A Typical Week in Pōhutukawa

Hui

Monday's usually begin with hui, however in red setting, these are strand hui rather than whole-school. Clifford meets with us on the turf. He communicates any key messages as well as birthdays, and teaches us about a key virtue. Unfortunately we are unable to sing inside in red. If the weather is wet, Clifford visits each class instead.

Work cycle: numeracy

Work cycle runs for the remainder of the morning. Monday's lessons are focused on the numeracy learning area. Students will generally be part of one lesson with the teacher. Often they will explore a concept with Montessori materials, however there may be some book-based work as well. They will have follow up work to complete by the following week.

Te Reo and The Arts

On Monday afternoons we we explore Te Reo and The Arts, also linking with Te Ao Māori o Neharā.

Work cycle: literacy

Tuesday lessons are focused on literacy in Pōhutukawa. Eight year olds from Pōhutukawa join Ngaio for the morning. Generally Work Cycle will begin with printing and some sort of writing lesson for the whole class, setting a focus for that mornings writing which students will draft before lunchtime. Other small group lessons will run throughout the morning, focused on anything from punctuation to the writing process, or reading comprehension through to spelling.

Library/reading

Pōhutukawa visits the library with Kanae as well as some reading with me in groups or as individuals. They have the opportunity to browse for new books, look for any research materials they need, and have the chance to relax with a book. Students are able to issue up to 3 books for 3 weeks.

Work cycle: science

Wednesdays are science day in Pōhutukawa with Catherine, under the umbrella concepts of the Montessori Cosmic curriculum. We cover a huge range of topics, this year giving extra consideration to our two school overarching themes of water and urban environments. We are starting off with how to be a scientist.

Kai iti

To enhance and nurture our community, we have a whole staff morning tea on Wednesdays. This is the only day Montessori students join the rest of the school for kai iti.

Mahi Kaitiaki

Wednesday afternoons are dedicated to mahi kaitiaki, where the entire strand gets together to care for our environment. Ngaio ākonga are tuakana for Pōhutukawa teina, guiding the younger students as they work. Students volunteer for a variety of tasks including gardening, sweeping, sharpening pencils, picking up litter and making cards to show gratitude. 'Clifford's crew' visit him in his office to offer their services.

Work cycle: geometry

Thursday is dedicated to geometry and other strand maths (statistics, measurement & probability) in Pōhutukawa. We are guided by the Montessori Geometry curriculum, and supplement with lessons and materials conducive to the Montessori Method. Ākonga usually have a lesson with those in their age-group, and have a week to complete a follow up activity.

Class hui then PE / reading

Thursday afternoons is class hui, run by students keen to act as chairpersons. We give compliments, raise any community events or initiatives, and address any other items raised.

After hui we have PE in a group with Kanae as well as an opportunity for students to read with me in groups or as individuals.

Work cycle: history & geography

Friday is another cosmic curriculum day, with a focus on history & geography. Currently students are exploring Te Ao Māori o Neharā.Eight year olds from Pōhutukawa join Catherine in Ngaio for the morning to explore a theme, often through project-based learning.

Technology

We finish the week with some practice using information technology (for year three and four students) and computational thinking.

We endeavour to have regular joint events where both classes are learning together. The focus of these times change dependent on wider school activities. Our favourite activities are exploring the environments at Otari Wilton's Bush together, and mahi kaitiaki.

Participating in whole school activities gives children a chance to meet and socialise with peers outside their classroom as well as having the opportunity to learn from the whole community. Whole school activities change throughout the year, and will be different in this year of Covid. These may include kapa haka, singing, sports or a specific education programme. Whole school activities are generally run in the afternoon.

As a general rule, each class has a duty to perform each term. Pōhutukawa does not have a specific class duty this term apart from picking up tī kōuka leaves on a Monday, which continues throughout the year. As a class we decided that picking up rubbish (in addition to our schoolwide litter hunts) is one way we can support the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi by looking after the land around us.

In term 2 Pōhutukawa will be on bell duty and in term 3 we will be on panui. In term 4 Pōhutukawa does not have a specific class duty.