Sir Ken Robinson and his Amazing Ideas

I stumbled across this amazing, thought provoking video by the world-renowned education, creativity and innovation expert, Sir Ken Robinson. Take the time to watch and think about what he is saying about educating students for the future. What do you think? I would love to hear your comments.
If you are interested in his ideas you can read and watch more about Sir Ken Robinson on his website.

Published Author in Our Midst

Huge congratulations to Emma whose poem Gumboots was selected from among 4500 entries to be published in the NZ Post Children's Writing Anthology "Submerged". You will see from an earlier post in April that some students were working on pieces to submit to the NZ Post Story Writing Competition. What a thrill for us to hear Emma had been successful. It is exciting to see students developing their skills and being recognised for their talent. Well done. You can purchase copies of Submerged at NZ Postshops or on-line.

Under Pressure

Today students presented the work they have been doing on pressure groups. Having compared and contrasted two existing pressure groups the students' task was to create their own pressure group and design a way to share the new group's message with the public.Some students made videos using movie maker, adding photos, video recording and backing music. Quite a few students created wikis or blogs with embedded code, avatar messages and links to other sites to promote their cause, and yet others created pamphlets, posters and clothing. There was a very impressive array of presentation methods utilised to convey the messages these new pressure groups were advocating. Check out what we've been doing on the Student's Work page.  

3rd World Farmer

Most of us think we are hungry just before the bell rings for morning tea at 11am. All around the world there are people who really know what it is to be like to be hungry. About 24 000 people die every day from hunger or hunger related causes. There are many organisations whose aim it is to provide some relief to these people. 3rd World Farmer is just a game but it can give you a taste of just how difficult life can be in some parts of the world. To actually make a difference while you play you can try the activities on free rice  and for every correct answer you enter 10 grains of rice is donated to the World Food Programme. Be sure to challenge yourself by varying the subject and increasing the levels. What are you waiting for? Feed a hungry child.