• Class Training System

• • Food Room Inventory System

Welcome to the WHS Digital Technologies Class Blog.

There are two exciting projects that I have worked on over the holidays that you are welcome to check out:

• Food Room Inventory System
• Class Training System

The websites both use Google Sign-in to log in.

If you are a Digital Tech student, we would be interested in your feedback. They have both been written using Visual Studio Code – Python/Flask/HTML/CSS/JS.  Hosted on Render, and the database is on Neon.

Please use the post particular to each website so that we can keep the comments together.

The time has come to farewell our year 6 students, who will be moving on to their next steps in education, some staying local and some moving away.

As we say goodbye to a group, we welcome another, ready to take on 2026 and be the next year 6 rolemodels.

What an incredible year it has been. Enjoy the video below, showcasing some of the excitement that has taken place.

The time has come to farewell our year 6 students, who will be moving on to their next steps in education, some staying local and some moving away.

As we say goodbye to a group, we welcome another, ready to take on 2026 and be the next year 6 rolemodels.

What an incredible year it has been. Enjoy the video below, showcasing some of the excitement that has taken place.

What a fantastic year we have had in Tūī this year.  Here are some photos of what we have done this year.  We hope you enjoy seeing what we have been doing.

On Thursday 4th December our class did a dance for the school show “Alice in Westland.” We did some great boogieing and we played our ukuleles very well. Mrs Scott was so proud of us and she said we should be very proud of ourselves too. Way to go Weka Iti, you were awesome wee rockstars.

On Friday our poem was about The Rockstar Ukulele band.

This week Rūma Weka got their hands delightfully messy exploring the amazing properties of a substance called Oobleck!

Oobleck is made from just cornflour and water, but it gave us a huge science surprise! The students noticed that this gooey material is a real shape-shifter.

Solid vs. Liquid: The Great Mystery

When the tamariki applied quick, strong pressure—like punching it or rolling it fast—the Oobleck would turn hard! It felt like a solid ball or clay, and they could even walk across a tray of it very quickly!

But the moment they relaxed, or tried to move their fingers slowly through it, the Oobleck instantly turned back into a runny liquid and dripped away!

The Science Behind the Magic

Oobleck is a fantastic example of what scientists call a Non-Newtonian Fluid. Most liquids, like water, are Newtonian—they always flow the same way. But a Non-Newtonian Fluid is special because its state (solid or liquid) changes depending on the force or pressure we put on it.

• Fast Force (Pressure): Squeezes the cornflour particles together, trapping the water and making it act like a solid.

• Slow Force (Relaxing): Allows the particles to slide past each other, making it act like a liquid.

This hands-on experiment was a wonderful way to explore the Science curriculum, where we focus on “Exploring the properties of materials and how they can be changed.” We learned that not all materials follow the rules we expect, and sometimes, the best way to understand them is to get messy and experiment!

The students had lots of fun today. The helpers from Rūma Kea were amazing.

We were very lucky to get a visit from Buddy the Elf who came to visit us in our learning space. He was going to be in a show called “Elf Jr. The Musical.” at the Theatre in Greymouth. We got to ask Buddy some questions we wanted answered and he sang a Christmas carol to us and some of us joined in with this. Thanks heaps for coming to visit Buddy, we loved it.

Last week, our students were treated to a magnificent theatre experience as we welcomed the renowned Taki Rua Productions for a special performance! We were delighted to be joined by our friends from St Mary’s School for this whole-school event.

Taki Rua brought the beloved story, Te Kuia me Te Pūngāwerewere – The Kuia and the Spider by Patricia Grace and Robyn Kahukiwa, to life on our stage.

Beyond the Kōrero

This was more than just a story reading! The performance was a vibrant whakaari (dramatic presentation) directed to tell the story through powerful movement, dynamic dance, and beautiful waiata (song). The performers’ energy filled the hall with dramatic flair, making the ancient art of storytelling truly modern and engaging.

Our tamariki were completely captivated and entertained by the action, the music, and the visual storytelling. It was incredible to see them so fully engaged with the narrative, even when it was performed predominantly in Te Reo Māori. This showed the power of theatre to transcend language through expression and emotion.

A massive thank you to Taki Rua Productions for sharing this stunning piece of Māori theatre with us, and to St Mary’s School for joining us for such a memorable cultural experience!

Hallo (hello in German — we had some German students visiting us!)

Pīwakawaka went to Shantytown yesterday and had a fabulous time! We learned how Kehu guided Thomas Brunner around the West Coast when it was first explored by Europeans. He played a crucial role in making the expedition possible, as he knew the area very well. We also watched a demonstration of sluicing — a mining technique that was later banned for harming the environment. Lastly, we discussed how and why people migrated to New Zealand in the 19th century and saw how small the cabins were where people stayed during their journey across the world.

My favourite part was the train ride, where we got to see the regenerated bush that has grown back after the sawmill had chopped all the trees down.

Here are some pictures!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend,

Miss Cabral — Karina

This week, we were thrilled to welcome our local New Zealand Police School Community Officer to the class! They partnered with our teachers to deliver the Keeping Ourselves Safe (KOS) programme.

KOS is a positive, comprehensive personal safety programme designed by the NZ Police to give tamariki the skills they need to stay safe and seek help. During their visit, the officer helped us learn about the difference between safe and unsafe touches, reinforcing our right to say “no” if we feel uncomfortable.

We also learned important strategies for keeping safe if a stranger tries to approach us using a “trick” to get us to go with them.

Thank you to the NZ Police for empowering our tamariki with these crucial life skills! We encourage all whānau to continue the conversation about personal safety at home.

Nǐ hǎo (we are learning Mandarin this week),

Pīwakawaka has been studying the animal kingdom this term. We learned that animals can be divided into two main groups: vertebrates and invertebrates. Vertebrates have a backbone and can be grouped into five families.

The first group of vertebrates we are studying is mammals. We have discussed their main characteristics, such as being warm-blooded, having hair or fur, feeding their babies milk, breathing with lungs, and living in different habitats.

With the support of our wonderful parents, tamariki brought along some mammals they have at home as pets. It was such a fun morning being able to pat those fluffy and adorable animals.

Thank you to all the beautiful whānau who participated and made this experience possible.

Zàijiàn (goodbye in Chinese),

Miss Cabral

Yesterday, we were really lucky to have an Educator from the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra come to our class. We learnt about the Orchestra and how it played all the music for the Minecraft Movie. Keep an eye out for our final performance coming very soon!

Please click on the link below to check out the work we have been doing with Casper each Monday.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1qYLNWmGsZZJxHyb2y-JSbIyykIlo6Z_MIxzomFM8BqQ/edit?usp=sharing

How lucky were we this week. Nevaeh brought her pet lamb Chops to visit us. Nevaeh said that Chops was 10 days old and when Chops was born their mum didn’t want them so they decided to keep him.  Chops was sleeping inside but has gotten a little noisy and now has been moved outside. Chops also needs to be bottle fed 3x a day,  it was 6! Everyone got to pat the lamb before he went home.  Thanks for the visit Chops, it was lovely to see you.

Last week, our tamariki were thrilled to transform into dancers as they participated in a fantastic Ballet Workshop led by the Dance Educator from the Royal New Zealand Ballet Company, Neve. The buzz of excitement was palpable, and it was a wonderful way to introduce our students to dance in a fun, creative, and accessible way—proving you certainly don’t have to be a dancer to get involved!

The workshop was a perfect blend of learning and imaginative play. Neve started by leading an energetic warmup to get our bodies moving and ready for action. The students then learned some of the classic ballet positions before moving across the floor with enthusiasm. There was lots of laughing and leaping as they practiced leaping, pretending to jump over imaginary rivers!

Learning from the Best

A real highlight was the chance to learn choreography inspired by the RNZB repertoire. These workshops are flexible and adapted for all ages and abilities, making it an awesome way for our tamariki to experience the magic of dance that is performed on stage.

Neve truly brought the storytelling to life by sharing the tale of Dazzlehands, the award-winning story of the persuasive pig who won’t take no for an answer. The students were completely captivated, making great gestures and hilarious noises to go with the different parts of the story.

Our students loved the energy and creativity of the session. A massive thank you to our Dance Educator for inspiring our young learners and showing them the joy of movement!