Melville Intermediate - Y7 Big Day Out 2009 II

Melville Intermediate - Big Day Out 09 Powersurge

As part of the Melville Intermediate Y7's Big Day Out on Friday November 27th 2009 the students went to Rainbows End Fun Park in Manukau, Auckland. The students got to go on a number of rides, including the Powersurge. This is video of that ride.

Melville Intemediate Y7 Big Day Out 2009

These are just some of the images from the Melville Intermediate Y7 End of Year Big Day Out. This year we went to Rainbows End Theme Park in Manukau City, Auckland for the day. The students had the opportunity to try out some of the rides and enjoy themselves to celebrate a successful 2009! The school year in New Zealand ends on December 15th and will restart again in February.

Melville Intermediate - Y7 Big Day Out 2009

This is footage of some of our students riding the Pirate Ship Ride at Rainbows End - the recount will be following shortly. Recorded on Friday 27th November 2009 during the Y7 students 'Big Day Out' trip to celebrate the end of the year.

Melville Intermediate - 2009 Big Day Out

One of the important traditions as Melville Intermediate School is when the Y7 and Y8 students celebrate the end of the school year with their "Big Day Out". For 2009 the Y7 students went to Rainbows End Theme Park in Auckland. We had to be at School at 8:00am for a 8:20am departure (Aucklands about an hour and half away). The students got to enjoy New Zealands only Fun Park for the day! This is some of the footage our our Y7 students on the Corkscrew Roller Coaster.

Keegan wrote the following recount about our trip: When our School got to Rainbows End we went to El Dorado and checked ourselves off the list. We could then leave. Me and Jordan went to the Roller Coaster. It was a long wait but it didn't take long until it was over. Jordan and me went to the Power Surge. It was fun if you held on. Then I went to the Motion Master. It was a long wait but it was worth it. I went onto the Roller Coaster again and the Power Surge over and over. Then we went home.

I really did enjoy Rainbows End because I went on rides that I have never gone on before. I was dissapointed that I only went on three rides, but there was too many people.

Melville Intermediate - Enviro Schools Competition

Those of you who know that we've been competing in the Melville Intermediate School Enviro-Schools competition will be unaware of a pretty major disaster that occurred earlier this week. Persons unknown appear to have reached into the classroom during a lunch break and sabotaged our growing effort by snapping the bean plant! We decided that some pretty drastic action was required to get back into the competition so Keegan our Enviromental Officer went into the School Gardens and re-potted the bean plant! To remove all allegations of any underhanded cheating we had the idea to film the original bean plant being transplanted into its new container and then decided to post this online so that the other schools could see the evidence that we've put up of this!

Melville Intermediate - Summer 2009

Edublog Nominations - MrCsClassBlog

This is the first post of 400 this year not with the 'Melville Intermediate' Prefix. This is my nomination for the Best Class Blog for the 2009 Edublog Awards. There is one site that I go back to constantly that inspires me every time that I visit it. The innovations, the ideas, the quality of the work and the sheer effort that goes into it is stunning. Will Chamberlain from Noel Elementary School MrCsClassBlog is an outstanding education site that is the best that I have ever seen. Its had such an influence on me and other educators.

I believe it is the most outstanding educational site that I have ever been on and it is a superlative site that deserves nomination for the 2009 Edublog Awards for its excellence.

Melville Intermediate - Rachana's Milk Add

In class as part of our Milk Unit for study this term students have to design thier own Milk Product, including the packaging. As part of this the students have to create their own advertisment to go with their product. Rachana from Room 8 took a camera yesterday afternoon gathered together some other students and filmed this effort. As a class we will be viewing this on Wednesday morning, discussing what we're seeing and coming up with suggestions for it as a piece of work, so that it will improve the presentations from others.

Melville Intermediate - Athletics: Sprints

This is some of the highlight from Melville Intermediate's Elite School Athletics held last week. The top two sprinters in the 100m and 200m qualify for the Inter-Intermediate Waikato Schools Finals so the pressure was on to make one of the two spots from our 320 student school for Y7 Girls, Y7 Boys, Y8 Girls and Y8 Boys. Next week on Tuesday we are holding the Inter-Intermediate Waikato Schools Athletics Finals at Porritt Stadium. From Room 8 Vitolina will be there in Shot Putt and Cricket Ball Throw. Kaleb and Nick will be there with the Y7 team representing us in Sprints. Mr Webb will be there managing and we will have a film crew filming during the day.

Melville Intermediate - Jamie's Glog about Milk

In the past week the class as a whole has been experimenting with different ways of publishing work online. One of the programs that we've been using is Glogster. It caught the students attention because of the possibilities of including videos as part of the presentation process. Currently we'll be reviewing and looking at Jamie's Glog (which is not currently finished) in class tomorrow.

Melville Intermediate - Kapahaka from the CPA

This is the final video from the CPA Group's performance on the 28th October 2009 (in the Maori section). It's the awesome Poi dance that the students performed (wait until the lights go out its breath taking). We've been uploading some of these selected videos on Youtube and making them available to a wider audience.

Melville Intermediate - Skyping Around the World

On Friday we went a little skype crazy in Room 8. We started off chatting with Mr C's Class from Noel Elementary School in Missouri, USA. We'd only had only a national connection with the South Island before this, so the students were quite excited. The fact that it was Friday morning in New Zealand but also Thursday afternoon in the USA was a big deal, as was the fact the students had to stay inside during Winter! Later in the afternoon we went down to the South Island of New Zealand, near Nelson to continued our work with Appleyby School and their class Mihi that
the students have been hard at work learning. Our students have
phenomenally well to this taking on the role of teacher for this task.

While that was in progress we had another call from a class in Glenview, Hamilton, a test of equipment for an upcoming project that the students are pleased about. We then finished that off with a call from Australia and a class from Gleelong, Victoria from BPS School. In in all it was quite a hectic, but exciting day for the students I was very impressed that they were able to harness the power of technology (in this case Skype) to make them more worldly wise. Sharing
greeting students from other countries around the world was a very positive experience for the students and really has got them thinking about connections for the future, as a teacher it has really opened up my eyes to the ICT Interaction that is available to our students and I would thoroughly recommend that you try it if you have not already (indeed Room 8 would be more than keen if you just drop us a line!).

A huge thank you also to the teachers and students of the schools that we spoke with around the world.

Melville Intermediate - Linking with Appleby School

Over the past week or so our students have spent a considerable amount of time taking our first Skype steps online. We've made contact with Appleby School in Nelson, and helped them with their Mihi work. Today in class one of the school Deputy Principals Mr Barlett stopped by and we were able to show him what we were up to, and he was able to help out as well!

A Mihi, for those of you who don't know is a Maori introduction or greeting. In this instance Allanhk's Class have all learnt their Mihi and our class is helping them by checking the pronunciation. What's great about it, apart from the networking, is its allowing our students to share knowledge with students within New Zealand. Room 8 students who are participating in this are really enjoying the mentoring role and were really grateful for the opportunity!

If your online and your class would be interested in collaborating or communicating please just drop us a line!

Melville Intermediate - Waiata

This is our final CPA performance. This is the Kapahaka from the School Group which they performed to our school prior to their departure to Australia on their trip.

Melville Intermediate - Enviro Schools Competition

These photographs are the Y7 entrants into our new Enviro Schools Competition. We've got to grow a Bean Plant in the Classroom, with the competition closing on the last day of School. These are the Y7 entries for the competition. Keegan from Room 8 had the following to say about the competition:
"For the Bean Project (Competition) each class has been given a half grown bean. This competition ends on Thursday on the last week of Term. The class that grown the largest bean, or has the largest plant will win a prize. So get growing!

Melville Intermediate - School High Jump Finals

Last Wednesday we held the Elite School Intermediate Athletics Finals. We've already had the whole school competing the previous Friday on Wednesday it was the turn of those students who were the top of their class, literally to compete. In a historic moment the Boys Y8 High Jump went to a Jump Off between Thamer from Room 18 and Elijah from Room 18... at 1.43 Metres! Now of course you couldn't all be there for the finals but Room 8 was and we took this footage! Enjoy!

Melville Intermediate - Elite Athletics

As part of this term's unit on Milk Room 8 is looking at some different ways to create and display work related to the unit. One of the ways that we're publishing our work is by using 'Glogster' as most of the class haven't used this before we're still getting the hang of it, but students are enjoying a different way of doing things and the opportunity to incorporate different forms of media in their Glogs. This is Nick's Milk Glog and we'll be viewing it in the classroom on Monday in an effort to think about improving it and adding depth to it. If you've got a favourite way of presenting work that's IT based and a little different we'd love to hear about it, just leave us a comment!

Melville Intermediate - School Speech Finals

The process by which our students did their speeches. Firstly they had to choose from one of the six pre-determined topics. They then had to perform their speeches in class (its compulsory for all students at Melville Intermediate School to do so). Then the Year 7 Syndicate and the Year 8 Syndicate had their respective finals. They each nominated two speakers who spoke at the School Assembly on November 5th 2009. This is Joe's speech from Y8.

Melville Intermediate - Our Film Festival Entry!

This is our entry in the film festival - Bailey and the Magic Cowbell. It was created by the students in Room 8. Bailey starred as himself. Arahia had the role of the magic bean seller and also was the narrator. The school bullies were played by James and Tim. Arahaia, Bailey, Molinda and Vitolina provided the filming. Mr Webb was starring as the 'Old Man of the Forest' and also supplied some of the props. This was shown to the Cluster Film Festival on Thursday 12th November 2009.

Melville Intermediate - School Speech Finals 3

Amos (Y7) Speech from the Meville Intermediate School Speech Finals. The students of Melville Intermediate School had six topic to choose from. Amos from Room 12 choose a topic that was 'Winning is not as important as participating'. You can watch the entire speech by clicking on the link below! Filmed by Arahia at school assembly on Thursday 5th November 2009.

Melville Intermediate - Its the Big Day Tomorrow!

Tomorrow's the big day - the day of the 2009 Manaiakalani Cluster Film Festival. During the day over 2,000 students from a dozen or so schools will travel to Tamaki College in Auckland to view the productions from the schools involved. We'll be posting our entry online tomorrow at the conclusion of the event - so if you can't make it up to Auckland tomorrow for the show then you'll be able to see our effort (along with a link to all of the others) here online!

Mr Webb would like to send out a huge thank you to all of the students that were involved in the production of our movie, and I would also like to
send a big thank you to the organisers of the event for allowing us to contribute. It's a fantastic opportunity for our students and also very special to me as I used to be a member of the cluster as I taught at Tamaki Intermediate School in the area for six years, and that is very, very special to me. We're also lucky to have an ex pupil from Tamaki Intermediate, Moli, present our video to the guests and audience. You can check out some of her work in 2008 by clicking on the link here, or see her backstage interview with the person behind the cluster, Dorthy Burt from Point England School here.

Melville Intermediate - Janice's Cows!

Melville Intermediate - School Speech Finals

Last week Melville Intermediate had their School Speech Finals. We had four speakers and this speech is from Ashley a Y8 student. She was judged best speaker and won the competition and tomorrow competes at the Waikato Inter-Intermediate Speech Finals at Matamata, against the best speakers from the Waikato region!

Melville Intermediate - Manakailani Film Festival

This week in Auckland, the Manaiakalani Cluster of schools hold their second annual film festival. This event takes place on Thursday at Tamaki College in Auckland. It's relevant here because Melville Intermediate Room 8 were able to create an entry for this festival! About two weeks ago we started, by viewing the 2008 entries. We then started the brainstorming process looking at our ideas, what we thought the auidence would like (it goes in age from Y1 to Y13, plus adults and parents!)... we then had to shoot the movie... watch it, and then re shoot the parts of it that needed to be re-done.

We then had to correct it, and create a movie that was approximately 3 minutes long! The drama! However, in the end we did complete it, and have had it rushed off to Auckland for this week. Nearly the whole of the class was involved with starring roles going to Arahia and Bailey. We had to change tack a couple of times during shooting when our initial ideas couldn't work, and we needed to look at the whole process. This Monday we'll be having a special viewing session for the students involved at lunchtime in Room 8 (its the first time that they will see the whole project put together!) and as an audience you'll be able to see it on Thursday, when it's played at the festival, or Friday when we publish it online.

What a week! Now we can't show you the movie this early, as its not being premiered until Thursday but we can show you some of the out takes, things that we had to say, well this nearly works but it can't.... so sit back and enjoy and hopefully this will bring a smile to your face!

Melville Intermediate - Cook Island Boys Dance

This Sunday while most of us are relaxing and enjoying the weekend the CPA, Cultural Performing Arts Group from Melville Intermediate School are returning to New Zealand following their ten days in Australia. This is another highlight from their School Show to the Melville Intermediate School students before their departure, the Cook Island Boys section of the show.

Melville Intermediate - School Speech Finals

This is a very special post. There were four finalists in the 2009 Melville Intermediate School and Room 8 was lucky enough to have one of the two Y7 finalists in Bailey. Today in assembly Bailey gave his speech in front of the entire school! But of course not everyone could be there, but we were, Arahia filmed it and here in the entirety is Bailey's speech in the finals! Filmed on Thursday 5th November 2009.

Melville Intermediate - School Athletics Records

On Friday Melville Intermediate School has their Y7 Athletics Field Days. Students will be competing in seven events earning points for their classrooms in an attempt to be awarded best classroom for 2009. We thought this would be a good moment to go over some of the records for Melville Intermediate School Athletics. For our overseas audience a reminder that Year 7 (Y7) is the old Form One, between 10 and 11 and Year 8 (Y8) is 12-13 years of age - these are Melville Intermediate Schools Best Results Ever!

100m: Y7 Girls - J. Oswald-Marren 2006 [13.62]. Y7 Boys - E M'Carthy 2004 [12.75]
Year 8 Girls - C. May 2004 [13.58] Y8 Boys - E M'Carthy 2005 [12.38].

200m: Y7 Girls - C. Cheyne 2001 [29.30] Y7 Boys - E M'Carthy 2004 [28.15]
Year 8 Girls - J Oswald-Marren 2007 [29.50] Year 8 Boys - 2001 [26.2].

Shot Put: Y7 Girls - J Soloai 2006 [9.53m]. Y7 Boys - D Heu 2007 [9.1m].
Y8 Girls - J Fleming 2005 [10.48m] Year 8 Boys - A Fleming 2006 [12.9m].

Discus: Y7 Girls - J Fleming 2004 [20.64m]. Y7 Boys - R Mudaliar 2001 [24.37m].
Y8 Girls - J Flemming 2005 26.66m. Y8 Boys - A Fleming 2007 [33.95m].

Cricket Ball Throw: Y7 Girls - C Ashley 2004 [44.55m] Y7 Boys - S Whitehead 1996 [66m]
Y8 Girls - N Schmits-Tate 2002 [48.17m] Y8 Boys - R Cox 1967 [77.66m].

Long Jump: Y7 Girls - J Oswald-Marren 2006 [4.01m] Y7 Boys - D Cunnen 2005 [4.47m]
Y8 Girls - C Millar 2004 [4.23m] Y8 Boys - T Renata 2001 [5.42m].

High Jump: Y7 Girls - K Purcell 2006 [1.36m]. Y7 Boys - E M'Carthy 2004 [1.41m].
Y8 Girls - A Greening 1992 [1.56m]. Y8 Boys - E M'Carthy 2005 [1.50m].

Melville Intermediate - Inter-Intermediate Softball

Today we had the Waikato Inter-Intermediate Softball Tournament at Resthills Park. The Melville Intermediate School Boys team defeated Peachgrove Intermediate School in their first game before beating Morrinsville Intermediate School in their second. They qualified for the Semi-Finals against Tokoroa Intermediate, won that and had to take on Peachgrove Intermediate in the Finals again. Unfortunatly this time Peachgrove were able to win but the Boys can be well pleased with finishing runners up.

The Girls had a series of games against all the other teams in the competition. They defeated Peachgrove Intermediate in the first game 6-2. In the second they beat Morrinsville Intermediate just 6-5. They then accounted for Berkley School 10-7 before beating Te Awamutu Intermediate 9-3. There was a three way tie for first place as the result of the Girls final game against Matamata Intermediate, which Matamata won 4-8. The team had a great day and played exceptionally well! Ata from Room 1 ended up the leading run scorer with eight runs!

Melville Intermediate - Skyping with Appleby School 2

Melville Intermediate - Room 8 in Six Words

This activity came from a class when I was leaving comments for the latest instalment of comments4kids. I was visiting a class blog in the USA, All Things Preeteen and I thought, wow that's a clever idea, so I threw out the intended lesson and told the students to come up with six words to describe themselves. The students really enjoyed it (and it was a lot harder than they had thought!) and it got the day off to a really positive start! Thanks so much to 'Comments4kids' and

These are some of the results from our students:

Vitolina - talented, quick, funny, smart, nice, Vitolina.
Molinda - happy, important, quickly, funny, girl, Molinda.
Rachana - sporty, funny, nice, awesome, important, smart.
Liam - sporty, active, supreme, tall, fantastic, fighter.
Arahia - funny, important, cool, talented, smart, strong.
Nick - sporty, smart, fun, caring, skilled fair.
Nicole - active, funny, shopaholic, fast, smart, Nicole.
Keegan - happy, funny, kind, big, friendly.
Kalem - fun, exciting, happy, smart, active, awesome.
Raukawa - cool, funny, fast, caring, sporty, shy, fair, rich.
Kaleb - happy, smart, caring, healthy, kind, fast.
Bailey - happy, smart, biker, stubborn, reckless, awesome.
Jamie - funny, nice, helpful, happy, caring, fast, helpful.
Prashant - happy, cool, funny, caring, fast, helpful.
Caitlyn - fun, out there (!), different, crazy, shy, friendly.
Scott - sporty, stinky, freckly, skill, outdoors, ugly.
Dylan - dangerous, energetic, sporty, smart, smelly, artistic.
Kaiya - kind, fast, sporty, skilled, smelly, reckless, strong.
Bradyn - funny, cool, fast, rich, speedy, Gokarter.
Janice - sporty, funny, nice, awesome, important, Janice.
Meighan - important, nice, mean, funny, healthy.
Michael - musician, funny, distracting, human, independant, random

Thanks for Molinda for putting this list together!

Melville Intermediate - Comments4Kids

As most of you know the one site that influences me the most and one of my strongest online contacts has come in the shape of Mr Chamberlain from Noel Elementary School in Missouri, USA. I cannot say enough positive things about his wonderful blog and he is a huge influence on me and the work that we do. One of his great innovations has been the creation of a series of posts with the tag or link of "Comments4Kids". It's a link to a series of posts from a variety of sites, as an example our Schools winning of the 2009 AIMS National Tournament in New Zealand feature on Comments4Kids and received 42 comments for a single post. Amazing.

Mr Chamberlain is an innovative, creative teacher who excels at what he does. If you are not following his blog you are missing out, and you should make an effort to subscribe to Comment4Kids if you are not already doing so.

You can also follow latest developments for this on Twitter by searching for 'comments4kids' or you can visit the Wiki for Comments for Kids by clicking on the link for it here.

Melville Intermediate - CPA Haka

The final section of our Kapa Haka/Maori proportion of our Cultural Performing Arts (CPA) group. Filmed at Melville Intermediate School by Matthew on Thursday 22nd October 2009 for the evening show that was a fund-raiser for the CPA trip to Australia.