Hot chocolate decisions

The year 7/8's of Rata have been discussing on selling Hot Chocolates. Our class split into five groups and in our five groups we chattered about efficient ways to sell Hot chocolates. We all Brainstormed different ways to Produce the "perfect" Hot chocolate (Where to get ingredients from, how much it would cost) and much more.

On Thursday we had a class conversation about working as one to finalise how we would make and sell the hot chocolates. We had to be collaborative and efficient with our learning on the best ways to sell.

We all got involved with our Hot chocolate focus, and had lots of fun.

Discussions ranged from how much for each cup and what deals we would offer.

By Josh

Hot chocolate fundraiser

When the students of Rata were asked if they wanted to organise a hot chocolate fundraiser from start to finish, they were all extremely keen and excited. Planning started immediately with great brainstorming about what was needed and ideas such as charging less for students who bring their own cups to loyalty cards - buy 9, get one free. Benson even suggested we have soapy water in a bucket for students to wash out their cups.

After visualising what was required, students created a flowchart then decided what they needed to find out before they could start selling.

Today, one student from each group went down to Moore Wilsons to collect prices and different types of cups and ingredients. Afterwards, students worked together to find out the price each cup of hot chocolate would cost, the advertising required, who would buy the ingredients, serve, etc.

During this investigation I learned:

• that it's more efficient to have people doing different tasks (Kelly)
• that there is a lot of maths in working out a suitable price. (Benson)
• That sometimes when you stuff up the math it stuffs up the whole thing (stella)
• That it is a lot harder to start a business than you think.(Zak)
• that it is really hard working out prices when converting quantities. (Seraphine)
• That its a lot of work, working with others (charmaine)
• that once you add all the prices up and do all the complicated stuff it is actually quite hard(Ella)
•  Working out prices can be hard but when you finish it's easy. (Thomas)
• it was really hard to figure out how much the hot chocolate should cost.(Quincy) 

Gallipoli poetry writing

Rata and Kahikatea have been looking at Gallipoli through the lens of poetry.  Following our trip to Te Papa's Gallipoli Exhibition (Thank you to our wonderful parent helpers,) we have been exploring evocative language that impacts the reader in a tangible, powerful way.  The following clip has been put together to highlight the language and phrases from soldiers' diaries, letters home and anecdotes.  

As you view this, consider the atmosphere, your emotional response and the thoughts that these quotes spark in your mind. 

Check back in a couple of days to see some of our poetry responses.

We have also been exploring "found poetry",  check out this video from Leon and Rata.  The clip explains how to find a poem hidden within any text and do some creative cutting and pasting to reveal a poem.  Pay special attention to the excellent "ACTIVE LEARNER COMMENTS" at the end of the clip from the Rata students. 

Football Tournament

The Year 7 and 8’s finally got the chance play football on Thursday, after the postponement as it had rained quite a bit on Tuesday. The Year 7/8’s who raised their hand to play Football were asked to give their permission slip in by the Friday before the tournament.. On the actual day of the Football Tournament (now the postponement day), the kids and adults drove to McAllister park where we prepared for the big day ahead. At first, the day was quite chilly but it became warmer and a fair bit windier later. The Year 8 boys team (including a few year 7’s) came third overall with goals, legendary goal keeping and good defence.  Good job to the kids that participated and had fun on Thursday.  Also a heartfelt thank you to the parents who offered transport so we could get there in the first place.  A special mention goes to the legendary coaches, Damien Grover, Simon Cosgrove and Makaira Waugh.  We really appreciate your help and support!

Guest post by Josh Rania from Rata.