Science Projects

Kia ora e te whānau.

School is really humming along and it has been neat to see our learners engaged in a range of activities. 

I was fortunate enough to be invited to look at the year 5 & 6 science projects last week.  What a brilliant display of questioning and investigation.  Each project was well considered and had clear direction.  As I moved from project to project it was amazing to hear the thinking that had gone into these.  The children were able to articulate what they were testing and had a great grasp of whether the conclusion matched their hypothesis.  Following this we had a group of staff from Hutt Valley High School come in to judge all of our senior science projects.

Feedback from the Hutt High staff confirmed my hunch, we have some incredible scientists here at Maungaraki School.  They were very impressed with the quality of thinking when they looked through the projects.  Some of the work was so good that the judges compared it directly to the thinking required to attain NCEA.  Quite an achievement!  The selected projects will be entered in NIWA's science fair and will be shared with you in our Science Showcase at the end of the term.

The Science Showcase is shaping up to be amazing.  I have seen sneak peaks of the projects that will be shared with you as I visit classrooms.  From habitat recreations to growing all manner of things, our young scientists are preparing a rather special evening of sharing for you on Wednesday the 26 September.

After re-opening, our library has been working overtime this week.  A huge effort from staff has gone into making this space a welcoming and fun place to be.  Special thanks must go to Julz our new Librarian and Mrs Long who have spent many, many hours getting things just right.  It has been lovely to see the children use this space during the week.

This week we hosted Normandale School for a inter-school football match.  What a wonderful afternoon.  The game was played in a good spirit with supporters for both schools commenting that we should do this more often.  With a final score of 1-1 I’m sure our team will be keen for a rematch. 

Finally on behalf of all of the staff here at school, thank you for your support last week.  It really does mean so much to us collectively. 

Until next time, be your best.

No riera, kia kaha ra,

Shane Robinson