Despite the rainy weather keeping us indoors last week, our ākonga stayed energised with some high-tempo movement breaks. Just Dance is always a hit and a great way to refresh our bodies and minds before settling back into learning.
English: Exploring Rivet Boy and Human Rights
This term in English, we’ve been diving into the historical novel Rivet Boy by Barbara Henderson. Set in Victorian-era Scotland, the novel provides powerful insights into the working conditions of children during the Industrial Revolution. Using this text as a springboard, we’ve been expanding our vocabulary and experimenting with sentence structure such as, learning to craft simple, compound, and complex sentences that suit different purposes and enhance meaning.
Our focus has been on persuasive writing, with the big question: Is using children as slave labour a violation of basic human rights? Learners have been exploring this idea from multiple perspectives and using evidence from the text and wider reading to justify their opinions. It’s been a fantastic opportunity to connect literature with real-world issues, particularly around human rights.
Maths: Building Fluency Through Games
In Year 7 Maths, we begin each session with a quick fluency game to strengthen concept knowledge. These games support learners to think flexibly and confidently with numbers while having fun and working collaboratively.
One of the games we’ve been playing is Barrier Game – 2D Shapes, which helps develop understanding of location, transformation, and properties of two-dimensional shapes. It's not only about getting the correct shape or position, but also about using precise mathematical language to describe and interpret.
Some of the questions we use to deepen mathematical thinking include:
“What words do you think will be helpful for this activity?”
“Can you say that again another way?”
“What would you do differently next time you played?”
Fluency games like these are a quick and easy way to reinforce key concepts, promote communication, and build confidence. We encourage whānau to ask their children about these games and even have a go at home, many of them require nothing more than a pencil, paper, and a willingness to think!
Matariki Night a Wonderful Success
Our Matariki celebration night was a huge success, filled with connection, creativity, and culture. The evening began with a performance by our kapa haka group, setting the tone for a special night of reflection and celebration.
Whānau then moved through a range of engaging workshops across the hubs. Getting the chance to make traditional kites, create their own poi, learn about the Matariki stars from our students, and even try some delicious paraoa parai / fry bread.
It was heartening to see our community come together to honour Matariki — a time to remember, celebrate, and look ahead. Thank you to everyone who helped make the evening so memorable!
Term 2, Week 8 - All Ages
Staying Safe Online: Scams
People in New Zealand are losing millions of dollars to scammers each year – and this is just the figures reported to Netsafe so the actual figure is likely much higher!
It’s important that you and your tamariki know what to look out for to avoid scams. Netsafe have put their best advice together to help you stay safe online and stay away from scams.
Read their scam tips here.
