A Term of Discovery, Adventure, and Fun!

Our junior tamariki kicked off the term with an exciting deep dive into the world of pirates—both real and imagined! We explored what pirates do, what they wear, how they speak, the ships they sail, and even learned about some famous pirates from history. It was a fantastic way to spark curiosity and creativity.

Next, we turned our attention to something a bit closer to home—water safety. Through lessons focused on pools and beaches, our learners discovered how to spot potential hazards and how to stay safe while still having fun around water. We then took our learning to the pool, putting these skills into practice during our swimming lessons.

Then came some hands-on science fun with our House of Science kit, where we investigated the concepts of floating and sinking. We were surprised to learn that the size of an object doesn’t always determine whether it floats or sinks! Some classes explored buoyancy further by creating their own boats out of tin foil—what clever engineers!

Our Year 1-2 classes were all looking forward to our beach trip, but when the weather didn’t cooperate, we brought the beach to school instead! Our tamariki enjoyed a day of seaside-themed activities, including a treasure hunt and a sandcastle competition. It was a brilliant way to keep the excitement alive, rain or shine. Here's a video of some of the highlights...

The learning didn’t stop there—we dove into the world of coding! Using directional language like up, down, left, and right, we created pathways to guide objects to their destination. It was a fun challenge that really got us thinking critically and problem-solving.

To wrap up all our fantastic learning, we celebrated with a Pirate Fun Day! A huge thank-you to all our wonderful families who helped put together such amazing costumes—the children looked incredible as they climbed aboard the Pīwakawaka Pirate Ship! We kicked off the day with a costume parade and sea shanty singalong in the hall, followed by classroom games like Pin the Patch on the Pirate and Captain’s Coming.

Alongside all this amazing learning, we also took part in a range of other activities this term, including Family Fun Night, Smash Play cricket, Walk or Wheel Week, the Wheels Parade, Pedalmania, a visit from Duffy Theatre, and our exciting Junior Duathlon!

It’s been a busy, exciting, and fun-filled term for everyone. We wish all our families a safe and happy term break and joyful Easter celebrations.

Next term, we’re off on a brand-new adventure with our next unit: "Passport to the World!"