Kia ora o the whanau,

The increasingly cold and windy days of autumn seem to have brought with it a whole new energy to the school site – not to mention mountains of lovely leaves to play and hide in.

Class 1 2021 has now come down from an extended time in the Te Arakura Outdoor Classroom program to join  the older classes on the main campus. These little ones are suddenly making Class 2 look very tall.

  • From speaking to writing, the Tamariki begin to discover letters and sounds.

  • Bringing the autumn leaves inside from the Farm.

  • Butterflies number patterns on their wings.

  • Gnomes...handwork from outdoor classroom transitioned into classroom.

 

Class 3 meanwhile have begun a new intensive learning experience up at the farm and amongst other things have taken on the task of constructing a new adobe floor for the bamboo shelter. And it is no small job!

 

  • 8 cubic metres of sand was needed to fill and level the base of the floor and is also being used as one of the ingredients that the children are using in their special adobe mix.

  • The scales of justice – outdoor classroom style. How to achieve equal parts in the ingredients for the adobe mix.

  • Suns out, shoes off. Experimenting with efficient ways to get the job done!

  • Laying the adobe and floating it off to achieve a smooth surface – harder than you think especially when you really want to leave your handprint in it.

They have also been very busy preparing for their Harvest Feast next week also.

  • Harvest from the school garden...broccoli!

 

And as part of that preparation went on a farm visit kindly hosted by the friendly folk at THE GOOD FARM.

To reciprocate for this adventure the class plans to go back and plant trees.

  • CLASS 3 - Farm trip to the Good Farm. Finding out that the milk for their cheese making comes from cows not the supermarket.

 

There have been several field trips lately actually. Class 5 have just completed an autumn Botany block which included a very impressive Oyster Mushroom growing project and a very jolly trip to Yatton Park.

  • Botany, trip to Yatton Park

 

  • Ancient India is alive and well in Welcome Bay creating mandalas.

 

Meanwhile Class 6 who have been studying Magnetism enjoyed a round- out orienteering field trip to up at Summerhill before beginning their new science topic.

  • Heading off.

  • They all made it back!

Perhaps you have noticed an increased Class 7 presence in the school too? Our senior students were recently formally inducted into their self-chosen leadership roles and already the school has experienced the seriousness with which they are taking up this new mantle.

 

A fortnight ago our first student led assembly for the year was hosted by two of our students and undertaken impressively, in Te reo Maori. This was followed a week later with the whole class leading and supporting parent speakers in  our Whitsun cultural diversity school festival held just this Monday last.

In this annual assembly we celebrate the richness of our community via language – the language of tangata whenua – those of us who are of the land  –  as well as all the 12 languages of tangata tiriti – the language of those of us who are able to live in Aotearoa New Zealand and in this community, as a result of the treaty. The Whitsun festival celebrates the spirit at work amongst us all.

 

 

 

Ka kite,

Mary T-J