Matariki

We have been learning about Matariki and the constellation. Matariki is a small cluster of stars and it is also known as Plieades.There are several hundred stars but only seven of them can be seen.Matariki is a traditional Maori New Year. Matariki is celebrated with education and sharing ideas. Matariki is a time for remembering people you've lost.

Bruce Potter Visit

On Friday the Taranaki Syndicate were very lucky to have Bruce Potter come and talk to us about his occupation of writing and illustrating books.  He is a super talented author and illustrator.  He even writes songs.  He showed us a few of his books, showed us how he illustrates pictures and created one on the spot for us, he even gave us some tips and techniques that we can use.  He was extremely interesting to listen to.

If you would like to purchase any of his book you can get them off Trade me.  He said if you wrote a comment and asked he would even illustrate a personal picture in the cover for you.

Swimming

For the last two days of our swimming sessions we were learning about survival skills.  The children really enjoyed wearing their clothes in the swimming pool so they could understand the sensation of having clothes on in the water and wearing life jackets.

Cultural Dinner Parties

Room 16 over the last week hosted their dinner parties.  The children had a great time, as well as the guests.  It was a very valuable learning experience.  Thank you to all the parents who helped us out in the kitchen and helped cook a course with your child.  It was much appreciated.

Disco

Children from Room 16 had lots of fun at the disco on Friday night,  It was great to see you all showing your dancing moves.

Cultural Dinner Parties

This term our inquiry focus has been cultural dinner parties.  We first of all discussed and identified foods from a variety of cultures.  We found out where certain foods originated from.  We learnt how to write letters of invitation and how to make a balanced menu for guests.  We developed skills to create our own menus, taking into consideration the layout, colours, pictures and descriptions of food. Organising our dinner party was challenging as we had to work together with our groups, there was lots to take into consideration - a theme, placemats, name tags, decorations for the tables, dinner party manners and topics of conversation we could have with our guests.   Take a look at some of our finished products.

Swimming

A few photos from swimming sessions at Greerton Aquatic and Leisure Centre.

Nathan Pettigrew visit

We were very lucky to have local man Nathan Pettigrew come and visit us today and talk to us about his adventures from around the local Tauranga area.  We were all amazed with his exciting video clips he showed us and his interesting stories about his adventures.

For more check out his website  - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm2jGV7NWdc3E0InYI4SbdQ

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The Kayaking World of Nath