Lots of the learners in Autahi were so excited to experience Whanau day at Worser Bay School yesterday. So in this Blog post I will explore what Whanau day is, how it works and the benefits we get from having them.
What is Whanau day?
Whanau day is an opportunity for us to work in a different way across the school. While we usually are split into our year groups, on Whanau day we mix things up and work in mixed groups with children from all classrooms. This mix of older and younger provides lots of opportunity for learning. If a child has whanau at the school, then they will be in the same group and be able to work together for the day.
During Whanau day we explore bigger concepts to do with Te Ao Maori, learning about the language, stories and culture of Aotearoa. Having a language rich environment with our skilled seniors helps our younger learners be exposed to new concepts and language. It provides an atmosphere where we can learn alongside our peers.
How does it work?
The school is mixed up into Whanau groups where they work in different spaces and with different teacher pairings. For teachers, it gives us the chance to work our colleagues in exciting ways. For learners, it helps to meet other teachers and students that they might not normally work with. In Autahi it is always exciting to hear back from learners who have had a great experience with new people.
Within these whanau groups we often work on projects across the day where we match up our older and younger learners to help support each other. Here are some examples of a three part art project we used to show the story of Ranginui and Papatuanuku
The benefits
Teamwork and Leadership stand out during Whanau day as we work vertically through the school. All students have the chance to share their learning and explore in different ways. Arts and music take centre stage as we explore new ways of sharing our learning.
We encourage you to talk to your child about their experience and to share some stories with you!
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