Mr Dreyer Shares his Armed Forces Experiences

Many classes have been studying the ANZAC campaign leading up to ANZAC Day on 25 April. 2014 is the 99th year after the campaign at Gallipoli in which just over 11, 000 Australian and New Zealand soldiers (ANZACs) lost their lives.  2721 New Zealand soldiers were killed.

The Senior classes had invited a guest speaker to talk about his experiences and the Year 4 classes were very fortunate to listen to his talk as well.

Mr Dreyer was in the NZ army for 20 years before he retired and took up a business career. 

Mr Dreyer

Mr Dreyer's talk was very interesting and thought provoking.  He described all the wars New Zealand soldiers had fought in to support Britain:

• Anglo-Egyptian War, 1882
• The Boer War,  1899 -1902
• World War 1, in Europe and Africa, 1914 -1918 (at Gallipoli 1915)
• World War 2,  1939 -1945
• Korean War,  1950 - 1953
• Vietnam War, 1956 - 1975 (NZ's involvement was in the years 1965-1971)
• Conflict in Afghanistan, 2001 - present

He spoke to us about his experiences in the Vietnam War in the mid-1960s.  Life was very difficult during the war, for people on both sides.  Mr Dreyer lost many good friends in that conflict.

He answered many questions and we came away with the following insights:

• war is not a glorious adventure - it takes a huge toll on people, during and after the conflict
• soldiers and their support personnel have to work hard as a team
• the armed forces have changed over time - women are now able to take combat roles if they choose
• New Zealand soldiers have a major role in peace-keeping around the world
• much of war can be boring - a lot of waiting around before there is action
• when in a war, you are only concerned with what you are doing and your small area, rather than thinking about where everyone else is and what they are doing
• war brings people together so you form very close relationships with the people around you - they are like family, you rely on them, you trust them, you form strong friendships

Mr Dreyer

Outline map of  the Bosphorus area in Turkey

Map showing the peninsula and where the ANZAC came ashore at Gallipoli

This map was interesting because it shows a rectangle which represents the area on the Turkish mainland that was successfully taken and held by the French soldiers during this war.  This was the only successful action in the whole of this campaign.  All the troops that landed on the peninsula, to the left of the map, suffered huge loss of life and heavy casualties.

• NZ lost 2701 soldiers
• Australia lost 8,709 men
• Turkey had 251, 000 casualties of whom more than 86, 000 soldiers were killed.

See these websites for background:     NZ History Online

For an Australian perspective see:      Australian Govt ANZAC site

Each year, at the Dawn Services throughout New Zealand, the sacrifice made by all soldiers lost in war are remembered.

 Lest We Forget

Cycle Skills - We Finished the Programme!

We were very proud in Week 12 Term 1.  It was the final session in our cycle skills programme with Kerri and Latesha.

Everyone earned their cycle passport after more safety learning about looking to the right slowly to check for cars.  

We love our passports.  They look cool with our own photos - just like a driving licence.

Room 13 is especially proud of all those children who became confident enough to pedal... and to Aaron who ended up loving the experience. Way to go, Aaron! You did it.

Thank you to Kerri and Latesha from Room 13!

A proud group of students with their certificates
Aaron's smile says it all!

Learning about bacteria and fungus

Room 13 went to a year 5 class today to see the results of some of their investigations into bacteria.We were very amazed at the results! 

Miss Hughes talked to us then showed us some of the petri dishes which had been growing bacteria and mould for a couple of weeks.

                                             

Some of the petri dishes looked revolting but we learned that the large, furry patches were fungus not bacteria.  

Bacteria is everywhere in the world - exposure to bacteria is essential so we develop an immunity and we don't get sick.  

We also learned that we need particular types of good bacteria to make things like cheese and yoghurt.

We learned that bacteria shows up in petri dishes as smooth yellow or peach coloured circles. See if you can spot the bacteria in the dishes below...

There was a lot of hand washing that day after we saw these dishes!

We can identify the fungus
and the bacteria... can you?









We will all be washing our hands more carefully.  We need to wash our hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds and make sure that they are thoroughly dried.



It is  important that we wash and dry hands before using the computers.... and before eating.

Thank you Miss H for letting us see the bacteria cultures.  We will never forget them!

Cycle Skills - Getting Better!

We had a lot of fun today doing lots more cycling.  Lots of people are more confident since the second session.  Look at the pictures and see how well everyone is doing!

Thank you Kerri and Latesha!

Bike skills Session 3 - Balancing and scooting

In this third session we learned how to balance properly and scoot along on the left side of the bike.

Riley made it look easy but it wasn't!

R13's Wish You Were Here Workshop at Te Tuhi

We had a lovely artistic time at Te Tuhi today. We were well prepared thanks to the 3 fantastic Te Tuhi powerpoints that taught us so much. We enjoyed sharing our cultures and painting a self-portrait which showed our cultural identity and places of personal significance.

All the R13 students wanted to tell Jeremy what they most enjoyed so check out what they wrote throughout this post.

Quintina: I had a fun time at Te Tuhi because we were drawing our face and our childhood. I liked the way Jeremy explained the steps because he spoke clearly and loud enough so everyone could hear.  I liked how easy the lesson was because we did it step by step.  Maybe in the weekends I might be interested in painting some peoples faces.

Artemas: I really liked going to Te Tuhi because I liked drawing my face.  When we were ready we had to copy our face from the drawing we made at school.  It was hard to get the shape of my face and nose and mouth on the new piece of paper.  When I got it right we had to paint it.  It was hard to get to the little spaces so I used a small paintbrush.  When we finished the whole thing we walked back to school. 

Justin: Today Room 13 went to Te Tuhi.  I really enjoyed drawing and painting my face.  We had to use our fraction knowledge that we learned at school.

Shreya: I loved going to Te Tuhi because I learned lots of art skills.  I also learned how to make the shape of my face.  It was easy because I listened to all his instructions.  It was fun drawing the background.  I liked painting the picture because I used lots of different colours.

Allan: I really loved it because Jeremy explained it real well.  He is nice and encouraging and shares his art ideas and that's why I loved it.  I even like his art abilities and how his tricks worked.  When we made mistakes the problem was solved in no time.  I now know just how to sketch myself.

Briana:  I like the Te Tuhi art studio because the art is always simple.  It is also fun because we are making art.  I used my knowledge of how to make my face shape and the halves of my face.

Gemma: Jeremy is kind and polite and he shares his knowledge with others. Everything is set out and he gives instructions carefully.

Nathan:  I liked the trip to Te Tuhi because we learned how to sketch our face.  We used paint and dye. I also loved the way Jeremy had everything planned so we did not have any problems.  I really enjoyed drawing my face again from the sketch I had already drawn.  Luckily one of the mother helpers showed me a fast way to transfer my drawing.

Seth: I really enjoyed going to Te Tuhi.  I love learning about art because I love all art experiences. I thought the place was really well set up.  It was a good experience.  Jeremy was very nice and polite and he gave us some very cool tips about art.

Shelby: Jeremy is kind and artistic.  I could understand his instructions because they were clear.

Joshua:  I really enjoyed doing the art.

Oliver: I really enjoyed learning about the other artists and their ideas.  It was hard and easy.  We had to practise the fractions of the face - the middle, centre and half.  I also liked learning about the cultures because we now know where everyone is from.

Richelle: I really enjoyed going to Te Tuhi because we learned where all the features of the face went so it won't look funny.  The thing I liked is that we did some art there.  I had fun because we did some painting there.

Aliah:  I really enjoyed going to Te Tuhi because we learnt how to do the features of the face and the background for our painting.  I did a good job.

Cameron: Today I went to Te Tuhi with my class, Room 13. I really enjoyed it.  I enjoyed how we got to draw our face again.  I thought mine looked really good.  It was really tricky to get the shape of the face but I managed to do it.  Also Jeremy was very nice.  I had a great time at Te Tuhi because I like art.

Hannan:  I enjoyed drawing and painting my face.  I enjoyed walking to Te Tuhi.  It was fun and I enjoyed it.

Riley:  Jeremy is kind and very artistic.  He makes it easy to understand how to make art.

Thank you Jeremy! We loved every moment and we will be doing lots more follow up at school.

Nga mihi nui,
Tamariki of R13, EPS