TERM FOUR - Week 1

Niuean / Indian Language Week

Footsteps dance programme

Welcome back to Whakapono 18, for our final term of the year.  This week we celebrated both Niuean language week and Indian week and created some place mats which includes patterns and designs from both cultures.

We researched a range of rangoli patterns and niuean patterns to add to our place mat.  We decided to use the traditional black and white colours, then decided to add colours too.  Here are some of our final place mat designs.

Today we had the chance to learn some dance moves from the new dance program called 'Footsteps' which the whole school is involved in.  Today Rooms 17-20 learnt the 'Gasolina' dance, which is a hip hop dance about driving fast cars.  Each Friday, when we have dance lessons, we will have a dance element to focus on.  Today our dance element was Space.  Our dance coach goes by the name 'Jerrie' 

 

We were very interested and nervous at the same time about what we would look like.  

 We also looked at different types of space elements such as levels (high, medium & low), and direction.

We managed to get through half a dance routine, and look forward to next week's session where we will learn the rest of our dance moves.

TERM THREE - Week 10

Persuasive Writing

This term for writing, our genre was persuasive writing.  We integrated this into our speech writing this term, and based it around our yearly theme 'Champions'.  

Some of our Learning Intentions / Purpose were as follows: 

• Constructs texts that show a growing awareness of purpose and audience through careful choice of content, language, and text form.
• -Uses a range of vocabulary to communicate meaning.
• Organises and sequences ideas and information

Our inspiration to speech writing came from a speech by an aunty whose nephew was in a car accident. She wrote a persuasive speech to try and increase the driving age. Here is the speech if you would like to watch it. Putting the brakes on Teenage Driving

On Term 3, Week 10, Monday the 23rd of October, 2019, we had our Whakapono speech finals, where the judges were to select 3 / 4 students to go through to the grand finals.  Room 18 were so proud to have put forward 3 speech finalists: Manoa Tuifua, Sunia Ungounga and Majete Autagavaia.

After listening to some amazing and entertaining speeches, there could only be three winners that go through to the grand finals.  We were all waiting patiently to hear the judges announcement.  YEAH!!! We had Sunia and Majete from Room 18, make the grand finals.

So again, we were in the hall on Tuesday the 24th of October, with Team Tumanako, all anticipating the speeches that were to come.  So now we had the Year 4's, 5 and 6's.  

We sat there listening to many speeches, some were funny, some were serious and some were very good topics.  But to be honest, we just wanted to hear who wins?

Drum roll pleaseeeeee!  The winner for the Year 6 speeches was Sunia Ungounga and in second place was also our very own Majete Autagavaia.  It was Whakapono 18 in the house!!!!

We enjoyed our time in the hall listening to all the wonderful speeches, but especially supporting our Room 18 students.  

Some excerpts from our speech finalists.

First of all, what is a champion? I believe that a champion is someone who doesn’t give up so easily, and who show’s important values such as Participation, Respect, Integrity, Determination, and empathy just like our school values. By Manoa

For example, how champions like Steven Adams has set up some basketball courts in Rotorua for children who want to be better basketball players and to keep kids off the street.  That’s why we need champions like him to be an amazing role-model to others especially to children.

Champions are also people who need to have good leadership skills and use our spectacular pride values, Participation, Respect, Integrity, Determination and Empathy.  Champions model these values and for a kid like me, that’s what I want to be and that’s why I believe we need champions, who will show us the way. By Sunia

A champion learns lessons from mistakes, focuses on daily improvement and continues to achieve their goals like the Australian Rugby team, they tried and tried to win against the All Blacks and they did.

A champion has the willingness to learn and listen, they are willing to learn and stay committed to it, like us as students, being here at school to learn and better for a better future. By Majete Autagavaia

TERM THREE - Week 9

Year 5 EOTC Week

The purpose of our EOTC week, was to experience learning outside of the classroom, with activities that would normally challenge ourselves and place us out of our comfort zone.

EOTC and the Key Competencies - Thinking, Managing self, Participating and Contributing

EOTC and the Values in the NZC - Persevering in the face of difficulties; Respect (for) themselves & others; Thinking critically, creatively, and reflectively; Community and participation;

During our EOTC week we had the privilege of having Mr Graham Plows (also known as Gecko, his scouts leader name) take us for some exciting activities

     

We learnt how to use natural resources to form a stretcher and the what we can do incase of an accident outside that required us to help / save an injured person.

 Building a tent wasn't as easy as we thought.  There were ups and downs, blow aways and flat nothing (hehehehe), BUT we did get it up in the end.  It is a good skill to learn for when you go camping or when you use a tent.

The most fun activity of the day, was getting to lift all the different weight of people in a stretcher made out of two pieces of wood and a plastic bag. Wow!!! It's amazing what you can make out of things we take for granted.