Tumeke Tumuaki! Te rā Tumuaki

 It was a chilly start this morning as we came together as a full school for karakia. We came together to acknowledge the naming of the classrooms by the affixing of new signs to the outside of them. Harakeke and Rourou now have their new signs - kua whakatau ngā ingoa hou inaianei.

Following te wā karakia we trouped over to the tomokanga of the kura to whakatō a tōtara tree that had been previously given to the school. According to the maramataka it is the optimal time for planting rākau at present.

Tamati from Harakeke placed the tōtara in the ground this morning, helped initially by Whaea Jin and Whaea Louise, then other tamariki from Harakeke to fill the hole.

Then we trouped around to in front of the office block to plant a kahikatea. Maia and Kairangi as tuākana of the school led the planting of this new rākau.

Onwards to the pool area where a rata was planted by Patricia-Lee and Sonny from Tahora.

Finally down to our 'native bush' area to plant a final tree. Tamariki from Waikawa planted this final rākau. 

A beautiful start to the day. He rangi mokopuna!

I hui mātou, te kura katoa, we came together again as a full school to finish our day also. This time as a surprise to celebrate Matua Rauru. He rā hei whakanui tō tātou tumuaki.

All the akomanga (classrooms) have been secretly preparing different pieces of mahi for Matua Rauru to thank him for all of his awesome work he does for Ōtaki School. 

The tamariki from Harakeke stood to share their writing and pictures.

B...b...beach! B...b...butter!

 The focus sound of the week in Harakeke was 'b'. We did a range of things focusing on this sound including a trip to the beach. The intention was to go in search of mauri for our class - but Tawhirimātea and Tangaroa had different ideas!

We stood on top of a bank of stones as Tawhirimātea whipped around us with Tangaroa racing up the bank to tickle our toes! 

Loads of wild stone throwing and excitement! 

Then playing in billions of beautiful bubbles!!

Followed up by a bit of butter making at the end of the week.

We have been very concerned by hearing from some tamariki that cream comes from a can! We had a great discussion about where cream comes from - before pouring some out into a bowl. Then began beating with a good old-fashioned 'egg-beater'. Bit of co-ordination needed there e te whānau! Looks of wriggly fun!

Lots of kōrero, lots of taking turns, lots of manaakitanga.

It took a long time... but we began to see some changes...

Then a change in colour and the curds separating from the whey - BUTTER!!!!

Of course we couldn't waste it! 

Tino reka!

Sandpit Update...

 We have so enjoyed watching the progress of the new sandpit. A tamaiti will notice... "I can hear a truck!" and we would race outside to see what was happening!

Things got VERY exciting the day the sand arrived...

We will be doing an official 'sand pit opening' in the new term...

Watch this space!

Bad Jelly the Witch

 During our celebrations of Matariki we were invited to Te Kāreti o Ōtaki - Ōtaki College by a class of drama students. They wanted to share the play "Bad Jelly the Witch" with us.

It was a lovely performance - an amazing opportunity for tamariki to experience live theatre - and the joy of being able to interact!

Mānawatia a Matariki

We celebrate Matariki every year starting with a full school disco on the night of the tuakana noho. The tuakana stay on afterwards for a night full of music and games (spotlight is a firm favourite!).

The pō kanikani is an opportunity to celebrate the tau hou (new year) together as a whānau, with many mātua (parents) coming to help out on the night - or just to dance the night away with tamariki.

The following morning we come together again as a full kura to celebrate the rise of Matariki. We had a little bit of rain this year so were unable to view the kahui whetū (constellation) - but the rain did little to dampen the celebration. It was a moring full of meaning as we farewelled those that passed in the year and celebrated the new born tamariki that have joined us.

Following the ceremonies we come together in the Whare Manaaki (school hall) and eat breakfast together. 

Later in the day we made whetū hei whakanuia a Matariki anō (stars to celebrate Matariki).

Ko Rangi Ko Papa - i te timatanga...

 As we looked towards Matariki we looked at the relationshipship between Rangi and Papatūānuku. We learnt the karakia ko Rangi, ko Papa and learnt about the orokohanga (the creation) of Matariki. 

We read the story about the separation of Rangi and Papa by their sons and extended the kōrero by talking about the deep sadness Tawhirimātea felt about the separation.

We decided to recreate this kōrero in a kiriata to share with the kura during our Matariki celebrations.

We began by making some masks for the kōrero.

Then over a few days filmed the different scenes. The tamariki of Harakeke were excited to see themselves on the 'big screen' at Hui-a-kura (school assembly).

Kaitiakitanga - taking care of Papatūānuku

 Continuing on with our kaupapa of Kaitiakitanga - Harakeke have been preparing one of our maara this week for spring. We have sown a range of seeds as a green manure crop. The seeds will greminate and grow and then will be dug in to rot down before planting our summer flowers and food. Adding nutrients and building up the soil so we can grow strong healthy plants.

We watered in the seeds before covering them with some pea straw.

SUPER Sandpit!

 Some VERY exciting is happening at Ōtaki School! The biggest sandpit this side of the beach is being built at the playground on the back field. We have enjoyed watching the progress. We have had a close up look at the concrete pour, as well as devlivery of materials for boxing up the sides of the sandpit.

We are hoping to open it before the end of term 🤞🤞

Kaitiakitanga - turtles, plastic and Tangaroa

We have furthered our kōrero about Kaitiakitanga this week in the wake of our visit to Island Bay Marine Education Centre. Over the week we have read a number of books and watched a number of different video clips about some of the creatures we interacted with that day.

One of the memorable creatures for the tamariki of Harakeke were the seaturtles we saw there.

We watched the following clip alerting us to the dangers of plastic in the ocean. This started a kōrero about how to be good kaitiaki of Tangaroa.

We went for a quick hīkoi to the front of the kura. We looked carefully at what was in the gutters leading down to a drain. Just the short frontage on one side of the crossing.

We talked about what would happen when it rained. Where the water would run and how it would take the rubbish with it. 

We all felt very concerned for the well being of the turtles and the other children of Tangaroa. Luckily we were able to collect this rubbish and dispose of it properly before it got washed away.

The tamariki from Harakeke made an outstanding effort to collect rubbish from around the school today - protecting Papatūānuku, as well as Tangaroa. Tino pai rawa atu ō koutou mahi i tēnei wiki tamariki mā!