Celebrating Ngā Kōrero ō Mua - NZ History Inquiry

 This week we celebrated the end of the first part of our NZ History Inquiry, Ngā Kōrero ō Mua. Students have been investigating different topics within our rich national and local histories. Thinking hard about the cause and effect of certain events, they have produced detailed essays, beautiful works of art and entertaining films. We are really proud of the engagement and thinking that has taken place and are looking forward to connecting these national stories to those of our own families in Term 3. 

We celebrated this Inquiry with our friends from Tautoru. Our work will be on display next term and we also look forward to sharing it again during Student-led Conferences! 

Here are a few snippets of our mahi:

Will's Cause & Effect diagram about the Wairau Affray

There were misunderstandings in The Treaty between Pakeha and Maori which led to conflict, such as war and land confiscation. Although things are improving, we still see conflict today for example, Putiki Bay, Waiheke Island which is being developed into a shopping area/loading dock which is frustrating local iwi. I think that in the future the Treaty will be respected more. - Isabella W

Family Stories: Doing Research

We are planning to do some writing about our families as part of learning about who we are and where we come from, leading up to Matariki.  We will be asking everybody to do some research about an ancestor, perhaps a grandparent or somebody further back, who would be good to write about.  Somebody who has an interesting story; about how they arrived in New Zealand perhaps or somebody who lived and worked on a farm, the day the storm happened; it could be anything.

We are interested in the idea of doing some research, collecting facts about that person but then doing what writers do, telling their story through our own lens.  It will be interesting to see how stories might evolve.

The example I am going to use is a relative who won the Victoria Cross in the First World War.

His name was Stanley McDougall.

Research for Inquiry about Balance and Imbalance in Marine Environments.

Research for Inquiry about Balance and Imbalance in Marine Environments.

We have been working with amazing energy exploring the causes and effects of imbalance in marine environments.  We have used Kina as the focus of our study.  It is part of a three day Inquiry focus in which we are going through the whole Inquiry process.   

What have we found out so far?

• Kina barrens are extensive because of overfishing of species like Snapper, Lucas
• Marine reserves are places we sea life can’t be taken so that species can reproduce and get back to healthy numbers, Emma R
• I have discovered a connection between land animals and sea creatures. Wolves in the Yellowstone National Park are like Snapper. The deer are like Kina. The Deer population grew big because the wolves were not there to hunt them-the Kina population grew big because the Snapper weren't there to eat them. The grass is like seaweed.  Since the Wolves weren't there to hunt the Deer, the grass got eaten-since the snapper weren't there to eat the kina the seaweed got eaten. The Wolves moved away-the Snapper are being overfished. When the Wolves were reintroduced the balance was restored.  I am wondering how we can do the same for our fish, Molly A
• Kina can live for over twenty years, Greer W
• Kina’s can see in the dark, Hana
• If you overfish it has disastrous effects, Yasmin
• Marine reserves have a lot more predators on Kina, Parker
• One small change in an ecosystem can cause many problems.  Every cause has an effect and then every effect causes another effect.  Emma R

The Kina:  Culprit?

What in the world is salp?

Over the past week there has been lots of discussion about the funny looking blobs found at out local beaches. There was a lot of debate about what they could be. This led us to the conclusion that we needed to do some research. Luckily for us there was an article in the newspaper this week which we read in our reading groups. This led to more of our own research and the following reports. 

Salp
by Chester,Hayley, Blake,Caitlyn, Alex B, Sam Sh,Thomas Jackson

There has been a new sea animal that has been in Wellington beaches for the last month. People have thought it is sea lice, fish eggs, baby jellyfish and plankton. Well the the name is salp.
 
Salp can come in chains or single and can be found at Karaka Bay,Worser Bay  and Scorching Bay,Eastbourne and all the other local beaches.
Salp is completely harmless so you can still swim in Wellington  
beaches.


Salp is a filter feeder that feeds on plant plankton. Salp swim by jetting out water and is related to fish. It's also very common in Antarctica and is the most efficient in the animal kingdom. Its scientific name is Salpidae.The average size for a salp is a 2 to 7 mm blob.

Salp 

By Oto Betty Meg Emma R Louise Sophia Hugo M Emma M

Have you spotted the small jelly like creatures at the beach?

Some people call them jelly fish and others call them sea lice. But they are really just salp and are completely harmless. Salp  are a blobby animal with a black dot in the middle. The ones in Wellington are the size of a fingernail and are a colony of animals distantly related to fish.They slowly move through the water by forming a chain then sucking in water through one end then blowing it out the other end; this is how they move and filter feed.Salp can be found all over the globe and can be as big as four inches long! You often find salp close to floating seaweed because they feed on plant planton. Salp is common around Antarctica. Salp were first discovered in 1982.

  

       

SPCA Visit

As part of our inquiry, we have been thinking about how to give back to the community. We were interested in animals and the SPCA. 

Some of us made toys for the animals and gave them to the SPCA today.

Some of us raised money for the SPCA. We did a bake sale earlier in the term. We gave the money to the SPCA today.

We have been interested in how to care for pets.

The 5 main things you need to know about taking care of a pet:

1. They need shelter

2. They need food and water

3. They need to be treated kindly

4. They need vet check ups

5. They need physical activity

Herb Play: Our Inquiry

This is us acting in our play

For Emma M, Emma S, Meg and Josie’s inquiry we were looking at plants and herbs that were in our backyard and had medical uses. So we decided to do a play to present our information.Our play is about four cousins on a hike, two of them, Madi (Emma M) and Betty (Meg) are first teasing Louise (Emma S) with Sephi (Josie), but slowly and after a few accidents (healed kindly by Louise and the power of herbs) Madi and Betty realise Louise is actually nicer the Sephi, so they become friends with Louise. Later on Madi and Betty decide they want to learn about herbs, like Louise. Jealous and fed up, Sephi tries to do her own thing, climbing a tree but falls. Meanwhile, Louise is off collecting water. And it’s up to Betty and Madi and their newly learned herbology skills to make sure she’s okay.

Otari Bush Trip: What is in our backyard?

We are all standing next to the 800 year old Rimu

Touching, observing and smelling native plants.

We went to the Otari Bush today to wrap up our inquiry, "what is in our backyard". We enjoyed finding out about the native bush. Here is a link to their website http://wellington.govt.nz/recreation/enjoy-the-outdoors/gardens/otariwiltons-bush

Please write about what you found out in the padlet below:

Created with Padlet

Movie by Milly

Our Year Six Students

How does the MetService predict the weather?

MetService

This is our MetService Movie for our inquiry. Last week, we went to the MetService weather centre and found out about the weather. We were interested in the process of predicting the weather in Wellington.

Hope you enjoy…

From George Hunter and Chester

Here we are forecasting the weather..

New Zealand Endangered Species Survey

As part of our inquiry about endangered species in New Zealand, we would like to carry out a statistical investigation from people's opinions.

Please answer the questions in the survey below...

By Anna, Chanel and Hayley

Louis' Penguin Inquiry

For my inquiry, I decided that I wanted to help blue penguins. I started off researching about what predators they have and what problems they face. I looked at where they live and when they would leave their homes. Then I designed a penguin house on minecraft and took a video so that I could add this to my presentation. Hopefully, I will be able to make this in the future when dad has some time.

By Louis

Community Service: Hospital Trip

On Wednesday 4th of November, we (Asha, Eloise and Gretel) went to the children's ward in the Wellington hospital and donated some books. We met with Shona Brunton and she took some photos of us to put on the mascot Hospi’s facebook page. We gathered the books from home that we didn't need anymore or that we had a double of and donated them to the Children’s ward. We met  two of the main nurses Megan the play nurse and Trisha the ward manager/ the big boss! They were really happy with our donation and said that they could replace some of the old books they have been needing to replace for a  while

Here is the link: Link to Hospi's Facebook Page

This is Hospi the Mascot!

By,

Gretel, Eloise, and Asha!

Seatoun Kindy Visit

Last Wednesday, we went to Seatoun kindy. We did a magic show and some planting. Our inquiry is about who we can help in our community. When we were younger these people cared for us, so we thought we could take that role and care for the young people. 

Strathmore Preschool Visit

We (Emma M, Betty, Josie and Elliot) went to the Strathnmore preschool because we wanted to help out our community for our inquiry. We went and helped cut out flags to put bunting up for their sausage sizzle. We also painted the bunting. We enjoyed playing with the kids. 

By Emma M 

Trip to St Aidan's Church

Last Friday we (Lucie, Gemma, Kaia, Janne and Bella) went to St Aidan's Church. We brought along some baking for the Friday Cafe. We introduced ourselves and did some magic tricks and gymnastics. To make it more interesting, we also sang some songs for the community. In the break we handed out some baking and then we did some more entertaining. It was really fun!

By Lucie

Trip to the Montessori

Today we went to the Montessori to do planting with the young kids. We are interested in planting and giving back to the community. We each chose our plant and who we would be working with. It went really well as all of the kids were interested and good at planting. 

By Anna, Emma S and Milly

Wellington Indian Sport Centre: Who is in our community?

Wellington Indian Sport Centre     

On Wednesday Asha, Eloise, Frankie, and Gretel went to Wellington Indians Sport Centre. 

We spoke to the president of WISC, her name was Hansa Parbhu. One of the questions we asked her was how old is WISC? And the answer was 23 years old since we have developed it into a Sport and Cultural Centre. We then asked What was here before WISC? And the answer was a Vacuum Cleaner factory! We learnt a lot about going to this place. Me, Eloise and Frankie play for Indians and we learnt a lot more about the turf as well. We learnt that it was a Concrete area before renovation and it took around 3~4 Months to make it a turf! It was really fun and interesting!

By Gretel

Interview with Jason about when he went to school at Worser Bay: Who is in our community?

Alex, Lucie and Gemma were interviewing Jason (Lucie’s dad) so that we could find out more about Worser Bay School and about the Miramar Peninsula. Jason went to Worser Bay School so he told us about his school days. He told us what it was like when he was there.  

The Miramar Peninsula wasn't that different then. Worser Bay School was very different than it is now. At the top court there was a pool, but then it got drained out in 2001 so we can’t swim at Worser Bay School now. The keys to get into the pool were only five dollars for the whole summer. You had to return the key when the summer was over. He liked most of his teachers. One of his teachers was Teddy’s grandma, her name was Mrs Stanley. Thanks for your time Jason!

By Lucie, Gemma and Alex P.

Planning our own trip: The Roxy- who is in our community?

 On Monday the 29th, Asha, Frankie, Chanel, Eloise and Gretel went on a trip to the Roxy to find out more about the history of the site.

We found out that there was a cinema at the same place as Roxy in 1928 it, then closed down in 1964 because at that time people started getting television and there wasn't enough money to keep the business going. It was  then just an empty site until the owners of the Roxy now came along and decided to build another cinema on top. They removed each wall brick by brick, but left the wall where you come in.

We got a tour of the projection room. They were screening The Minion movie. Valentina showed us how the machines worked!

It was so dark!

By Asha and Frankie

Trip to the Roxy from Matariki on Vimeo.

Roxy - By Gretel and Eloise

On Monday 29th  we went to Roxy to find out more about the site and building.

Before the Roxy was built, in 1924  there used to be a building called the Capitol Theatre. The Capitol Theatre closed down in 1964 because people started getting television and there wasn’t enough money to keep a Cinema going.

After the cinema closed the space was divided into seven different spaces all for different shops and it became a mini mall area.

In 2009 they took down the Old Cinema/Shopping Malls but they kept the front wall where you walk in! It took one year to plan and one year to build! Roxy then opened in 2011.

The first Movie they showed when Roxy opened was King Kong  premiere and that was sold out! The other times that they were sold out were when the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings and Tintin were showing. Overall, we all found it very interesting and we got to go into the projecting room! Minions was showing in Cinema one!

By Gretel and Eloise

Library Visit: Weds- Who is in our community?

Anna- I learnt that where the Miramar library is now, it used to be a lake. I enjoyed the walk and the talk from Sharon. I am interested in the library (I am doing the Library research). My next steps are to go to the library and interview at least two librarians and ask them questions about their past and their job!

Khailin: I liked learning about Miramar’s past.

Charlie P:  I liked learning about how the library used to be a lake & more!

Zoe.R: I learned a lot about what Wellington used to look like and what Wellington used to look like and what it look likes now. The librarian told us a lot about Miramar. Definitely check out the Miramar Library! 

Blake: I learnt that the Miramar library used to be under a swamp. I also looked at a book with some friends and it was about what Wellington used to look like in the past and what it looks like now!

Alex P: I really like learning about Miramar Peninsula, the library & the lake


Library from Matariki on Vimeo. By Asha

Mystery Skype

Today, some of us participated in a Mystery Skype with another school. We all loved the experience and enjoyed the challenge of thinking on our feet and researching. 

Mystery Skype: Students in each class prepare a set of questions for the other class before their call. The classes try to guess each other’s location by answering the questions. Students can also use technology to find the other school's location. 

Here are some of our questions that we asked: 

Are you in New Zealand?

Are you in the South Island?

Do you live in the countryside?

Do you live close to a beach?

Are you in a big city?

Are you in the city centre?

Are you in the North?

Are you in the South?

Are you in the East?

Are you in the West?

Are you near a river?

Are you near a lake?

If in city:

Does your city have a zoo?

Has your city got a big castle?

Is your city windy?

Does your city have a big Wellington sign?

Has your city had a big earthquake?

We found out that our Mystery Skype School was Maeroa Intermediate School in Hamilton.  http://www.maeroa.school.nz/