Taking Action!

We have chosen an area of the school to be the Kaitiaki of and we are taking action to make sure they are ready for play!

We are Kaitiaki of the Gardens. We go around and check that there is no rubbish in the gardens and that they are watered.

We are Kaitiaki of the drains. We make sure that the covers are on the drains and there is no rubbish inside or around them.

We are Kaitiaki of the sandpit. We make sure that the sandpit toys are in the sandpit and that it is clean and ready to play in.

When we were outside, we noticed some problems....

We are going to have to think creatively about how to solve them.

Whanau day Term 4

This week we have had another Whanau day where we celebrated how we can use our strengths in different ways.

Whanau day is an opportunity for children to work in groups from all three areas of the school as well as working with their siblings. We work in different spaces around the school and often with different teachers. It is a great way to explore different parts of the school and make connections with new people.

In Carl and Nik's Whanau group we looked at the strength of Hope and how we might use it to help us when we are feeling nervous or scared about something. We made Hope jars to help remind ourselves of the things we are hopeful for next year and in the future.

These are things that we can keep with us as sometimes it becomes hard to remember. Check out some of our hopes for the future.

Why is there a bowl of water with rubbish in it?

As part of our inquiry we have been exploring problems in our local environment. During one of our discussions we identified that the drain on the top grass was often getting rubbish stuck inside. We knew that the drain would eventually lead out to the sea but that was so far away that we couldn't see how it was affecting the water.

So we collected some of the rubbish after lunch on Monday afternoon and placed it in a bowl of fresh water to see what would happen.

The water went murky and yucky. We couldn't drink the water and we know that fish and other creatures wouldn't want to live in it. 

The next step in our inquiry cycle is to take action. Each person in Autahi has decided that they will be the Kaitiaki or guardian of something in our school to make sure that it is looked after for everyone including the birds and insects.

We are excited to go out into our environment and help keep it in a healthy shape, just like those that came before us have looked after so that we could use it today.
Check out some of our writing about some of the actions we are planning on taking.

Our new Rocket Buddies

In Autahi, we are always looking for new ways to practise and enjoy our reading. 

We are very lucky to have the help of our Rocket Buddies from Tautoru. They come into class after Morning Tea to read stories and poems with us. Sharing with a buddy helps to build our reading confidence - and it's great fun, too.

Our Big Buddies also help us to learn our Rocket Words. Practising them every day improves our reading and our writing. 

This week, our Rocket Buddies have paired up with new Autahi buddies for Term 4. We are getting to know each other, learning our Rocket Words and enjoying sharing books together.

It's great to have the chance to connect with children from Tautoru, make new friends and share our books. 

Ka rawe, Big Buddies! Thanks for all your help.

We are SunSmart!

Now that we are into Term 4, the days are (mostly!) getting sunnier. We are able to enjoy even more opportunities to get outdoors during the school day.

In Terms 1 and 4, children at Worser Bay School must wear a hat that shades their face, ears and neck when outdoors. 

UV (ultraviolet) levels in New Zealand are particularly high, even on cloudy days. The face and neck are the most common places to get sunburnt, so it makes sense to slap on a hat. Bucket hats are particularly good for giving all-round coverage. We also suggest that children apply sunblock before coming to school each morning, and provide sunblock in every classroom.

During Terms 1 and 4, children without hats will be asked by duty teachers to stay under cover or in the shade during playtimes. So for maximum fun at Lunchtime and Morning Tea, please pack a hat.

It's great to see so many Autahi children remembering to bring a hat this week. Even our Lego men have brought their hats!

You might even want to consider leaving a hat at school. That way, it will always be here and there is no chance of forgetting to bring it. Have fun out there!

Obstacle Course

As part of our athletics morning on Tuesday, we had to do an obstacle course. 

Part of it was easy as we have done some of these things many times. 

Other parts of it were challenging for some of us. 

The climbing wall was a real challenge - it was high, steep and we have to use both our hands and feet to pull us over the top. 

We had to use our Growth Mindset to overcome our fears!

How can we look after our school environment?

As part of our inquiry we are thinking about how we can make improvements to our school environment. 

We are up to the sorting and creating part of our inquiry cycle.

We decided that we needed to ask some experts, so we invited Adam and Mitchell (who are year 6's) to come and give us some advice. Adam and Mitchell are part of Worser Bay School's environmental group.

They were very helpful with their suggestions about how we could make some improvements around our school, and how we could use the bigger kids to help us.

We though about the Tui's we have in our garden outside our classroom. 

If we didn't have any flowering plants and trees, would there be any Tui's? 

We decided that we could be the kaitiaki of the garden boxes outside by the sandpit. 

What would we need to plant in our garden?

What would they look like?

    

These are some of our ideas, what do you think?