Te Hikoi o Te Kura o Whetūkairangi

 Tonight we had the pleasure of learning more about the beautiful place we can call ‘home’.  

Our Worser Bay Hikoi is a chance to learn about the significant places that surround Worser Bay School. We visited the locations and learnt about the associated history as we went. We started at Churchill Park following the path and walkways up to the top of the hill where Oruaiti Pā once stood.  

We heard the stories of Kupe and his voyage to Aotearoa.  We learnt about Kupe’s great adventures following ‘Te Wheke o Muturangi’ out into Raukawa Moana.  John shared his knowledge and stories linking to many other locations too.  

Our desire is for our children to leave Worser Bay knowing the rich kōrero and history associated with our place. We hope to pass on this knowledge so they can then share this as well as pūrākau like that of the great Ngake and Whātaitai. 

How fortunate we are to be able to look out and see the exact place where Ngake smashed out of Te Whanganui a Tara into the great Moana !

Check out this beautiful pūrākau written by Ben Ngaia.  

 

This special version of the Ngake and Whātaitai pūrākau is a traditional story told from the perspective of the Kahui Maunga people.  These two taniwha inhabited Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington Harbour, long before the ancestral migrations. The story tells how the shape and landscape of Wellington, its harbour and the Lower Hutt area came about because of the actions of Ngake and Whātaitai. Long ago, Te Whanganui a Tara was an enclosed lake, but Ngake forced his way out into the sea by battering through the clenched teeth of the fish of Maui to allow the fish to breathe. Whātaitai was washed down the throat of the fish, causing it to cough, and Whātaitai and three morsels flew out. The morsels became islands in the harbour, but Whātaitai was stranded and grew weak and died, becoming part of the land around the harbour.”

At Worser Bay School we feel a deep connection to the land, sea and sky. Our Pou also connect us to pūrākau and kōrero tuku iho gifted to us by Te Ātiawa, Mana Whenua.  The 3 Pou stand on our school site to acknowledge this rich kōrero and to acknowledge those who came before. 

Come up and see what connections you can make.

Imaginations Gone Wild !!

We are so excited to share with you the wonderful world existing in our Imaginations. Our imagination helps our students grow, explore, and express themselves through visual art. Imagination is a powerful tool for children, and when combined with art, it leads to endless creativity and more learning!  

We created a special and unique species that combined the best parts of our favourite animals.  We used a mixed media process to create these masterpieces.  Here are some photos of our process.  Lots of effort went into these works of art and they will be up soon in time for our celebration of learning.  

Why is Imagination Important in Art?

Imagination helps our students think beyond what they see into exploring new ideas. It allows them to create their own stories, characters, and worlds with just a few colors, shapes, and lines. When we encourage our students to use their imagination in art, we are helping them think creatively, coming up with their own ideas. They can think of new things that don't even exist yet, like unicorns in space or underwater machines!

This kind of thinking helps them solve problems in unique ways.  The imagination helps students express emotions in a fun way.  When children use their imagination in art, they feel proud of their work. It’s not about making something perfect; it’s about creating something that’s uniquely theirs.  This boosts their self-esteem and encourages them to take risks and trying new things. 

To learn more about trying new things please see Carl and Beth's Pos Ed Parent Workshop Information.  

How Does Imagination Help Learning?

Imagination isn’t just about making pretty pictures – it’s also about developing important skills. 

When children use their imagination in art, they are:

• Figuring out how to turn an idea into a visual.  

• Practising problem-solving, which they can use in other areas of life.

• Improving fine motor skills through activities like coloring, cutting, and painting as these help develop hand-eye coordination and control, which are important for writing and other daily tasks.

• Talking about their artwork which helps children use new words and expand their vocabulary. 

• Describing their ideas and sharing stories.

We were also inspired by the picture book:

"Noah's Ark is jam-packed but there's still an enormous queue of animals

waiting to board. So Noah asks his friend Sam Jam Balu to take the other ark.

Sam Jam Balu is not ready for the hip-hopping hippos, burrowing flumps and

candy-striped camels with comical humps !"

The Magical World of Maths

This term we have been focusing on strengthening our number knowledge especially around place value.  

This is a key component of Phase 1 in the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum.   We have been using a range of materials and resources to help develop and consolidate our knowledge of the ‘base 10’ structure.   Base 10 is all about how we can assign place value to numbers.  Place value is a fundamental concept in maths because it forms the basis for understanding how numbers work and how they are structured.    

Here are some examples from this week about how we can draw and describe our understanding of place value. 

Once we have an understanding of place value and how numbers are made up, structured and sequenced we are able to use this knowledge, applying into to a range of different problem solving tasks.

What does the NZ Refreshed Curriculum say ?

"By the end of phase 1, students know that our number system is base 10, with ten digit symbols. The place value of a digit in a number depends on its position; as we move to the left, each column is worth ten times more, with zero used as a placeholder. Students know that they can subitise (recognise without counting) patterns to support estimations and calculations. They know that numbers can be partitioned and recombined in different ways. Addition is putting parts together to find a total or whole. Subtraction takes parts away from a whole; it is also the difference between numbers. Multiplication and division involve recognising and working with equal groups and how many are in each group, the number of groups, and the total amount. "

How can you help at home ? 

We have been using lots of videos and songs to help us understand our place value and number knowledge concepts. Here are some examples that you can use at home too.

Online Place Value Blocks 

Place Value Manipulatives

The Great Handwriting Challenge

We have embarked on the Great New Zealand Handwriting Challenge in Tautoru.   15 minutes of our day is dedicated to handwriting as per our new NZ Curriculum requirements.  We have never underestimated the power of teaching handwriting so that our students can enjoy being writers and getting those amazing ideas down on paper.  We have already seen a great improvement and the structure and routine is working well too.  

Check out here to learn more:

https://www.thegreatnewzealandhandwritingchallenge.net/

Why should we be investing in handwriting?

• Teaching students how to automatically write letters leads to better quality writing. 

When children can form letters easily, they gain memory space to express more interesting ideas.

• Practising letter shapes builds brain pathways for reading, helping students learn and 

remember letter patterns and words.

• Handwriting builds confidence and motivation. When students are able to hand-write easily,

 they feel better about their writing and are more motivated to write.

• Teaching handwriting is easy and fun. Students love it, and we can teach it effectively in just ten 

minutes a day.

From The Great New Zealand Handwriting Challenge

Also, it’s now a requirement  in the new English Curriculum!
What are we aiming for across our Junior School ?

From Autahi to Tautoru - Year 0 to Year 3

Curriculum requirements

First 6 months

• Form most lower-case letters and numerals correctly and legibly, with each letter or numeral on the line.

• Sit comfortably, apply a comfortable amount of pressure, and use a functional pencil grip, with support.

During the first year

• Form most lower-case letters and numerals correctly and legibly, with each letter or numeral on the line, and attending to size and spacing.

• Sit comfortably, apply a comfortable amount of pressure, and use a functional pencil grip, independently.

During the second year

• Form all letters and numerals legibly, attending to the size, placement and spacing.

• Consistently practise good posture and comfortable grip when writing.

During the third year

• Print all letters and numerals correctly and legibly, attending to size, placement, spacing, and slope with ease and automaticity.

• Consistently practise good posture and comfortable grip when writing across the curriculum.

We can't wait to see what a difference this will make to our writing !   

Tautoru Ways of Working

We have really been working hard in Tautoru to make sure that we are helping each other to be ready for learning.   

Our first step was to create our ways of working -  These are the things that we are going to do to make sure we are all working together as a whānau.   We all signed this agreement by drawing one small action we were going to do daily to keep this document living. 

Each week we have a learner attribute and a character strength focus.  This is similar to our focus word but more responsive to needs in the moment.  The strength is one we are needing to dial up or down and this is a real challenge sometimes.  

This week we focused on 'Judgment' as this led nicely on from Self Regulation.  

We unpacked the Character Strength of Judgment so that we know exactly what good judgment  looks like.  Here are some of the ideas that we came up with together. 

Dialling up our Judgment means: 

1. Making simple decisions by using careful thinking. 
2. Understanding consequences - positive and negative.  
3. Following rules and showing the way. 
4. Considering others' feelings .  
5. Weighing up options - the what 'ifs'.
6. Learning from mistakes.
7. Taking risks that are thought through from a range of angles.  

Quite a comprehensive list so always a work in progress.  As previously stated we learn a lot from trying and making mistakes here and there.   

Here are a few examples from the students.

Keeping our Tamariki Physical

 This year in Tautoru, we are learning to move in lots of different ways. This helps our brain development and stimulates us for learning in many ways. We call this PMP (Perceptual Motor Programme).

Within our physical education (P.E) programme we are following the 'Moving Smart' guidelines which cover: 

These 6 focus areas are designed to help our tamariki develop skills so that they are 'ready for learning'.

It takes a lot of effort to sit on the mat and listen to a story, to hold and use a pencil or pen correctly, to be able to pack our bags and dress ourselves and look after our own needs throughout the day.

These simple physical activies are fun and build our physical and cognitive strength.

Here's a few we've been practising so far:

Trying to stand up and sit down without using our arms and having our legs and arms crossed:

Climbing up the tyres, ladders and the climbing wall:

Practising yoga, stretching and crossing our midline:

Moving by crawling, using our left and right sides opposite to each other:

Moving backwards, using our skills of balance and coordination:

Being able to stretch our our opposite arm and leg and catch them behind us:

Swinging on the monkey bars and being able to hold our own body weight - ultimately building up to being able to do a chin-up!

If you would like to know more about the Moving Smart programme, please have a look at: https://movingsmart.co.nz/ 

and 

https://movingsmart.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Thesis.-Wendy-Pirie.-2011.pdf

Focus Words 2025

Goal Setting Meetings kicked off this week and we are so grateful for the time we had together discussing students goals, hopes and dreams for 2025 and also the perspectives that you share with us that help us get to know your child that little bit more.  We always leave these meetings with a real sense of connection and optimism about the year ahead.     Thanks again ! 

Part of our goal setting process is coming up with a focus word for the year.  This word is usually a strength based word that we can use throughout the year.  It is a powerful tool for guiding our actions, mindsets and work throughout the year. 

The intent of our focus word for 2025 is to:

• help us recognise our strengths and how we can dial these up in different ways. 

• simplify the process of goal-setting by shining a light on the things we might be good at or what we want to improve.

• be daily inspiration and a reminder that we all have different strengths to contribute to our class.

We think widely about lots of different ways we can use this strength across the curriculum.  At the end of the year we love to look back and reflect on these strengths and how we have further developed them over time. 

Here is the list of character strengths we might choose from. There are many others too.

Do you have a focus word for the year, or are you thinking of choosing one?

Our Taonga

We have spent our first 9 days together as a Tautoru whānau.  Some of us returning toTautoru as Year 3s and some starting already super familiar and comfortable in the space and with our routines and processes.  It has been lovely seeing the smiles return,  bringing our school back to life and laughter.  For the first part of the term we are really focusing on getting to know each other and what makes us special.  We are busy at work making connections between our whānau and special places, locally, regionally and globally.  We bring lots to the classroom in terms of culture and diversity and we plan on deep diving into this for a bit so that we can make sure we are celebrating this throughout the year.  

Thank you for sharing your taonga with us.  Thank you for giving us the insights and information about your child’s names and your whānau connections.  It is truly fascinating and wonderful to see the students making connections on a variety of levels.  

Here are some of the whānau taonga that students have bought to share with each other.   As we share these  with each other over the next week or so we will be updating the BLOG so that you can share in this learning too.  We have learnt so much already.