Other happenings in Kowhai...

We have been super busy this term already.. a magnificent Ratbags production to start the term, closely  followed by a wonderful day at Loburn domain for the Athletics sports.  We have have been starting some or our projects for our inquiry and over the next few weeks we will be working in earnest to prepare for a market day at the end of the term.  We hope to have lots of games , food, crafts and second hand items available.  It will be a lot of fun!

Here are just a few of  the projects and learning experiences we have on the go at the moment....

Watch out for the transformation of these old car hubcaps into some spectacular flower wall art. 

 The beginnings of some Christmas tree decorations!

 Watch over the next few weeks as we create masterpieces out of pipe cleaners, tinfoil and papier mache! 

Vegetable labels for the garden... some will be on sale at our market day!

 We are also becoming young scientists with a range of experiments this term. We have had to make predictions and conclusions.  These are helping us how to learn to write procedures.  We have to be able to write the experiments up so that someone else would be able to carry out the experiment using our instructions. Lots of fun... lots of great thinking too !

The Leak proof bag experiment.  We had to place really sharp pencils through a bag filled with water without it leaking. We really didn't think it would work- but it did!  Some of us even managed to get as many as 22 pencils into one bag!

We also experimented to see what shaped paper column was the strongest.  We use cylinders, triangular and rectangular columns.  We were amazed by the results.  One group even managed to get 44 books on top of a paper cylinder.  

Cyber safety with John Parsons.

On Tuesday we were very lucky to have John Parsons a cyber safety expert  talk to students, parents and teachers about how to keep safe in the digital environment.  

As students we learned some key messages.  One of the most important was to look after our identity.  We  are unique and important.

How can we stay in control online?  

1. Connect to people you know and not those you just know of.
2. Include your parents/family in your friend requests.
3. DON'T send pictures to people your mum and dad don’t know.
4. When you communicate with people you don’t know- leave the personal information out e.g school/ age/ address .  Exchange only general information. Leave out the specifics.
5. When posting photos think about what needs to be scrubbed (blurred)- that may give personal details e.g number plate/ house number- could blur it.  
6. Don’t share personal information about others also. You need to respect them as much as your self.
7. Show respect when posting images--- Seek the permission of others before you post images of them.
8. Use an avatar in games rather than a photo when playing online games.
9. Don’t say anything back to anyone who says something not very nice/ horrible (It takes away their power and gives it back to you)
10. IF IT KEEPS HAPPENING Take a screenshot if it is not nice , and put it in a folder labelled Mum and Dad’s important information.
11. Disconnect if people start asking questions that trigger our butterflies.

Who to tell if you’re worried?

• Talk to someone we do trust- mum and dad.People you trust- your parents and family

Here are some tips that were shared for parents in our last newsletter also: 

 1) Become your child’s “friend” in any social network environment your child creates. 

2) Maintain easy access to your child's profile via their log in...…you will see everything. 

3) Ensure that you can always have access to your child's phone to help them stay safe (i.e. it is not a no-go area) …check the quality of how they are communicating with others; talk about how they connect and communicate with friends. Is it consistent with the values of your family? 

4) Educate your children about the importance of protecting family and friends images ….teach them to seek permission of another before they send or upload images to the internet. 

5) Try to always maintain open lines of communication with children. Do not over-react if you see something that alarms you or makes you angry….. share your concerns, and always talk about the issues and how they relate to them and their friends safety. 

6) Agree on a time in the evening to stop using the technology within the home…that’s everyone. “Remember, what we model today will either come back and embrace us or bite us tomorrow” – John Parsons. 

7) Talk/ask about their friends and social activity as a way to reduce the opportunity for cyber-separation to develop……encourage being open about new friends and what they are up to, and who their parents are. When in doubt, call the parents and introduce yourself. 

8) Teach your children to protect their online identity, as a way to future proof themselves for employment…..we need to nurture and protect them online and teach them how to protect themselves as they engage information technology.