Last Week!!

Hi team

Hope everyone had a great weekend and day on Friday with your loud shirts on! Can't believe we're into the last week of term.. it has flown by! Looking forward to the holidays though :-)

Here is a link to Ruben's blog he has made so that we can keep in touch with him when he is in America!

http://rubostriptousa.blogspot.com/

Have a look at the photos below, some of the girls playing rugby on Wednesday - they were awesome and both teams won all their games! And a couple from Activ8 on Thursday - the Balmac team won it (out of 16 teams) and the 4 boys who joined up with Columba won the quiz :-) Our school Activ8 is next term and will be great fun!

Josh and Jack's 1080 Inquiry

hay guys check out your blog stop 1080 and please vote on our poll and leave a comment

thanks josh and jack


http://stop1080poison.blogspot.com/

Conservation Week 14th - 20th September

Hello Room 9 peeps... wow nearly at the end of Term 3 already... where has it gone!! Only a term left at Balmac!! This week is Conservation Week which fits in perfectly with Impact. As part of your homework what you need to do is find an article to do with Conservation Week in the newspaper, on the internet, or even on the news on TV. Leave a comment telling us about it, using WHERE, WHAT, WHY, and WHEN. Also have a look at the website: http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation-week

See me if you have any problems :-)

Waste in Space!!

Today Room 9 spent the afternoon at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery, as part of our Impact topic. Our theme was Waste in Space - have a look at the pics below :-) John was especially impressed with Abby, Jack and Maddy's art - great work guys!

Yellow Snow

A huge Room 9 congrats to our favourite band Yellow Snow!! They played in the Battle of the Bands on Friday night at OBHS and got second place!! Up against mostly Year 12 and 13 bands this is an awesome effort!! Well done Nick, Will, Kalin, Matt and Marco :-)

Impact Drama

Here are some pics from our Impact drama this week. They were great! Some budding young actors and actresses in Room 9 for sure :)
Good luck with your Impact challenge homework this week - any problems make sure you ask me. And the week of cross country is here!! Looking forward to seeing some good Room 9 results!!

Homework - Week 4

Well done on completing your Thinkers Key's homework assignment!! I have marked a few of them and they are great! :)

Homework this week is:

SPELLING: List 17 - usual drill, don't forget to use www.spellingcity.com if it helps you learn your words.
CROSS COUNTRY: Cross Country is next week! It has come around quickly... our class training is going superbly, I have been super impressed with everyone's efforts. Try and go for a run or two at home if you have the chance this week.
IMPACT: Look in the newspaper and magazines and see if you can find any letters to the editor regarding issues related to our Impact topic. Cut them out and bring them to school if you find some.
Go to this website www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/index.html and click on games and then Test Your Climate Change knowledge link. Post your score out of 10 with your comment below:

Leave a comment on this post and answer the following question:

Name something that the general Dunedin population or your family do well in looking after our environment?
What is something we can improve on?

Have a great week, make sure you see me if you have any problems :)

Remember... It's Mean to Be Green!!

Term 3 Happenings

Hi team - it has been a busy first couple of weeks back and everyone has been super busy. Well done to Kalin, Nick A and Will who gave up their time to be a part of the musicians group in the Recycled production. Awesome job! There have been a number of open days and nights for secondary schools, and Balmacewen's open night is happening this Wednesday.
Don't forget your Thinkers Keys - Saving the World homework assignment is due this Friday - I'm looking for some top work with this! Don't leave it until the last minute! Have a look under useful websites and go to the Sign On Greenpeace website.
The countdown is on for Cross Country - 3 weeks! Try and get some training in at home too and keep in mind the goals that you set at the beginning of the term.

The school ski trip was in the weekend at Cardrona and here is an awesome pic of Courts and Abby :) Have a great week!

Room 9 News

It has been a busy couple of weeks in Room 9... science fair, Stars on Stage, winter sport etc. Overall the standard of your science fair inquiries was very impressive, and I loved listening to your presentaions. Most of you have been working super hard on these, and a big Room 9 congrats to the following people who were in the Prizewinners List: Benjamin Wardhaugh - Backpack Attack, Courtney Shea - Cold As Ice, Saskia Turner - Plants and Radiation, Nick Alexander - Do I Look Good in these Genes? Kalin Geisreiter - The Science of Paper Planes and Will Kindley - Protect Your Melon. Highly Commended: Rahan Ali - Rhythm Running 09, Gemma Lowden - The Not so Mean Green Mouse Machine and Owen Adams - Musical Beans. Awesome!!
Also a big well done to those involved with Stars on Stage: Will, Maddy, Courtney, Abby, Nick A, Ben, Rahan, Gemma, Kay, Terauna, Lillie, Anaru, Mason and Tyler :) It was an awesome show!!

Mega Maths Month has been a great success for Room 9! Our class average went from 76% in the initial testing to 94% in our final test last week!! Thanks to you all for your practice and hard work on these.

Disco Fever/Bye Eva!!

On Friday we had our first Balmac disco of the year in the school hall. I could only stay for half of it but it was an awesome night! Great to see lots of Room 9 peeps up there having a boogie!!
We also had to farewell Eva as she has gone back to Denmark... hope you had a good trip Eva and a great birthday on Saturday :)

Congratulations Rahan!

A big Room 9 congrats to Rahan Ali, who has been selected for the New Zealand Under 12/13 Futsal Team. They are off to play in Brisbane in November. Room 9 may go along as his support crew...

Awesome work Rahan!

Forensics Investigation

Today as part of our forensics topic we had a mock crime scene in Room 9. The situation was that someone broke into our Room 9 by breaking a window and climbing in, where they met the cleaner. A struggle followed and the cleaner was killed and left on the floor of our class. Will and Abby managed to find the murder weapon (a hockey stick) outside and together we pieced together the events of the previous night.
A big thank you to Sheldon Kindley and Malcolm Inglis for coming in to set it up and take us through the crime scene. It was great to see what we have been learning and reading about in action! Check out the pics :)

Mega Maths Month

June is Mega Maths Month at Balmacewen! A basic facts blitz... Don't forget about the whole school reward up for grabs too! We did our baseline testing today and it wasn't too bad at all - a good start for Room 9! Our average as a class is 76% - I'm setting a challenge for us to reach 85% as a class by the end of June! Definitely achievable if everyone practices at home - here are some great websites to help you out:
http://www.gamequarium.com/multiplication.html
www.mathisfun.com
www.multiplication.com
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/numbers/wholenumbers/multiplication/timestables/

What percentage do you want to achieve? Some people have hit 100% already - my challenge to you is to see if you can get that in under 2 minutes!

Good Luck :)

Berwick Camp 09!!

A big congrats to everyone (children and parents!!) for making it through Berwick Camp 09!! It was an awesome week with lots of happy memories to take away :) There were many highlights during the week... hmm where to start... the Berwick Ball, torch walk, Rahan's Mum's russian fudge (sorry none of you got to see that!) the Amazing Race, hearing you scream during Nightline, bacon and eggs for breakie, receiving my bribes in bunkroom inspections, the singalongs and dance offs, seeing how much effort you put into the Gutbuster(it really lived up to it's name this year!), the Assault Course - "it was very assaulting", the list goes on and on!
What were your highlights? Leave a comment below and you will receive a star for this week's draw!

2 Weeks till Berwick Camp!!

Hey team, the countdown is on for Berwick Camp! Only 2 weeks to go :) Thank you to those people who have handed their health and consent forms in - everyone else please get them in asap. Don't forget this week is NZ Sign Language week - teach someone at home some of the NZSL we have been learning with Nirvana. Also we are into May so it is NZ Music Month - have a look at the website: http://www.nzmusicmonth.co.nz/
This week I will be seeing you all individually to go through your science fair proposal sheet and to sort ethics if you need it.
Winter sports are underway, I would love to hear how your netball, hockey, rugby, soccer, basketball or whatever went! Leave a comment and keep us up to date with your team.

Have a great week Room 9! Stay warm!

Welcome back to Term 2!!

Welcome back! I hope you all had an awesome holiday and are rearing to go for Term 2! Following on from Survivor in Term 1, our Term 2 name is Wonderment. It's an action packed term with the obvious highlight of Berwick Camp in Week 4. Notices will be sent home on Tuesday regarding camp, it's important that you return the consent forms asap!
On the work front - our school and technology fair will be our main focus this term. As I said on the homework sheet, the sooner you get started with an idea the better. Keep in mind that we will be away during Week 4. Under the useful websites heading there are some good links to help you get started. Your time management skills will be super important this term... winter sports are starting, there is Stars on Stage, music lessons... camp...science fair and so on. Make sure you are reading the notices every day and making practices and meetings :)
Here is the link for your maths homework this week - remember to get your book signed to say you have been on here: http://www.gamequarium.com/multiplication.html

Have a great first week! :)

Congratulations Duckies!!

A big congratulations to the Rubber Duckies for winning Room 9 Survivor 09! Your prize will be awarded next term when Jack is back from the UK. Well done to all the teams - especially the Munkyz - you were very close!!

Thanks for all of your hard work during Term 1! Have an awesome and safe Easter holiday - rest up and be ready for an action packed Term 2 :)

Year 8 Triathlon

It was a big day in Mosgiel on Friday as the Balmacewen Year 8 crew hit town for the triathlon! There were plenty of nerves and excitement around as everyone prepared for their race, individual or team. After a lot of sweat and tears were shed, there were some very happy faces crossing the finish line! The course was made up of a 100m swim, 3 laps around Peter Johnstone Park and a lap of Memorial Park to finish.
It was awesome to see Room 9 people giving it their best! The training paid off and everyone did themselves proud :) A big congrats to these Room 9'ers who were placed in the top ten: Ben (3rd), Rahan (5th), Will (6th), Kalin, (8th) and Courtney (5th) and Abby (10th).
The final house points were in the same order as the swimming sports - Highgate, Chapman, Shetland, and Lynn.

What did you think of the triathlon? How do you think you or your team went?

Year 8 Sasa!

On Friday we had our Year 8 sasa assembly. The Year 8's performed the traditional Samoan sasa that we have been learning over the last few weeks. Then each class performed their own. Room 23 kicked it off with a Rocky Shore sasa, then Room 8 with a Movie themed sasa, Room 2's was Hip Hop based, Room 4's an outdoor activity sasa, Room 14 had a rodeo themed one and Room 6's sasa was based on a day at school. And, of course, Room 9 had their hippy sasa!

Well done Room 9, you all worked really well together to produce the sasa! Awesome job. A big thank you to our leaders: Maddy, Gemma, Saskia, Rahan and Ben, our drummer: Kalin, and our director: Jonny. Peace!

Important Dates and Reminders

17, 18, 19 March: Parent Interviews (don't forget to remind your parents!)
Wednesday 18 March: Bike Check at school for triathlon. Please have your bikes and helmets at school on Wednesday.
Thursday 19 March: Southland Sports Exchange
Friday 20 March: Year 8 Sasa Assembly
Monday 23 March: Otago Anniversary Day (don't come to school!)
Friday 27 March: Year 8 Triathlon
If you have any questions about anything feel free to post them here :)

Swimming Wrap Up!

We've had a busy swimming few weeks in Room 9! Our swimsation lessons are finished and as our class we did an awesome job in the Swim for Life challenge. Well done to these people who all swam 200 metres continuously: Eva, Gemma, Abby, Tyler, Courtney, Saskia, Kay, Lillie, Maddy, Owen, Nick A, Nick C, Mason, Terauna, Jonny, Rahan, Benjamin, Anaru, Kalin, Ruben and Will.
We also had the Swimming Sports on Friday in which everyone gave their best! How did you go in the swimming sports? Add a comment to this post. How did you find the 200m swim? It was great to see and hear all the cheering in the stands. The final points were:
Highgate - 734, Chapman - 639, Shetland - 617, Lynn - 494.

Survivor Update!!

Survivor Update... Well so far we have had four Survivor Challenges, as well as numerous points and things given out in class. The results of the challenges so far are:

Challenge #1: Team flag, symbol, song and survival kit: The Bubbles and The Funky Munkyz
Challenge #2: Obstacle/Bike Course: The Rubber Duckies
Challenge #3: How Well Do You Know Room 9?: The Rubber Duckies
Challenge #4: Let's Get Physical: The Rubber Duckies
C'mon the Moose!!!

There are still 3 challenges left to go as well as other points to be given out - plenty of time for any team to take the lead and be bestowed the honour, prestige and glory of SURVIVOR O9!! Have a look at these pics from the Prone Hold Challenge in Let's Get Physical!

Portobello Aquarium Visit

Check out these pics from our visit to Portobello last week :)

Homework - Week 6: 9th - 13th March

Greetings Room 9 folk!! Wow we are into Week 6 already, Term 1 is flying by! I have been very impressed with the standard of homework this term. The whole class (especially in the last 2 weeks) has been making a superb effort - top stuff. So... this week your homework is slightly less and the best news is you won't even need your homework book!

Another busy swimming week - we have our final class swimming session on Thursday morning where we will be completing the Swim for Life Challenge and seeing how many people can swim 200 metres continuously, which will be a tough challenge for most of you.
On Friday we have our annual Balmac Swimming Sports. Don't forget that you do not come to school that morning - we meet at Moana Pool at 8.45am in your correct PE gear. One last thing on the swimming sports - GO CHAPMAN!!!

Also a reminder to please get your parents interview notices into me asap.

HOMEWORK:

Spelling: List 5 this week. Make a big effort to learn your words. Your spelling lists are also on spelling city, so use this website to help you out too.
Rocky Shore: Your task is to select one of the following sea creatures from the list below and do some research on that creature, although after our visit to the aquarium you will have a lot of knowledge already. When you leave a comment - make a heading on the creature that you have chosen and then list their physical features, habitat etc. I have left an example for you to look at.

- hermit crab, sea cucumber, starfish, octopus, sea anemone, barnacle, limpet, camouflage crab, kina, chiton, bladder kelp.

Any problems see me. Have a super week! :)

Highlanders Visit!!

Room 9 was buzzing with excitement today with
the Highlanders squad visiting Balmac! Room
9 had Daniel Bowden, Clint Newlands, Jason Rutledge and Jayden Hayward. We asked some great questions such as, what is your
opinion on the stadium? what nutrition programme do you follow? what injuries have you had? and some interesting ones such as what do you sing in the shower? and what is your worst fan experience?

It was great to have the Highlanders in our school - let's hope they can beat the Crusaders on Saturday night!!