Celebrating Writing in the Māhutonga Matariki Whānau

We have a wonderful positive literary culture in our Whānau. The Library is running full steam ahead, the reader's noses buried in books and our writers too are fully engaged, creating amazing stories and poems. Beth recently surveyed our students to see how they felt about writing and whether or not they see themselves as writers. Overwhelmingly the responses were positive. We work hard at Writing and do it multiple times a day. We write for many purposes, sometimes to inform, sometimes to entertain, sometimes to convice or persuade others to think about an issue in a different way. Sometimes we write for the joy of it, seeing something of oursleves, our thoughts, feelings and sense of humour emerging on the page. This term we have written stories based on personal experiences, retellings of myths, and many poems. The poems below invite a comparison between a chosen animal and some of the kid's attributes and behaviours. A good challenge which involve the students thinking creatively, choosing the best words and arranging them in the best order and working with a set form. Enjoy!

Writing about Camp

When we are working through the Writing Process we seek feedback from our peers, in the form of the Helping Circle. 

What is a helping circle?
The idea is that we share our work with someone else and we are given specific actionable feedback. We aim to focus on the content of the Writing and how it can be improved. Sometimes, students are asked to give '2 stars and a wish' or two things they like about the piece (and why) as well as a wish for improvement.

An important part of any Helping Circle, is listening. This is a skill we cannot practise enough! We encourage students to sit "knee to knee and eye to eye" so their body language says "yes I am present and I am listening to you". We take turns when sharing making sure to respect each others share time.

Poetry - That was Camp

We have been been writing poetry about camp. We used this poem by Marci Ridlon as a model. 

That was Camp by Marcia

Remember that bumpy bus ride
With the big heavy bags too?
You should remember that,
With all the wet weather
Sure you do!
That was camp!

Remember the sticky weather
With lots of drama too?

Sure you do!

Remember when our
Shoes got all muddy?
That was camp!

Remember the wobble of crates
As you stack them high,
And the big shake you
Get in the kayak?
That was camp!

Remember when we had
To step in Shrek's poo

Joined up with
Rocks, sticks and a
Lot more,

That was camp!

That was Camp by Kyran

Remember that time when you were zooming on the super fox? 

Remember when you’re looking down when you’re about to go? 

Remember when you want to go again once you have finished? 

Remember you look up and see kids zooming above when you’re in the forest? 

That was camp. 

Remember the crates start to wobble when you are high up when crate stacking? 

Remember when you are just waiting and waiting? 

Remember that time when you fall off and the belays lower you down? 

Remember when you feel like you are going to fall off? 

That was camp. 

Remember when you feel like you can’t go any further when rock climbing? 

Remember your hands start to slip off? 

Remember when you are walking backwards down the wall? 

Remember you are so proud of yourself for rock climbing? 

That was camp. Remember you are getting soaked by the rain? 

Remember sleeping in the cabin and you are so tired? 

Remember the food you ate at camp? 

Remember you are so proud of yourself for doing camp? 

That was camp.

Moment in Time Writing

Wellington is a...

 We've been playing with metaphor! Inspired by Denis Glover's Wellington Harbour is a Laundry, we've re-imagined our city in all different ways. We discussed the difference between simile and metaphor. We wondered how we could extend the metaphor, taking it even further to help describe the unique qualities of Wellington. 

By Billy & Fynn

By Will J

By Cleo

By Sabine

By Anneke

By Addison

By Olive

Arts Celebration Poetry

As part of our Arts Celebration, we wanted to showcase our poetry. Here is our Arts Celebration Poetry movie: 

Collaborative Poetry- Tuakana Teina

Last week, our Social Positive Purpose Group worked collaboratively with the Year 3 students to create some poetry. The aim was to teach the juniors about the poetic devices that the seniors have been using in their poetry. It was great to collaborate and learn from each other!

When I feel Excited By Nikita and Sitara 

When I feel excited 

I bounce off the walls 

When I feel excited 

I explode excitement 

When I feel sad 

I burst into tears 

When I feel sad 

I read a book 

When I feel sad 

I slam the door 

When I feel nervous 

I freeze into a ball 

When I feel nervous 

I shiver with scaredness 

When I feel hangry 

I screamed angrily 

When I feel loved 

I get happy and my heart bursts

Childhood Tracks by Soma and Nina 

Hearing tui waking me up in the morning 

Hearing the teacher talking to my class 

Hearing kids and me playing at playtime 

Eating toast in the morning 

Eating orange for lunch at school 

Eating pizza for lunch 

Drinking water in the afternoon 

Drinking orange juice 

Drinking fizzy drinks at home 

Smelling pizzas cooking in the oven at lunch

Anger by Oscar & Charlie

Anger 

It flies through our head 

like a bullet 

Causing happiness to scramble away 

Making everyone grumpy

Childhood Tracks by Ethan Gigi and Oli 

Smelling delicious flowers 

Smelling pollen in the flowers 

Hearing tui sing loudly 

Hearing beautiful getting pollinated by bees 

Eating delicious KFC 

Eating the burning pizza 

Feeling water on your face 

Feeling the fresh breeze on my face

Love By Charlotte and Cara

Love is form of relationship 

Flying through the air 

as its formed 

Love is a red hot heart 

Burning through
The soul

Childhood tracks- Sam and Mastani 

Hearing my Dad screaming 

Hearing my little brother throwing dishes on the ground 

Hearing seagulls stomping on the roof 

Seeing my neighbours jumping on the trampoline 

Seeing seagulls flying past the window 

Seeing harakeke bending in the wind 

Eating chocolate caramel goody-goody-gumdrop ice-cream 

Eating pancakes with chocolate and raspberries 

Eating tacos with guacamole and black beans

Down the Back of the Chair

By Stella and Ella 

For our annual Art Celebration, Māhutonga Matariki will be showcasing poetry, short plays and artwork. Growing up, using the metaphor of the Hero's Journey from childhood to adulthood, will feed into the celebration. 

We have been busy preparing poetry. We looked at the poem, Down the Back of the Chair by Margaret Mahy. Her poem inspired us to use poetic language to create our own poems in the same style. 

Tangled in David's Hair by Nye

Not a single penny,
do we have,
our wallets are bare. 

The only place, we have not chased, 

Is uncle David’s beard or hair. 

We grabbed his scalp and held him down, 

Careful not to lose underwear, 

We put our hands in, 

and saw somethings, 

which of course made us stare. 

A dancing bus, a man named Rufus, 

Tangled in David’s hair. 

Some long lost toast, a bar of soap, 

Tangled in David’s hair. 

Something big, a pile of figs, 

Tangled in David’s hair. 

A kite, a knight, a terrific fight, 

Tangled in David’s hair. 

Year old milk, a bundle of silk, 

Tangled in David’s hair. 

A velvet chair, music to blare, 

Tangled in David’s hair. 

A skunk, a monk, a pan that goes CLUNK! 

Tangled in David’s hair. 

An empty chest, 

a bug that needs rest, 

Tangled in David’s hair. 

A blue canary, a banana shaped tree, 

Tangled in David’s hair. 

A slope, a rope, the pope, a joke, 

Tangled in David’s hair. 

A scare, a flare, an explosive hare, 

Tangled in david’s hair. A big bowl of rice, 

“That's extremely nice!”, 

Tangled in David’s hair. 

And finally after hours of work, 

(And a battle with a dangerous bear, a mysterious box, 

filled with chicken-pox, and a life that is full of despair) 

we found a way, to get some pay, 

tangled in David’s hair, 

a large pickaxe, to chop and hack, 

tangled in David’s hair, 

we can get precious stones, 

to make our own, and give them for a share, 

of their groups cash. 

“Hurrah! “We say, as now we can gain enough food to feed our Aunty Elaine!

Down the back of the chair! By Olive

Down the back of the chair. 

A cat, a mat, a hairy rat, 

Down the back of the chair. 

A smash, a crash, a bowl of mash, 

Down the back of the chair. 

A fish, a wish, a diamond dish, 

Down the back of the chair. 

A potato, a tomato, a flock of flamingos, 

Down the back of the chair. 

A pea, a flea, a box of trees, 

Down the back of the chair. 

A pool, a mule, a wooden stool, 

Down the back of the chair!

DOWN THE BACK OF THE CHAIR! by Kura

He stuck his hand further down the back of the chair. 

Cats, Rats, Bats flew out, 

A mythical magical mat jumped out, 

A sack of clowns, and a cottage lounge, 

Were down the back of the chair. 

There were puzzled wizards, dancing knitters, 

A bee having tea, 

Even Mum and her dressing gown, 

Were down the back of the chair. 

A clock, The Wellington block? 

And the crazy computer birds, 

Were down the back of the chair. 

Yes, down the back of the chair.

Down the back of the Chair by Archie and Lakham 

A pin, a lottery win, a mouse thats thin, 

A snake, a cake, a big old rake 

A pig, a twig, a big fig, 

A mat, a cat, a rat thats fat, 

A piggy bank, an army tank, 

Down the back of the chair. 

A bill, a Will and a man called Phill 

A TV, a fairy taking it easy, 

A chair, a bear and some underwear, 

A ball, a wall, an Archie that is tall, 

A dog, a frog, and a big fat log, 

Down the back of the chair.

Down the back of the chair by Luc

The titanic and people in a panic, 

An aeroplane, a flame, 

A Lamborghini and a Ferrari, 

A maserati and a bugatti chiron

Down the back of the chair 

A fluffy hat that came from Russia 

A uniform from Scott's College, 

$1,000,000,000 bucks from the bank,
Down the back of the chair

Down the bank of the school by William

A dreadful goblin with dread(ful)locks, 

One hundred and fifty alarm clocks, 

A magical, mystical, mystery box, 

Down the bank of the school. 

A piece of pie, a secret spy, 

Ten thousand flies, And a dirty tie, 

Down the bank of the school. 

A million tyres, the school fair flyers, 

A conspiracy, to cut down a tree, 

On blueprints with many dust - hints, 

Down the bank of the school. 

A thousand bucks, some mallard ducks, 

A china cup, a seal pup, 

A lions appearance was swiftly abrupt,

Down the bank of the school. 

Ten million souls of pygmy moles, 

And pieces of smashed glass bowls, 

Tigers prowling, wolves howling, 

Down the bank of the school!

Nic and Mikayla's Whānau Group: Learning about Puanga

In Nic and Mikayla's Whānau group, we wrote collaborative poems to signify the importance of Punaga. We also created some star art! It was great to learn with other people across the school.

Here are some of the poems that we wrote:

Winnie-The-Pooh:

We have started reading Winnie the Pooh for John's Gentle Story Time.   They are much loved stories, read for generations and although they are set in another time they continue to amuse and delight readers.


Pooh Bear is also prone to accidental moments of exciting thinking.  While he is a 'bear of very little brain', he is credited with some real wisdom.  In both chapter 1 and 2 of The House at Pooh Corner, Pooh can be seen to be a writer of songs and poems.  He has some good advice for burgeoning poets.
When Piglet advises Pooh that his poem would be better with no mention of "Shillings, I don't think they ought to be there."(Piglet can be seen to be operating as Pooh's editor here), Pooh disagrees.
He says: "They wanted to come out after the pounds, so I let them.  It is the best way to write poetry, letting things come out"

What do you think?  Can you let the words just flow when you are writing poetry?  Do you agree with Pooh Bear?  Do you think Pooh Bear is intent on making his poem 'sound good', the way we do when we are writing poems?

I am Grateful for....Poetry

In these slightly strange times we are reminding ourselves of all the things which we are grateful for.  I has been lovely to see the way we are appreciating nature, what's in our backyards, the things that remain constant , like the sun and the moon and, most importantly each other.

Expressing gratitude makes us feel good.  Telling somebody that you are grateful for what they do for you, not only makes them feel nice but it has been proven to be beneficial for the mental health of the person expressing the gratitude.

Who can you show some gratitude to today?

She's grateful!

I am grateful for..... I am grateful for the moon the stars the sea the sounds I am grateful for the sound that dances in your ears the way it can make you jig about and dance it out I am grateful for dances that can contain a ball of emotion I am grateful for emotion the way it makes you smile the the way it make your eyes twinkle I am grateful for my eyes making it possible for us to see the place we live on today.

By Coco

Gratitude

I’m grateful for the morning sky Clouds up high The scorching sun Rain that falls Trees that stand nice and tall I’m grateful for grains of sand Sea shells shining as rainbows Bells that chime In moments of time I’m grateful for emerald green land Blooms of flowers Towers of mountains Fountains , springs Fresh water I’ll let the breeze be my wings Tweet roar splash bing Birds will sing Chitter chatter Bears will roar Groan stomp Fish will leap Splish splosh

By Emelie

That was Camp: Poetry

That was Camp by Leo

Remember the wind rushing inside you ears,
The feel of WANTING to vomit but nothing comes out? Putting the harness on,
waiting for excitement but getting scared instead.
That was camp.

Remember the walk in the bush following the fatal wire,

having a system running to get the harness 

running back to a person giving it to them 

then they run to the teacher and give it to her? 

That was camp 

Remember the zoo-break and being as silent as a statue to get a rat back? 

Singing the Jurassic park theme song to get the hedgehog? 

and the monkey going out of bounds and climbing a tree 

That was camp

That was Camp by Fülöp

Have you ever experienced Camp?

The long, comfortable ride on the bus? 

The green grass, and the river bank, all damp? 

Remember how the students made such a fuss? 

That was Camp. 

Remember the building that welcomed you, 

When you step out onto the fresh, crunchy grass? 

The excitement seemed to overflow in your stomach, 

The territory of Camp, so big and so vast? 

That was Camp. 

Remember as you stumbled to your cabin, 

On that first and dreadful night? 

Tired, sleepy, nervous, Your face so stark. 

That was Camp. 

Remember when the teacher yelled, “Lights out! Go to bed!” 

When with the Camp food you were fed? 

When you wriggled in your sleeping bag? 

That was Camp. 

Remember when you heard the light switch flick? 

The kids started to chat straight away, “I cannot go to sleep.” 

“Don’t worry, neither can I. Let’s talk!” 

“Oh great.” 

That was Camp. 

Remember when you lined up on the deck, 

Desperate to fill your tummy? 

When you stuffed your face, With that food? 

That was Camp.

Poetry and Song Night

To wrap up our year of Creativity in Writing, we put on an Evening of Poetry Performance and Music. We have written some amazing poems; some thought provoking, some emotional and some downright silly. Thank you to everyone who came to listen.

Here are some of the poems that we pre-recorded:

 

Some music to begin. Thank you to The Bandits:

Here are some more of our poems: 

Poetry

We have been writing poetry and soon we will be writing songs too.  We started using a poem by Jacob Sam-La Rose, A life in Dreams. There is so much to say about Dreams, much of it pretty strange.   We are also filling our 'Poet's Toolbox', with metaphors and similes, personification and alliteration, consonance and assonance, and many more, to make our poems sound good and make the reader imagine!

                                          Whose that dreaming? Who's that imagining?

There Have Been Dreams          by Adam

Their have been dreams silent as night with creatures slowly creeping up behind, but turning around, not a sign


Their have been dreams with never ending falls it just keeps going, going

but when I hit the ground, gone.


Their have been dreams were nothing is right, upside down buildings, cars only go backwards, people shuffle around on their butts, again nothing is right



There have been dreams where giant bloody eyeballs come chasing, I turn around the corner, there it is again

chasing,

chasing,

Chasing

then all of a sudden just as fast as it started, it's done

Dreams.                                 by Jasmine


All the times you looked so boring

now it's really coming to life.


And there have been times

When you just don't know what you did

Wrong and now you see it all.



There have been times when you’re there

You’re at the existing time

And you suddenly wake up

Back in your boring old room in bed.


There have been times when dreams

Keep appearing back in your head.



There have been times when the house

Was falling down.


By Jasmine

Great writing guys!

Apirana Taylor

We had a special visitor at school on Wednesday. Apirana Taylor is a storyteller, an artist, a musician and even a magician! He entertained us with stories and shared many of his instruments that he uses to help tell his stories.

We helped Apirana to recite his poem: 

Reading our Poems at Assembly

These students read their poems at assembly... A little taster for our Poetry Piñata Evening starting at 6pm on Tuesday 4th December. Hope to see you there!

Football Skills with Team Wellington

On Fridays we have been learning football skills with Team Wellington. We are very grateful to have this opportunity. 

Team Wellington are kindly sharing their knowledge and skills with us. It is a great opportunity for us to work with different people at school and build on our large ball skills at the same time.

Personification Poem by Theo and Liam

The game of football As the Game kicked off the Ball rolled around the pitch tirelessly.

Not knowing where he was, 

he soard happily right across the other side of the pitch 

and was smashed hard into the back of the net...hard. 

Arrrrrrgh!!!!!!!!!That hurt!

Football by Max

The football whizzed into the goal, 

The crowd shouted cheerily, 

as the ball flew back to the middle, 

Smiling as it went. 

The whistle blew the ball flung to the other side of the pitch 

As the player headed into the top right corner of the goal.

Experts helping the coaches to work with the younger students.

Camp Kaitoke, two thousand and greateen

 Camp kaitoke

Have you ever been to camp?

I’m sure you have

The time when you went abseiling? When you had to go leaning back like you were about to fall in jelly?

That was camp

Have you ever been to camp?

Sure you have

The time when you went to the treetops and you kept on slipping because there was lots of mud on your shoes?

That was camp

Have you ever been to camp

Sure you have

The time when you went kayaking

You jumped off your kayak into the dirty lake

and came out shivering?

That was camp

Have you ever been to camp?

Sure you have

The time when you did archery and just missed the score board?

That was camp

Have you ever been to camp?

Sure you have

The time when you were set up to do a challenge course and you had to work as a team to get to the end?

That was camp

Have you ever been to camp

Sure you have

The time when you were hanging out with your cabin mates and laughing non stop

That was camp.

By Talia

Camp poem

Abseiling

standing up on the window sill

feeling like I wasn't attached to anything

wanting to jump off the window sill

& run all the way back to my cabin

lowering myself down the wall

& screaming YIPPIE !!!!!!!!! in my head when I got to the bottom.

Kayaking

paddling around a mini island

jumping off my kayak

feeling like I was in an antarctic lake

& stubbing my toe at the end.

The tree tops activity

laughing over exaggerating  

& screaming my head off

having fun

never wanting it to end

hanging upside down

from harnesses like monkeys

making up secret languages

thinking up names for what we were acting out

Bankey monkeys. ( bat crossed with a monkey )

By Nela

Camp poem

Camp the feeling that you want to do all the cool stuff.

Camp You want to feel the cold wet bushes brush on your skin.

Camp The warm cosy beds in the cabins.

Camp the temptation that you want to run round the grassy fields forever

Camp smelling the delicious food the bacon sandwiches mmm.

Camp you just want to dive straight into the activities.

By Cameron

Bridge of Doom

ARSALENUERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!

I yelled as I swung round the bridge of doom like a falcon swooping at its prey.

The water sprung away.

The cheers getting louder and louder.

Again I sprung and yelled: ARSALENUERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!

The icy water jumped away from my feet.

There it was the

4th rope.  I caught it. It swung and I nearly got knocked off.

I leaned and got the 5th rope and jumped.

I had finished.

By Peter