Movement + Music = MAGIC !!

Ever had song lyrics stay in your head for the day, after you heard it once on the way to work ? Well that's what we are experiencing at the moment as we gear up for the Arts Celebration !! 

Term 3 is proving to be a very ‘holistic’ and authentic example of ‘valuing the whole child’ and not something that we left to chance either. We recognize that the arts absolutely complement and enhance learning in other areas such as Inquiry, Literacy, Maths and Te Ao Māori. A reasonable story becomes a beautiful poem with the removal of some key words, a poem morphs into a song with a sprinkle of repetition and before you know it you have a haka. Through music we have observed the beauty of movement, dance and actions coming naturally to our students. 

The arts have provided opportunities for students to express their thoughts, feelings, and ideas. They have been active participants in the planning process by creating, performing, and just appreciating the arts and all they have to offer. We are promoting a collaborative working environment where all students have multiple opportunities to shine. This is our mantra for the Arts Celebration. There are no lines, no scripts and plenty of planned spontaneity. You might be asking how this is even possible given the definition of spontaneity. This is never a one person job it takes a village as we always say. We will be needing your help a little closer to the time with some of the finer details.  This information will come out in the next week or 2 so watch this space. 

We have a long way to go yet but savouring each minute at a time.. Without ruining the ‘surprise’, here is a glimpse and some clues into the beginning of our journey. See if you can make some links between all of these and what you might expect to see…

Marvellous Maths

Welcome back to Term 3 ! 

In Tautoru we continue to build our excitement around Maths.   There are plenty of opportunities for our students to be creative problem solvers that can think flexibly.  Our maths programme has key components that we take into consideration when planning including having our finger on the pulse when it comes to meeting a diverse range of students needs.  We aim to keep maths exciting, creating an environment where maths is always an option or a choice and a priority. 

Developing strong problem-solving abilities is so important. This means teaching a variety of strategies to approach and solve mathematical problems, rather than solely focusing on rote memorization that some of us would be familiar with from our schooling.

Connecting mathematics to real-life contexts helps students see its relevance in their world, fostering greater engagement and motivation to learn.  It is quite interesting once you have your ‘maths eyes’ on how many maths opportunities also present themselves during play.   We have a variety of materials available throughout the day where our students can explore mathematical concepts and practise their maths learning. 

Developing critical thinking skills involves analyzing and evaluating information. This is important  in maths as students learn to assess different approaches and solutions to find the most efficient strategy for a problem. 

We work in a range of different ways in Tautoru.  Our mixed ability groups offer the benefits of collaborative learning.  Students discuss ideas, explain their reasoning, and learn from each other’s perspectives. Communication skills are also vital for communicating mathematical ideas.  We are determined to learn 20 new maths games this term and each of these games builds on maths skills, developing number knowledge and strategy.  

Maths Games are also selected to consolidate and reinforce teaching and learning and something students can choose to do throughout the day.    Here are this week's maths games as examples:

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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