob Edginton.  The standard of speeches was extremely high and it was a very difficult decision for our judge (Charlotte Gendall) to choose 3 people for 3^rd, 2nd and 1^st place. So it was not surprising that she actually ended up chosing 4 people, as two people tied 3^rd place. Jacob Edginton, talking about ‘Snorkelling’ and Jim Lockwood on ‘Thrill Rides’ came 3^rd equal, Josh Kemp-Wimp who explored ‘Living in Space’ came 2^nd and Toby Marks, with his speech on ‘Sensational Speeches’ came 1^st. This was a very good effort from everybody and congratulations to all our finalists.

By Toby and Ben

Bird Feeders - Design Technology

In 5S we have been given a topic to work on which is called Consumer Marketing. Part of this unit is to look at how products evolve from an idea, to a design, to be constructed and finally evaluated on its performance. We have put this process into action, by designing and constructing bird feeders and presenting them to the class.

Mrs Stevens will mark us on our bird feeders and I’m sure that they will be good marks! We have all thoroughly enjoyed our making and designing of our bird feeders. Check out the photos of us with our bird feeders in our photo gallery!

By Toby and Oliver

The Lemonade Kid!!

Wow - what a great way to end Term Three - with a good old-fashioned "Hoe Down"!!! The Lemonade Kid was a huge success, from it popular 'western' story line, through to it's foot stomping music. It was wonderful to be able to put together a show that involved all of the Middle Syndicate Students and was a lot of fun as well.

A big thank you to all who helped to make this production such as success and to all the students for their hard work and input, from the planning, preparation, rehearsals and the final shows!

Check out the photos of Year 5 students in our 5S Star Gallery.

Middle Syndicate Octo-Olympics

On Tuesday the 4^th of September the Middle Syndicate held their first Octo-Olympics. This included eight fun, adventurous, exciting and cool events.

We were all given a country and there was a team leader for each team, who had made a flag. In each team there were about six people. We were awarded points for fair play, with the highest being 3 points. We were also given 2 points if we won the event and 1 point if we lost.

When we were doing each event, we were competing against another team. All of the eight events were laid out on the field and we had to rotate round from each event to the next, having spent a set amount of time at each one.

Some of the events included Nerf Gun Shooting, Noodle Fencing, Backwards Wheelbarrow, Straw and Smartie Throw, Egg and Spoon Race with Moon Hoppers and Water Bottle Throw.

We all had heaps of fun and it was all very exciting! There will be a medal ceremony at the next syndicate assembly, to honour the winning teams – we can’t wait to find out who they are! We’d like to give a big thanks to all the Year Sixes for putting a lot of effort into organising and running the Octo-Olympics.

Don’t forget to check out the photos of us in action in our “Star Gallery”.

By Ruaridh and Oliver

 

Where In The World Is Giggles?

Giggles, our intrepid traveller, has just jetted in from Vanuatu with Ollie. It looks as though they had a great time!!

5S Red Cross First Aid Day

On Friday 31^st of August we had a full day’s First Aid course, to fit in with our current health unit on “Injury Prevention and Safety”. Louise, from the Red Cross came in to work with us and to show the basics of how to be a “people saver” and administer first aid, if it is required.

One of the most important things that she taught us, was what DRSABC means and how we need to follow this in any first aid situation:  

D for danger

R for response
S for Shout/Send for help
A for airway
B for breathing
C for circulation.

We also looked at what to do if someone is bleeding and there is an anagram we use for that too, RED.

R for rest and reassure

E for expose and elevate
D for direct pressure and dressings.

Bleeding noses are pretty common in the playground so it was good to know that we don’t lean the person’s head back, but instead lean it forward and pinch the nose. If it keeps bleeding for half an hour or more, continuously, you need to get medical help.

For choking, you firstly let them try and cough if they can do so. If they can’t, use the heel of your hand (or bottom of the hand) and hit between the shoulder blades 5 times. If nothing comes out, stand sideways, put your hands around the patient’s armpits and put one hand in a fist. Then, with the other hand, clutch fist, and pull patient inwards 5 times. If still nothing comes out repeat till it does. If patient is too big, make him kneel down. For thrusts, put one arm over shoulder.

Finally we looked at poisons and bandaging.

We all had heaps of fun and we learnt a lot and now we all know how to save people if they are in trouble. Don't forget to check out the photos of us in action, in our star gallery!

By Andrew and Oliver

STORYBIRD

This week in 5S, we took our writing to a new level and explored an exciting website called "Storybird".
This website is filled with pictures and themes from a variety of artists.
It requires the student to select an artist and then create, edit and publish a story, based around this particular artist's work.
This has proved to be quite a challenging experience, as normally we would write a story first and then illustrate it. To begin with the illustrations, involved a lot of thought as to how a story could then revolve around these picutres.
We have had a lot of fun.
Check out the link below to see Oliver and Tyler's composition: "The Adventure of Treasure Island"

http://storybird.com/books/the-adventure-of-treasure-island/?token=vz99ra

SPEED STACKS!!

Speed Stacks (Cup Stacking) is really taking off in 5S, with a large number of students enjoying the thrill and excitment of this challenging sport.

A group of students have also set up a Wellesley Speed Stacks Club and you can follow their progress on their blog. Here is the link:

http://www.speedstacks5s.blogspot.co.nz/

They are looking for new members, so feel free to contact them and get stacking!!

MARS LANDING

The robot vehicle which has been on its way to Mars for the last few months is due to land on Monday 5.21 pm our time. Nasa are planning to broadcast this event which could be really interesting to watch, especially as they describe the seven minutes of landing as 'seven minutes of hell', given the difficulty of getting it down safely onto the Mars ground. Given that there is a seven minute delay in communication between Earth and Mars, the computer on board really is on its own in terms of directing the landing, so it will be fantastic if it is successful, and extremely disappointing if not...not too mention a trifle expensive!

The first link has a count down until the landing, along with lots of information and the chance to interact directly by asking the robot scientist questions. The second link gives some more background.

  

http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate/

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/21799427

Olympic Games: London 2012

We are well under way with our exciting Olympic Games work and are also enjoying following the actual games. Later on in the term, we will be holding our own Middle School Olympic Games - watch this space!!

In the meantime, here are some website that could prove to be very useful and intersting for our studies:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/ancient_greeks/the_olympic_games/

http://www.firstnews.co.uk/site_data/files/final_olympics_bunting_4fedc99c52e70.pdf

http://www.london2012.com/

http://www.olympic.org.nz/

http://www.olympic.org.nz/education/home


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/2012/countries

Term Three!!

Welcome back to Term Three - I hope you have all had a fabulous time over the three week break and are ready to leap back into another busy, but very exciting term!

We've got all sorts of things coming up, including the Olympic Gaames, artsplash, production and lots more - watch this space!

Well Done 5S!!!



Well done 5S on a fabulous Term Two! Your  speech board results were outstanding and your science fair investigations were also completed to a very high standard. Don't forget to have a look at our budding scientists on the 5S Star Gallery Page.

Have a well deserved and safe break over the holidays,

Mrs Stevens & Giggles!!

SPEECH BOARD:

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!

(from a very proud teacher)

I have just received our speech board results 10 minutes ago and every student in the class scored either:

• Highly Commended or
• Distinction

Congratulation 5S - you have all worked incredibily hard this term and now you have the results to support your efforts. Well done, I am extremely proud of you all!! :-)





Term Two Citizenship

Congratulations to the two 5S Students who were voted for Citizenhip for Term Two - well done Ruaridh and Toby - it's nice to be recognised by your peers for this!

Supporting Wellesley

Cam and Noah in 7/8D need our votes - lets support these students in their effort in making a fabulous ad!

Follow the link to vote:

Reminder vote for Cam & Noah: http://win.hitachiheatpumps.co.nz/user/25

Visit to Capital E!

Wow - what a fabulous day we had at Capital E last Thursday! We spent the morning in the OnTV studio producing "1st Five News" and what a wonderful experience it was and the finished product is testiment to all of the hard work, concentration, preparation and team work. Everyone had their own special job to do and each role was equally as important, to enable the final news programme to be completed to such a high standard. What an amazing learning opportunity - we all emerged from the studio at lunchtime on such a "high"! So here's the link, view for yourself - "1st Five News"!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVLftplq9jo&list=PLF18EAFBEC306AD9F&index=69&feature=plpp_video

After lunch we went into the Soundhouse to have a two hour session on Game Design. Despite not being a 'game' person myself, I was absolutely captivated and of course this a perfect way to finish off the day as far as the boys were concerned. Watch this space for some of their feedback:

Science Investigations

Most of us are well underway with planning our investigation for the school science fair. Remember, if you are stuck for ideas, check out the list on our class homework page. There is also another copy of our fair testing guidelines. This is a very exciting time!!

Week 3

Wow - what a busy and exciting week we've had in week 3!
We managed to cram in a visiting story teller from South Africa - Valanga Khoze, a session at the "World of Maths" Art, Sport, PE, PA, a very informative session with Mrs Hawthorne in the Science & Technology room - where we looked at 'Fair Testing' and how to stop vehicles skidding on icy roads, as well as learning how to set up our own blogs on the school 'Ultranet' site during e-learning. There was even some maths, literacy and social sciences squeezed in as well!!
We also finished our completed script for our Capital E visit (you can check it out through the link to our homework page) and assigned everyone their jobs.
The trip is less than two weeks away - it all getting very exciting!
Check out some of the photos in our 5S Star Gallery - to see us in action!

OnTV Job Roles

A BIG congratulations to our successful applicants, who have been awarded the following roles for our OnTV visit at the Capital E studios on the 24th May.

Watch this space - "1st 5 News" will be coming to a screen near you!

• Presenter 1 - Alexi
• Presenter 2 - Alex
• Reporter 1 - Fynn
• Interviewee 1 - Andrew
• Reporter 2 - Kyle
• Interviewee 2 - Veronica
• Reporter 3 - Oliver
• Interviewee 3 - Marshall & Cameron
• Stockmark Reporter - Dinuk
• 2 Minutes Reporter - Logan
• 2 Minute Guest - Tyler
• Weather Presenter - Toby C
• Graphic Artists - David & Joe
• Location Director - Ben
• Location Camera - Jake
• Director - Max
• Vision Mixer - Toby M
• Technical Producer - Jackson
• Sound Operator - George
• Studio Director - Ruaridh
• Camera 1 - Ollie
• Camera 2 - William
• Autocue Operator - Luke
• Wardrobe Team - Lachlan & Cameron

If you would like a copy of the script to practice your role/job - follow the link on our class homework page.

"5S News!!"

We are now well underway with our preparations for 5S News - coming to a screen near you!! This week we will be looking at our job applications and putting together our cast and crew for the big day - Thursday 24th May.

Watch this space, for announcements on the successful job applicants!

GIGGLES!!

Have you had a look at our 5S Star Gallery recently - link to the right of this blog??!! There are some exciting new photos of Giggles, our class bear, whose on a very exciting adventure travelling through Europe and Northern Africa!

Welcome Back to Term Two

Hi Everyone, Welcome back to term two and what a busy one it's going to be. We've got some great units to get involved with and lots of exciting things to learn, investigate and inquire - I can't wait!! Here are some of the things we've got planned: - "Spreading the News" - a look at current events and how the news is made. We will be spending a day at Capital E - to help with our work in this area. - NZ Speech Board - working towards our Green Bar Badge. - Poetry Writing - Science Fair - including a Science Evening at the end of the term for parents to come and see our amazing investigations. - Winter Sports Programme - Grandparents Day ......................... and much, much more!! Never a dull moment at Wellesley. Don't forget to check out the Reminders, Up and Coming Events and Week At A Glance sections on this blog, to make sure you've got everything covered! See you all tomorrow!! :-)

Changes Are A Happening!!

If you're a regular visitor to our blog, you will have noticed our new look - hope you like it.
We have also created a new page: 5S Star Gallery!
This is where we will be posting photos, slideshows and videos - we hope you enjoy it.
You can find this new page, by looking on the right hand side of our home page and you'll see a link to '5S Star Gallery' that you can click on.
What this space for more exciting action from the 5S team!! :-)

5S Constructions!

Wet days are great for constructing things - here are a few of our latest designs. Great aeroplane hanger Toby!!

The New Library

Despite the rain and drizzle, yesterday's cermoney to celebrate the opening of the new library was a wonderful event. Attended by a large number of VIPs, including the Prime Minister and both the Wellington and Lower Hutt Mayor's - it was a great way to acknolwedge how privilidged we are to have this wonderful resource at our school.
We are looking forward to spending lots of time in there.
Here are a few photos of 5S enjoying the library:

CONGRATULATIONS!!

A big CONGRATULATIONS to Ben & Oliver - our 5S Citizens for Term One.

Where In The World Are Luke & Giggles

Two members of 5S are away travelling at the moment. They are Luke & Giggles, our class bear. Here are some photos of them on their travels. Can you guess where they are??

Year 4 - 5 Swimming Sports

Week 5 - Making A Splash!

Wow - we are half-way through the term, it is certainly racing by.

Week 5 was another positive and busy week with the students of 5S. Activities included:

• Finishing off our 'Me & My World' unit.
• Heading to our new maths groups.
• Cheering loudly at our very successful Year 4-5 Swimming Sports - photos to come!
• Voting for our new class councillors.

A BIG congratulations to Alexi and Ben, along with Oliver (deputy) who have undertaken the job of representing 5S on the student council.

Camp Reflections

• My funniest camp moment was when our group was doing canoeing and Peter was trying to stand on his canoe, but it tipped over - luckily he was wearing a wetsuit!  Alexi
• The best activity on camp was the rockwall, because I got to the top and I saw Wellington. Lachlan
• The funniest camp moment was at camp cooking when we stuffed the pancakes in our faces. Jackson
• The best thing about camp was the bush walk becuase when you got to the top it had a great view. I love nature too. Kyle
• If I could change anything it would be to not get a birds nest in my fishing line and not losing my hooks and sinkers. Ben
• My best camp memory will be the picnic because my family was there. Ollie
• My favourite place on camp was my tent because it was nice and warm. Max
• The best thing about cmap was going to the Eastbourne Pool because it was fun and the inflatables were out. Toby M
• The funniest camp moment was when there was a cicada in my tent. William
• The best activity on camp was fishing. I love trying to catch fish. Logan

Me Boxes

Over the past week and a half, the students in 5S have been sharing their 'Me Boxes' with the class. Each box was significantly decorated with details that were relevant and important to them. The students then filled the boxes with various items and memorabilia that were special and had signifcant meaning. Not only did they share a range of special, unique and interesting things, many also included clothing and items from babyhood - very, very cute. However, I was most impressed by the number that contained objects that represented their goals, aspriations and dreams for the future. We have a whole host of professional sports players in the making, amazing entrepreneurs and even a budding marine biologist. Here's a look at our wonderful boxes:

Year 4-5 Camp

Yay - what a fantastic camp!! We spent three fabulous days engaged in a huge range of outdoor activities including:

• hiking
• tent pitching
• swimming
• rock climbing
• canoeing
• fishing
• working with harakeke
• camp cooking
• scavenger boat building
• problem solving & much, much more!!

What a wonderful time we all had, with some amazing experiences and we'd like to say a huge big "THANK YOU" to all of the parents who gave up their time to assist us, particularly our fabulous 'Camp Mum' - Lara Baker.
Watch this space for more camp comments and photos!! :-)

Introducing "Giggles"

This is "Giggles" - our Wellesley Class bear.
He was named by the boys and will be a special member of our class. "Giggles" likes to travel, so if you are going away at any stage and would like to take him with you - we can arrange this. Of course, we will want to see a few photos of him at some of the places you visit.

Otherwise, he will spend his time in the class, working on his reading, writing and arithmatic.

Week 2 - We're Working Hard!!

Wow - I can't believe Week 2 has vanished and camp is just around the corner - how exciting.

Despite only being four days - it was a very productive week. We have continued to be extremely busy completing various spelling, reading and maths assessments, as well as working on our 'Kiwi Corkers' Unit and our 'Me and My World'. In addition we've had:

• swimming sessions
• music lessons beginning for some
• a very detailed, informative and valuable discussion on Te Tirite O Waitangi - the ability of the class to think about and share their opinions on this topic was very impressive!! 
• a lovely school assembly with three 5S students being picked out of the gold card draw - yay!!!

It was also very exciting when the students arrived with the most fantastic array of 'Me Boxes' - I am soooooooooooooo excited to see and hear about the contents of them - watch this space!!

Two class days left till camp - it is going to be a whole heap of fun!! :-)

Friday 3rd February

Congratulations 5S - what a wonderful first week. In the last three days we've:

• got to know each other
• broken a "silent pen clicking" record
• dabbled in our "Kiwi Corkers" reading unit.
• had fun with "High Flyin' Fractions"
• thought about "Me & My World"
• been creative about our Wellesley Bear's name (we'll be voting on this next week)
• sang beautifully at our syndicate assembly
• enjoyed an afternoon at the beach!!

Busy, busy, busy - with only four days next week, we've got a lot more to pack in, including getting ready for camp.

Have a nice break over Waitangi weekend and a good rest - you deserve it!!
See you all on Tuesday.

Welcome Back

Hi Parents and Students of 5S,

Welcome back, I hope you've all had a wonderful break over the holidays. I'm really looking forward to getting to know you all and working with you throughout 2012.

This is going to be our class 'blog' page and it is also my FIRST EVER attempt at running a blog - so please bear with me!!

This will be the place that you can go to, to find out:

• What 5S are up to.
• Important up and coming events
• Important information
• Get information about our latest units
• Photos
• Links to useful website

Soooooooooooooo - watch this space and be prepared for an exciting year!!