Te Pōkai Weka:

This is our New Entrant through to Year 2 Students. We chose the Weka as our bird. Weka are woodhen - they are characterised as curious, unafraid, outgoing , trusting and uninhibited. Our area had a large number of woodhen in the past.

We start our day in Weka with Ako Torowhānui. It is a fun integrated approach to engage tamariki in learning. The tamariki have the opportunity to:

develop friendships
build relationships with teachers
become confident
explore and engage in activities from across the curriculum
experience a strong sense of learner agency
develop physical and emotional skills

This part of the programme is a key component of the Te Pōkai Weka vision for Learning.

Literacy in the Weka team follows an evidence based Structured Literacy approach that has been shown to benefit all learners. This makes it inclusive, particularly for neurodiverse learners.

Mathematics in the Weka team embraces a holistic approach with use of equipment, real life experiences and a strong emphasis on developing number sense and mathematical reasoning.

We value developing strong relationships with whānau, the community and with others within our kura. As we are part of the Junior school we take part in Choice and Challenge on a Friday with Te Pōkai Kākā. We are also buddy classes with the Year 5 & 6 Korimako team - fostering the concept of tuakana-teina.

Ahakoa he iti, he pounamu. Although it is small it is precious.

Te Pōkai Kākā:

This is our Year 3 and 4 students. We chose the Kākā as our bird. Kākā are our native parrots. They are characterised by being loud, confident, colourful and cleaver.

We work collaboratively with 3 key classes. We have a Kākā 3R Superstar wristband that each student strives to achieve by completing their individual 3R goals (Maths, Literacy and a specific 3R value).

We foster building strong positive relationships across our small country school, along with our whānau and community. As we are part of the junior school we take part in Choice and Challenge on a Friday with Te Pōkai Weka. We are buddy classes with the Year 7&8 Kārearea team and value the concept of tuakana-teina

At the end of the year we celebrate the Year 4’s and prepare them for Year 5 by having an overnight camp at school and a big day out in Christchurch.

Te Pōkai Korimako:

This is our Year 5 and 6 students. We chose the Korimako as our bird. The Korimako - Bellbird's song is clear and bell like. They can sing alone or together and often ruffle out their feathers proudly as they sing.

We aim high to achieve our Striving Beyond bands. The wearers of these bands consistently demonstrate our school values of respect, responsibility and resilience.

The local environment is important to us - a taonga that we incorporate into the classroom as much as possible.

Early in the year, we enjoy going on camp, building our team and exploring areas outside the classroom to extend our learning.

We have an enduring focus on building positive relationships with ākonga and whānau.

Te Pōkai Kārearea :

This is our Year 7 and 8 students. We chose the Kārearea as our bird. Named after the NZ Falcon. They are high flying, observant, independent, positive, self assured and have foresight.

The class goes through a pretty normal everyday routine when the year has settled in. All of the year 7&8’s in Kārearea take the bus to Kaiapoi Borough School for technology every second Friday. Every second year the students of Kārearea participate in the https://www.williampikechallenge.co.nz/, this holds many challenges that take us out of our comfort zone and push us to our limits. Every other year we will have a camp, and at the end of every year the Year 8’s fly to Wellington for a couple of days to do fun activities. Leading up to the Wellington trip, Ōhoka School has many fundraisers for it. I.e pizza days, sausage sizzles, cookie time fundraiser.

Ōhoka School

Ōhoka School Newsletter

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