Week 6 at Swanson School is in the books, which means there are only 2 more weeks left of me being in New Zealand and of school at Swanson. Needless to say, the kids know that the end is near and they have started to get the summer break blues.
One special thing about this week was the staff Christmas breakfast that happened on Tuesday morning. We had to get to school early so that we could have breakfast as one happy team. After the breakfast, we had a contest with decorating the staff room! Each teacher is in one of the four school houses and the staff houses were in competition with one another to create the best Christmas display in the staff room. However, we only had one bag of old Christmas decorations to use. It was hilarious and something that I never imagined would have happened in a staff room!
This week, students are working on wrapping up the big inquiry project that they are doing, where they are inventing things that would revolutionize the world. Some of the students' inventions include a flying bed, a time machine, rocket shoes, and a cruise ship that would go in space. The kids have been working on their inquiry projects for the past 2 weeks. They had to first research an inventor and learn about the invention that was created. Then they were able to create their own invention that would change the world. Next week students will be presenting and I will make sure to take lots of pictures of what they create to show you!
We also studied more about America this week. The class told me that they were interested in some of the cities in the states so we took a closer look at Washington, D.C. and New York City. Students were very interested in what happened with the Twin Towers and why America was so changed because of it. I was surprised by how much students knew about the topic, considering a lot of them weren't even born when September 11th happened (which made me feel really old!) I enjoyed being able to have the serious sort of conversations with students that were necessary and hear their feedback on the subject.
Lastly, this week we started a new unit on frogs! We are studying all different types of frogs and taking a closer look at the frogs that are in New Zealand. As a final wrap up to the unit next week, we are going to make origami frogs and have contests to see who can make their frog jump the highest and the furthest. It should be an exciting time in Room 13!
Next week is my last week on full control and it is really a short week. On Monday, we have our end of the year trip and we are going to the Auckland Zoo (YES!!) and to a pool called West Wave. It is going to be an exciting but very busy day. Then on Tuesday, we are going to the Henderson Cluster Athletics competition to help out Miranda's co-op and cheer on Swanson School! This leaves me with only 3 more days as being the teacher, which is crazy! The last week of school at Swanson is filled with wrap up and cleaning out the rooms for next year. It is different from the states in the fact that students help to move furniture around and they help the teacher's clear out the rooms for the new school year.
This weekend Miranda and I are in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. It is a really exciting time down there because the world premier of The Hobbit occurred on Wednesday (your Tuesday) and when we go down, there should still be some of the things set up. (In honor of the premier, I gave all of my students Hobbit names, using the Hobbit name generator On Wednesday, I would only respond to Peony Foxburr of Loamsdown and all of the students were called by their hobbit names!) I am super excited to be there for that plus, we are going to Hobbiton next weekend!!
As I am sitting here writing this, I am coming to the strange realization that I am going to be leaving this incredible country in a short 2 weeks. My time here has flown by and I still don't really believe that I am here. The experiences that I have had are irreplaceable and I am going to cherish them forever. I love that I have been able to share parts of my journey with all of you!
Keep calm and eat a kiwi
-Elizabeth
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