Year 7 Term 3 news 

By Beth Downie | Posted: Wednesday August 16, 2017

Read on to find out what has been happening in the Year 7 team.

Our term 3 topic of Change through Challenge has started off  great with a 6 week rotation.  We have called this FFF which stands for Food Fitness Focus. All classes are rotating around  the teachers and having a two week session on each of those topics.

In the food sessions, we are learning about hydration and making good choices with the drinks we choose, good options for snacks and what are our nutritional needs.

In fitness we have been learning about the benefits of physical activity, ways to include exercise into everyday life and we are lucky enough to have instructors from both Les Mills and World Gym take our students for two workouts.

Finally, in our focus sessions we have been learning to close the many tabs that can become open in our brain (much like on a computer). We have been looking at ways to relax through breathing and stretching and being mindful of our environment and taking in our surroundings. 

Some quotes from children about how these sessions are making them feel

"It's good to know how to feel calm at this age because you can sometimes feel stressed " Hannah 

"It's made me think differently about yoga and stuff because I think all kids should have a chance to do it " Maddie

"My heart beats a lot slower when I do yoga and don't feel so stressed about things at school and life" Paige

"The workout from Les Mills was fun because I enjoyed pushing my limits" Tyler

This FFF topic is part of our change through challenge unit and learning about the body and it's systems.  All classes will be starting the Pubertal Change unit in the coming weeks.

Next week we are excited to head out  on a full day visit to a number of amazing facilities that we are lucky enough to have in Dunedin. We will be visiting the Anatomy Museum (this is not open to the public), going on a tour of Forsyth Barr Stadium, visiting the Sports High Performance Centre and a trip and tour to UniPol. All of these facilities and what they offer are directly linked with our topic. Many thanks in advance to our parents who are helping on the day. 

It was great to see the majority of our parent community for parent interviews in Week 1 of this term and to discuss the learning needs of your child. Please remember these conversations are not exclusive to parent interview week; please do not hesitate to get in touch with your child's teacher at any time.

It is awesome to see Literature circle / book club up and running in Year 7 classes. This gives our readers the opportunity to engage in discussion about the text with like minded readers and to think about the author's intended message. 

As always, thank you for your ongoing support of the Year 7 team.

Beth Downie and the Year 7 staff.