We warmly welcomed several new ākonga and their whānau this term. It was heartwarming to watch our ākonga show manaakitanga by helping their new peers settle into our hub. Despite navigating a wave of winter illnesses, our hub remained a hive of high-energy learning, curiosity, and creativity throughout the term.
For inquiry this term ākonga took a deep dive into the physical world as they continued exploring light through visual art, how energy (light, heat and sound) moves in waves and how energy fuels life. We have explored these concepts through a range of different experiments. The grass heads that were planted at the beginning of the term are looking lush and may even be ready for a haircut and the hub has been a buzz with flashlights testing different aspects of light while rhythmic beats helped us visualize sound waves in motion. Our inquiry has culminated in each ākonga using their learning from one of the modules to design and run an experiment to attempt to answer a question they have. They have used the scientific method and completed an information report on their experiment and findings.
Literacy has linked closely with our inquiry this term. In doing so, ākonga have read and written a number of non-fiction pieces including procedures and information reports. They have also delved into a number of non-fiction pieces to help explore new vocabulary. It is always a joy to read the creative pieces ākonga write when given the opportunity to choose their own topics or when they choose to use various prompts to help generate ideas to build on.
In Maths, there has been a focus on geometry exploring 2D and 3D shapes as well as the concepts of translation, tessellation and rotation. There has also been a big focus on ākonga developing their knowledge and understanding of working with fractions, decimals and percentages. It has been great to see ākong demonstrating their understanding and knowledge through the use of a range of maths materials. In addition to this Year 6 ākonga have had the opportunity to delve into some financial maths through the Banqer platform, building real-world money skills.
In visual art we explored different taniwha then ākonga designed and drew their own with a focus on symbolism and the use of patterning. The end results were very impressive. Next time you are in the hub make sure you take a look. Next we delved into the pūrākau of Ngake and Whātaitai. We looked into the characteristics of each of the two taniwha and created puppets based on their unique characteristics. Then with a buddy, ākonga wrote a script of the pūrākau. These were then filmed using the puppets. Make sure you check out the end results that are posted on HERO.
While the weather hasn’t always been on our side, when we were able to get outside the focus for P.E. was on developing skills to work together including passing, communication and teamwork whilst playing different sports. When we were indoors, the focus was on indoor workouts and team building challenges. In week 5 we had our hub swimming carnival which was a fabulous day for ākonga to demonstrate their skills in the water and to have some fun splashing about. In Week 9 we were fortunate enough to have Cricket Wellington come in and run some engaging skills sessions.
During health lessons ākonga started the term with a focus on how to keep themselves safe online. In Week 7 Year 5 and 6 ākonga had guest speaker, John Parsons come in and talk about the topic of online safety further. Towards the end of the term, the focus switched to learning about changes our bodies go through. We also built on where we left off last term with a continued focus on mindfulness, self-regulation and building resilience.
Thank you to all our families for your ongoing support. We wish all of our tamariki and whānau a restful, refreshing break from school and look forward to seeing everyone back for an exciting Term 4!
The Pōhutukawa Team
