Matariki prep = big ideas, our local Māori history, SDGs, and Art... pulling it all together will be a mammoth task, but one the tamariki are so excited about!

As we embarked on a new week, there was an air of excitement as we got back to our typical learning routines with our full Peka peka team. We have been hit hard with sickness over the last 3 weeks, so it was nice to get back into the groove with some ambitious feats to achieve in the coming weeks. 

New Tamariki: We warmly welcome Mia van der Merwe, Felicity Rickerby, Harrison Batty, and Luca Sharpe this week. It has been wonderful to get to know you and it has been great to see you bravely accept the challenge of learning! 

Inquiry: As Matariki approaches, we have grouped the tamariki based on their strengths. Here we are exploring the mighty Mōkihi, a traditional māori raft that was used to collect kai locally; Our Place-our wetlands where we are going to use paper mache to create a topographical replica; and 2 groups are exploring the traditional kai that was sourced locally using Art to represent these. Together we are going to be exploring sustainable practices that perhaps need to be revisited to ensure our natural habitats not only survive but thrive, especially as we continue to experience rapid growth as a community. The tamariki were intrigued to learn that Huhu grubs are a super food and are better for you than beef, lamb, and chicken! Perhaps you could go hunting for these on the weekend and send photos into your homeroom kaiako! 

Literacy and Maths: Our Year 1 tamariki who started the year with us will be starting Literacy rotations next week. This intention is to develop and extend independence and concentration while giving more opportunities to practise new skills that have been taught with the kaiako in their Structured Literacy lesson. For Maths-No problem we are now exploring positional language, such as on top, underneath, left, right, inside, and outside. This brings a great opportunity to build some cool obstacle courses and games where tamariki can master this language. 

Get set for a busy couple of weeks packed full of learning! Remember early nights and extra food for your tamariki so they are at their best for school and at home. 

Enjoy the weekend and we look forward to seeing you next week! 

Arohanui,

Penny, Juanita, Sophia, Triana, and Sally