Week 6
What a busy couple of weeks it has been! Thank goodness the weather has played its part, enabling us to enjoy the wide variety of activities we had planned.
Last Thursday the sun shone over us as we headed to Rapaki Marae. We were welcomed into the wharenui, with the children confidently participating in the powhiri. We enjoyed morning tea on the deck overlooking the beautiful view of the surrounding Lyttelton Harbour and its environment. Matua Rewi told us some stories of the history of Rapaki and the marae, including significant birds of the area. We love learning! We then headed to the beach, to enjoy our lunch and to explore the area. It was fabulous to see the children climb, play, explore, pretend, create and discover. On our way to the bus we posed before the marae for a photo, and then returned to school, tired and very happy. The students really enjoyed the cultural trip, and it was great to hear them appreciate the experience for a number of different reasons. Thank you so much to our adult helpers for providing supervision and care of our tamariki on the day.
Monday afternoon saw us outside in the park, with children from Pohutukawa participating in the Year 5-8 duathlon. This event was not for the faint hearted, as it involved a run, a bike ride and then another run! We love challenge! Congratulations to all the athletes who entered, and a special congratulations to those who came first or second, and will be competing in the Canterbury Duathlon at Ruapuna Raceway on Monday 26 March. These competitors have yet to be confirmed.
The zone swimming sports at Jellie Park was the next event, being held on Tuesday. Twelve Pohutukawa swimmers travelled to the pool, along with Kauri students, to compete against seven other schools in our zone. The standard of competition was very high but our swimmers stepped up to the challenge and swam great races to be proud of. Congratulations to all our amazing swimmers who represented our school, in swimming and with superb behaviour. Special congratulations to the following children who have qualified for the Canterbury swimming event: Thomas Lyall, Connor Ingram, Zoe Clarke and Abby Cockfield. The Canterbury Swimming Sports takes place at the Selwyn Aquatic Centre in Rolleston on Thursday 5 April.
Good luck to the twelve girls who are attending a Girls Futsal festival at English Park tomorrow. The girls have been practising at lunchtimes, and are ready for a day of fun and competition. Thank you to our adult volunteers for providing transport and supervision for these very excited futsal players!
Sustainability is our major focus this term. We have been covering this in a variety of ways throughout the the last six weeks. Last week the four teachers ran workshops in order for each class to have a taste of varied areas covered under the broad topic. These workshops were endangered animals, rubbish & recycling, ocean pollution and global warming. The next step for the children is to choose a topic they are interested in, in order to formulate a big question and subsequently to begin an inquiry. Already we have noticed a lot of interest generated through the workshops we have run, and are looking forward to the inquiries the children undertake.
Art these last few weeks has consisted of a collaborative piece of work from each home group, which is to be auctioned at the Twilight Fair being held at school next Friday. See below a snippet from each home group, and be prepared to put your hand into your pocket when your pleading child convinces you how wonderful their class’ artwork would look in the lounge!
Thanks for your continuing interest and support in your child’s learning.
