Whanau day

 

This week we had another Whānau Day. For those who are unfamiliar, Whānau Day is an opportunity for us to work vertically across the school. This means that all our age groups are mixed together to form groups from Year 1 all the way to Year 6. This gives us a range different experiences as all learners bring their own knowledge to the table.
Within these groups we also have Whānau (family) together. Brothers and Sisters and Cousins all get to work together.

This year in our Whānau groups we have had a focus around storytelling and the Arts.

In Carl and Hayleys group this week we explored using Drama skills like using our body shapes and movement to tell a story. In our session we explored 8 different Atua and their domains. 

Check out our freeze frames below:

Ruaumoko, Atua of Earthquakes and Volcanos

Rehua, Atua of the Stars and Healing

Tawhirmatea, Atua of the Winds

Tangaroa, Atua of the Oceans

Ikatere, Atua of Fish and Swimming

Tumatauenga, Atua of Battle and Humans

Tane Mahuta, Atua of the Forest

Junior Cross Country 2024: taking on the challenge!

 

We have been training hard for Cross Country, beginning with runs around school and progressing to a practice run on Worser Bay Beach.

Cross country is a chance to practise the skill of setting ourselves a goal and working towards it. Our goal was to run all the way around the course. When we first started practising, not all our students thought they could do this. Training for cross country is a golden opportunity for our students to experience how, by dialling up their Bravery and using their Perseverance, they can do things they did not realise were possible. 

Practising on the beach gave us a chance to rehearse how the run works on the big day and where it goes. We also got in training for cheering each other on. Luckily, we had some big Seniors to help guide us along the route and give us lots of encouragement to keep going right to the end.

When the big day arrived, we were so lucky with a glorious, sunny afternoon.

Our runners showed heaps of Grit and Perseverance to keep going all the way around the course...

... including mountaineering up the sand dune.

We made it! It's a great feeling and really something to celebrate when we set ourselves a goal and work hard to achieve it.

It's also great to take the opportunity to have a post-run hangout with friends at the beach.

We are so proud of how our Autahi students took on this new challenge with so much Zest. We hope that they are feeling a great sense of Positive Accomplishment that they can carry into other areas of their life and learning. Go Autahi!