Term 2 Update

Welome to reach's blog
Last term we read a scenario on a boy called Robert. He lived in 2040 and there was something called synthetic nutrition (SN) that made you healthy and allows you to live for another 150 more years. But he had to take only the synthetic nutrition for the rest of his life instead of food. We had to think of problems this would cause and then choose the top ten. We then had to select one underlining problem, which was: that if most people chose to take SN this could result in a decrease in natural food as well a problem of over population. If he chose to eat a healthier diet he could also live longer. We were all pleased to get our first booklet off in the post and celebrated with popcorn!!
This term, we have another scenario about the depletion of ocean species. We have begun to research it, here are a few facts about it so far. Bottom trawlers ( big boats with nets behind them that run along the bottom of the sea floor and trap coral and fish) destroy coral reefs, and each year they destroy 150 times the size of deforestation( forests being chopped down to nothing) . We have seen some videos and we really want to do something to help our ocean species that are overfished.

Please help us to stop over fishing and depletion of oceanic species.
Watch this space and each week we will try to add a way that you can help this problem.

You can help by - Eating less fish and if you must eat fish - find out if it is sustainable, this means it stock is not at risk.
Bluefin tuna is one fish we should not eat if we want them to remain in our oceans as they so overfished.

by Ben and Samantha from F.P.S.

FPS 2011

Welcome to REACH 2011 - once again we are looking forward to a year of fun and learning.
This year we have a group of Year 5 and 6 students participating in a programme called Future Problem Solving. The students will be working together as a team to solve problems of the future - the students work through a set of problem solving steps that will help them in the future with problems they are likely to face.
This terms topic is "Healthy Living", we have begun our problem solving by researching what 'Healthy living' means to us. The students have been quick to discover that Healthy Living is not just about the food we eat, but also other factors such as stress, exercise, sleep, wellness to name a few. We then have a future scenario that must be well understood to continue. In our scenario Robert is a 13 year old Boy, it is set in 2040 and in a time where medical technology means we can increase our life span by consuming synthetic nutrition! Our first challenge is to identify a number of challenges or problems Robert will face. We will keep you posted!

Visions/school sculpture ideas.

For REACH group we have been learning about what a vision is.
We have been thinking of creating a sculpture idea for the school that represents: differences, strong relationships, preparing for the future, integrity, learning through opportunities, inquiry, and creativity.
Our drafts of the sculpture have to include most of these ideas.
The REACH group thought of some interesting and creative ideas.
We have to think about what the sculpture will be made of, will cost, how strong it will be, have to withstand all types of weathers, etc. We will have to set criteria for these.
The group is determined to create a great sculpture idea and make a model of it, which in the future
may become a piece of art for our school.
It has to be simple, but effective.
Wish us luck in achieving this and creating an amazing sculpture for the whole community to share.

By Laura and Indigo.

Back to the Suter!!

On a rainy Monday morning the REACH Suter Group returned to the Suter Art Gallery for their second lesson.
First we learnt how to do a 'contour drawing' of an animal. A 'contour drawing' is the outline of a picture only.
We practised doing different contour drawings and then we had to choose our favourite animal and complete a
large size contour drawing. Then we put grid lines inside our animal and showed our pencil techniques from last week in
each square. The techniques were: shading, glazing, layering, cross hatching and hatching. They looked really colourful
and bright - we haven't seen that on an animal before!!
We then viewed Don Binney's art again and looked for 'eye paths' and 'layering', these are techniques that artists use
to 'compose' their art. We had to spot the layering and eye paths and find six examples to sketch.
We really enjoyed it and can't wait to go back next week. Look out for our contour animals on display around school.

by Eden and Amelia

Suter Art Programme Term 4

Today at the Suter Art Programme we started by viewing some coloured pencil artworks of Don Binney. We then were given paper and coloured pencils. The first technique we learned about was layering, we used the side of the pencil in one direction and then turned our paper so that we could put the next layer on in the other direction. We learned how to glaze, this when we do a layer in colour and then layer with white for a shiny result. Hatching and Cross Hatching were shading techniques using lines and checks to make the artwork look 3D. We finished off by making a colour wheel using only the primary colours, we used the different techniques we had been learning about to make up the secondary colours.
Next week we will be going to Queens Gardens to use some of our new skills. We can't wait!!!!

by Ashley, Olivia and Mrs C

Ecofest - Funky Fashion - Here we Come!!!!

Saturday morning as you all know was a fine but crisp morning. The Ecofest reach group arrived at the Trafalgar center with all their wonderful costumes ready to strut their stuff up on stage. Tate, Laura, Freya, Jayden, Jordon, Portia and Frayja all went into the changing rooms to get changed. Suddenly we heard ''Enner Glynn it's time to go up on stage,'' this is what we look like. Movie to follow shortl

Blog entry by Brandon

Sculpture Trail

On Tuesday, The REACH group went on a great trip to Nelson city. We were looking at the sculptures that are good for the community. We had some nice parents take us into town and bring us back. We looked at an eel trap, maori patterns, reef knots, peoples faces and rocks. We visited the queens gardens and saw some amazing dog statues and pretty rocks put together into hexagons. We also went to a beautiful river and saw sticks with rocks on the ends. We walked under the bridge and saw a metal eel trap. Everyone started squeezing through. Some kids challenged themselves to go through without touching it. This is an interactive sculpture. We saw the southern cross statue and a piece of argillite and it made a weird noise when you tapped it. Some things we learnt are: how to tie reef knots, The names of some sculptors, and how sculptures have stories behind them and how they give a message to the public. The vessel which is pictured above was made by Gavin Hitching in 2005.It originated from a body of work which the artist had developed.
The pegs refer to the surveying in the past as part of our New Zealand history. The work symbolizes "this place, the land we live in".

By Samantha .