Growth Mindset and Maths

We have all (teachers included!) been learning about how we can use a growth mindset to face new challenges and develop a positive attitude toward math. We have discussed how changing the language we use can help us overcome challenges and that making mistakes is actually a good thing because mistakes help us learn!

According to Carol Dweck, growth mindset is all about "building the understanding that abilities and intelligence can be developed". We have talked alot about how using our characters strengths of perseverance, bravery (taking a risk) and teamwork (sharing ideas with others) can help us to improve our understanding in maths.

We are growing our minds in math by using Number Talks to share our ideas about how a number is made up of other numbers. Each base group has been exploring different dot patterns and sharing strategies of how we found the total number of dots. 

-How did you see the dots?

-Can you count them in groups?

-What does the equation look like?

By recording our thinking we can learn new strategies from our peers that we might try to use on the next number talk.

Showing manaakitanga

We have begun the year discussing and sharing ideas around manaakitanga. Students have been working together on a variety of activities in order to better understand how working together, sharing ideas, and problem solving helps us all to achieve our group and individual goals.



Base groups took part in a team building exercise called "The River of Lava." They had to cross the river without touching the lava with a limited number of safe zones along the way.



This activity involved groups holding a hula hoop by their fingertips and slowly lowering to the ground. It involved a lot of careful movements and great communication.



We also used team work, trust, and communication in this activity called 'Circle Sit'. Each base group had to rely on the person behind them to support them when carefully sit down.

Waitangi Day

What is Waitangi Day about? We began to work in our literacy groups to learn about Waitangi Day. There were lots of ideas about the day is about. Here were some of our first ideas:

We learned about how the Treaty of Waitangi was signed to help Māori people and those who had settled in Aotearoa to agree on how to share and look after Aotearoa New Zealand.

We then began to think about rules. Why do we need rules? How might having rules for certain things helps us? We tried to play games without rules.

 It was pretty tricky!

Then we played the games using the rules and it was much easier!

Tautoru first day for 2018!

Our theme for the next two weeks is Manaakitanga: enhancing the wellbeing of others.

Our first day at Tautoru started with 'Waking up our Brains' that includes yoga, boot camp, dodgeball and dance. This will be our way to wake up our brains in the morning for learning and trying different ways to grow our wellbeing together 

Practising yoga stretching

Then we did different activities to learn about managing the resources in Tautoru like the art supplies, dress ups, and the digital equipment.

Some of our thoughts about our day:

Christmas Talent Competition

Molly, Mia, Nell and Isabel were the judges. We saw each act by act. We judged them on how much courage they had, teamwork, their ideas, their costumes and their performance. All of the performances were awesome. We could only choose one winner from each space.

Autahi

1st place: Zane
2nd place: Charlie
3rd place: Eva

Tautoru

1st place: Coco
2nd place: Marnie, Greta, Rosa and Jasmine
3rd place: Zach, Cooper, Nye and Evan

Mahutonga/ Matariki

1st place: Jessie
2nd place: Edward
3rd place: Ruby

What a great show.

By Nell and Isabel

What a great show!

Dairy farm- Oh what a day!

Today half of Tautoru went on an exciting journey to visit Stacey and Andrew Faith on their dairy farm in Te Horo. (Tomorrow the other half are off for a visit).

First of all we had a looooong trip on the bus (according to the children), and had to use some perseverance and patience because it took a while to get beyond "Are we there yet?" Once we arrived we were straight into the milking shed. What an experience!

Stacey asked us to choose some children who sat nicely on the bus, and some of them got chosen to go down into the pit and put the cups on the teats of the cows. It was a very messy job! Lots of cow poo descended on those in the pit. As Jackie said, "If this is what the good kids get, what is in store for the others?" (Actually they had all sat and travelled nicely, but many were relieved they hadn't been chosen!)😊😊😊  

The smell was a bit different to school! It was tricky to find some appreciation of beauty and excellence in that.

We used a growth mindset when we were attaching the cups, and zest was on the cards if there was any signs of droppings from above! 

We watched the milk go into the container attached to the cups, and then it went through pipes into a big cylinder and then onto the vat to be stored until the milk tanker came. There was lots of new learning today.

After the cows were milked the cups had to be washed so they would be ready for next time.

See the big vat for storing the milk. Then we were off to the calf and chicken sheds.

It was a bit of a walk on a hot day, but there was no stopping us in our gumboots.

Stacey feeds all the calves. Sometimes she has as many as 250 calves to feed.

She uses the calfateria to help (called the "milk bar"). Plenty of calves can all be fed at the same time using this machine.

We got a chance to see the chicken and pat one.

Then we were in a rush to get back to the milking shed because the milk tanker driver needed to get on his way, so Andrew and Stacey gave us a ride......

Well that was another experience for the day!

The milk tanker driver attached the hose to collect the milk from the vat. It all gets calculated by a computer in the truck to check the quality and quantity. They get paid for the quality of the milk they produce.

                         Over 6,000 litres got collected today from Stacey and Andrew's farm today.

The milk goes off to the factory so that it can be pasteurised and bottled.

Then it was back onto the bus for us.

And off to Te Horo school, where we were able to wash our hands (phew!), eat our lunch and have a play in their playground.

 They had a gorgeous shady tree to sit under to eat our lunch and a great playground!

We even met some children with connections to Worser Bay School.

Oh what a day!! There were a few sleeping children on the way back to school.

We had so much to be grateful for: 

Stacey and Andrew inviting us to their farm.

The wonderful bus driver who drove us so calmly so none of us got sick.

The weather- it was a stunner!

Te Horo school principal, staff and children who made us feel so welcome.

Adventurous and fun parents who came on our trip and entered into the spirit of the day 

(see them in the truck and behind the tractor)!

And well behaved, curious, adventurous and appreciative students.

What a wonderful experience!

Thank you everyone who made it possible.