Room 17 were hard at work in the garden today when we noticed a pungent odor. We came across a couple of Devil’s Fingers. A devil’s finger are a stinkhorn fungus. We learned that you can eat them in the egg stage as the smell isn’t as strong. It is safe to say that we won’t be wanting to try these any time soon.
Kia ora
This week’s school value in the spotlight is manaakitanga. There is a specific focus on students ensuring they have all of their belongings after having been for a swim or before leaving school.
A great way for clothing to get back to their owner (instead of in the lost property) is if it’s named. Are your clothes clearly labeled?
Kia ora,
According to Kiwifamilies.co.nz, pet owners in New Zealand are the happiest in the world!
Did you know that cats are the most common pets? About 44% of New Zealand homes have one. There are more than 1 million pet cats in New Zealand!
Dogs are the next most common pet in New Zealand. About 28% of Kiwis own a dog. That would mean that there are over 700,000 dogs in NZ.
Check out the Kauri student blogs to find out if we have pets at home.
Blog you later.
Here are our outstanding students for this week – they have been noticed making a huge effort to be active in their learning and give things a go.
Well done, winners, you are role models to others in your team, and have a learning-focused attitude!
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?
Our certificates are based on the 3 Owairaka values – Manaakitanga, Manawanuitanga and Kaitiakitanga. These students have started the year with a great attitude and exemplify the school values.
Thanks for being such great role models. You have all shown mahi tahi (to work together as one) in your learning. You willingly cooperate, you support your peers and you work well in a team.
Keep up the great work!
One of the best things about Owairaka School is the many cultures our students and staff represent. We love to celebrate and learn about all the different cultures and look forward to our cultural celebration events such as Cultural Festival and Cultural Day. Check out students individual blogs to find out their answer to this weeks ponder.
We have been learning about Te Tiriti o Waitangi – The Treaty of Waitangi and how it has been central to shaping the way Aotearoa New Zealand looks today. One of the learning experiences was to imagine that we were back in the middle of the 1800s and had resources to trade. Most of the class were tangata whenua and had resources to swap, made in NZ. The rest of the class were the newly arrived Europeans with a small selection of goods from the UK. Once the trading had finished we work through some tasks to see if we would survive a harsh winter. What resulted was a rich discussion about how the value of goods and resources changes depending on the circumstances.
Manawanuitanga is one of our School Values. It means to be persistent, resilient and focused when learning. Having personal goals is a great way to show Manawanuitanga every day. Check out our individual blogs for the goals we have thought about for 2023!
To start the new school year, we are focusing on our school value of Manaakitanga, remembering and understanding the importance of using kind words, a friendly voice and helping hands.
