As part of our Inquiry 'Pūmanawatanga' we have been learning more about New Zealand's history. We have revisited our learning around Te Tiriti o Waitangi. We read a comic about Te Tiriti (read it here), we learnt about the different perspectives held by Māori, The Crown and others in New Zealand at the time. Our complex history is very interesting and things are beginning to click for the students. We are learning about the various 'characters' involved, among whom are James Busby, Edward Gibbon Wakefield and Tāmati Waka Nene.
We had discussions around the 'pros and cons' of Te Tiriti. As we discussed the different view points, we also went back to previous discussions around who writes history, and what is the truth?
We encourage discussions of this at home - there is a lot to learn, and it's great to be learning alongside students!
As part of our aim to raise the profile of The Arts this year we have kicked off our own Artist in School series. The first cab of the rank, Belinda Griffiths. We were able to watch as Belinda painted in our library space over a few hours and saw the blank canvas transform, the images begin to take shape.
Watch this space as we invite other artists, including musicians to come in and share their work with us. Cloe is going to be painting in the Library space next Monday. Very Inspiring!
Beautiful work Belinda. Thanks so much!
It is said that an Albatross landed at the Marae while Te Whiti o Rongomai and Toho Kākahi were speaking, then left a single feather behind it as it flew away. This feather has become the symbol for the people of Parihaka, a symbol of Peace.
We have been learning about Parihaka, Ngā Kōrero o Mua, the inspiring stories of the past which tell of the passive resistance used by Te Whiti and his people to protest against the loss of their land to settlers. It is a great model for us to explore and understand. Maybe we can apply some of this philosophy in our own lives?
We think these images are beautiful representations of the meaning of Te Raukura, adapted by our own artists. Sketching practice has really paid off!
On Tuesday, we went to the ASB to learn some new skills. This time, we took part in Gymnastics, Pickleball, Korfball and Floorball.
This term, we have been talking about "raising the bar" and challenging ourselves to try new things. We have been doing this in our Writing, Maths, Inquiry and in other curriculum areas. We have been applying this to our physical activities too. Trying new sports is beneficial for our bodies and minds! When you learn new things, your brain grows. When you process a positive experience it enhances Positive Emotions too!
This term we have been getting stuck into a new Inquiry, Ngā Kōrero ō Mua / Stories of the Past. While a new NZ History curriculum is being implemented across the motu, we are really proud of the learning we had already been doing, especially around the Treaty of Waitangi, Polynesian Navigation and the rich history of our places - Te Whanganui-a-Tara and Whetūkairangi.
We started off by thinking about what history is and how it's recorded. How much of it is just plain wrong?
We're really lucky to have an excellent vantage point up here on Seatoun Heights Road, for imagining the past. Te Whanganui-a-Tara, the Great Harbour of Tara. How would it have looked 800 years ago?
Our peninsula history walk has become an annual experience. Each time we build a little further on our knowledge of Māori history through stories such as Ngake & Whataitai and Kupe & the Giant Wheke. This time we added the story of Hutia Kākāriki Pā at the bottom of Awa Road. Ask us what we learnt! Our scavenger hunt also encouraged us to look a little closer at post-contact history including the Wahine Memorial and Fort Dorset.
Thinking about the strategic placement of Fort Dorset and Ōruaiti Pā
We are also exploring history through our reading programme. Take a look at this term's Literacy Links document which is full of useful and interesting sources.
Reading about the New Zealand gold rush in Bright Fine Gold.
We'll continue covering the stories of our past through Literacy and Inquiry learning. We're also very excited to head over to Wellington Museum next month to take part in the Te Upoko o Te Ika programme. Ko Te Upoko o Te Ika e tangi nei, ko Whetūkairangi e tangi nei!
On Tuesday, Lala Rolls came to visit. She talked to us about the films that she has been making. She makes short films, documentaries and music videos. These are mostly about Māori or Polynesian culture. Find out more: https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/lala-rolls We are very grateful that Lala was able to spend time with us. We are inspired by her work!
Cleo: When Lala visited I was really amazed at how she did things for the green screen and stuff and I am really excited for when we are going to see the new movie.
Yoichi: Lala rolls was interesting of how she made the film, "The Navigators". Though they are still working on it. I can't wait to see it.
Will: I really enjoyed when the movie maker, Lala Rolls came on Tuesday to show us the animated movie she was working on, and about animating and the history of the Māori travellers and navigators.
Sabine: A plus of my week was Lala Rolls coming to visit. I thought what she did was really inspiring because she did it about History and It was New Zealand history in the Māori perspective, not the European perspective. Also it was cool to hear about what they do behind the scenes when their making movies and how much they have to go through to get the whole movie finished.
Mae: I liked having Lala Rolls come over to show us all of the behind the scenes things and how they animated the movie. I liked watching the clips of the un-released movie.
Charlotte: I find it interesting that sometimes writers have to write a draft about 30 times to get it perfect so that it can be turned into a movie.
Our goal last week was to show Grit. This connects with our bigger goal to ‘raise the bar’. We are learning that it is through our hard work that we succeed. We had to show this at our Worser Bay XC and we challenged ourselves and did our best. We are nurturing our Positive Health.
"The Positive Health domain focuses on supporting students and staff to develop sustainable habits for optimal physical and psychological health. With the inextricable link between physical and psychological health, we know that practising mindfulness and resilience techniques will promote greater health outcomes. Mindfulness and resilience are also supported by the quest to help students to develop broader healthy behaviours in terms of exercise, nutrition, and sleep."
Yoichi: I think cross country was good because it encouraged me to push my limits and pushes me to raise the bar. When I was running I almost gave up on my second lap but then my friends cheered and said I could do it, so I naturally ran to the finish line.
Eddie: A star for me was doing Cross Country, I showed grit when I was going to Jeffery (the rock), the wind was in your face when you were heading to it.
Olive: I pushed it to the limits in cross country, I raised the bar when I was close to the finish and I was really tired. I ran really fast and at the end I could barely breathe.
Mae: A star for me was Cross Country because I made it into Eastern Zones, but it was also fun having that feeling of Positive Accomplishment after you finish it.
Rani: Cross Country was a star for me because I got 2nd place. I am thankful to my friends because they pushed me to my limits and they made sure that I
had a reason to do my best.
This term we are rotating around the teachers to learn different language structures in Te Reo Māori. One of these rotations is about asking 'what is this'
He aha tēnei?
What is this?
He pene rakau tēnā.
That's a pencil.
The tēnei, tēnā and tērā go in the same place, depending on where the object is in relation to the speakers.
History is a thing that needs to be discovered. How can you write about things that happened before you were born?
History is always written wrong so needs to be rewritten. We have been discussing this quote by the writer and philosopher George Santayana (famous also for the quote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemened to repeat it". We have approached this as Philosphers, contesting it, debating it, expanding on it.
Some of the comments made by our students include:
" History is just written in someone's opinion"
"Can history be fake, like fake news?"
"Does it matter if it is written wrong?"
"Winners write the history, so their point of view doesn't include the point of view of the losers"
"Do historian's simply make mistakes as they try to record history?"
Do people rewrite history to make themsleves look better?"
"How do they learn about the past? What is the evidence?"
"Are all historians experts on their subjects?"
"The story of Captain Cook is being rewritten because it was written wrong"
"People are effected differently by the story of Cook. Some think he is a hero, some think he is a villian. Some beleive he is both. Timne makes us see things dofferently"
"How does a reader know if the writer's point of view is true?"
"If History is always wrong, is the news always fake?"
Futher, related questions and comments include:
"What is a herstorian?"
"You must have to be brave to be an Historian"
"I noticved that Lala chose to make a movie about the history of Tupaia rather than write a book"
"Hisory has to be scientific or how would it work? It is based on facts. Like the dinosaurs, they existed!"
"Historians try to correct history by rewrting it"
History changes through the generations, as the stories are told and retold they change."
History is always written wrong so it has to be rewritten. This is us on a continuum to show how much we agree/ disagree with the statement.
Next week is Bully Free NZ week. Students from Whanganui High School made a movie: "With good friends, there is hope. Stand up and change the negative vibes which allow bullying to exist so prominently in New Zealand schools". We loved this movie and were inspired to make our own.
Sabine:
The things I like about school are meeting new people and hanging out and having a good time with your friends because it's always nice to be around them because they're weird and funny in a good way. A good friend will accept you for who you are and they will be honest to you. They will stand up to you if someone is being mean or a bully. They should be kind to you and try to make you feel better in bad situations. A bad friend will try turn your good friends against you; they will try to make you feel bad even when you already feel bad. They’ll talk about you behind your back and try to convince everyone that you’re a bad friend even though their the one being bad.
Mae:
Some of the things I like about school are… Being with my friends and hanging out with people. It’s also fun playing games and trying new things at school.
A bad friend is… Someone who talks behind your back, who bullies you, who doesn’t really care about you in general. If they are selfish, mean, say mean things about you and leaves you alone to hang out with someone else. Also they may leave you in a dumpster filled with dead fish.
A good friend is… Someone who cares about you, who sees you the way you are, if they support you they are a good friend, also if they are always there for you even when you have an argument or somebody makes a mistake.
Yoichi:
What are the things people like about school?
I think things that people like about school is that you get to stay with your friends. You can stick with them, and they’ve got your back, like you’ve got there back. At school I can meet new people and experience more things. Like it is nice to meet the teachers every day, and say stuff like good morning. If people did not go to school most people would not have as much friends as they have now.
A good friend is someone who can help when you are physically hurt or mentally hurt. My friends always look out for me when I’m sad or when I trip. Even just playing with them is really fun and can comfort you. Someone that is honest and tells the truth to you. Someone that respects you, someone that cares about you and includes you.
A bad friend is someone that does not care about you. He bullies you, but somehow is still friends with you. Someone who spreads rumors about you and who lies to you.
Our goal this week is to show Grit in our mahi which connects with our greater goal of 'raising the bar'. We are learning that it is through hard work that we succeed not our 'innate intelligence'.
You may have already seen Nic's Seesaw post about our Inquiry chat for this week but in case you missed it, here is a great video explaining what Grit is.
If you want to learn more about Grit you can google 'Angela Duckworth' who has researched and written a lot on the subject.
To Build Perseverance you can:
Hang out with Gritty people
Act like a Gritty person
Listen, watch hear stories about people overcoming hardship
Every day think of 3 hard things you overcame that day.
Emelie What is Grit? Grit is when you persevere even when things are at their hardest and and super challenging, an example of grit is like maybe you had to cross a river to get somewhere but you didn’t want to cross it and get your clothes wet but you crossed anyway and stuck to it, that would of been showing grit! To get more gritty you can pretend to be really gritty and tough like the saying ‘fake it till you make it!’ You can also hang out with gritty people and see how they react to things and take on them. Like once at rock climbing I was trying to get to the middle of a REALLY hard course, I kept trying and failing (trial and error) it was really tiring but I didn’t want to give up and my friends encouraged me. I watched them do it to see which holds were good and stuff! In the end I made it (with really tired arms!)
Sophie:
What is GRIT?
GRIT is a combination of persistence (which means to stay focused on what you’re doing) and resilience (which means to bounce back and keep going even when the going gets tough) when you have GRIT most things are easier. How can you get GRITTIER?
You can get GRITTIER by challenging yourself and trying to get better at things then that's how you get GRITTIER.
Cleo: Grit is when you have to show resilience and persistence. When things get hard or challenging, then you have to show grit and just push right through it. Here is an example: Imagine you are doing Maths and you are going really well, and then, when you are just about to finish, you have to face the HARDEST question. That is when you have to show Grit.
I can be ‘grittier’ by:
Trying to challenge myself.
Making myself feel more confident in things.
Thinking of other ‘gritty’ people and trying to be like them.
Konrad To be 'gritter' I need to practice my football skills better every day at school and at home and also practice my fishing skills so I can catch a Kingfish.
Nikita
I can get more 'gritter' by not giving up like when I do the Weet-bix Triathlon next year I will have to use a lot of Grit.
Sabine
I can build perseverance by hanging out with people who push me hard but not to hard I can also encourage myself by challenging myself in learning and pushing myself far in learning as well instead of doing really easy stuff because I won't learn from that.
We have been training for our Cross Country. Some of have been running, some of us have been walking and some of us have been switching between walking and running. We are ‘raising the bar’ and doing the best that we can! We are improving our Positive Health.
Those hills are challenging but we did it. We feel Positive Accomplishment!
We have been discussing how to be a good Digital Citizen.
Our School Value is 'RESPECT'
We Respect
Ourselves
Each other
Environment
The same rules apply when we are online!
We respect ourselves online:
I make sure that there is an adult in the room when online
I report anything to an adult that makes me feel uncomfortable
I look after my body and mind
If we see anything that we are unsure about we calmly turn off the screen or close the laptop. This protects other children while we get the teacher.
If we are not sure whether what we are looking at is ok, we would ask ourselves:
"Would I be comfortable looking at this website with my parents/ my teacher?"
"Would I do this in my normal life?"
Too much screen time can affect our Positive Health. It can cause:
Headaches
Neck/shoulder/back pain
Eye strain, dry or irritated eyes
Reduced attention span
Irritability
This is why we LIMIT screen time.
Positive Health: These students are looking after themselves by looking after their bodies (their backs) while they work together online.
We limit the amount of screen time and spend lots of time moving around.
We respect each other online:
I use my online manners
I make comments in a positive and friendly way
I support others in their learning
How can you be considerate/ respectful to others when online? What would happen if it was okay to say mean things to other people? What would happen if we didn’t take turns talking, or if we were allowed to shout in class?
We respect the environment online:
I take turns when sharing technology
I treat all technologies with respect and care
I use technologies as a tool, not a toy!
We have systems for how we store devices.
Please continue this important conversation at home...
