Student Health Team attend forum

This week our student health team attended a forum along with teams from a number of other schools at Wharenui. They did a great job sharing their project and got some great ideas from other students.   Thanks to Maliyah for winning the jar of UV beads by guessing the number in the jar!  Wharenui School did a great jobs of organising interesting activities for us to take part in.  And there were some serious dance moves going on!

Inquiry review

Last week we did a review of our understanding about identity, both what we knew about the topic, and ourselves. Students answered 25 yes/no question on a grid, coloring in for yes and leaving blank for no. 

Students were really interested to see how everyone different everyone was. 

Inanga Study

The Inanga Study has started for Tangaroa & Atā Hapara students. A short lesson by Kathryn and Kirsty about the programme was delivered to students last Tuesday. The students found the details and facts about the programme were fascinating and realised that 'inanga' meant young and that 'whitebait' meant the older. Whitebait is in decline and this programme enables the sustainability of this species.

The field trip on Friday involved walking down to the Otakaro site which is known as Lake Kate Sheppard from where the previous retirement home was located.

Students were told about the spring tide and when it was due and how long it took from Lyttleton to get to Otakaro-two hours for the tide to reach the lake. The location when the freshwater and saltwater meet is called the Mahinga Kai or the 'love zone'. This is the spawning ground for the whitebait.

This is going to be an interesting study. Keep an eye on this blog for more interesting developments.

Term 1 Pics

The Tangaroa blog is now underway. A few pics of the term so far. Sorry, it has taken so long to start.

Term 1 Week 6

Well the term has certainly flown by. Teachers and students have been busy with routines, class programmes, swimming, and generally getting to know each other. We have two new staff in Tangaroa, Whaea Anna-Belle and Nogo who are learning 'the ropes' of how the studio works and getting to know Whaea Sharon and Mr Redmond. Technology at Te Waka Unua Tech Centre has run since week 3 and students will rotate at the end of term 1 for a new discipline.

Learning conferences are coming up at the end of the term. Parents and caregivers have been informed of these times. There are minor changes to Tangaroa Studio learning conference day and times. The school newsletter has been sent out every two weeks.

We'll start the class blog from today onwards and hopefully students will be able to share what they're are doing in class.

Inspiring writiers: follow up

While ago we published some story starters written by Tangaroa students.  Last week we recieved  this story from Luke B in Tawhirimatea, who had been inspired by Sophie's idea.  How fantastic is this!  Well done Luke B, thanks for sharing your writing.


See Sophie's original post here:

Career Day

Over the last wee while we have been looking at the cost of moving out of home, and what sort of income is required to meet daily living expenses. It has been a real eye opener for some students and there may be a few people living at home longer than they thought! The next part of this was to look at career paths. Students have explored a career of interest to them, using the careers NZ website quizzes to help. Today they ran a career day for students from Tawhirimatea. Careers ranged from working at Rebel Sport to marine biologist, pilot to vet. We had authors, architects, rock musicians, you tube bloggers, a Prime Minister, screen printer artists and early childhood teachers. Plus a whole lot more. Personal trainer was a popular exhibit, as was anything that had a hand out. Students who produced pamphlets quickly ran out and the year 6 students asked really great questions.