You Rock Ilam School Kids!!

Passion Time Progress!!

Marthajoy and Emma are really enjoying Passion Time! 

One of the girls is doing woodwork and is holding a prototype of a bedside table she is going to make this term! The other girl is learning to knit. She is holding a pompom she created that she will sew onto a knitted head band.

They are motivated and enthusiastic and learning some fantastic real world skills as well as goal setting and reflecting on what they are doing.

What learning...!

Anti-bullying Week at Ilam School!

Here is the link to all of the competition entries: 
2017anti-bullying.blogspot.co.nz/

Passion Time! Construction...

Today in Passion Time the Construction group were experimenting with different materials to work out what made a stable structure that was able to stand freely.

At one station, there were straws and paper clips. At another station there were toothpicks and plasticine and at another station, there were popsicle sticks and pegs.

We found out that some materials were much easier to use than others. The most difficult materials to use together were straws and paper clips because the paper clips kept popping off. One group managed to create a standing structure by creating a triangular base and sides.

We discovered that have a central, strong core helped to stabilise the structures. We also worked out the structures required evenly distributed weight or a very stable frame in order to balance. Wide foundations were also another method that helped keep our structures stable and standing!

 

 

 

 

 

Be more dog and change your attitude, change your life!

The power of self belief and taking a risk to leading a more fulfilling life!

Have a go day!

This week, Ilam School enjoyed a 'Have a go!' day organised by Chris from Canterbury Sport. Years 3 to 6 children enjoyed practising skills in a variety of sports such as rugby, soccer and softball. The 2016 Ilam School House captains also ran stations as part of the day. 

There was a lot of planning to be done beforehand. House Captains had to think about how to give instructions to children of different ages, including their peers. They also had to plan for modifying games in order to meet the needs of different ages and different skill levels. They had to learn how to give instructions and use strategies to ensure everyone understood the rules of the games.

House Captains organised games such as Wizards & Elves, Teddy Tag, Ant Hospital and King Ball. They learnt a lot from the experience and worked hard all day to make their events enjoyable for each group. A huge well done to all of the House Captains this year! 

Challenges: They test our thinking and our persistence!

This week, Room 3 children were given the challenge of creating an interesting paper structure. No one was allowed to touch the structure, only look at it from different angles. It was very challenging and tested most people's perseverance. Some people grasped it quite quickly, but the majority - including Miss Cocks, found it difficult to work out.  Miss Cocks recorded the language we were using when faced with this challenge. Some of the language was positive and some of it wasn't.  Some of us persevered with the challenge, and some of us didn't. We were quite surprised by some of the things we had said. As a group, we are going to spend some time looking at our mindsets when faced with a challenge and understand how our mindset and our attitude can be affected in different ways and how we can have control over how we choose to approach something.
 
 
 

 

 

 
 

Pudding Hill Camp 2016

We arrived back on Friday afternoon after the most amazing camp at Pudding Hill, extremely tired and ready for an early night, but, with satisfied souls from all of the outdoor adventure we experienced.

Activities we took part in were abseiling, confidence building on low ropes, archery, mountain biking, river crossings, bush walks and a super fun water slide made all slippery with dish washing liquid. We (both us kids and the adults) enjoyed the slide in beautiful warm, sunny weather but also in murky, cold, rainy weather.

We also performed skits at a camp concert, played indoor 'spotlight' and 'sardines', made our own pizzas and roasted marshmallows! We learnt about search and rescue and carried our classmates on stretchers and found hidden safety items. We also played frisby golf. One of the activities lots of us found most fun was building bivouacs in the bush! We created huts from fallen branches and found ferns, bracken and dried grass to cover the walls of our huts. What's more, when we checked our huts the next day after a night of strong gales and heavy rain, they were still standing - pretty impressive!

There was a lot of risk taking on camp with people stepping outside of their comfort zones to try new things they were a bit afraid of. Some people were very unsure about abseiling, the low ropes and even the water slide, but many overcame the little voice of fear in their head and challenged themselves to try and keep trying. Many felt very proud and a real sense of achievement after doing what they had been fearful of.

Below is a small sample of photos. The wide, bright eyes and smiles say it all!

Check out the slideshow on the righthand side of this blog!