Constable Gordon Visits

We welcomed Constable Gordon to the Foundation Class today. 

Our wonderful girls answered his first question quickly and accurately...

What do you have to do when you cross the road?

STOP

LOOK

and LISTEN

Zoe added;

Then Mrs Bayes says 'Walk quickly but DO NOT RUN!!!'

Crossing the road to get to Mt St John, certainly paid off today.

No Photos but Wonderful Memories.

When we got up Mt St John, we discovered that the battery in the camera was flat.

We were very disappointed as the girls were having some very interesting experiences.

When we got back to the classroom and the girls were sharing fruit together, they talked about their time on our walk.

 

They talked about the very, very steep slope they walked down, that challenged us all...

Zoe said it took a long time.

Kate said it was scary. 

Inés said she was dizzy going down the mountain. 

Keira felt safe when she got to the bottom.

On the way down the steep bank, Inés told Mrs Bayes to hold her arms out to help her balance.

On the way to the pond Téa asked if ducks would be there, I said I didn't think so.

As we were standing next to the shallow water, a duck flew down and landed 

a few metres away from us on. We stood very, very still and it swam around, 

dipping it's head in the water finding food.

Téa noticed that the duck had the prettiest blue colour on it. 

What a wonderful encounter!

Luca remembered the cows drinking out of the water trough.

 

We flew plastic bag kites and Ines noticed that in some places the kites 

wouldn’t fly because there was no wind.

Ines did her exercises up on the mountain and she had to run fast.

Lily asked me to read a sign and it said “private property’.

Zoe said that means  that it’s a private area and we can’t go up and see it and she remembered that we also saw another sign that said private property in French. She thought that it shouldn't be there because this wasn't 'that country'.

Téa remembered that a nice lady invited us to visit her chickens. 

"They were two girl chickens and their names were Bock, Bock and Chock Chock".

 There was a cat there and it was black and white. Some girls patted the cat.

The lady gave us two eggs so we could do some baking!

So as you can see, not having a camera and relying on the girls memories to capture our adventures on the mountain was a very positive thing!

Noticing the Signs of Spring

The girls showed a great deal of interest in the flowers on our walk up to Mt St John last week. We brought some back to the classroom and I added some Daffodils the next day. 

You can see from the girls drawings that they took a lot of care with their work, noticing that there

was a 'frilly bit in the middle. We talked about the stamens and how bees collected nectar and pollen from flowers so they can make honey for us.
This work took a lot of concentration and I was interested in how difficult the girls found when it came to drawing the leaves. I underestimated how challenging that was going to be. They were determined to get the leaves to the right width and length and for some it took a lot of trial and error.

Great persistence was shown until complete satisfaction was achieved.

 

 

Perfect Day for a Walk up Mt St John

"We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures"

Thornton Wilder

As we sat in the sunshine enjoying morning tea on Mt St John today, 

I asked the girls "what are you thankful for today?" 

These are their responses;

Téa: I am thankful for the flowers... (we had been noticing all the Spring flowers on our walk)

Zoe: I am thankful I can swing on the branches

Inés: I am thankful for the birds (we had been listening to lots of bird singing)

Luca: I am thankful we can go to Mt St John

Lily: I am thankful for the sunny day

Keira: I am thankful for the long stick I played with

Kate: I am thankful for the cows on Mt St John

These thoughts captured a truly wonderful time for the girls when they had time to marvel at the beauty of nature, enjoy the friendships that are developing amongst this new group and to 

take the time just to 'be' in the fresh air.

The photos capture some of these wonderful moments.

A Wonderful Week!

It is such a pleasure to be back with the girls this week. Mrs Chang and I have been having a wonderful time getting to know the 'new girls' and for me, sharing time with the 'old girls'. Each day we have been having new adventures and gently introducing all the things we get up to each day. 

Yesterday the girls really enjoyed a visit to Old School House where our 'Mrs Smith Bayes Bottomley' stories are set. Mrs McRae and the others up there love having our girls visit. We looked at the old photos of boarders arriving with their trunks, playing tennis on the lawn and sitting straight up in their chairs in front of a very stern looking teacher. Some of you might even 

remember these days, according to your daughters! 

There were lots of questions about the rooms that the girls used to stay in.

We baked Pikelets that were eaten very enthusiastically and our swimming session was enjoyed by everyone. The lovely fairy even left the girls a little treat when they got back to the classroom. I'm amazed at the swimming skills the girls have and the progress that I can see. Swimming is such a wonderful way to develop confidence. They'll all be in the school swimming 

team in years to come.

It's been lovely having email conversations with Gemma. She's settled in well and the girls have been writing some letters to her that we will post tomorrow. I'm hoping that we can set up a Skype call at her centre so the girls can see where she is.

 Today we are off to Mt St John, so watch out for the photos.

Your daughters are a real credit to you all and we thank you for the 

opportunity to share their days with them.

Mrs Smith you are the Best!

Thank you Mrs Smith for all the wonderful opportunities that you 

have provided the girls over the last 2 years. 

The walks up Mt St John, the adventures with the fairies,

your wonderful skills in drawing out the girls artistic abilities and so, so much more.

We wish you the very best for your future in the Hawkes Bay and we know

that you will enjoy your new kindergarten.

Much love 

from us all.

Farewell Joyce and Eloise

Joyce and Eloise were very excited to be sitting on the 'Farewell' chairs and to light the candles as we send them off to Year 0 with our very best wishes.

We wish you lots of happy date and know we will still see lots of both of you.

Love from us all!