Pests, Predators and Our Precious Place.

 Pests, Predators and Our Precious Place. 

In Tautoru we have branched out of our Innovation and Invention Inquiry to look at inventions that help our environment and all things in it.   We were lucky enough to have had a Zoom session with an Expert - Laura who talked us through her volunteer work with Predator Free Initiatives.  We asked lots of questions and were particularly interested in how pests and predators were introduced.  

We have started off looking at the native creatures we have in our special NZ bush and forests and the impact that introduced predators and pests have had on this unique ecosystem.  As part of our inventions work we have been looking at traps, tracking tunnels and chew cards. We are looking forward to making some of these next term to see what creatures we have in our ‘backyard’ here at Worser Bay School.  We have had some interesting discussions about our pet cats.  

We know that our NZ forest and bush has a unique layer system that requires us to think carefully about different creatures.  We know that kiwi are flightless and spend most of their nocturnal time on the forest floor foraging.  They have a rare chance of fighting off a possum, stoat or feral cat so this is why maintaining predator free environments is so important.  We know that hedgehogs eat native birds eggs too !! 

Our learning will continue next term where we will be designing and creating inventions that help our environment or attract native species back to our place. 

We have been mind mapping all we know so far.  

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Te Whakanuia a Matariki me Puanga 2024

Our Tautoru students have been recapping our knowledge of Matariki and Puanga.  Here is some art we created.  Each segment uses pictures and patterns that represent the different stars. 

• Waitī is associated with all freshwater and their food sources that are sustained by those waters.

• Waitā is associated with the ocean and all life. 

• Tupuānuku is associated with foods grown in the ground such as kūmara.

• If Tupuārangi is hard to see at Matariki - kai from the sky will be scarce. If she is bright – there will be plenty of food from the sky.

• Waipunarangi is associated with the various forms of rain throughout the year as it falls from the sky, nourishing all living things.

• Ururangi connects us to the different winds . 

• Hiwa-i-te-Rangi is the youngest star in the Matariki cluster and is connected to our dreams and aspirations.

• Matariki signifies reflection, hope, the gathering of people, and our connection to the environment.  Matariki is connected to our health and well-being.

• Pōhutukawa connects us to our loved ones that have passed .

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The celebration of Matariki, the Māori New Year is accompanied by all sorts of traditions, some traditional and some contemporary.   Iwi in Te Whanganui a Tara celebrate not just the rising of Matariki, but also Puanga.  

Puanga is a single whetū and is not part of the Matariki cluster but appears in the evening sky shortly before Matariki rises each year. Puanga rises higher in the sky so it’s recognised by iwi and hapū that can’t see Matariki from their location.  The brightness and clarity of the stars was a predictor of how abundant the harvest would be in the coming year.  

Different locations and landscapes mean that in some areas only Puanga can be seen.   Te Whanganui a Tara and our location mean we are surrounded by hills and mountains, making it a great place to view the stars.  The special site where we stand was referred to as Whetūkairangi - Stargazers.   

Creative Writing

 Writing is a very important part of our curriculum. 

In Tautoru at the moment we are learning how to write about something without giving away exactly what it is. We call this "showing not telling", and this is a fun and challenging way to learn how to write a description.

We are all at different stages with personal goals and next steps we are working on. These all demonstrate how we are re-reading our writing to check it makes sense and giving editing a go.

Here are some examples of our draft writing...

We have written about a variety of things, from a secret cave: 

...to something inside the classroom (think whiteboard, clipboard, pencil):

to something outside the classroom (think big slide, tyre, monkey bars).

Computational Thinkers

You've probably heard your tamariki mention that they've been taught to 'think like a scientist' but have you heard our new inquiry goal . . . to think like a computer! 

By this we are referring to computational thinking. Computational thinking involves breaking tasks down into the smallest of steps. The New Zealand Technologies Curriculum at Level 1 defines computational thinking as using "decomposition skills to break down simple non-computerised tasks into precise, unambiguous, step by step instructions (algorithmic thinking)." The instructions created are then tested out to identify and fix any errors. 

To practise thinking like computers we have been creating and following our own codes. We've been creating grid artwork, learning to read a grid maps and learning to give and follow instructions involving turning, left and rights to reach a target. We've also been using codes to make music, which you would have seen at this weeks assembly!

This week we've been putting our computational thinking skills to the test, giving classmates a code to follow to reach an object in the class with their eyes closed. We've also been helping each other complete an obstacle course with step by step instructions. The most important thing about computational thinking is specificity. If we don't tell a classmate to turn left (from their orientation, not our own) or take small steps, the correct outcome will not be reached. 

Check out these photos of what we've done so far, and ask your tamariki at home what it means to think like a computer.

 

The Arts Galore !!

‘The Arts’ are not just about the visual art spread across our colourful classroom walls but also about experiencing dance and movement, drama and music.  The arts nurture creativity and innovation, essential and important skills for today's world.  Our students are able to learn to think outside the box, solve problems creatively, and approach challenges with their imagination.

The arts develop self-expression and self-confidence.  Students learn to communicate their thoughts and feelings and their worlds full of ideas, while enhancing their social and emotional well-being in the process.  Participation in the arts helps us experience our Positive Emotions such as joy, satisfaction, and pride.  While we are creating, singing, listening to or making music, moving and grooving we are able to experience feelings of mindfulness, happiness,  joy and sometimes even an appreciation of beauty and excellence.  

The opportunities keep on coming this term !! 

NZSO Firebird 

We have had our trip to NZSO Firebird.   We got to explore the story of the firebird and see how Stravinsky used the orchestra to bring this tale to life.  There was plenty of learning prior to the trip in preparation and loads of audience participation throughout the show.    There is plenty of inspiration flowing after this trip.  

https://www.nzso.co.nz/the-nzso/learn-and-engage/schools/schools-concerts/the-firebird

Whānau Days 

We have 3 whānau days this term.   Our Whānau Days are opportunities where we can make links across the curriculum to a number of different areas.  Our big focus is ‘The Arts and Te Ao Māori’.  We are connected across the school in whānau groups.   Your child/children and their siblings work together during whānau days  getting  to experience working with all our teaching staff too. 

The children are learning skills in dance and movement, drama and music.  They are also able to deepen their understanding of our pūrākau.  These pūrākau have been passed down to us by Kura Ahurea and have a specific Mana Whenua perspective.  We are grateful for this knowledge and the  beautiful stories that link so closely to our local and unique environment.  The Pou have been instrumental in these whānau days as a catalyst for seeking knowledge and sharing knowledge, inspiring us to tell our stories.   

Hayley, Carl and Suz’s Whānau Group focused on deepening our knowledge of Atua and their importance to our environment through drama - role play and freeze frames.  The students worked in small groups  to portray their knowledge of 10 different Atua Māori.  These Atua were chosen from the Pūrākau of Ranginui and Papatūānuku and Ngā Tamariki a Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku.  The students  used their bodies to make sounds, enhancing their role play and freeze frames.    

Tinkering and Exploring the Past

We have thoroughly enjoyed our time tinkering with and learning about gadgets and gizmos from the past.   We know that most inventions have changed over time to meet new needs that emerge.  We went to the Tautoru University to learn about a famous inventor Alexander Graham Bell. We learnt that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone as a way of improving communication and how communication was able to happen.

We have been learning to take notes as we watching short learning clips about inventors and their inventions. This is also another opportunity to work on our individual writing goals within Inquiry.

We have been learning to put the information into our own words. This also connects to our reading goals of summarising, retelling and making connections.

Here is an example of the comparisons we have been making.

This week we move on to computational thinking so watch this space.  

Tautoru Celebration of Learning

Thank you so much to everyone who came to our Tautoru celebration of Learning this week. It was so exciting for our tamariki to share all of our learning from the year so far with their whānau. Thanks as well for the shared kai. Your children loved enjoying it again on Thursday. Here are the highlights if you couldn't make it.

Ko wai tō ingoa?

In Term 1 we conducted a study of the origins of our names. It is so special to know where our names came from and the Mana they carry. Thank you to the parents who helped provide information for this.

World Map

Alongside with our names we investigated our whānau origins. We found out that as a class whānau we cover a lot of the world. We placed our connections on a world map.

Neighbourhoods

As term 1 progressed our inquiry shifted from who We are, to where do all creatures live? Our learning shifted naturally to a focus on habitats. We learnt that creatures occupy certain areas were they have the best chances of survival. We created our own houses and dream neighbourhood habitats, fitting for what our homes represented.

Project Garden

We then progressed to thinking about our Worser Bay School habitat. Being an enviroschool, planting is very important to us and we want to make sure our gardens are a place were plants have the best chance of survival. We learnt about the five things plants need to survive, and repotted the Tautoru garden to make sure all five of these conditions were present. To top this off we created individual gardens, with mini houses and cress seeds.

Check out these photos of our celebration of learning. We had a blast and hope to see you at the next one! 

Innovation and Invention

This term in Tautoru we are looking at Innovation and Invention over time for our inquiry, with a Science and Technology focus.

We will be exploring ,designing, making and appraising our inventions and innovations by following a process.

We want to:

• know and understand that technology can be purposeful interventions that have gone through a design process.
• Understand that technological outcomes are products or systems developed by people. These things have a functional nature and often a specific purpose. Once upon a time they are or were a possible solution to a problem or just invented to make life easier.

We will be delving into Computational Thinking: We will be writing and following instructions and procedures. We will be making mazes and using lots of different skills to be creative problem solvers.

We asked our Whānau to bring in anything that they had at home, which our students would possibly not know in todays modern world.

We were supplied with many interesting things to explore- tools, old telephones, typewriters, a walkman, old school scales and old kitchen implements to name a few.

We spent time looking at the equipment and discussing the following questions:

1. What is it?
2. Who would use it?
3. What is it used for?
4. Why was it created in the first place ?

We worked in mixed groups to discuss what we had found out sharing all our ideas. We had lots of questions too.

It was fun to see how things have changed or been improved over time!

School Swimming

 

School Swimming 

New Zealand's landscapes offer countless opportunities for water-based fun. Boating, sailing, snorkelling, experiencing Moanamana and just exploring our beach are a few of our Worser Bay School favourites.  Learning to swim opens up a world of recreational activities, allowing children to fully enjoy and appreciate these special environments.

Learning to swim is crucial for ensuring water safety and something that is built into our Physical Education Programme every year.  It aims to help equip children with the skills necessary to enjoy water environments safely.  Swimming also offers many opportunities to enhance our Positive Health, developing confidence too.    

Our Swimming Lessons took off with great gusto on our first day back, with smiles all round.  We listened carefully and had a great time showing our instructors what we can do already.  We look forward to this adventure every week! 

Garden Habitats

 We've been hard at work over the past couple of weeks, building our Tautoru Garden Habitat.

Our inquiry focus has shifted from large scale habitats to habitats in our own backyard. Our garden (which needed some love!) felt like a great place to base our learning. Firstly, we learnt about what plants need to survive; water, soil, air, space and sunlight. 

We looked at the soil in our Tautoru garden beds and decided that it wasn't a great environment for our plants to thrive. This formed garden project number 1: Empty out the soil, remove the weeds and put the old soil back in, mixed with new soil and compost. This project involved some heavy lifting and your tamariki were hard at work!

Once the soil met our high Tautou standards we were ready to plant seeds. We made sure to spread our seeds evenly throughout the gardens as we know space is an important part of a plants survival.

Alongside our hard work in the garden beds, we've been learning in class about what else in a plants habitat helps it survive - check out these notes we made about bees!

Next time you're at school, please check out our plant habitat by Little Kids, we are very proud of it! 

Habitats

This term we have been looking at what makes us unique, with a focus on Whanaungatanga (creating a sense of family and connection) and  Kotahitanga (unity, togetherness and collective action).  

We have looked at special places to us and have traced around our feet as a symbol of Tūrangawaewae, (tūranga - having a standing place and waewae - feet).

Gathering up all this learning, our tamariki have been interested in the different places we all come from and where we choose to live. This lead us to looking and learning about animals and the different habitats they choose to live and why.

We decided to have our first 'Tautoru University' session.

This is where we watch a video one time and discuss what we have learnt,

watch it again and takes notes,

and watch it for a third time and categorise our learning.

We also read this funny book about a child who designed their very own school - it was crazy! We were very excited to try this ourselves.

We made 'spider mind maps' with all our ideas - using different colours to catergorise the different spaces and needs of each school area, just like a habitat.

Just imagine if these schools were real!

"When you step on a sensor at the school, a super slide will suck you up into your classroom. It scans you so that it knows which class you are in. In the morning you play educational video games and 2k drive, forza, mario carts and minecraft". Felix.