Paradise - sign language

Paradise from Sasha Hancock on Vimeo.

Here is a clip of us rehearsing the song Paradise in sign language.

We performed it in an assembly last term. A big thank you to Kylee

for all her help.

 

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Soccer Skills

Today we had soccer skills with Libby from Sport Taranaki. We were put into four teams and we had a game of tag.  Then we practiced dribbling the ball with the front and side of our feet.  Lastly we played small games of four against four. Heidi said it was heaps of fun and she was looking forward to Libby coming back next week. 

Room 4 Good Sorts

Room 4 Good Sorts 

I am lucky enough to teach the fabulous kids in the video below and I can tell you this nomination for the Good Sorts TV show was very much deserved.  In our class we have a very special girl called Renee. She was born with a rare type of brain tumor which gave her epilepsy, as well as lots of other on-going health problems. In the middle of last year Renee had brain surgery to try and remove the tumor. The surgery was pretty major and things have been pretty tough for Renee and her family since then. The kids in Room 4 have done their best to help Renee in so many different ways.



















They offer to help her in class, they sit by her during morning tea and lunch, they remind her what she needs to do, and they do it in such a kind and caring way.  A group of girls made Renee a pillow that she could sleep with, they made cards and little presents for her and some kids even did some cooking.

The kids in Room 4 are very aware of Renee's health needs, in fact they often know what she needs before any of the staff do! If she is tired they will offer to get her a bean bag, if she looks like she might have a seizure, they run and grab a teacher, if she yells or gets upset in class, they just keep quietly working.  Sometimes Renee can't control her actions and she might try and pinch someone, well the kids in Room 4 deal with that in a really mature way. They know she can't help it and they ask her to stop and then they simply move away.

 Renee is really lucky to have been with many of these kids since she was at play centre. For Renee, they are the one thing that stays the same in a very wobbly world.  I feel lucky to be teaching such caring, mature and thoughtful kids.  Well done Room 4, you are definitely Good Sorts.
Mrs H

The Apricot Tree

     

 

At Toko School we are lucky enough to have a beautiful orchard. The orchard has been established for about 3 years.  Last year one of Room 4's plum trees got a disease and died. 
We had to remove it quickly so that it didn't spread the disease to other trees. We even had to collect every single leaf and get rid of those!

Today we planted another tree in the empty spot. This tree was not a plum tree, this time it was an apricot tree.  However, it was not just an ordinary apricot tree, it is a specially grafted tree which will grow two different types of apricots.  How exciting!

After the hole had been dug, we took turns adding some compost

 .

Then we put the tree in the hole and carefully removed the bag.

Lastly we took turns putting some dirt around the tree and carefully patting it down. We didn't need to water the tree in because it had been raining so much.

We can't wait to taste some yummy apricots!