Writing - Character development

In writing we have been looking at developing our characters - creating a vivid character in our heads and transferring that character to our readers mind. We looked at describing what stands out about them when you first see them (such as this woman's wrinkled abundance of skin). We then looked at creating a backstory for the character - imagining the life events and people that have influenced them. We then looked at their personality and what makes them, them! The students have chosen a character from below and have developed them. They have then developed a second character, chose a setting and are currently writing a story about their character. I can already see some great characters coming to life. It just shows the importance of planning and getting our heads into characters and settings before writing.

INQUIRY into the LIVING WORLD

. PhotoPeach

Our inquiry into the living world is coming to an end. It has been really interesting and the students have had their minds stretched, their vocabulary grown and their understanding of the some of the issues facing our planet has been deepened. The slide show above includes some of the information we looked at and your child will be able to explain them to you. Also quiz them on some words like biotic, abiotic, arthropod, exoskelton, deforestation, and ecosystems. We discovered why apparently annoying insects like ants, bees or flies play all sorts of important roles in our world. It was fascinating to discover how a little change to an environment can make such a change to the living things within it. You change one factor and it can muck up the whole system. It was also surprising to discover how New Zealand is a completely different ecosystem to when humans made their entrance - the only land mammals back then were bats! It has helped us see why native species are struggling to survive here in NZ.

WINTER SPORT

PhotoPeach

We have come to the end of our awesome winter sport focus. There has been some excellent development in ball skills, team work skills and strategy knowledge. We had a great day at the tournament with some great results. Well done guys, you can all be proud. Some of our girls did an amazing job at taking on some coaching and refereeing of netball too. A massive learning curve for you and it was so awesome to see you in that role. A massive thank you to the parents that coached and also supported at the tournament.