A Terrible Earthquake

A Terrible Earthquake

On Tuesday 22nd February 1.00pm at school (OLA) we were having lunch when an earthquake happened. It was scary for the start and shaky. We all went into Turtles and when it ended we lined up with our class. It was scary and cool watching the liquefaction coming through the ground. Another aftershock happened and more people started to cry, even me!

When mum came I felt happy and relieved and asked her about my kitten. She said that it was fine but frightened.

By Ben S

Working Bee @ O.L.A.

Yesterday at O.L.A many families came together to clean up the school. As you can see by the photos there was a great turn out and some children from Room 3 also were there helping out.
Great job to those all who helped tidy the school. I know some people could not get to school due to roads and some people have left Christchurch. But to those who could make it, thank you for your hardwork.

Many Thanks and Stay Safe,

Mister A

Earthquake by Liam P

Earthquake

On Tuesday at 12:51 we were struck by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake.

After I finished my yummy lunch I was playing at the back of the field with Alex. But then I heard a terrible rumble and then the green grass started to shake, I then started to run away from the trees and on to the basketball court. I was feeling very scared and then I heard the emergency bell. We lined up in our class lines; I noticed liquefaction coming up from the grass.

I supported my friends by saying "Its alright no one is hurt" while there were some more aftershocks. We soon had to move because the liquefaction was coming closer. Mr Atherton moved us again when it kept creeping closer! I asked Mr Atherton is I could find my brother Elliott as I was worried about him. When I found Elliott I checked he was ok and gave him a big hug. I think Elliott was scared too!

We had to wait a long time for my Mum to come because she was at a preschool and had to help keep other children safe. We went then and got Louis from preschool, luckily he was ok too. When we were driving home there was another big aftershock and Mum had trouble keeping the car on the road. We could not find my Dad and we were worried about him.

We got home and it was a huge mess. Our cat has gone missing. Suddenly our Dad was there I was really happy to see him! He was in Cashel Street Mall and was trying to help people who were trapped. We all prayed to God that we were very lucky to all be alive and together! We packed our bags and then went to Ashburton to keep safe at my Nanas house. We are still there.

When we arrived at Nanas house I felt so much safer than being in Christchurch. I hope everyone and their families are safe.

God bless us all.

From Liam P

PORK CHOPS

Emailed from the Wirepa family

In a zoo in California, a mother tiger gave birth to a rare set of triplet tiger cubs. Unfortunately, due to complications in the pregnancy, the cubs were born prematurely and due to their tiny size, they died shortly after birth.

The mother tiger after recovering from the delivery suddenly started to decline in health, although physically she was fine. The veterinarians felt that the loss of her litter had caused the tigress to fall into a depression. The doctors decided that if the tigress could surrogate another mother's cub's, perhaps she would improve.

After checking with many other zoos across the country, the depressing news was that there were no tiger cubs of the right age to introduce to the mourning mother. The veterinarians decided to try something that had never been tried in a zoo environment. Sometimes a mother of one species will take on the care of a different species. The only 'orphans' that could be found quickly, were a litter of weanling pigs The zoo keepers and vets wrapped the piglets in tiger skin and placed the babies around the mother tiger. Would they become cubs or pork chops??

Take a look....

Talia’s Earthquake Recount

Hi Mr A and all of Room 3 this is my experience of the BIG earthquake we had on Tuesday......


Tuesday the 22 of the 2 /2011 we were at school having our lunch play time my friends and I were waiting out side of room 8 waiting to go in the pool. Next room 7 started shaking my friends and I went silent wondering what was going on. Then suddenly we got up and ran we forgot what to do so we were running to Mrs Earl. When I was running I fell over and bruised my leg and arm they both started bleeding and I had some scratches on my other leg but I am ok. But then everyone started to do the turtle so me and my friend did the turtle. I said to my best friend Breanna "Are you ok? " She looked up at me crying she said "yes". Every minute the earthquake got harder and harder I yelled "Breanna!" in a scared voice. She yelled my name back then it stopped. "'Phew'" its all over. Then we had to line up for the roll call I looked around for Mr A so I know where to line up. I found him. I lined up. Every one around me was crying. I thought about all of my family I was worried so I started crying. Judith was sitting next to me she cheered me up by saying "pretend you're in the middle of Samoa eating lollies". I laughed. But when I looked up I noticed that liquefaction started to rise up and it also rose up like a waterfall. Then there was another earthquake. Later it started coming up out of the concrete so some people had to go on the other court and we had to move over. When we moved over my best friend Breanna and my step cousin Jemma came over to me, we were all crying. They started to talk about their families which made me worry about my family. But a couple minutes later my Dad was here we went to my house and waited till my Mum came home. I went around the back to get my dog. He was fine. Then Mum came home saying "Our whole building collapsed but I am ok". But I notice my sister wasn't in the car my Mum said she couldn't get to her school. My Dad went to get her. When me and Mum walked inside it was a mess glass every where and everything had fallen over. Mum said "it was a 6.3 earthquake". Mum started to put things down that might break then it happen again another earthquake we both dived under the table. A few minutes later another one hit .I stayed under the table. Every one came over to check on us. We had no power no water for the night. At 6:30 my Dad, my sister and Step Dad came home.
My family was finally safe and together!! I felt myself becoming calm as I was with my family. I spent the night under our kitchen table but I knew I was safe and God was watching over us. I also knew that my Opa (Grand Dad) was taking care of us. We did not sleep but we were together!!
That was my experience of THE BIG EARTHQUAKE I hope you are all well and with your families.
Stay Safe from Talia and her family :)

Recount about the Earthquake

If you would like to write about your experience in the Earthquake, you can write it and email it to me.
abraham.atherton@ola.school.nz

We can post all stories on the blog so we can share our feelings.

Remember:
Orientation
Sequence of Events
Personal Thoughts

Mister A

Earthquake! Earthquake!

Around 1:00 at Our lady of the Assumption ,it was lunch time outside on the school court. Then there went our 6.4 magnitute earthquake. Quickly we all ducked into a turtle there were screams and shouts and some crys but eventually we all made it to our evacuation meeting point.
There were a few other Quakes afterwards and liqourfaction started to come through cracks and the fields. Sooner on the liqourfaction started to grow bigger. We all made it home safe and sound and together with our familes.


The steps of an Earthquake:

If you happen to expiriance an earthquake the first step is to NOT PANIC! Get down into a turtle with your hands held tight around your head, Otherwise get to a door and stand underneath the framing or hed to a couch or counter and crouch down beside it. Stay far from tall buildings and power lines I hope my steps help you during this frightning 2011 earthquake and to get through safely. God bless you all, Molly.

A Shake Up to Remember.

To the children in Room 3,

Thank you for being seniors yesterday and leading by example when lining up on the court. I know that it was a scary episode, however you were very brave and responsible. I am pleased that you all went in to TURTLES when the earthquake happened. Well Done!

Your JOB is not over though. In Room 3 we support one another in difficult times, and we need to do the same in our families. Listen to your parents and be respectful. Times like these can cause stress, think about your actions and think, how can I help my parents?

Room 3, post a comment if you would like or email me abraham.atherton@ola.school.nz if you would like to say hi.

Yesterday, when I went home with Isiah and Ruthie, our house had shelves on the floor, lights had broken from the ceiling and smashed, my goldfish were very afraid, and my dogs were very pleased to see me. But all my family was healthy and well. I hope all the children in Room 3 and your families are healthy.

Take Care and God Bless

Mister A

Triathlon Timetable Thursday 24th February

Dear Parents/Caregivers

The children have been training very hard for Thursday's school triathlon. The J team will start the event at 11:00. The Year 4s and A team will be after lunch at 1:10pm.
We ask you to please ensure your child has a:

• Bike helmet
• Bike
• House coloured t-shirt
• Running shoes
• Sunhat
• Sunscreen and
• Drink bottle (water only)

A Team
The A team are to come to school in school uniform and will get changed before their race.
Girls are to wear one piece swimming togs please.
Boys are to wear a rash top. All midriffs are to be covered.
In the morning children are to park their bikes outside their classroom.
Timetable for Triathlon

11:10am	Year 2 Boys	1:10pm	Year 4 Boys
11:25am	Year 2 Girls	1:20pm	Year 4 Girls
11:40am	Year 1 Boys	1:35pm	9 Year Olds
11:55am	Year 1 Girls	1:50pm	10 Year Olds
12:10pm	Year 3 Boys	2:10pm	11 Year Olds
12:25pm	Year 3 Girls	2:30pm	12 Year olds

These times are approximate. Parents, please ensure if you are coming to watch your child, that you arrive earlier than the suggested times.

Jewell's Corner

The Naughtiest Girl

Story One, Chapter One

The Spoilt girl Elizabeth Allen really does not want to go to boarding- school, so she more rude than usual. As she walks into her room, she sees her governess Ruth Scott silently sewing names onto brown stockings. Elizabeth stomps her foot and slams the book she was carrying against her bedroom door. "I shan't to school, and, even if you do, I'll be so naughty that they'll send me right back again!" she cries. Then she stomps her way out of the room. Miss Scott looks up, but then carries on working. Then when Miss Scott turns around to get something, Elizabeth sneaks into her room, takes a pair of stockings and pins them toe-toe, and then neatly manages to pin them onto the back of Miss Scott's skirt! Then she goes and hides. Miss Scott turns around and starts counting up the pairs of stockings. "1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-. There should be six! Maybe Elizabeth's mother has one. As Elizabeth sees the pair of stockings swinging behind her governess, she puts her head in the cupboard and squeals with laughter. When Miss Scott asks Elizabeths mum, she said that she gave them all to Miss Scott. As Miss Scott turns around, mum catches sight of the tail, and shows it to Miss Scott. "Elizabeth again" she mumbles.

By Judith J

Bar Graphs for Students Problem 2

Consider the following table:

School	A	B	C	D
Boys	56	89	74	68
Girls	53	91	62	68

Draw the grouped bar graph for the above table.

Solution:

Steps to draw bar graph for the given data:

Step 1: Take the given data

Step 2: Give the School in the X – axis.

Step 3: Give the boys and girls in Y – axis.

Step 4: Plot the points in X – axis and Y – axis.

Step 5: Finally draw the grouped bar graph using the data.

Teamwork Characteristics

Today in class we explored the characteristics we would like to see when we work in teams. The children thought the idea of 'Love' was funny. However the idea of 'Love' is a love to work hard, a love to learn, a love to share and a love for the work they do.
The children worked in partners and wrote a list of 7 to 10 characteristics they would like to see. After we wrote our list, we shared with one another in the class and made a class list with how many times the characteristic showed up. When Judith and Molly placed this information in Wordle, the words that appeared the most were written in bold and are larger. If they were not popular, the word is written smaller. 
The word that appeared the most in the list was courage.  

I HAVE NEVER!

Today we had Miss Rooney and Mr A had left some activities for us to do.This game was called I have never, where we all sit in a circle on chairs and someone stands in the middle.The person in the middle must shout out "I have never...." say.. been to Australia.But if you have been to Australia you must get off your seat and run to someone elses seat.(This is a chance for the person in the middle to get a seat) The aim of the game is not to be standing in the middle.

Electricity and I have never

For electricity you have to stand in two lines and hold hands with the person in front and behind
you also need to close your eyes only the person in front keeps there eyes open and the teacher
flips a coin if it's on heads you squeeze the person behind yous hand then it goes down the line
until the person at the backs hand has been squeezed and they then run to the front until you get back to the person who started.But if it's tails and you run to the front two people have to go to the
back.

Team Activities,Electricity

Hi Everyone,
today we played 2 team activities. One of them was called Electricity.Where we have 2 teams holding hands in a line.The front people in each group are the only people to have their eyes open the rest have them closed.The aim of the game is a teacher standing infront flips a coin if it lands on heads you must squeeze the person behind you hand.They have to get down the line and to the end person who will now run to the front of the line and it will start again.

Names and Images of God

In the last week we have been learning different images for God and how he is described. We all had different ideas and answers.Here are some...

Like a mother..loving,caring,compassionate and generous.
Like a shield...protection,defence and strength
Like an eagle...watching over,caring,keeping us safe and a teacher
Like a gardener...loving,generous,life giving and growing in faith

Team Building Exercises

Yesterday (Wednesday 9 February) we played aboard! This game is a good game of teamwork because you have to fit 8 or 9 people in a regular hula-hoop. It was quite funny be-cause people fell over. I think this was a great teamwork game!

Minefield: Minefield is games were one person is blind-folded and one person is not. The one not blind folded has to guide the one not through a series of cones. This was a brilliant game and it was fun!

By Brad S, Year 6.

Teamwork exercise

On the 8 of February Mr. A took room 3 outside to do a bit of world record breaking. The first challenge was to carry a tennis ball not using your hands or feet. The winning team carried Isabella E with the tennis ball on her lap. The second challenge was to carry a basket ball or tennis ball while linking arms and carrying the ball Xavier and Will won this challenge the third and final challenge was to carry a basket ball with their bottom. Four or five people had to do this; the winners were Alex, Liam, Josh H, and Lachlan.
I felt this day was very fun. Mr. A is an awesome teacher he lets us do so many fun things. I felt tired once it was over this day was full of world record breaking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Only a couple of people completed these hard tasks.

By Nicholas O`Neill

JOURNEY TO SCHOOL

On Monday morning, my family drove to school from Prebbleton to OLA. My Mum and my sister Julia and I were in the car.

Latter on I felt a bit bored but then eventually I was felling happy. It was pouring down outside and

Was cold we put the heater on. I was reading my book to Mum wile my sister was mucking around in the back. We were going 80 then 60 and then around the slow round about. It takes about 15 Minutes to get to school. In about 10 minutes I had finished my book. When we where around

The school grounds we where going about 50. Then we saw the big bright red gates and we were at school. I was feeling happy and pleased when I got to school.

BY OLIVIA

MY JOURNEY TO SCHOOL!

Mum, James and I were in the car. We were in the middle of an argument when mum turned the radio on to shhh us. This was a Monday morning and it was raining hard. I turned the radio up as the song changed to Katy Perry.

 

"I will drop you at the gate," she said. "Is that Okay?" I was to annoyed and grumpy to answer. In the weekends I usually get up 10.00am. We arrived at the gate and I said goodbye to my mum. I walked into school and was relived to see my best friend waiting for me at the gate.

By MollyJ

Te Reo Maori

Kapa Haka

View more presentations from Atherton81.

Meet the Teacher

Dear Parents,

Any information shared in the Meet the Teacher discussion has been posted as an image. If you click on the image above, it will enlarge to a readable size.

Many thanks,

Mister A

Camp Notice 2011

Camp Notice:

Important details to note -

• Camp dates - Wednesday 23rd, Thursday 24th and Friday 25th March
• Where? Hanmer Springs
• Approximate Cost - $161
• Parent help - We are asking for parent helpers, fill in the form and bring back to school asap.

More details of the camp will come out closer to the time,

My Adventure Holiday

In January, my family and my friend Sherida's family headed off to Hanmer Springs for 3 nights and 4 days.

Firstly we unpacked all of our belongings Sherida , Cameron , Harry and myself were all in the one room bunking. Cameron and I bunked and Harry and Sherinda bunked. Cameron and my bunk was white Cameron at the bottom and I was at the top.

Next Mum, Dad, Alison and Terry found there enswites. When the adults finished unpacking we all went out to the maze'n'golf down the road from us.

Girls were in the maze of horror and the Boys doing the golf.

After that we went to dog streem the water was freezing and flowing past our legs. We tried to catch fist but we had no luck but we did find 8 fish. We all had a composition at who could bild the best dam 4 fish got caught in the dam. We spent 2 ½ hours there then came home for tea.

After tea all the kids played in the back garden then we watched a movie and went to sleep.

Next morning we all woke up at 7:30 am for breckfast we had pancakes , banana , strawberries , vanilla ice cream and some juicy baconJ

After breckfast we went to the pools even the spas and on all of the hydroslides. All of us had turns at going on the superbowl down the dark tube then round and round and round then the fun ends down the plug holeL

We waited 20 min in the line to go on the ride after that we went back to our holiday home and had mouse traps for tea then went to sleep.

It was day three and we all decided to just have FUN! So food games and lots of other things we played for three hours then went to the lollie shop and for a walk around. By the time we got back to the holiday home and had tea it was 9:30 pm we went to bed and fell fast asleep. In the morning we packed up and went home. At the end of the weekend I thought we had a blast! J

BY SOPHIE.J J

My thrilling adventure.

For New Year, My family, friends and I went to Hanmer Springs hot pools.

Firstly, We went to pay and find a sunny spot to sit on the lounger chairs. It was spitting so we found shelter where the sun could still reach us. Eve, Emma and I waited on the scorching path with rubber rings in the long line. As it was our turn we screamed as we went down the dark tunnel and deadly twister.
It was around 11:05 and we ordered some hot, salty chips and made moustaches out of the rich tomato sauce.
By lunchtime it was getting less busier and we were getting more used to the slide. We had both agreed to let go of our fears and go down ourselves. After that we had water fights with the pistols, had diving competions ,played under the caves and in the hot pools.
Finally, it was time to go home. On the way back we stopped at the English toffee shop and bought 2 50gs of fudge. I really had a fun, thrilling adventure and hope to go back again someday.

By Molly R.MJ

Recount Writing: My Holiday

The first day of school the children began with sharing about their summer holidays. The children were enthusiastic to talk about the past 6 weeks, however we magnified one event in our holiday that we would then write a recount about.
The format for a recount is shown above. When the children shared with a partner, they were encouraged to talk about their event using this format. The children focused on answering the who, what, where, when and why. The children had success in writing their orientation. After these have been edited, some examples will be published on the blog for you to view.

Room 3 Class Agreement

The children in Room 3 have begun the year exploring the theme 'Developing a Positive Classroom.' Yesterday we shared our experiences of past classes we have been in, using De Bono's Thinking Hats to collate our thoughts. We have found some creative ways to develop and build a positive classroom in 2011.
The children had many ideas when we developed our Class Agreement. The Room 3 Class Agreement for 2011 is shown above.