We have been out every day this term either practising our balls skills, playing kickball, or working on Athletics skills. Here are our amazing tamariki doing long jump.

Ask and you shall receive...

if you're convincing enough!

Tuatara Class has been wanting to play on the big kid's playground this entire year, only Year 3s aren't allowed. They finally decided to take matters into their own hands and write the principal. They wrote convincing letters and now have a trial week of challenging themselves and exploring the wonderful world of the big playground! Check out their blogs to see their published letters!

Performance

This term we are focussing on our fluency and expression. There's not better way to develop fluency than practising over and over again. Here Tuatara students are performing their poem of the week with their reading group. Some students even memorised

We miss you Luca!

Our dear friend Luca has been traveling Europe, but that doesn't mean we don't miss him. It was a perfect opportunity to learn about the parts of a letter and send our friend our best wishes.

Tuatara loves the library!

Science

Science gives Tuatara class the opportunity to learn across all of the curriculum areas. It teaches critical thinking, problem-solving, and organisation. Through our water unit we have connected our maths, writing, and reading to science by studying the water cycle, cause and effect, volume and capacity, and water pollution. There's even more to come!

Art

We continued our work using the Impressionist style of painting. You can see that the focus, creativity, and enjoyment is contagious in Tuatara Class.

Language Experts

We have so many experts in our midst! This week was International Languages Week and Tuatara Class had the pleasure of having Annabelle and Maki in to share their language and culture. Annabelle taught us some Luxembourgish as well as a song about ghosts. Maki shared about childhood in Japan, some fun dances and games, as well as introducing us to the basics of Japanese. We love to see the richness that our parents can bring to our classroom. It opens our eyes beyond the four walls of the classroom.

Community Involvement

Part of belonging to a community is being a kaitiaki and looking after it. We are so lucky to have role models like Glen Bradbury who take time out of their busy lives to give nature a helping hand. Our students have the great opportunity to go out to Rangikapiti in small groups to check and set the pest traps that have been laid out. It is wonderful to see them getting their hands dirty and really making a difference!

Ukulele

The growth in ukulele skill from last year to this year has been exponential! The students are really strumming with rhythm and we are beginning to see excellent chord changes. This is all nothing compared to their enthusiasm in singing though!

Heritage Trail

Today we got to explore some more of our history through the Heritage Trail. We saw buildings that were built back in the 1800s that are still used today. Did you know that the Mangonui Hotel used to be called the New Settler's Hotel?

Impressionism

Tuatara students did an amazing job learning all about the style of painting called Impressionism. They are currently practising their brushstrokes and copying a master by the name of Claude Monet. After our practise we will find our own inspiration in nature and have free reign. It is truly amazing to see the passion, skill, and creativity our students possess.

Butler Point Whaling Museum

When you're there, it only takes a little stretch to be able to imagine what life was like in Mangonui in the 1840s. We had wonderful guides and parent helpers. There's nothing like seeing whale skulls and harpoon guns close up to send a shiver down your spine. We not only learned about whaling but were able to take in the natural splendour of our environment. We got to see Moehuri Pa as well as the oldest Magnolia and Pohutukawa in the country!

Beeswax Wraps

Presenting.... our artistic wax wrappers! Not only are they appealing, but they are also useful and many tamariki chose to write inspirational messages on them. Ka pai Tuatara class. Can't wait to see how many litterless lunches we have next week!

Blogging

Sometimes we choose to publish our work on our blogs. Today Tuatara class started their blog about their family treasure. Check out our blogs if you get the chance!

What a fine start to Term 2!

Dunes Trip

We had so much fun learning even more about the dunes. We weeded and picked up rubbish to take care of Papatuanuku. It was shocking how much rubbish we found in our backyard. It is so wonderful to see our children care about where we live and take care of our beaches.

Thanks to everyone who came out to whanau night! It was so nice to chat and show off all of the hard work your children have been doing. We have a lot to celebrate in Tuatara Class and so much of your children's successes are thanks to YOU! - their family. Keep coming in and joining into our classroom fun!

Our Cubist Self-Portraits

We were inspired in Tuatara class by Pablo Picasso's many shapes and faces! We first drew ourselves straight on and in profile. Then we put our ruler skills to good use and crossed lines over our beautiful drawings. We used the shapes made by the lines to guide our drawing. The results were pretty spectacular!

Our Classroom Treaty

Please discuss these promises with your child and help them uphold them at home too!