Sea Life Interest

Over time, many of our tamariki have been interested in creatures of the sea...

Some recent experiences our teachers have provided include: a turtle visit (kindly arranged by teacher Pamella & her sister Rose), fish faces (face painting by teacher Faith), fish ornaments (baking soda dough), star fish cookies, shark masks...and many, many more...

In supporting this on-going interest in sea life...an excursion to Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium was planned for, and executed on Monday 21st August 2017

What a fantastic turnout we had...we are very grateful to our parents/whanau who got involved through fundraising & supporting with required adult to child ratios on the day. The day was only successful because of our awesome whanau!

Tamariki enjoyed their time through being curious, exploring, and asking questions. 

On return from Kelly Tarlton's, staff and whanau came together to evaluate the trip...well done everyone, great teamwork!

So...what's next?

A trip to the local fish shop saw Toko & Papa Apii return with three fresh fish. Papa Apii went on to demonstrate for tamariki, the procedure of scaling, gutting, and cleaning fresh fish. Tamariki had the opportunity to participate in the scaling process.

After cleaning our fish, Papa Apii made some ika mata (raw fish). Tamariki got to eat the ika mata during lunch, with some delicious taro cooked in the oven by Mama Tere.

Our Contribution to our Community: Ruapotaka Marae

On Thursday 16th March 2017, our apii were invited to participate in a community art event held at Glen Innes Ruapotaka Marae. 

On arrival we were welcomed in by Whaea Ann and Nana Jenny. We were also greeted with these stunning art panels.

Nana Jenny kindly went on to explain the meaning and the history behind the creation of the 'contemporary korowai'.Whaea graciously Ann shared her knowledge about the materials used for making original korowai. Kristen's nana was interested in learning about the use of kiwi feathers, and other concepts of Maori culture.

Our tamariki and their parents/whanau got to choose their coloured whare (houses), and place them to be weaved onto the korowai.

 

After our whare were placed onto the panels, we went onto to interpret our experience onto paper. Here, our tamariki created their own pieces of artwork by drawing their thoughts and ideas.

Utukura with his mum Iva, and his sister

Hemi and his mum Esther

 Sinapasi and mum Kayla

Teacher Rosie, Norman and mum Mataora, Veronica, Leniah and aunty Ngame, Iris and cousin Tyra share an art moment on the mat.

Meitaki maata to our friends at Ruapotaka Marae, and our apii whanau for coming together to provide a rich and meaningful learning experience for all involved, particularly our tamariki.

Te Whariki: 'Family & Community' - The wider world of family & community is an integral part of the early childhood curriculum.

'Relationships' - Children learn through responsive and reciprocal relationships with people, places and things.

Link: https://www.facebook.com/Ruapotakamarae

Parent Evening

'HEALTHY LUNCHBOXES' was the focus of our discussions for tonight. 

Thanks to Teiho & Letele from Health Star Pacific for sharing their expertise knowledge in this area.

A variety of stations were set up by teachers to generate ideas around the importance of providing healthy lunchboxes for our tamariki.

An eventful night ended with a taste of healthy snacks.

Thanks to everyone who participated in tonight's workshop. It could not have happened without your attendance and input. Watch out for our wall display that will be up over the next few days.

Meitaki maata.