We owe a big thanks to Jasper’s Mum for taking a random idea off facebook and turning it into a reality for the tamariki in our studio.
She created a set of roads for us to use with our new set of cars. They were made using fence pailings and paint.
These have been truly cherished by our tamariki- thank you for your mahi! Now for the next project…
There’s a real buzz happening in our studio… and it’s not just from excited tamariki!
We have been busy building something very special – our very own Hauroa Hive nestled under our kōwhai tree filled with flitting fantails.
We have been buzzing with creativity, teamwork and big smiles as we created a giant hive display to remind us how we can all help our tamariki thrive. Inside our hive are our three very important expectations:
💛 Bee Kind
“Bee kind means using kind words and helping our friends!”
We practise sharing, taking turns, and cheering each other on. Even a small act of kindness can make someone’s day brighter!
📚 Bee Ready
“Bee ready means having our learning brain switched on!”
We come to school ready to listen, ready to try, and ready to do our best. That means bringing our gear, sitting nicely on the mat, and showing our teachers we are prepared to learn.
🛟 Bee Safe
“Bee safe means keeping our hands and feet to ourselves.”
We walk inside, use equipment the right way, and make safe choices in the playground. When we are safe, everyone can have fun and feel happy.
Why a Hive?
Bees work together to make something amazing — and so do we! We all have an important part to play. When we all follow our three expectations, we have a place where everyone feels welcome, ready to learn, and safe to grow.
The best part? Each student added their own little bee to the hive!
We are all working together. We are so proud of our Hauroa Hive and living out:
Bee Kind : Bee Ready : Bee Safe
Keep buzzing, everyone — our hive is thriving!
It was soooooooo hot yesterday that we went outside for our mahi.
We sat in the shade and cool breeze underneath the trees by Hiki-Hiki as Lisa read stories from the Joy Cowley Anthology.
One particular story, about living in a house made out of a pumpkin resonated with the group… we chatted about how cool it would be to live in crazy houses, so we decided to use the vivid chalks on the paths to create our own unique houses.
There was heaps of korero about what their houses were made of…
lollipop houses, donut houses, Minecraft houses, pumpkin houses, 6-7 houses, and castles.
It was awesome- looking good. Everyone wrote a sentence about their house! Yay winning!
As it was soooooooo hot, we got some water and paintbrushes to’paint’ over our chalk drawings. The kids were amazed at how painting water over chalk really made it ‘pop’.
and then… we started to cover our hands in wet chalk to make handprints on the path- so far so good..
Next minute, I turn around and the kids suddenly have yellow/green/purple arms and legs!
As they were cleaning up, the cool water felt so good that we ended up painting our limbs. Everyone was thinking this was hilarious!
And it was!
F.Y.I, everyone was engaged/ had fun/ got cool/ AND did the mahi that was planned!-Yay, love teaching outside!
Love the bright chalks from Qizzle!
Whaea Emma’s literacy group have had a blast learning about different animals! We started our journey learning all about the Tuatara and began learning what was required to write an informative report about them. We included their name, where they live, their category, diet, habitat and some fun facts.
From there, we put forward suggestions of animals we were keen to learn about.
After spending time researching and taking notes about our chosen animal, we wrote our own information reports. Finally, we used Book Creator to turn this information into amazing creations. We included pictures, diagrams, text and audio.
We hope you’ve learned something new!
Whaea Emma’s Maths group have been learning about money! First, they had a blast creating their own shops, attaching prices to different items and then getting to use their own play money to purchase items. Each ākonga had a go at being the shopkeeper, ensuring they were getting the right money for the price.
This week, we continued to learn about the different coins and notes we use in New Zealand. We learned how much each coin was worth, and if I collected two 50-cent coins, they would be worth the same as one $1 coin. Then we used 3 different coins to create a pattern. We repeated our pattern 3 times.
We would love to continue this learning, so if you have any coins at home, let us have a go!
Last week the students from Papatūānuku performed in our school production. We were sooooooo proud of the costumes they made, the kites they created and the choreography of our dances.
There were lots of nervous tummies before we went on stage, (and that was the parents also!).
There were audible gasps from the audience when we revealed our ‘glow in the dark fireworks costumes!!
This was such a cool experience which has inspired some of us to be dancers when they grow up.
Well done everyone!!!
After learning about adjectives this week and reading the story of the Wonkey Donkey, Whaea Emma’s literacy group used this knowledge to create an animal guessing game! Using adjectives, we describe our animals in a couple of clues. Then, it’s your turn to guess who our animal is. We wrote drafts in our writing book and then used Book Creator to publish and add pictures!
We hope you have fun guessing our animals!
This week, Whaea Emma’s literacy group have been reading ‘The Great White Man-Eating Shark’ by Margaret Mahy as our shared book. After reading the story, we looked into the different characters and reflected on their part in the story. The two main characters were Norvin (who looked funny like a shark) and the Shark! Norvin wasn’t a kind boy, and he was pretty selfish. He came up with a plan to keep others out of the water that he wanted to swim in. But the surprise was on him!
Now it was time to Create!!!! Kim was in again, and we had fun choosing to create: our own shark characters or great white man-eating shark disguises. Thanks for your awesome teaching Kim!
Check us out!
There were definitely a few nerves floating around yesterday and this morning, before our presenters stepped into the limelight. So we took some time to talk through strategies for staying calm, what to do if something didn’t go to plan (there’s usually at least one technical hiccup!), and how feeling nervous is completely normal—especially when speaking in front of 500+ people! We reminded ourselves that being an assembly presenter is a chance to show courage and grow as a leader.
Well— our kids absolutely stepped up!
Every one of them spoke clearly, stuck to their script, and held the attention of the whole crowd. That’s no small feat in front of a full hall!
Here’s what some of our presenters had to say afterwards:
And the feedback from teachers and our assistant principal? “Fantastic assembly,” “Great leadership,” and “They all did so well!”
We are so proud of our Papatūānuku presenters and don’t be surprised if you see them up there doing it all over again sometime soon!
When Whaea Emma was away, the amazing Kim taught us about alliteration! We created a book of alliteration! Can you make up an alliteration sentence about your name?