Need two whanau to help with the running of the GALA.  I will be manning the Strawberries, Pav, Cream and Ice Cream and also running an activity, which is Hammer the Nail.  Any helpers will be greatly appreciated on the day - 24th November 2018

Wahanga Tuawha

Nau mai, haere mai.  Welcome back to Wahanga Tuawha (Term 4).  I am going to use this blog as my newsletter for the term.  Hope we are all refreshed and ready to head into our final term for the year. 
We will be having prize giving and report conferencing in Week 8, so keep your eyes open for reminders in the school newsletters.
We are still very much focused on our Garden to Table mahi, and are in the process of starting up a weekly gardening tip show, with live hosts and handy hints for all up and coming enviro-friendly gardeners.  
We still have a very large mural to finish as well, this will involve many after school hours and very steady hands.  Still waiting back for our entry into the Resene Masters Mural Competition so we can get our paint for half price.
We have new arrivals to our class (6) and would like to welcome them all safely into our environment and I know that we have some very capable year 6 students that will tuakana/teina our new classroom buddies.
KWS is having a gala day on the 24th November so any donations towards the hangi - eg cabbages, kumara, potatoes, pumpkin etc will be greatly appreciated.  Also, we will be having a white elephant stall which can cater for small appliances and furniture.  These need to be dropped off a couple of days beforehand, so things can be sorted and priced.
At the moment we haven't got any trips planned, but will let you know if this changes, as we were going to try and enter our kapahaka roopu into the Whangaruru Cultural Festival (but let you know more when I find out).  
Remember now is the time for Kutu's as swimming is upon us.  Swimming is NOT an option, it is compulsory.  Every child should know how to swim to save themselves or someone else.  Please encourage your child to pack their swimwear.  These can stay at school until the end of the week, then home for a wash, if this helps.
Have a safe and happy term and let's do this.

Our Wananga, trip to Opononi to see the Opononi Heads, Tane Mahuta and the Hokianga Museum

Whainga Ako:  to understand the area that was first populated by Maori, the journey of Kupe.

 We met an International Band while we were at the Hokianga Museum who recorded us singing a waiata to our Hosts.  They were so impressed that they recorded us then gave each and every one of us a signed copy of their new CD, they were called the SPARROWS.  Lucky us.

 This is the old light that was used to warn ships of the sand bar that moves between the heads, many ships or vessels have been sunk in and around the heads.  It is a dangerous bar to cross, the same bar that Kupe on his waka came through during their initial expeditions.

The opening statement as you walk through the door of the museum.

This is the opening statement that you read as you walk in through the doors of the Waitangi Museum.  There is so much to look, see and hear in this museum you could spend hours just walking around, but we had a time limit, so we had to move on.  Well worth a visit if in the Bay of Islands.

Making Harakeke Fish at Waitangi Museum with Whaea Monika.

We attended the Waitangi Museum during our Wananga and because it rained and rained we did a couple of inside activities.  One of them was to make a harakeke fish.  The process was alot harder than it looked but we all managed to complete our task.  Here we are with the initial folds.

Labeling  my face -   te tohu i toku mata

Whainga Ako:  we are learning to identify
parts of our face in Te Reo Maori.  

Success Criteria:  When I can use these
kupu in a sentence, or during conversation.

Rae Forehead

Makawe Hair

Tukemata Eyebrows

Kanohi Eye

Paparinga Cheek

Ihu Nose

Ngutu Lips

Kauae Chin

Mata Face

These portraits were part of our unit plan and covered our visual arts component.  All portraits were made from natural resources from around our kura. The skin was made from banana leaves, the hair came from our flax and I cut nga kanohi from leaves and my ihu is just one leaf.  Everything was hot glued into place. It took a little while to complete but the effect is worth it. Here is a link to a series of steps.

Self Portraits from the Environment

Example at the top is complete.  To stop pods and leaves etc falling off, I sprayed the portrait with polyurethane.

Using some of our Natural Resources from around our Kura to show our facial features and label them with our Te Reo Labels.  These facial features will be learnt throughout the term to help with our learning of our own language.  We will try to use as much Te Reo as possible in all our posts to our Tuhi Mai Tuhi Atu buddies this term as well.

Practice saying the kupu, we are learning to say the farts of our face in Te Reo.