Ripa Rugby

two weeks ago we all went to Wellington to do a Ripa Rugby tornament it was so fun even though we lost quite a bit of games.

Banqer update!

Last week we interviewed our classmates for positions in our Banqer companies.  It was great to see so many children being fantastic Communicators!

Neil Shaskey Art Lesson

Otawhito were lucky enough to have Neil Shaskey come in and run an art lesson with groups of students. The focus this year was Canterbury landscapes. Students started with a blank canvas and created amazing masterpieces. They learnt and used different art techniques of how to hold their pencil, shading, being able to blend colours, and perspective. Every student was fully engaged for the hour and a half session, all producing some amazing artwork that they can be proud of. 
I asked the kids to describe the lesson in one word if they could and I got these answers back - cool, artist, fantastic, passionate, spectacular, amazing, proud  and we felt like artists that could draw anything now.  

Here are some pictures and the students work will be available to look at in the learning centre shortly or at the Arts night in Term 4. 

Netball Zones

Last Thursday, after 2 postponements finally saw the netball A and B team go to Lincoln to compete in the Lincoln Zones. Both teams showed Halswell ACTIVE  throughout the entire day and showed great sportsmanship. The B team finished in 1st place in their grade, being undefeated the whole day which is a fantastic achievement! The A team finished 7th in their grade, but played some beautiful netball. A huge thank you to the Amanda, Jo and Tania who came and helped on the day. A big thank you to all the parents and supporters that came to cheer on both our Halswell teams, the students loved having you there!

Congratulations to both teams, we are so proud of you. You played fantastic netball and all your hard work paid off!

Olympics Supporting

Over the last couple of weeks, as a learning centre we have had the opportunity to watch the Olympics. The students are loving being able to support our country as we compete against the best in a variety of sports. We are loving hearing all the students experiences and stories about family members who have competed or been to the Olympics in the past years. Such an amazing learning experience for all students as we see world records being broken and made which is a once in a lifetime opportunity!

Banqer Companies

Over the last few days the children have been presenting their Banqer Company proposals.  The purpose of the presentations was to get other students interested in applying for a job with the companies.   The children have put a lot of thought into how many employees they would need, the hours of work, the wages and what skills/qualities they would want employees to have.
We have potential companies offering lost property and cleaning services, a study buddy service, and some fantastic ideas for organising and issuing sports gear.  The creativity, planning and preparation has been quite impressive!
The next step is to prepare application forms and hold interviews.  Following that, the teachers will hold contract negotiations with the successful companies.
We are really looking forward to getting the companies up and running!

Mark Dickel - Olympic Basketballer

On Friday we were lucky enough to have a visit from Mark Dickel, who has represented New Zealand at the Olympics.  He played basketball at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics.  Mark's son Madden is in T35.  Mark shared his experiences of attending the Olympics and shared some really important messages about setting and achieving goals.

Canterbury Rippa Rugby Champions

We are the champions!
Congratulations to the Halswell year 6 rippa rugby team, who won the Canterbury tournament in Week 1 of Term 3. They are off to Wellington to represent all of Canterbury, ka pai!
Here is a report from Izzy and Alex T35.

On Tuesday, 10 people in year 6 went to a Canterbury Rippa Rugby tournament these were the people that went: George T, Leo, Guy, Meihana, Charlie F, Claudia E, Brooke S, Alex S, Izzy S & Holly.

The first school we played was Waitakiri and we won the score was 8/3. Then we played Southbrook and we won again and the score was 8/5.

After that we played Paparoa st and we lost by one point and the score was 5/4. The next game was semi final, we played Star of the Sea and won. The score was 9/6.

We were so excited because then we were in the finals but we had to play Paparoa St again, we had to bring our A game!

It was nerve wracking! We had to win all, we could think about was Wellington cause if you win you go to Wellington for free. At the end of the game it was a draw!

There had to be a winner so we played for the GOLDEN point. It was so intense. We were a bit unlucky because they had the first tap off and throughout the game who ever had the first tap would be the first to score. They found the gap they were running but Charlie was chasing him down followed by the team - we made the rip. All of a sudden they passed out wide and the pass was to powerful and they knocked it on. Holly grabbed the ball and run straight ahead and got ripped she popped pass to Charlie. He found a gap but a bit behind him was a boy from Paparoa St, he passed out wide to George. He sprinted to the corner and dived and before you knew it - we we going to Wellington!!

This week the Olympics started it is very exciting. NZ are coming 23rd on the medal table and china is coming 1st. We have one silver medal from shooting.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/82916212/rio-olympics-2016-horror-crash-mars-womens-road-race

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCOSg6T8V00