Three Kings School is gearing up for its inaugural International Picnic on Thursday 9 March. Starting at 6pm on the school field, students and their families and whānau are invited to come and celebrate our exciting learning journey this term on different countries and cultures.

Each student across the school has been placed in a learning group about a specific country – ranging from southern hemisphere countries like Australia, Africa, Cook Islands, Tonga, Samoa and Fiji to the northern hemisphere like Scotland, Japan, China, Sri Lanka, Italy and Germany. Students spend an hour a week with a different teacher and a mix of other students. This is a fantastic opportunity for our tamariki to work together across different year levels – they were so excited meeting each other on the Crown last week, led by our very able Year 5 and 6 students.

In addition to learning about the country, each student has been asked to create a plate of food at home that represents their chosen culture and to bring this to the International Picnic. 

Here’s what some of our students have said about their international cultural journey so far:

I chose America because I want to see the Statue of Liberty and go to the beach there. In winter, I’m going to play in snow when I go there. I was in Room 8 with Miss Houston. We learnt what they eat – hotdogs, burgers, fries and apple pie. Also Oreo’s are made there and the national flower is the rose, and the bird is the bald eagle. At the International Picnic, I might bring hotdogs or burgers. - Lucas, Year 3

I chose Italy because I thought it would be interesting. It’s famous for the arts and the food. We learned about all the famous places in Italy, the population and that Rome is capital city. For the picnic, we’re going to dance to a song. We’re going to learn about the food at the next session – hopefully more than just pizza and pasta. My entire family is going to visit Italy after I’m 10. - Angus, Year 5

I am learning about China. I chose it because I’m Chinese. We learnt some facts about China like there used to be 10 suns but someone in China got rid of 9 suns and left one. That’s why there’s only one sun. I also learnt there were a billion people in China. Some people in New Zealand are Chinese like me. I like dumplings and spaghetti and rice soup which is very delicious. China made paper and gunpowder. I know lots of words (Bella breaks into some beautiful Chinese singing!) - Bella, Year 2

I love learning about other countries because I like to learn all the other animals that are there. I’m learning about Ireland. The animal there is a hare, the plant is a shamrock, and the instrument is a harp. We got to learn about a dance, we got a buddy and we swapped places. It was really fun, I’ve never done it before. We’re going to do it at the picnic. - Adele, Year 4

I picked Australia because I think it’s really cool that they have nice animals over there. I wanted to learn about them. In our first session, we learned about the spiders there, they’re really big, and the snakes. Australia has 24 million people but there are around 64 million people in England even though its 20 times smaller. For the International Picnic, someone is going to make fairy bread. I’m excited about the picnic, we’re going to sing the song ‘Waltzing Matilda’. - Mimi, Year 6