WHAT'S HAPPENING IN STAFFORD 3???

Kia Ora whanau.....

We are having such a busy term so far.......

Our learning block on "disasters" has been a huge success!!!  Next week the students in S3 make 3D models of the disaster they have been researching....watch this space for photos of their creations.  The three disasters we have been reseaching in groups are The Tangiwai Railway Disaster, The Mount Erebus plane crash and the Edgecumbe Earthquake.  I am certain, after all of the discussion and planning we have done, that our models will be amazing!!!!

Read below for a bit of information on each disaster......

THE EDGECUMBE EARTHQUAKE

Occurred in the Bay of Plenty region, in the small town of Edgecumbe at 1.42pm on 2nd March 1987.  Approximately 50% of houses in the area were damaged.  There was extensive damage to the local milk factory with large, storage tanks toppled.  Kawerau and Whakatane were also badly shaken. 

THE TANGIWAI RAILWAY DISASTER

Occurred 10.21pm on Christmas Eve, 1953.

Express ran from Wellington to Auckland.

Express plunged into the Whangaehu river, 10km west of Waiouru.

Of the 258 passengers, 151 lost thier lives.

At the time this disaster was considered the eighth worst railway disaster.

THE MOUNT EREBUS PLANE CRASH

A sight seeing tourist flight of Antarctica.

28 November 1979, the 14th flight, the plane crashed into Mt Erebus killing all 237 passengers and 20 crew.

This accident is still considered NZs worst disaster.

Term One

Term one in Stafford 3 has been totally hectic.....and I can't believe it is nearly over!!!

Our major highlight would have to be camp.  You only have to look at the photos to see we had an extremely full on week, with heaps of learning and fun.  The students participated in a variety of activities, from making harakeke flowers to kayaking to orienteering to abseiling, the list goes on!!!! 

 

We were so fortunate to have wonderful parents accompany us and at this point I would like to do a huge SHOUT OUT to Trevor (Tanja's Grandfather) and John (Manaaki's Dad) for staying all week and being so hands on and awesome with the students.

After camp, we got straight back to school and into our learning groups.  We have had maths and reading groups up and going now for 4 weeks and the students are making wonderful progress with their learning.  We also started our first learning block - DISASTERS!  The students in S3 are having a wonderful time and have made word banks, drenching our class in vocabulary relating to disasters.  Since then they have used this vocabulary to create two types of poetry relating to disasters.

This week the students have created a time line and we have had a lot of discussion about NZ disasters over the past 150 years.  The students have enjoyed finding out about disasters in NZ history, as well as which disasters occurred in our area and the effects these disasters had once they were over.  Some groups have also started making comparisons and contrasts between certain NZ disasters (the Murchison Earthquake and the Hawke's Bay Earthquake) from the 1920-1930s.  ALL students are fully engaged and excited about learning more!

Next term, we carry on with our disasters unit up until week 5, and the Stafford teachers are in discussion at the moment, as to what our next learning block unit will be.......We will keep you posted!

HAVE A HAPPY EASTER EVERYBODY :)

ABOUT THE TEACHER!!

Kia Ora everybody!!

My name is Marie Hartley and I will be the classroom teacher in Stafford 3 for 2010.

I am of Ngapuhi descent, however all of my whanau now live in and around Te Arawa.

I trained at Waikato University and graduated in 2001 with a Bachelor of Education and a Diploma in Teaching.  I have been teaching for seven years, this year being my eighth.  For the past seven years I have been teaching at Kaitao Middle School in Western Heights.  For the first four years I taught in mainstream, then the school developed Academies.  I spent my final three years as the Academy Leader of the sports and fitness academy.

I have come to Rotorua Intermediate to continue my growth as a professional, and to learn from some new people, who have a variety of skills and talents.  I chose to stick with Intermediate aged children as I really enjoy this particular age group!!!

My passions and strengths when it comes to curriculum are literacy and health, in particular fitness.

On a personal level, I have one child, a four year old daughter named Wikitoria.  She attends Daycare at present, but starts school in June!!!  Where has the time gone???  I am engaged to be married, but (to my partner's disgust) am in no particular hurry to plan (and pay for) a wedding!!!

I am looking forward to a full-on, fun year at Rotorua Intermediate this year.

:) Marie