Mrs Gunn's Last Day

It's with a heavy but excited heart that I come to a short stop in my teacher career to go on maternity leave to have our first baby.  I'm so excited to welcome our bundle of joy into the world - but very sad to be leaving my wonderful room full of learners!  I plan to have a celebration day on Friday with lots of fun things planned, and will end the day with this wee gift that I have made for each of my students.  I hope they like them!

Making Fruit Kebabs

To celebrate the end of the term and to reward us for all the hard work we have put into training for the lapathon and cross country we made fruit kebabs with a free wee treats added as well!

Presenting our Friendship Certificates to our Buddies

Links to the RTC:
Criteria 2. demonstrate commitment to promote the well-being of all ākonga 
i. take all reasonable steps to provide and maintain a teaching and learning environment that is physically, socially, culturally and emotionally safe ii. acknowledge

Criteria 7. promote a collaborative, supportive and effective learning environment 
i. demonstrate effective management of the learning setting which incorporates successful strategies to engage and motivate ākonga
ii. foster trust, respect and cooperation with and among ākonga

Science - Fair Testing

We have been having fun this term conducting a variety of science experiments under the big idea of 'Fairness'.  Our focus has been to ensure that our students understand that keeping all of the elements of a test 'fair' are important to have an accurate test.
These are the following tests we have completed:

• Which liquid helps to grow grass the fastest?
• Which nappy is the most absorbent? (to help Mrs Gunn  know which to purchase for her new baby when she goes on maternity leave!)
• Which liquid is the most corrosive for teeth?
• Float and sinking, which material is best to make a boat out of?
• Paper towel absorbency test

Our goal is to give students the skills and strategies so they can conduct their own fair test so we can have a mini science fair here at school.

Here are some photos of our experiments so far:

Here is a link to our planning for this unit:

Science Fair Testing Unit Plan Links to the RTC:
6. conceptualise, plan and implement an appropriate learning programme
ii. through their planning and teaching, demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of relevant content, disciplines and curriculum documents

Maori Lessons - Learning the Days of the Week

In class this term we have been learning to become confident in saying  the days of the week in Maori and being able to ask and answer a question using these days.  Here are the days we have been learning and the phrases we have been practicing:

Monday	Rāhina
Tuesday	Rātū
Wednesday	Rāapa
Thursday	Rāpare
Friday	Rāmere
Saturday	Rāhoroi
Sunday	Rātapu

Ko te aha tēnei ra?	What day is this?
Ko te Rāhina tēnei rā.	Today is Monday.

Here are some videos of us practicing together:







Here is a video of us playing the game 'piki' to help us practise the question and answer in Maori, but also to have some fun with our learning!



Links to the RTC
3. demonstrate commitment to bicultural partnership in Aotearoa New Zealand  because I show respect for the heritages, languages and cultures of both partners to the Treaty of Waitangi
10. work effectively within the bicultural context of Aotearoa New Zealand
i. practise and develop the relevant use of te reo Māori me ngā tikanga-a-iwi in context

Learning Our Mihi's in Room 14

Teachers make powerful connections between home and school, with opportunities for children to; draw/paint family portraits, write about themselves and others, or bring along items/stories/photos from home to share. All the while, new data is being gathered to provide an overview of learner skills, knowledge and needs.

It may take a little longer to get to each child/young person's

• experiences and realities
• goals and aspirations
• learning preferences (larger font, group work, standing desks)
• history and culture

Professor Professor Brian Edmiston talks about the power of polyphonic (between many) learning conversations as well as, ‘connecting to storytelling as a genuine tool for understanding.’ Through quality conversations, teachers can and do discover what influences, motivates and inspires students from all different perspectives and world views.

One way to find out more about our learners, is to invite tamariki to create and share their mihi or pepeha (Māori, Pacific or other).

We will be sharing our mihis before saying our speeches this week.  Here are some videos of our class members sharing their mihis:

Links to the RTC

3. demonstrate commitment to bicultural partnership in Aotearoa New Zealand

Demonstrate respect for the heritages, languages and cultures of both partners to the Treaty of Waitangi 

10. work effectively within the bicultural context of Aotearoa New Zealand 

Practise and develop the relevant use of te reo Māori me ngā tikanga-a-iwi in context 

Whatataukis in Room 14

What are Whakatauki?

‘Whakataukī’ are Maori Proverbs. These are sayings that reflect the values

and advice of past generations. Whakatauki often use metaphors to convey their meaning.

We have been learning different Whakatauki throughout this year for Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori.

This has become part of our routine where we start and end the day with a whakatauki.Our student Councillor Adelei shares this with us everyday.  Partly because her pronunciation is  much better than my own, but also to empower other students to show I am a learner too, and that I am giving things a go, even if some of the words are tricky in the beginning.

Here is Adelei sharing the whakatuaki:

Whaia te iti kahurangi

ke te  tuohu koe me he

maunga  teitei

Aim for the highest cloud

so that if you miss it, you

will hit a lofty mountain

Links to the RTC

Criteria 3. demonstrate commitment to bicultural partnership in Aotearoa New Zealand

Criteria 10. work effectively within the bicultural context of Aotearoa New Zealand

Student Reflection on Learning

Shelby sharing her some of the things she is really proud of from her learning log.

RTC

Criteria 7: Promote a collaborative, supportive and effective learning environment

i, demonstrate effective management of the learning setting which incorporates successful strategies to engage and motivate ākonga 

ii, foster trust, respect and cooperation with and among ākonga