Kia ora whānau This lovely picture above, is a collaborative piece that some of our Year 1 students created for Matariki. A reminder that tomorrow, Friday, is the Matariki holiday so school will be closed. I am sure your children have been sharing their learning about Matariki with you, but if not, do ask them. If you want to learn more, Dr Rangi Matamua joined Jenny-May Clarkson on Breakfast to start the show with karakia and talk about Matariki means, the different stars in the cluster, and what this time of year means.

We will be holding a parent/teacher/student meeting on Wednesday, 6 July. Bookings are to be made through Skool Loop. We are looking forward to meeting with you to have a conversation about how your child has been progressing this term.

A huge thank you to everyone who supported our last pie day. Funds raised will go towards the Year 3 and 4 playground fundraising. Pies can be ordered through your myKindo account.

In the picture is a small sample of the generous donations we received on behalf of 'Give a Kid a Blanket!'

Part of Matariki is not only looking up to the stars but for sharing stories, time and kai with people for whanaungatanga (connection & belonging). The Milford School staff shared some Parāoa Parai (Māori fry bread) for Morning Tea on Rātū (Tuesday) that was made by Mrs Lavulo & her daughter Havyn. This was great for kaiako to eat together, discuss plans for Matariki, some people hadn't tried it before, some shared their experiences of places they had eaten it or people they ate it with, and Mrs Smith even mentioned that the same bread is made in South Africa but called Vetkoek.

A recent study from NZCER, has found that "young people who feel their voice is valued more regularly engage in their education and positively contribute to society (Harré, 2007; Hathcock & Dickerson, 2015; Hodson, 2014; Rosas, 2010). See link below

Yikun and Melanie came to share their learning and their work with me this morning. In their Year 1 unit of inquiry Sharing the Planet, the central idea is 'humans have a responsibility to care for the planet'. Even though these students are some of our youngest, they are learning ways to contribute to caring for the planet and were able to tell me what materials can be recycled and why it is important. Congratulations to these learners for their thinking and their beginning to take action to care for their local environment.

Room 17 children enjoyed a week filled with toi (art) to celebrate Matariki. The teachers in Year 0 and Year 1 each prepared a special Matariki activity, and the Year 0/1 children got to try everything during the week. Check out some of Room 17's beautiful artwork based on the picture book - "Little Kiwi's Matariki".

A few of our Year 6 tamariki were lucky enough to attend a STEAM Power-ed workshop at Westlake Girls High School on Thursday, with some of our other Kāhui Ako schools. A group of Year 9 and Year 13 girls, dressed as astronauts, led the students through an exciting science and technology event. The leaders explained that our ancestors were pioneers and navigated using the stars and now it was their turn as the future generation to navigate through the stars.

Room 14 made telescopes to look for the Matariki star cluster. We used hot glue guns to glue sequins, feathers and lots of other collage materials onto cardboard tubes to make our telescopes unique. We are looking forward to seeing the 9 stars of Matariki!

Riley and Harper from Year 2 came to share their learning with me this morning, as they had written their 'see, think, wonder' work so well. This thinking routine helps our learners to be discerning in their use of images and literature, and how to read more into things by thinking more deeply than a piece of information may give at face value. By learning these skills, our learners are becoming capable inquirers! Harper and Riley, I am so proud of your writing and your thinking!

Hunter has shown that he is a Thinker and has written some interesting and creative captions to go with pictures in his class. Hunter thought deeply about what was happening in the pictures and used his own imagination to describe and narrate. Hunter, I am proud of the effort you are putting into your learning and how much of a Thinker you are!

What does an inquiry classroom look like? It's messy, it's chatty, it's enthusiasm, it's making connections, it's knowing why, it's helping others, it's taking risks, it's creative, it's collaborative, it's asking questions, and it's a million other things. The students in Room 19 have inquired into 'Accommodation changes over time in response to need and environment' and have been designing and building a range of accommodations to suit different habitats. Tino pai Room 19, I really enjoyed visiting your class to see and hear inquiry in action!

Our Year 1 and 2 netballers have been enjoying playing netball on Monday after school this term. The Milford Year 1 and 2 girls displayed some great passing, moving and catching skills. They worked hard at shooting goals and played really well as a team. They even helped out the other team who were short of a player, with one of the Milford team playing for them. Great effort girls, you were awesome!! A big thanks to coach Adam Hay.

Picture above of our team with their fantastic coach Hong (Issac’s Dad) It was a tough season for the team but they had a lot of fun and played with a lot of passion. A big thank you to Coach Hong and also to Aiden’s dad, Thomas, who helped with coaching and scoring.

Please see the document below which will give you an overview of sports on offer at Milford School. On this document, you will find when sports are played and when registrations will open.

Semester 2 runs through Term 3 AND Term 4.

Takapuna Normal Intermediate School (TNIS) warmly invites families and whānau of Year 6 learners to the following enrolment events:

Get your children excited about Technology with these 13 awesome holiday programmes.

Need a safe and fun holiday programme for the kids over the school holidays? Our before and after school care team, SKIDS, are running their holiday programme filled with fun activities and trips.

Please note that the following advertisements are from external sources / businesses and are intended to be informative for the reader. This does not imply that they are endorsed by Milford School.