It's that time again. Swimming lessons at the Millennium began last week, and every Tuesday and Friday we travel to the pools to practise our swimming. It's a fun way to get fit and improve our swimming skills.
Thanks to all of the mums who are coming along to support us. Here are some photos of us in our swimming groups.
On Friday we had another very wet, windy, resilience building, but fun Athletics day at Wainoni Park. Even though it was a cold and wet day, we all tried our hardest and gave it our best. Thanks Mr Shore and Miss Seymour for organising another great event.
We had a great day at Mairangi Bay today. We learnt all about how to be safe at the beach and had lots of fun at the same time. Thanks to the Mairangi Bay Surf lifeguards for the great experience at the beach!
This week we started writing persuasive arguments. First we had to consider two sides of an argument moot. Then we could choose which side of the argument we wanted to write about, and try to convince our reader of our position. Our moot this week was: Too much T.V is bad for you.
Read these two arguments and make up your own mind:
Too much T.V. is bad for you!
(By Marina Lough)
I'm writing to tell you that too much television is damaging and can be harmful for you. I will prove to you why too much T.V. is bad.
The first reason why T.V. is harmful is that T.V. effects your behaviour. It is scientifically proven, (according to the archives of paediatrics and adolescent medicine) that each additional hour of T.V. that toddlers watch per week translates into poorer classroom behaviour, lower maths scores, less physical activity and more snacking by the time they get to 10 years old!
I believe that by watching too much television and sitting on the couch all day you will get lazy. Research states that kids should be doing things that are enriching like playing with board games, playing with dice, playing with things that will improve their motor skills or reading. All of this is replaced by sitting on the couch!
T.V. watching also appears to have a negative effect on physical health, with each additional weekly hour resulting in 9% increase in soft drink consumption, a 10% increase in snacks eaten, and 5% increase in body mass index says the lead author of a recent study.
The third reason why people shouldn't watch too much T.V. is because the content of many television programmes is not educational. Nowadays we can see movies, series' and shows that present scenes of violence, swearing and other inappropriate content. This has establishes
wrong concepts among the audience and influences them into having negative behaviour. The impact that T.V. has on children is even worse because they grow up to think that problems can only be solved with violence and money.
In conclusion, people shouldn't watch too much television because the context of many T.V. programmes in not educational, it wastes people's time that could be spent in more physical activities, and if affects people's development.
However, this doesn't mean that we should ban T.V., but if we are going to watch it, we should do it with moderation. Television is a resource that we should learn to use through the right selection of programmes and by taking an active attitude towards it.
I hope the reasons I have shared have proved that too much T.V. is bad for you.
Too much T.V. is not bad for you. (By Grace Hunter)
Television. A word with so many different opinions hidden behind it. Some say it is good, keeping children busy. Some dislike it, saying it's unhealthy. But I say that television is perfectly fine. If you disagree, I will prove to you that there is nothing to worry about letting your children sit on the couch watching T.V.
Television boosts children's learning. Learning can be improved with programmes that teach counting and problems solving. It helps children recognise shapes and numbers getting them ready for school, while entertaining them. It is very educational.
Moving from why it is good for children, television is also very helpful to adults too. The weather and the news updates are not just interesting or helpful, but can also be warnings about horrible events that may have, or will come to pass. T.V. is not only educational for kids, but the documentaries are fascinating!
Secondly, Television eases stress. A luxurious getaway from your problems! It could be you watching T.V. which is very relaxing, or leaving the kids to watch to T.V. and having some time locked away in you room.
Television is a great source of entertainment with channels for everyone! There are shows for cooking, humour, horror, mystery, documentaries and even spiritual things and I am sure there will be something for whoever reaches for the remote!
After reading this argument, I hope you have changed your mind about the television being bad for you. Television is entertaining, educational and a firm rope that ties families and friends together.
On Friday we were lucky to have Paula Green at UHPS.
She read a number of her poems to us and also helped us create poems too. A highlight of her visit was when she read a range of poems from a new poetry book called "A treasury of NZ poems for children". This book was edited by Paula, and includes poems written by many famous NZ authors, children and even Peter Millett too!
