TERM 3 CIVILISATION

 This term we are looking at the development of civilisations and how they have influenced the world we live in today. 

We started by looking at Greece and the Ancient Olympics - comparing them with the modern Olympics. 

We looked at competition and whether we agreed with the ancient Greeks that competition fosters excellence. 

The Olympic motto is made up of three Latin words : Citius - Altius - Fortius. These words mean Faster - Higher - Stronger. We thought about how people might strive to do this - what could help them? 

We followed by looking at Mesopotamia - the 'cradle of civilisation' and how life changed when a nomadic lifestyle settled into towns and cities with the advent of agriculture. We pretended to be Mesopotamian people and traded our goods so that we all had food as well as some other items like cloth, pots, tools. It was a noisy marketplace! Some tried their hand at writing in cuneiform (the first known written language) on plasticine tablets. 

We discussed what changed once the basic needs of a steady supply of food and water were met. People could develop and specialise in other areas, such as art and architecture, law, invention, and trade what they created for food. 

Thriving

Gifted Awareness Week 2021 has the theme 'Thriving as Gifted'.

In our classes at Quest this week we talked about what it means to thrive and what might help us thrive.

We looked at examples of highly gifted children (prodigies) and looked at whether we thought they were thriving and what might have helped them to thrive. 

Some ideas of what it might mean to thrive...

"To flourish in the environment you're in and always be able to alter your attitude." Charlie S.

" Opposite to suffer." Amelia

" Healthy, living in good conditions." Cerys.

Below are ideas from some of the year 3&4 students:

We looked at the need to have challenge at the appropriate level for us, and to have motivation to do something. 

This fits in well with our famous people studies and children are researching what helped the famous person they are studying to thrive.

Fame

 Term 2 2021

We are looking at famous people. How do people get famous? What are they famous for? What helps them along the way? What challenges have they faced?

This term I am introducing tamariki to a range of people all famous for various reasons. The aim is to allow children to learn about someone in their area of interest, and to illustrate the perseverance, hard work, determination, motivation etc that is often behind fame. 

We have looked at famous New Zealanders (who ARE all those people on our money?) We looked at Kate Sheppard's determination to make a change to allow women to vote. The picture below is from Maria Gill's wonderful book on the subject.

This week some groups looked at people who have become famous for doing good (think Mother Teresa, Bill Gates, Fred Hollows, Malala Yousafzi - humanitarians and/or philanthropists). We read Malala's book 'Malala's magic pencil' and talked a bit about her bravery standing up for what she thought was right and how she had to deal with people who wanted to silence her. Yes, she was only 15 when she was shot for speaking up - luckily she lived to tell the tale. She is an inspirational young woman.

This term the year 3-6 students are doing a research project on a famous person of their choice. They have access to many websites with examples of famous people to choose from. Most of them have chosen who they would like to study and are currently researching them. They can then choose how to share their research - poster, slide show, diorama, video etc. I plan to have an evening where year 5&6 students can display their research for parents to come and see. 

SUSTAINABILITY (continued)....

CLOTHES

We looked at what our clothes are made of and where they are made. We thought about the effect the material, processing, and transport of our clothes has on the environment. 

We looked at ways that could be kinder to the environment - only buying what you need, fixing clothes instead of throwing them away, handing cloths on to others when we have finished with them etc.

Some clothes are made by recycling plastic bottles - check out this video! Do you think these clothes are better or worse for the environment? 

DEVELOPMENT

We thought about how people make a difference to the environment and looked at how we could make our towns more environmentally friendly. We became town planners and designed our own town, thinking not only about what would go in our towns, but also where it was placed. We looked at ideas from around the world for more sustainable towns - green roofs where flat roofs are planted to encourage wildlife, reduce heat, catch rainwater; the trial of solar panel roads in France; and ideas from Hundertwasser. You may have seen the Hundertwasser toilets in Kawakawa or the Hundertwasser Art Centre in Whangarei. There are so many ideas for creating great spaces to live and work that are also kind to the environment. I loved all the creative ideas that children came up with!

Vienna

Sustainability

 SUSTAINABILITY

This term we are looking at Sustainability - looking after our world's living things and resources.

We looked at a variety of topics with a sustainability lens.

RUBBISH

Where does it come from and where does it go? What does reduce, reuse, recycle, refuse mean? We found that if we recycle, reuse, reduce and refuse then there is less rubbish that will go to landfill.

We explored what can and can't be recycled and composted. We thought about how to encourage others to recycle. Some students designed contraptions to help reduce rubbish

PLANTS

We looked at biodiversity and why plants are important in so many ways - food for people, food for animals, shelter, shade, habitats, resources, medicine, beauty, etc. 

ANIMALS

We looked at how some animals affect others and the ecosystem. We focussed on keystone species like whales that can have an effect on their whole food chain as well as on the environment. We thought about how we can be kaitiaki and help care for animals. 

Some of the year 5&6's helped to set up and run a sustainability challenge at our school gala this year to encourage others to think about sustainability. Many of our students care deeply about this topic and the idea is to empower them to be able to make a difference if they want to.

Welcome back

 Welcome to 2021! 

Quest will be in K1 this year. Here is the timetable, which starts in week 3 (the week of 15th Feb). Any changes will be in the panui (daily notices). I look forward to working with your children.