Wow, what an incredible year it's been for our amazing learners! Look at some exciting, action-packed moments and learning highlights they've experienced.

Nash  

Nash's final year at Makarika School and his mahi with Resource Teacher of the Deaf (RTD) has been jam-packed with amazing learning achievements and experiences. These include connecting with Deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) at Keep in Touch (KIT) Days, moving two years in reading, writing to two pen pals and visiting their kura, bone carving, cooking and art at trades, NZSL zooms and a remote microphone trial. The kura held a Matariki market to raise funds for the end of year trip to Hawke's Bay. Nash made 20 packs of Play-Doh for the market and raised $100.  

Te Rangitawaea

Te Rangitawaea loves school and enjoys hands-on activities such as reading, drawing, dancing, kapa haka, and building with Lego. Te Ranitawaea's oral language and vocabulary has developed significantly over the year. For his 'I am...' sentence, he said, "I am having an amazing childhood!"  

At the school's Matariki market, Te Rangitawaea made frozen cookie dough and raised $80 for the school trip. 

Primrose

Primrose has had a fantastic year, showing her enthusiasm for school and a love for learning. She has particularly enjoyed her lessons with her NZSL tutor and Communication Education Support Work (CESW), and her participation in KIT days has led to new friendships. A highlight for Primrose was attending the Matariki session, where she thoroughly enjoyed her visit to the Star dome. This year, she has also learned to ride her bike without trainer wheels. She proudly represented Uganda in the Special Olympics, excelling in jumping, climbing, skipping, and celebrating her country.

Nemiya

This year, Nemiya has had an empowering journey of setting ambitious goals and successfully achieving them. He is learning the importance of perseverance, planning, and positivity. Nemiya has set long-term goals for the year as well as short-term goals each term. Nemiya has had a lot of fun with short-term goals: making stop-motion videos, building a birdhouse, making his own Jenga set, learning new games and many cooking challenges. His long-term goals were in kapa haka, basketball and producing a cookbook to gift his whānau for Christmas.

Kingston

Kingston transitioned to school in term one and has embarked on an exciting independence journey at his new school! Every day is filled with new discoveries, from zooming in on his scooter to making new friends. Kingston is learning the value of teamwork and the joy of connecting with others. He has enjoyed getting to be a tuakana, by sharing the new signs he learns with his classmates. In term three, Maia Rose (a Year 2 HA wearer) joined us for part of our sessions, and Kingston took it upon himself to teach her some signs; he patiently waited for her to give them a go before moving on. It has been so lovely watching his confidence grow this year.