#theyareus

Aroha nui to all those who are suffering after the terrible attacks on the Mosques in Christchurch.

Here is Marshland School's tribute.

Geometric thinking

Gillstrom/Davies (Gillies) numeracy group were given this problem. Students were asked to work through it with very little pre-teaching. 

We wanted to see how the students used prior knowledge, and also how they would be able to give reasons for their answers. We are trying to develop using mathematical language, and sharing ideas.

This is how we did...

We are looking forward to discussing why there were so many different answers!

The Power of People

Our focus this term is The Power of People. We have been looking at the concepts of power and influence.
We have been asking;

• What does it mean to have power or influence over someone, or a group of people?

• Do people with power always have an influence?

• Can people without power have influence?

• If you are influential, do you have power?

• What do people do with their power or influence?

Some people that we have discussed are Malala Yousefzai- the girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban, Kate Sheppard, Dwayne Johnson, Robert Scott, Ruby Bridges, Jacinda Ardern, and many more.We have discussed that these people have either had influence that gave them power or have used their power to influence others. This is an interesting thing to discuss, as sometimes depending on the circumstances, the power and influence changes. Even the teachers in the hub have not completely agreed on some points, and have had some fantastic discussions.

The Students are now going to be researching a person who they thing is powerful or influential, and had made a difference in the world. We will be having an exhibit on the 11 April to show the community our presentations.

We are encouraging the students to be creative in how they present their work, it could be a model, a website, a painting, a dramatisation, a puppet show, anything really.

Keep an eye on our blogs to see that we come up with!

The Hub teachers have done the project too, and you can see their work on our site https://sites.google.com/marshland.school.nz/toroalearning/inquiry 

Here are some images of the work we have done leading up to our personal projects.

 

A mind map of powerful people personally, locally, nationally, globally

 

We discussed whether we thought people had power or influence, or both. 4 groups did it, and all came up with different ideas and explanations.

 

Mrs Davies researched Malala and learned to paint so she could create a painting of her. The painting is acrylic on canvas. 

 

Mrs Osborn researched Kate Sheppard and did a poster on her.

Who do you think is a powerful person, or someone who has had influence on the world or other people? Who would do want to learn more about and create an outcome about? 

Let us know in the comments, you might give us some ideas!

Tin Man Inspired Calendar Art

In Toroa we've been creating hilarious artworks for our family and friends to buy in the form of a calendar or diary.  We had a visit from a famous Christchurch artist, Tony Cribb who spoke to us about his ideas and his journey as an artist.  The students then created their own character or used the Tin Man in a poster using an idiom  - which is a play on words.  We think they look fab!

Toroa making Manu Tukutuku (Maori kites) for Matariki

After reading The Seven Kites of Matariki by Calico McClintock & Dominique Ford, the students were challenged to create their own kites.

Using harakeke stalk, toi toi and twine, they made some fantastic creations.

It took all day to learn to tie the twine, cut the flax and toi toi. There were many times that groups had to re-start, after their twine coming apart or the flax coming loose.  It was a great lesson in perseverance, working together and learning from mistakes.

We think they look amazing!

Matariki art- soft pastel constellations

Maori Animation - Lorna, Olivia, Grace and Nina

This is my animation about learning a new way to converse in Maori.