New Zealand seaweek ran from March 1st to March 9th, and Room 5 was lucky enough to have Ocean Mead (Tui's mum) come in for a morning of fun!

We focused on the anchovy - small but mighty - and learned about the life cycle of the little fish, as well as the crucial role it plays in our oceans food chain. The class did a bit of writing, and some colourful artwork too!

If you want to know more, just visit https://www.mountainstosea.org.nz/fish-of-the-year - We cast our vote for the mighty anchovy for fish of the year. The anchovy forms the cornerstone of our marine food chain in the Hauraki Gulf, and without it we wouldn’t have the beautiful marine life and reserves we get to enjoy.

"Anchovies travel in schools. Their job is to feed the bigger fish" - George T.

"Anchovies are cute. They swim in big groups. Their colour is shiny blue! They are awesome little fish. They eat plankton and bigger fish eat them, and bigger fish eat them. Then sharks eat them. Isn't that cool!" - Viana.

"Anchovies are very important because they feed the big fish. Anchovies swim in schools, shimmering in the moonlight. Even though anchovies are small they have a big job." - Ivy.

Regrettably, our anchovy didn’t reel in Fish of the Year…
But a big congratulations to the Northland mudfish who has been crowned the Te Ika o Te Tau | Fish of the Year 2026