The Poroaki

We have been continuing to develop our Pōwhiri, Mihi Whakatau and Poroaki. We were given the opportunity recently to learn more about the Kawa and Tikanga of these significant events so that we can make sure we are acknowledging our mana whenua, those who came before and the significance of this beautiful place we call ‘Whetūkairangi’. Kawa and Tikanga, as well as our special school context, guide the formalities for Pōwhiri, Mihi Whakatau and Poroaki.

The whole school Poroaki was to formally farewell all leavers and their whānau and to wish them well as they travel onwards. At the Poroaki we gifted a taonga pounamu to each Year 6 student. This symbolises the Mauri of all their experiences at Whetūkairangi and the mana and good wishes of the school community, embodied within to let them continue to Flourish.

Megan: My pounamu is very special to me. It is as if it has magic powers. It will help me to remember my Worser Bay whānau and my Character Strength of Bravery. I have so many special memories at Worser Bay. 


Raffy: Worser Bay School has taught me so many things that I will remember for the rest of my life. My pounamu will help me to remember these things. I felt happy and proud at the Poroaki. When I did my speech afterwards I felt a mixture of emotions. Sad and excited!

Hunter R: I feel like going to Worser Bay has helped me to get on stage. I feel more brave and confident now. My pounamu will help me to remember this. It will remind me that I can do it, even if I am nervous. 

Ruby: I feel like the teachers really care about us. They make so much effort into the leaver's events. I felt that the Poroaki was very special. I have learnt courage and bravery at Worser Bay. My pounamu will remind me of courage and bravery. 


Izar: My pounamu will remind me of Worser Bay School. It will help me in the future to use my bravery when getting on stage. 

Katherine: My pounamu will remind me of all of my friends and all of the fun things we did at Worser Bay School. It will help me to keep connected to other people. 

Dylan: My pounamu is special and will help me remember the teachers, my friends and the spirit of Worser Bay School. It will help me to persevere. 

Thomas: I have had so many opportunities at Worser Bay and have made so many friends. I will remember this when I wear my pounamu.

Hour of Code

We are learning the basics of computer science. We did coding using Hour of Code and it was lots of fun. Coding is what makes it possible for us to create computer software, apps and websites. We used Hour of Code to learn how coding works. You have to put blocks together so that objects on the screen move.

The Wrap by William

Māhutonga Matariki performed the "Banana Dance' to the tune of "Tequila" and it was silly and crazy. We showed bravery, leadership and zest. We went through a few stages of practising it. First of all, we made up some dance moves that we might have been able to use. We realised that it was going to be rainy at the warp so we had to make our dances smaller to take up less space. We had to be in time with the music. As soon as one group finished, the next group immediately started.

These are the awesome presenters at this year's wrap

The Year Sixes did an act of "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" It was an adaption of the story by Dr Seuss. They did this because they are graduating. They also did a movie that we shared at the last Year 6 assembly. It was very silly!

The teachers did a performance to the YMCA. They were very silly in their item, especially Mr Nik, John, Nicola, Carl, Maddie, Jude, Scott, Beth, James, Steph, Suz, Cat, Helen and Jenny (that is all of them). We wondered why John wanted to roller skate!? We were surprised that there wasn't a big accident. 

By William

Upcoming Poroaki and Wrap

This year we are doing something really different and we are excited! Our Poroaki will happen in the morning after the traditional evening 'Wrap' and all are welcome to come and be a part of it (just like the Pōwhiri). The Poroaki is our way to honour the contributions of the people who have been with us over the years - children, parents and staff.

Our Year 6 leavers at this event will be held up high, their mana acknowledged, their contributions celebrated and we will honour them in the most meaningful way possible.

Why is this important to us?

We have been continuing to develop our Pōwhiri, Mihi Whakatau and Poroaki. We were given the opportunity recently to learn more about the Kawa and Tikanga of these significant events so that we can make sure we are acknowledging our mana whenua, those who came before and the significance of this beautiful place we call ‘Whetūkairangi’. Kawa and Tikanga, as well as our special school context, guide the formalities for Pōwhiri, Mihi Whakatau and Poroaki.

The whole school Poroaki is to formally farewell all leavers and their whānau and to wish them well as they travel onwards. At the Poroaki we will be gifting a taonga pounamu to each Year 6 student. This symbolises the Mauri of all their experiences at Whetūkairangi and the mana and good wishes of the school community, embodied within to let them continue to Flourish.

The Wrap will be more of a celebration of the year, with highlights from across the school, lots of community singing and frivolity with less formality. Tuesday 17 December - 5.30pm to 7.00pm.

 This is us practising for the poroaki:

H20 Xtream

Our Year Six students had a great day at H20 Xtream. What a great way to end the year!

Dinner for Year Six Leavers 2019

We had a blast at the dinner for Year Six leavers. It was loud, crazy and fun!

Oh the Places You'll Go! Year Six Graduation Movie

Our Year Six students put together this movie to say farewell. It is their own version of the Dr Seuss story, "Oh! The Places You'll Go!" We wish them all the best in their next learning adventure. 

Mysterious Creatures of Gondwana.

We have been finding out about how the insects and animals of Aotearoa evolved in isolation as the land mass became increasingly removed from any other.  Creatures like Pekapeka, the short tailed bat, Kiwi and Wētā were considered so strange by Māori that they were thought to have some connection to the underworld.  These are the Ghosts of Gondwana.


In our new base groups we collected some bugs from the surrounding bush and observed them closely with magnifying glasses.   We did observational drawings of these creatures including Wētā and then we used our imaginations; asking what could these creatures become?  Here are some of the ideas.

Wētā

Pūpū Harakeke

Monsters from the depths of the Gondwana Imagination!

Transition Day - Tectonic Plate Shifts

Today we worked in 2020 learning groups. We said 'Nau mai, haere mai' to our 2020 year 4 whānau for our first of two transition mornings.

We are thinking about Aotearoa's unique flora and fauna. This meant we had to do some thinking about how New Zealand got to be where it is.

This activity, where we peeled a mandarin and tacked its skin back on after, allowed us to explore how tectonic plate shifts affect the surface of our sphere - Earth!

 The earth is spherical like the mandarin, although it is difficult to see the roundness of the earth except from space. The peel represents the earth’s crust. The cracks are called faults and it is the shifting of the plates (peel) which causes earthquakes and volcanic activity.

Nik's (2020) Base Group came up with these key ideas:

• The peels (plates) move around on the mandarin (Earth)
• The peels (plates) don't fit back together like a jigsaw after they've broken apart
• In some places the peels (plates) overlap and push up (creating mountains)
• In other places, the peels (plates) have huge, deep gaps (like oceans and their trenches).

We're all very excited to be working together next year, kei te pai i a mātou!

Te Waka!

Beach Week 2019 rolls on. Tāwhirimātea has spared us and we've enjoyed sunny weather and calm conditions. Good enough to construct and float a waka hourua inspired driftwood raft!

As you can see below, there is even a hoe (say haw-eh) or rudder. 

At present, she still requires plenty of man-power. 

And a support crew, close at hand. 

As we played around on our waka this afternoon - our inspiration sailed right on past. We saw the three waka hourua of Tuia 250; Haunui, Ngahiraka Mai Tawhiti and Fa'afaite leaving the harbour. Haere rā koutou!

Year 6 V Teachers Football

Today we practised our Positive Health by playing a Football game. In true tradition, Year Six V THE TEACHERS! It was also a great way to enhance our Positive Emotions too!

Beach Day Friday

Today we had a great time on the beach. We did some swimming, built sandcastles, played sports and built a waka from driftwood. Lots of fun, enhancing our Positive Emotions!

Exploring our Peninsula

What a fantastic day out exploring our peninsula! We explored rock pools, had a long lunch at Breaker Bay and visited O-rua-iti Pā. It was a challenging walk and occasionally blustery but we persevered.

 

Our scavenger hunt stop at Oruaiti pā, John is talking to us about the connection this pā site has to ours (whetūkairangi). What a beautiful view here!