A sigh of relief - Level 1 is over....

I'm sure that many parents will be breathing a sigh of relief now that the largest exam in NCEA is over.

48,000 Year 11s sat English yesterday and it seemed to go reasonably well.

The general consensus here was that the literature (novel, film and short texts) sections were fair and pretty straightforward. We felt putting an extract from the Queen's speech in a little odd. For the second year in a row unfamiliar text has featured South Island authors - perhaps it's about time the examiners moved their focus to where the bulk of the population is - the North!

Levels 3 and 2 today.

More study help - studyit.org.nz

If you haven't already looked at this site - take time to have a look now.
Expert teachers provide free advice, guidance and feedback to students in English, Maths and Science.....
studyit.org.nz

Online Study Guides

Really Useful Resources have placed their revision guides online until the end of the year - you can access them by registering for them on this link - http://www.reviseonline.co.nz/index.php/homepage

There are guides for other subjects as well as English.

Check out those movies the kids want to watch...

Although this site is aimed at the US market and so the movies are a little ahead of release date here, it does provide detailed reviews based on 'violence, sexual content, language, and drugs/alcohol portrayal'.

Check it our - http://www.parentpreviews.com/movies.php

Grammar, spelling etc.......

One thing that parents tend to comment on is 'my son can't spell- what can I do?', or 'don;t teachers teach grammar any more?'.

This site is a great place for students to go to find advice and practice grammar activities -

http://www.grammar-monster.com/

It attempts to explain rules, give examples and sets up practice activities.....

How do your students learn?

Catch this short video put up on TeacherTube ... very thought provoking....


Find more videos like this on Classroom 2.0

Literature Week & Dress up Day

Another great week promoting literature in the school culminated in Dress Up Day on the last day of term. Awesome involvement from the Yr 7 & 8's, Yr 13's and the staff. Thanks to all the parents who encouraged their kids to take part -

These Yr 13's had a fun day!

We thought this Wizard of Oz group was very clever!



As were the Three Blind Mice!

For Junior Students...

This is an awesome interactive site for junior students -

http://www.tki.org.nz/r/wick_ed/index.php

Take a few minutes to have a look at it with your kids - there are a range of activities including literacy and numeracy, topic based, homework help and learning games.

Just can't get those kids to study?

Check out this link for 20 motivational tips to 'kickstart' those seniors into some serious study!!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/communities/onionstreet/advent/motivation/advent.shtml

8NP Poetry

Dragon Flies

Like winged assassins
built for the job,
hovering, flying backwards, forwards and upside down and around and around.
Speeding through the air
like they really don't care.

Showcasing 9DM English

9DM recently completed a literature unit based on 'Private Peaceful' by Michael Morpurgo and War Poems by Owen Sassoon. The spectacular display can be viewed in the administration block and the students were brave enough to make a presentation at assembly.

So, exams are over....what can I do?

Year 11, 12 and 13 have just finished their school practice exams. Parents often say that they don't know what to do to help their kids get through exams - they don't know the texts that they are studying or the language just seems too much.

Believe or not just talking to the kids about the texts they are studying is a very valuable exercise - it shows an interest in what they are doing AND it can firm up ideas in their heads. Talking about texts such as films and novels makes the kids think about what they have seen and read.