Zealandia Extravaganza - Term 3

We had a great time at Zealandia this week.  We embraced the rain and were lucky enough to see lots of creatures and native flora. 

When Wellington delivers a classic cold, wet winter day, we have to find the silver lining. That is what we did !   We packed gumboots, raincoats, lots of layers and a sense of adventure for a trip into Zealandia Te Māra a Tāne.  This is one of the capital's best-kept secrets. 

The dense overhead canopy of tree ferns (ponga) and forest created a natural umbrella, filtering the drizzle into a misty, prehistoric atmosphere.   Walking through the predator-proof fence felt like stepping through a time machine and totally 'Jurrasic Park' at the same time.  This was the great way that the children described this entry point.  

The rain gave us a chance to embrace the damp soil and wet leaf litter.  It was bringing out wildlife that usually stays hidden on dry warm days.  This is not at all what we were expecting !  The highlight was the Tuatara.  

Little Tuatara 

We saw the Kākā: The forest parrots flying over head in full force. We saw glimmers of crimson against the overcast sky as they swooped between the trees.  The Takahē made a quick exit after our first group went past,  preferring the quiet of the swamp lands.  It was hard to keep our excitement under wraps.   They were pretty unbothered by the cold mist.

We had some funny experiences too.  We soon realised once a branch is touched or a leaf is pulled on a wet day,  the tree unloads what it has been sheltering us from - The sky puddles !!  The stick insect held on for dear life.

The taonga tower was a surprise reveal with a few wētā and a gigantic wolf spider with an impressive egg sac. We were pleased it was safe and contained behind some perspex.  

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A rainy trip to Zealandia offered such a rich real-world context across multiple learning areas:

Science -Living World / Te Ao Hurihuri  

We were able to observe how species adapt to weather changes (e.g., birds foraging actively after rain bursts) demonstrating seasonal and daily animal behaviors.

Examining the role of Zealandia's pest-proof fence highlighted how removing introduced  predators allows native flora and fauna to recover.  We were able to make some links to our prior learning and knowledge about our Predator free Peninsula and some of the learning about tracking tunnels and our flora and fauna unique and visible to our Motukairangi. 

Being immersed in a beautiful green and bushy space, even in rain, enhanced our mindfulness and awareness through the sounds of bird calls and what we could see, hear and feel.  It was hard going but it was a good exercise to practise our gratitude, resilience and growth mindset.  

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Celebrating the Arts 2026

 

The time finally arrived this week for the great 2026 Art Celebration. We are feeling so grateful for all the ideas our students have been able to come up with, to make this story come to life.  After all, it was all about thinking outside of the box and harnessing our imaginations to come up with wild and wonderful 'wonderlands'.

We are so grateful for all the help we have received from our colleagues, whānau and parents. It takes a village to put on a great show !!! 

Ngā mihi nunui ki a koutou. 

 "My favourite thing was when I flew around.. I liked the dragon land because
the dragons used team work."   
"I was proud of my dancing because I dialled up my humour and bravery."

So what was our great narrative about ?

In a deep dark place, a little machine finds herself delivering a special parcel to a world where magic and imagination run wild. In this mystery land, far away from any civilisation, a suitcase waits. A humble parasol is found inside by the bugs, frogs, fairies and miniature mushrooms dancing and frolicking about.

The amazing wonderland changes pace and environment with the entrance of fire and dragons. The parasol becomes a bellow that helps our flames grow and flourish.

"I was smiling non-stop at the audience.  I felt amazing." 
"I like the lights because they were glowing all over the place."  

"I liked everything, even watching the other people's shows. It really just gave me joy."  
"I loved the audience smiling because they were excited too." 

The energy shifts into the next child created wonderland. This world is full of ocular delights and night time creatures that inhabit the best of our spooky stories. They all come to life to dance the night away.

This whole process has been a very organic one. We aimed for as child centred as possible.

A few posts back we shared the creation of different worlds. A whole lot of oral language opportunities as well as Inquiry and other cross curricular links were made.

So how does this all connect to our refreshed NZ curriculum ?

NZ Curriculum links - Reading and writing :

Over the last term, we read our way through quality picture books, school readers and journals. This has allowed us to have some good discussions about lands and places, characters and creatures. We have been able to explore characters and their specific roles in a. story.

The reciprocal nature of reading and writing has come to life as we tried to use some of our reading skills and vocabulary to write our own stories. Good words and vivid vocabulary create great pictures in a readers mind.

Comprehension - Students have been:

• Using what is stated in texts, along with their prior knowledge, to predict what might happen next

• Using visual images in texts to check and support their understanding of ideas that might not be directly stated. (Exploring inferences too)

• Retelling the key details from texts in response to sequence questions

• Identifying connections between ideas expressed in texts and their own knowledge of topics, other texts, and their own experiences, and responding by sharing opinions about those ideas.

We have worked hard to present our stories through dance and drama. We knew that how we moved and our gestures and faces would be an important part of our storytelling.

Presenting to an audience  

• Students have been using non-verbal communication to support the message being communicate.

  

"I loved the costumes because they were amazing."

NZ Curriculum links - Oral Language 

Lots of discussions, sharing of ideas and conversations bought us to where we ended up. We 'piggy backed' off each others ideas, adding more detail or making subtle changes or crazy ones !!

We had to get our messages across so our group members could understand our ideas.

Our map making required lots of opinions which we did not always agree with. We had some ground rules that we followed to make sure there were no 'bosses' and everyone could contribute as much as possible. It really was like playing on paper.

Listening and Responding to Others 

Students have been learning to:

• Participate in conversations, taking turns, actively listening, and contributing

• Respectfully agree, disagree, and add on to ideas

• Explain reasons for their opinions and ideas

The Arts Curriculum Links 

All of the above came to fruition with our Arts Curriculum as the main driver to express this learning.

NZ Curriculum links - Dance

Developing practical knowledge

• Students have been learning to explore and identify, through movement, the dance elements of body, space, time, energy, and relationships.

Developing ideas

• Students have been learning to use the elements of dance in purposeful ways to respond to a variety of stimuli.

NZ Curriculum links - Visual Art

Developing ideas

• Students have been learning to investigate and develop visual ideas in response to a variety of motivations, observation, and imagination.

Communicating and interpreting

• Students have been learning to share the ideas, feelings, and stories communicated by their own and others’ objects and images.

Futsal

 

Kapa Haka

 

Over the last week we have been revisiting a kapa haka favourite ‘Ka pioioi’ with Matua Henare.  We are learning a new kapa haka skill to add to this classic.

Tītitōrea  - These are a type of traditional Māori sticks or a stick game that is performed to waiata. Our students have been learning to hold these wooden tītītōrea and striking them, tapping them on the ground, against each other, or throwing them to a partner.  It has been impressive to see how quickly the children picked these skills up.  They learnt to throw a tītītorea upright into another person's opposite hand while keeping a beat.  This has been great for our hand eye coordination.  

The original purpose of Tītītōrea - In the past Tītītōrea have been used to train warriors by building hand-eye coordination, wrist flexibility, and quick reaction times essential for hand-to-hand combat.   In our context it is a little different.  These days Tītītōrea remain a popular educational game and tool for performing arts.  The many benefits that come from tītītorea are very similar to the learning we did earlier on with our Poi Toa.  When we are expecting our children to work on transcription - the fine motor skills of writing,  we are asking them to use a multitude of skills. To develop our fine motor skills we need to also develop our gross motor skills too.  All of that combined is a big ask !    Tītītōrea is a great way to do this while singing and working together.  

We are looking forward to showing you more of our polished Tītītōrea skills next term after we have had a few more opportunities to practice !