Te Kaupapari

Puāwaitanga have been buzzing with investigations that looked at different ways we can help to ‘Make our Community GREAT!’ Take a look at what we’ve been up to. Room 16 has been looking at ways to improve our community to make it GREAT. We gathered information about organic methods to spray the weeds at our school and then we made a hypothesis before we began our testing. There were varying degrees of success, and one of the most effective ways of eradicating weeds was a mixture of vinegar, salt and water. As part of Room 17 ’s Inquiry learning this term, students were fortunate enough to spend a morning with Sarah Slater from Watercare, learning lots about water quality in our local streams and waters. Students were shown how to test the quality of water using pH and nitrate indicators, and were also able to identify how the effect of pollution can impact the water quality and animal life in our local  streams. Room 18 has been using our overarching theme, ‘...

We held an 'Aroha for Australia' fundraiser mufti day on Friday the 14th of February to raise funds for the bushfire relief effort. It was great to be able to take action to help support our Australian neighbours during this catastrophic time.  A special thank you  to our community  for supporting our  Australian bushfire m ufti day, we raised a  fantastic $585.10! Enviroschools Principles in action here: -  Empowered Students   are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of their early childhood centre or school. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring, and they are supported to take action for real change. - The principle of  Learning for Sustainability  recognises the types of teaching and learning that foster student empowerment, decision-making, action and sustainable outcomes. -  Respect for the   Diversity of People and Cultures  acknowledges the u...

Our Stanhope bees have been very busy over the summer! On the 1st of February our beekeepers collected 35 frames of honey from our two beehives.  The next day, they extracted the honey out of the frames and bottled a massive 56kg of Stanhope  Road School raw honey! We have jars of this honey available for sale in the school office for $12 per jar, with proceeds going  towards our school. It is delicious honey and exciting to think that it was made with nectar collected from flowers  growing at school and in the many gardens in our community, perhaps even yours! Enviroschools Principles in action here: - The principle of  Learning for Sustainability  recognises the types of teaching and learning that foster student empowerment, decision-making, action and sustainable outcomes. -  Sustainable Communities  act in ways that nurture people and nature, now and in the future, to maintain the health and viability of our environment, socie...

During the weekend of the 7th & 8th December, learners from Stanhope set out for a walk with their whanau to collect a bag of rubbish from their local community. This was part of the Walk & Collect Weekend:  https://facebook.com/events/s/walk-collect-weekend/521941935297547/?ti=icl  We felt great doing something to help our planet breathe and the best part is that collectively we made a real difference! Enviroschools Principles in action here: -  Empowered Students   are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of their early childhood centre or school. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring, and they are supported to take action for real change. -  Sustainable Communities  act in ways that nurture people and nature, now and in the future, to maintain the health and viability of our environment, society, culture and economy.

We have been an Enviroschool for six months now and are really  excited with the progress we have made and the possibilities for  next year and beyond. Some highlights have included the arrival  of our beehives, the fruit trees that each class planted and our  vegetable growing, harvesting and eating. Three representatives from Room 17 attended the Enviroschools  Celebration day last Friday, where there were displays from other  schools which was really inspirational and gave us lots of ideas  for what we could achieve at our school. A fabulous storyteller  entertained us and there was a delicious waste-free, locally-sourced  and healthy morning tea! We hope to be in a position to exhibit our sustainability journey at  the Enviroschools Celebration this time next year. Watch this space! Enviroschools Principles in action here: -  Empowered Students   are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of thei...

Our family games night was a fantastic opportunity for our school community to come together and connect.  Enviroschools Principles in action here: -  Empowered Students   are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of their early childhood centre or school. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring, and they are supported to take action for real change. -  Sustainable Communities  act in ways that nurture people and nature, now and in the future, to maintain the health and viability of our environment, society, culture and economy.

We have a  TREEmendous  announcement to make!  But first, some background... TREEmendous  – a joint initiative between the Mazda Foundation and Project Crimson, teaches children about the importance of caring for the environment through the development of amazing outdoor classrooms for teachers and students to reconnect with nature. The initiative is about encouraging environmental education in schools, along with teaching children and the wider community about the importance of caring for the environment. Ruud Kleinpaste, the ‘Bugman’, is an ambassador for the project who takes environmental education to the next level at  TREEmendous  events. Ruud brings his insect friends along and teaches the children about New Zealand’s native bugs and the importance of looking after the environment. Check out  treemendous .org.nz  for more information and examples. In July the Eco-Warriors heard the exciting news that their stage 1 TREE...

Enviroschools Principles in action here: -  Empowered Students   are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of their early childhood centre or school. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring, and they are supported to take action for real change. -  Respect for the   Diversity of People and Cultures  acknowledges the unique gifts, contributions and perspectives of individuals and groups, reinforcing the need for participatory decision-making in Enviroschools. -  Sustainable Communities  act in ways that nurture people and nature, now and in the future, to maintain the health and viability of our environment, society, culture and economy.

What a wonderful week we had celebrating Diwali! Enviroschools Principles in action here: -  Empowered Students   are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of their early childhood centre or school. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring, and they are supported to take action for real change. -  Respect for the   Diversity of People and Cultures  acknowledges the unique gifts, contributions and perspectives of individuals and groups, reinforcing the need for participatory decision-making in Enviroschools. -  Sustainable Communities  act in ways that nurture people and nature, now and in the future, to maintain the health and viability of our environment, society, culture and economy.

Well done to Puāwaitanga for encouraging and supporting safe sustainable travel to school! Enviroschools Principles in action here: -  Empowered Students   are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of their early childhood centre or school. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring, and they are supported to take action for real change. - The principle of  Learning for Sustainability  recognises the types of teaching and learning that foster student empowerment, decision-making, action and sustainable outcomes. -  Sustainable Communities  act in ways that nurture people and nature, now and in the future, to maintain the health and viability of our environment, society, culture and economy.

We had the pleasure of sharing our beehives with the some of our project supporters on Friday the 18th of October. Members of the Rotary Club of Ellerslie Sunrise and Jay Park of JP Homes visited to see the bees in  action. We held an opening ceremony where Dave McDonald from Rotary cut a ribbon with one of our newest students, Isabelle. Members of the kapa haka group sang a beautiful waiata while our visitors inspected the hives. We are truly grateful to our project supporters for helping to make this wonderful learning opportunity possible: Rotary Club of Ellerslie Sunrise, JP Homes NZ, the Maungakiekie Tamaki Local Board, Fulton Hogan, Mitre 10 Mega Mt Wellington and Torque Digital. Enviroschools Principles in action here: -  Empowered Students   are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of their early childhood centre or school. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring, and they are su...

In Whakatōtanga in terms 1 to 3 2019, the Room 9 Garden Club has grown, harvested and eaten a number of vegetables and fruits. The students pulled a large radish out of the garden. They all pulled  together just like in the story, ‘The Gigantic Turnip’! The Garden Club also harvested some celery, sugar snap peas and salad leaves to take home to share with their whanau. We enjoyed harvesting our kumara in autumn, it was like digging for buried treasure! One of the kumara was the biggest kumara we had ever seen. We loved eating the kumara chips, they were delicious. Enviroschools Principles in action here: -  Empowered Students   are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of their early childhood centre or school. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring, and they are supported to take action for real change. - The principle of  Learning for Sustainability  recognises the types of teaching and l...

We have had a fantastic response to the Colgate Community Garden Challenge. Thank you to  everyone who has brought in oral care waste to add to the collection bin located in the office. Enviroschools Principles in action here: -  Empowered Students   are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of their early childhood centre or school. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring, and they are supported to take action for real change. -  Sustainable Communities  act in ways that nurture people and nature, now and in the future, to maintain the health and viability of our environment, society, culture and economy.

It's great to see Whakatōtanga looking for a wide variety of items to give a new and creative life to in their projects! Enviroschools Principles in action here: -  Empowered Students   are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of their early childhood centre or school. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring, and they are supported to take action for real change. - The principle of  Learning for Sustainability  recognises the types of teaching and learning that foster student empowerment, decision-making, action and sustainable outcomes. -  Sustainable Communities  act in ways that nurture people and nature, now and in the future, to maintain the health and viability of our environment, society, culture and economy.

Enviroschools Principles in action here: -  Empowered Students   are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of their early childhood centre or school. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring, and they are supported to take action for real change. - The principle of  Learning for Sustainability  recognises the types of teaching and learning that foster student empowerment, decision-making, action and sustainable outcomes. - The principle of  Māori Perspectives  honours the status of tangata whenua in this land and the value of indigenous knowledge in enriching and guiding learning and action. -  Sustainable Communities  act in ways that nurture people and nature, now and in the future, to maintain the health and viability of our environment, society, culture and economy.

It is great to see our Kapa Haka group getting out into the community, and travelling sustainably too - by foot! Ka pai! Enviroschools Principles in action here: -  Empowered Students   are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of their early childhood centre or school. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring, and they are supported to take action for real change. - The principle of  Māori Perspectives  honours the status of tangata whenua in this land and the value of indigenous knowledge in enriching and guiding learning and action. -  Sustainable Communities  act in ways that nurture people and nature, now and in the future, to maintain the health and viability of our environment, society, culture and economy.

Enviroschools Principles in action here: -  Empowered Students   are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of their early childhood centre or school. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring, and they are supported to take action for real change. -  Respect for the   Diversity of People and Cultures  acknowledges the unique gifts, contributions and perspectives of individuals and groups, reinforcing the need for participatory decision-making in Enviroschools. -  Sustainable Communities  act in ways that nurture people and nature, now and in the future, to maintain the health and viability of our environment, society, culture and economy.

Enviroschools Principles in action here: -  Empowered Students   are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of their early childhood centre or school. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring, and they are supported to take action for real change. - The principle of  Learning for Sustainability  recognises the types of teaching and learning that foster student empowerment, decision-making, action and sustainable outcomes. -  Sustainable Communities  act in ways that nurture people and nature, now and in the future, to maintain the health and viability of our environment, society, culture and economy.

Room 17 have had a wonderful visit from Frazer Dale, Outreach Educator from Auckland Zoo, and Hazel Meadows, Sustainable Schools Advisor from Auckland Council. We discussed and examined some of the animal pests that threaten our native wildlife, such as rats, mice, stoats, ferrets and weasels. Room 17 students then undertook some “citizen science”, by installing some tracking tunnels, chew cards and wax tags within the school grounds. These will enable us to monitor what types of pest animals are present within our school. We are really looking forward to seeing the results. Enviroschools Principles in action here: - Empowered Students   are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of their early childhood centre or school. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring, and they are supported to take action for real change. - The principle of  Learning for Sustainability  recognises the types of teaching and learni...

Enviroschools Principles in action here: -  Empowered Students   are enabled to participate in a meaningful way in the life of their early childhood centre or school. Their unique perspectives are valued for the knowledge and insight that they bring, and they are supported to take action for real change. -  Respect for the   Diversity of People and Cultures  acknowledges the unique gifts, contributions and perspectives of individuals and groups, reinforcing the need for participatory decision-making in Enviroschools. -  Sustainable Communities  act in ways that nurture people and nature, now and in the future, to maintain the health and viability of our environment, society, culture and economy.