Next Tuesday, 21st June we will be holding our Matariki event from 4.30-6.30pm. This is a chance for you to come and be involved in the school community and for our tamariki to share their term's learning with you. Our Kapa Haka are excited to have the chance to perform for the first time this year. Each teaching pod has been focusing on different elements of tūrangawaewae and learning about Matariki. Below is a snapshot from each pod and some details for you to read about the evening.

Pūkeko

In Pukeko we have been learning about the 9 Matariki stars, the meaning of Matariki and how it connects to us. We have been learning through dance, song, art, reading and kai. 

We have been practicing dancing to the Matariki Macarena making sure that we know all the nine stars' names. We have also been making some stained glass stars and glitter stars as another way of learning the stars and their significance. Our favourite book has been Twinkle Twinkle Matariki.

The kai that we will be having is some pumpkin, coconut and red lentil soup with some rēwena bread.

Pīwakawaka

In Pīwakawaka we have been learning about Tūrangawaewae (the place we stand in)through making connections with our whānau, our school and the community around us.  We each created a visual mihi to represent these connections and these will be available for you to view and listen to on the evening.

We have been learning about the importance of Matariki through stories and song and have created some artwork which also connects to our trip to the Botanical Gardens where we explored the importance of birds, bugs and trees in our natural environment.

We will also have other aspects of our learning on display including using the BeeBots with a Matariki theme, our Matariki wishing stars, playing string games and we will be sharing kai with you (soup and bread) made by the tamariki.

Weka

In Weka we have been working on Tūrangawaewae and representing this through our visual Mihi this focused on place, school, whānau and self. This is how we build connections with others who live in the same place, go to the same school, and share the community.

Weka made the journey to the Travis Wetlands for a trip to explore the natural environment. A huge thank you to the parents who made the trip possible. We all enjoyed the outdoor classroom and the long trek around the wetlands themselves.

We are now looking at Matariki and ways people celebrate this time of year. Also, why this is important to Aotearoa and the meaning behind the stars and what they represent.

Korimako

Come on into Korimako to see and experience some of the learning our ākonga have been engaged with this term. We have a display of wonderful Matariki art and playdough constellations created by our tamariki. You can also take a look into our digital technologies learning as we share our Edison Robot Mars Rovers, Minecraft Education Edition space challenges and learning about constellations and our solar system using the SkyView App.

Kāhu

We have been learning about the Matariki whetū over the last few weeks. Children have created their own google slides to share their knowledge of each whetū within the cluster. They have created abstract art pieces to represent a chosen whetū. Ākonga also learned about the meaning behind a range of Māori designs and selected one to carve into a bar of soap and they have also made a can rātana (lantern).

Next week for the Matariki celebration Kāhu will be making pumpkin soup to share using pumpkins grown on site by Pūkeko.

Evening Programme

Hall

• There will be a welcome at 4.30pm (for those able to make it at that time) and our Kapa Haka will perform.

• At 6.15pm we will all come together outside the Hall (bring your jackets). The Kapa Haka will perform again and all the tamariki will perform a song Ka mau ake tonu e (the words are attached here for you and a link to the song if you would like to learn it prior to the event)

Classrooms

• These will be open from 4.45-6.10pm to share our term’s learning with you including learning relating to Turangawaewae, our classroom trips and Matariki.

• There will be some shared kai (soup and Rēwana bread made by the tamariki, staff and whānau volunteers).

• We welcome you to wander through and visit all our classrooms to see the progression of learning through the school.