Take a look at some of the awesome stuff Room 19 has been up to this term…and it is only week 3!
We have been discovering more about volcanoes using the science box.
Foraging and cooking delicious food in Garden to Table.
Working on our creative writing skills and designing pictures using Google Drawings to support our story.
The Den had a fantastic time at The Maritime Museum on Tuesday! The weather was perfect, and our sailing trips took us under the Auckland Harbour Bridge, where we saw bungee jumpers leaping off the bridge which added to our excitement.
At the museum we learnt about the migration of people throughout the world, and how Aotearoa was the last landmass to be populated. People are still choosing to come to New Zealand to live, as it is such an amazing place.
Check out our day in pictures….
We also got to count down the cannon that is fired at the museum every day at 12noon. The museum staff were VERY impressed when we did this in Te Reo Maori!
Can you count down backwards from ten in Te Reo?
The Den have been learning about different pounamu shapes and meanings. They have also discovered that pounamu are a taonga (treasure) that is gifted to others.
The pounamu shapes and meanings we looked at were:
Each student learned about the different qualities each shape represented. They were asked to think of a friend or whānau member, who might possess some or all of those traits. That helped them decide which shape they would like to give them.
Which shape best describes you?
Kia Orana bloggers. This is the greeting used to say “hello” in the Cook Islands and the literal translation is actually “May you live a long and fulfilling life”, which is a wonderful way of greeting each other.
To celebrate Cook Island Language Week, we had a very special guest visit the Hive, Haley (McKenzye and Brooklyn’s Mum). She told us all about how a tīvaevae is made. These are treasured quilts made by women in the Cook Islands. Tīvaevae are made from brightly coloured fabrics and take months to finish.
They have sym
metrical designs that can be geometric shapes, flowers or animals.
Tīvaevaes are given as gifts for special occasions including weddings, funerals, pakoti’anga rauru (boy’s haircutting ceremonies) and 21st birthdays.
Haley also brought in a Cook Island treat, doughnuts! They were delicious! A huge meitaki (thank you in Cook Island Māori) to Haley, McKenzye and Brooklyn for sharing part of your beautiful culture with us.
Kia ora
Have you ever played string games?
In whai (also called māui, huhu and hūhi), each player creates patterns using a loop of flax string held between their hands, accompanied by particular chants.
Some of the students in The Den were learning to create different patterns (Venus, Two Stars, Many Stars and Parachute) with the aid of a video clip and using wool. Some were definitely more challenging than others, but their great focus and persistence paid off and most students were able to complete at least one pattern.
Week 10 is Green Week.
The Den (Rms 21 & 22) have been picking up rubbish around our school and discovering what kinds of litter we find most often.
We are also talking about how different types of litter can affect the environment.
What litter do you see most often around school? Is there something we could do to help change our school environment for the better?
We love learning about science in The Hive and enjoy any opportunity to carry out mini-scientific investigations.
This year we are looking at science through a ‘change’ lens. We get to explore a House of Science box every term that supports our understanding of the world around us. Our first box was called ‘sweet and sour’.
Read the Google Slide attached to find out what we did.
Students in The Den were thinking, sharing and revisiting maths ideas today.
Take a look and see how much energy students were using! 
What kinds of maths problems make you think the hardest?
