Return of The Thriller

This term we have been learning a variety of dance routines during dance classes run by a company called STEPZ. This is a compulsory activity that we have been doing at Balmoral for a couple of years now and although the initial feeling is *sigh* most students are really enjoying it! Here is a video of a dance you may know:-)

"The Super City"

As we all know Auckland is now a Super City under the reins of Len Brown. So what's gonna happen to make Auckland "Super?" Len Brown has made plans and promises but what do we think will make Auckland a better place to live? Post your comments and let us know.

And now we finally reach Term 4....

Where has the year gone??!! As Week 2 comes to an end there is only another 8 weeks till you all say good by to Intermediate and begin your summer holidays! Hopefully you will spend the time with family and friends and get outdoors.....not spend all the time in front of a computer:-)

This Term we will be publishing a book of your lives from Year 1 to Year 8. This will be a semi-professional publication that you will give to your parents as a present and will be a piece of work that you will be proud of!

We have also got athletics coming up next week as well as lots of other fun activities!

Let's make Term 4 a productive one as well as an enjoyable one for all:-)

You have been a wonderful class to teach so far so let's finish on an even higher note.

The Room 4 Mini Production

At this end of this Term our class will perform/inform an audience of our peers and parents about technology and inventions through history and whether new technology and inventions have made the world a better place to live.... or not. Through the power of collaboration and using the Balmoral Habits - Communicating, Managing Self, Thinking, Creativity and Persisting, our class are putting together a 10minute performance showing this point. Below are some photos of out class in "practise/creating mode." If you have any ideas or want to record part of the performance (my class only) post a comment:-)

The Power of Youtube!

Now that we have been looking at some of the technology that we are using these days we can focus more on ways the technology is being used. On computers, we can't deny that internet site Youtube has become hugely popular world wide. You can watch, listen to and learn all sorts of things. Tonight at our Intermediate Open Night I used a clip that was shared with me by Andrew, another teacher at our school, on how to draw an eye. The step-by-step clip proved really easy to follow and resulted in some amazing art. Check out the clip and let us know what you think of Youtube and what you use it for.

The Math Man

This is the message from Math Man Ken Ring - Maths Gives You Power! Today our class had the opportunity to listen to, be tricked, and shocked by Ken Ring. With some of the simplest tricks he had us guessing and asking questions. Hopefully after listening to Ken you have a different perception about what maths is and have realized how maths is all around us! If you ever think that you suck at maths remember what the Math Man said. "Magic tricks are just like secrets'. "Maths is like that too - you have to discover the secrets." Post a comment and let us know what you think.

Our Right To Privacy

Last week our class watched and analysed the movie Enemy of the State, a spy-thriller about a group of rogue NSA agents who kill a Congressman in a political-related murder, and then try to cover up the murder by destroying evidence and intimidating witnesses. Robert Dean, played by Will Smith, is inadvertently caught up in the mess when he is given a video tape of the murder. As a result his entire life is hacked into and he is incriminated in the murder. Our focus was looking at the technological advancement of government agencies and how they use technology to supposedly "keep us safe." With such technology all around us these days, any time we swipe our eftpos card or shop online we leave our digital fingerprint and when we walk through customs at the airport our photograph and fingerprint are taken and then logged in a database. Is it going to get to the point where we have no privacy at all?? Post a comment and let us know what you think.

What not to do during a Speech!

"The Computer"

Whether it's a PC or a Mac, computers have become a part of our everyday lives and are used in most businesses around the world. It's hard to imagine life without them.... But let's just try to imagine what life was like before the invention of the computer.....
This term our class is looking at the history of inventions and technology.
Post a comment and let us know what you think.

What's Up In Term 3

Welcome back to Term 3!!
Hope you all had a great holiday and are ready for another exciting Term in Room 4!

Here's what we will be covering under the Rich Task Concept of History - Change Through Time....

Maths:
We will be looking at the Geometry strand for Maths but will be continuing to revisit the other strands of Measurement and Statistics regularly during our Monday Rust Proofing sessions. We will be continuing to look at Problem Solving Strategies to make links between Maths and everyday life.

Literacy:
Our Literacy focus is Persuasive and Speech Writing. We will be developing skills to write persuasive arguments with reference to our Rich Task of Historical Events and their Significance. We will be continuing to develop our Poetic Writing skills using poetic and figurative language to make our writing more interesting! We will be doing a lot of oral language work in preparation for the end of term speeches. By the time they come around we will feel really comfortable speaking in front of others:-)

Art:
We will continue to experiment using Paint, Brushes, Colour Pencils, Chalk, and different paper textures and will hopefully get a chance to make a piece of art out of clay!

Philosophy:
In our community of inquiry and through our blog we will discuss issues/dilemmas relating to things that have happened in the past and whether we have learned from them (genocide, equality, slavery, war)

PE:
Large balls skills and winter games is still on the menu for this term. It's cross country time again so get those running shoes laced up!!

Languages:
Bonjour! French is on the menu for this term! I will be learning along side you guys so should be lots of fun!

Lets continue using the "Balmoral Habits" to push ourselve more and more, take risks, and show our many talents. You guys have been really awesome so far so lets keep it up!

The Invisible Drum Kit

Fluorrrrrrrrooooooo!!!!!!!

Last night was the first Intermediate Social of 2010! The theme was "Fluoro" and everyone made an effort to "Fluoroise" themselves which was great as the School Council worked hard to organize the event. LOL, lollies, Glow Sticks and Music made for an evening of dancing and madness! Funds raised from the sale of glow sticks will go towards the Balmoral School Japan Exchange later in the year. Post a comment and give us some feedback.