Thursday 24 March 2016

The Brain

Yesterday Dr Melodie Barr a Psychologist and Mr Mac's better half, came to speak to the Senior School about the brain. 
Before we went to the library to listen to the presentation we discussed what we knew about the brain, which wasn't very much, although we did know where it is located!
After hearing Melodie's talk we brainstormed together what we learnt. 

Here are some of the statements that we made:

The right side of your brain controls your left side, and the left side controls your right side - Matthew D
The brain isn’t able to feel any pain - Trelise
In the brain there are neurons that connect with other neurons  - Na’eemah
When you learn something different neurons send the new information to a ‘draw’ - Matthew Y
The more times you use a pathway in your brain the stronger they get and if you don’t use a pathway it slowly becomes weaker - Neil
When you hurt yourself a message goes up your spine and into the brain - Isabella
You lose neurons when you get older - Callum
The brain can change over time - neuroplasticity - Cathy
The back of the brain is where your vision is controlled - Andrew
The brain has liquid around it to protect it and so it is not too heavy - Mark
The liquid around the brain makes it lighter - Emily
The size of the brain is the same as your two fists held together - Sophie
The brain is split in half, there are two parts to it - Aya
If a part of the brain is damaged or taken out other parts of the brain can take over and new pathways are created - Neil
People can be awake during brain surgery and they can even answer questions! - Cathy
It is important to look after the brain by eating good food.


We all enjoyed listening to Melodie and learning about the fascinating brain.

Wednesday 23 March 2016

Cathy's Short Story

Room 1 have written short stories about Robot and Spider man, two characters formed from Andrew and Daniel bringing in news to share.
The first of many adventures by Robot and Spider man has been written and published by Cathy using e-reader technology, Booktrack. Booktrack was founded in Auckland and allows published stories to have music, sound effects and ambient sound added.

Well done Cathy, Room 1 is sure that your first published book is the first of many more to come!


Monday 21 March 2016

Summer Is ...

Room 1 have been very busy writers writing poems. We worked collaboratively in groups writing about Summer is ...
We were learning to use adjectives to make our sentence interesting, listen to someone else's idea and give each other feedback and feed forward.
Our poems are displayed so when it is no longer hot and humid and it's cold and frosty we can read to remind us what ...

Summer is ...

playing cricket in the boiling sun - Shreyas
sunbathing at the beach soaking up the heat - Matthew D
jumping into a freezing pool - Jacob
jumping in the crystal clear water - Zaina
sparkling water shining by the hot sandy beach - Cathy
delicious ice cream drizzling down my chin - Charlotte
watching television and relaxing with a cool drink - Daniel
playing tennis on the hot concrete - Trelise
food sizzling on the barbecue - Azalea
collecting shellfish from the sharp rocks - Shayden
helping Dad with the barbecue and telling him when to turn the sizzling sausages - Neil
swimming in the shimmering water at my house - Aya
ice cream dribbling down my chin and onto my neck - David
doing front flips on my trampoline - Na'eemah
boogie boarding in the cold waves - Washington
stuffing my face with delicious ice cream - Emily
drinking icy cold water - Andrew
running in a nice deep pool - Sophie
swimming in the blue salty waves - Mark
going outside in the fresh air with my friends - Doreen
sweating every time you go outside - Callum
going outside and cooling down under a tree - Emma
going camping and swimming in the peaceful river - Jade
going down the big dark water slides at the pools - Bianca
having a yummy picnic under the beautiful pohutakawa trees - Aadi





Sunday 20 March 2016

Did You Ever?

Did You Ever?


Did you ever


Leap over a wave


At Piha Beach


Waves curving


Waves splashing


Sun shining


Try it!

By Matthew Y

Did You Ever?


Did You Ever?


Did you ever
Boogie board at
Piha Beach
Friends playing
Waves crashing
Lifeguards watching
Try it!


By Shayden

Did You Ever?

Did You Ever?


Boogie board at


Piha beach


Sand burning


Waves splashing


Friends playing


Try it!


By Shreyas

Did You Ever?

Did You Ever?


Did you ever


Go swimming at


Piha Beach


Parents watching


Waves splashing


Black sand boiling


Try it!

By Mark

Did You Ever?

Did You Ever?


Did you ever
Duck  dive
At Piha Beach
Lifeguards teaching
Parents watching
Waves splashing
I love it!

By Aadi

Did You Ever?

Did You Ever?


Did you ever
Play octopus at
Piha Beach
Friends sprinting
Adults slipping
Sun shining
Try it!


By Callum

Did You Ever?

Did You Ever?


Did you ever


Eat fish and chips


At Sunnyhills School


Friends talking


Kids crunching


Sauce squirting


I love it!

By Bianca

I Can't Write a Poem

I Can’t Write A Poem


Forget it.


You must be kidding.


I forgot how to write.


I am too tired, my sister woke me up this morning.


I am allergic to paper.


I don’t even know how to write a poem.


The boys at my table keep talking.


I am too busy daydreaming.


I am busy thinking of cheerleading.


I am too lazy to do work.


Time is up? Uh oh!


All i have is a dumb list of of excuses


You like it? Really? No kidding


Thanks a lot.


Would you like to see another one?


By Jade

I Can't Write a Poem


I Can’t Write A Poem
              
Forget it.
You must be kidding.
My pencil is blunt.
I don’t have a sharpener.
My eyes keep on closing.
My desk keeps on shaking.
I can’t concentrate, Room 2 is too noisy.
I have a bad fever.
I haven’t eaten breakfast and I’m hungry.
If I wait one more minute it will be lunch time!
Time’s up? Uh oh!
All I have is a dumb lot of excuses.
You like it? Really? No kidding.
Thanks a lot. Would you like to hear another one?

By Azalea


I Can't Write a Poem

I Can’t Write A Poem


Forget it.
You must be kidding.
I don’t know what to write.
My arm is too sore.
My thumb is swollen.
I want to read my book.
I’m too tired, I keep yawning.
I can't concentrate.
The person next to me is always talking.
Time”s up? Uh Oh!
All I have is this dumb list of excuses.
You like it? Really? No kidding.
Thanks a lot.
Would you like to see another one?


By Jacob

Friday 11 March 2016

What is your choice for the New Zealand flag?

Rooms 1 and 11 met today to have a vote!. We talked about what it means to vote and looked at the two flags.We had a voting booth set up in the back of the room where we could place our vote.
The results were:

Room 1 -   new flag 11 votes - old flag 14 votes
Room 11 - new flag 16 votes - old flag 3 votes

Voting on PhotoPeach

Looking for Insects

Our buddies are learning about insects. They are very knowledgeable about insects and invited Room 1 on a 'Bug Hunt'. We had lots of fun together exploring Sunnyhills School for insects either up in the air, on trees or on the ground.


Looking for Insects on PhotoPeach

Thursday 3 March 2016

Toku Mihimihi - My Self Introduction

A mihimihi is a short greeting to introduce our self to other people in te reo Maori.
It is an important part of the process of meeting people for the first time.

Room 1 have been learning to write, read and present our own mihimihi in te reo Maori.
Our mihi includes where we come from, our nationality (iwi), mountain (maunga) and river (awa), school, age and name. We have worked collaboratively to help each other with our pronunciation and understanding.

To know who we are, we have to know where we come from.