Gisborne Weetbix Tryathlon 2015

Gisborne Weetbix Tryathlon 2015

What an amazing day we all had in Gisborne last week on Wednesday!! The total number of participants in the triathlon reached a record number of 1,008 children. Our tamariki were fabulous, I think I was more nervous then them. I couldn’t be more proud then I am of our Te Mahia School tamariki, they represented our school with pride and we are very lucky to have such talented tamariki.

Thank you to all the parents who took the time to come and support the children at the Weetbix Tryathlon it would not have been possible without your help. It is definitely an awesome experience to have and I look forward to next years Weetbix Tryathlon with more participants from Te Mahia School. Ka mau te wehi koutou katoa!!

Nāku noa,

Miss Kereru

A week full of events!!

This week has been full of events, we had our school triathlon on Tuesday, 3-way conferences on Wednesday and Eastern Zone swimming sports tomorrow. Amidst all the out of classroom events, the children have been preparing their power points for their 3 way conferences, finishing off information reports on Mahia, working through their statistical investigations in maths and focusing on reading for understanding.
There is never a dull moment in Room 1, there is always learning to be completed, new strategies to learn and work on and new ideas to be written down. Next week we need to carry on with our inquiry learning that is focused on identity, our topic being 'Future kaitiaki of Mahia'.

All in today's work..

What a scorching but very active day Room 1 has had today...

We started off the morning with fitness circuits. I am very pleased to see our House Leaders motivate the younger children through positive role modelling. Perseverance needs to occur more often in morning fitness.

We continued writing our information reports about our place, Mahia. Amidst this the Year 6's were doing a PAT Math assessment online. We are trialling the online assessments for some learning areas and so far it proves very beneficial to have. 

                                      

                                      

The Life Education Trust Truck is at our school today and tomorrow. Our senior class got to enjoy the company of Quentin and Harold the Giraffe this afternoon. The focus of their learning was on Social Relationships and identifying the qualities that make a good friend. Quentin also shared an awesome whakatauaki (Maori Proverb) that goes like this:

"Taputapu te korero" - "Words are sacred"

What we say affects others. When we speak with aroha we lift others up.

Decisions on qualities good friends should have. The before and after (much discussion)

This activity reinforced our Room 1 behaviour expectations that the children came up with in class. The main point the children came up with in class was respect for ourselves, for each other, for everyone. Not only respect for people's feeling's and emotions but also physically and respect with property/equipment. Like the children say "treat others as you would want to be treated."

Keep up the positive attitudes Room 1!!

A new year, new faces in class, new learning..

A new year of school, new faces in class, new and exciting things to learn.. I am excited to be back at school and in the classroom after a very long holiday. The focus of the first couple days in class with the children were bonding activities and ice-breaker games to make our Year 6's feel welcome in the senior class. I am pleased to say that their transition from the middle class has been a positive one. The children are nearing completion of their profile pictures and have brainstormed and written down ideas of what they think identity means to them but more in particular on how they view themselves. The focus for inquiry this term is 'identity' and I am very excited to see where it will lead us. As a classroom we decided on behaviour expectations together, these have been written up and it is reassuring to see the children sticking to them not only in the classroom but out of the classroom too. The children have been enjoying their swim time and preparing for the Inter-School swimming competition later on in the term. We definitely have some eager swimmers in class with all the muggy hot weather we have been having, swimming is the best way to cool down at school!! Over the next couple of weeks the children will be assessed in learning areas. I am excited for the new year, and eager to get into learning with the children.

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world" - Nelson Mandela

Camp Kaitawa (Waikaremoana)

Well what can I say.. Week 6 of Term 4 we had an adventurous week up at Waikaremoana, the children enjoyed being together at Camp Kaitawa. They loved kayaking and the short walks but did a lot of moaning on the long walks. Needless to say their efforts were amazing and they completed some very hard walks. The look on their faces when we reached our destinations in our walks were priceless! The views around Lake Waikaremoana were spectacular and breath taking and well worth it! The children created memories together that will last a lifetime. Thank you to all the parent helpers who joined us on our walks and to our cooks who cooked some beautiful kai. Our camp couldn't have been as successful as it was without you all. We hope you enjoyed your time with us at camp!!

Camp Kaitawa

 







Lake Waikare-iti Walk

Black Beech Walk







Panekire Walk






 




Lou's Lookout walk

 






Swim at Tuai

A busy term for Te Mahia School

What a busy week we have had last week. Week 7 consisted of our Eastern Zone Athletics first up on the Monday, Year 7 and 8's had tech on Wednesday, our school bbq was Thursday and Friday we rocked out Water Safety Day down at Whangawehi!!

I was so proud of our Te Mahia School tamariki and how they applied themselves in each event at athletics last week. Everyone participated, supported and encouraged one another. Thank you to all those who supported our children and were able to join us on the day.

                    

 
Our school bbq was a success, a great turnout from whanau, friends and the community. The Year 8 speeches were excellent. They really stepped it up and proved to themselves that they can be confident speakers.

Waikawa - Jack & D'Magio

Portland Island – Trip Of A Lifetime

Te Mahia School is involved with the Whangawehi Catchment Management Group and is also a Bronze Enviro–school.  During the year, the school has had workshops both at school and in the local community. These workshops have focused on sharing the knowledge and skills of local kaumatua and kuia in the Mahia community. Their children act as kaitiaki by acting locally and thinking globally.

As part of a year long challenge, two students were selected to travel with the Department of Conservation to spend a week on Waikawa, (Portland Island).  Jack Delaney (Year 7) and D’Magio Karangaroa (Year 5) from Te Mahia School, Helen Jonas, Eru Karangaroa & Joan Ropiha left Mahia Beach last Tuesday by boat and travelled to the island. 

On the island, conservation work such as trapping for, rats and stoats was undertaken.  Tracking tunnels had peanut butter inside to entice pests to walk over the ink. This was used to determine which animals were on the island.  Small Darwin ants are on the island, a survey was done to find how wide spread they were. A green paste was used to lure them to eat it in little containers. If there were ants in the containers, lids were placed on them. The Darwin ant is bad news for the native wildlife.  The NZ shore plover (a critically endangered bird) is on the island and a goal of DOC is to increase the population of these birds. Also the NZ Dotterel (another endangered bird) is on the island as well.  The group observed these birds and were trying to see if there were chicks and nests. One NZ Shore Plover chick was caught, weighed and metal banded. 

Staying at the woolshed during the week was a comfortable base for the group. Meals and dishes were prepared and all mucked in to have a very enjoyable week.  This really was the opportunity of a life time for the 2 students as so many Mahia locals have never been to the island.  They are very grateful for the opportunity and learnt so much. Many thanks to the Tawapata South Incorporated committee for allowing the two students to travel to the island. Also to Helen Jonas who went above and beyond with making this opportunity happen for the two boys.

(Written by Jack and D'Magio)