Kia ora everybody,

We are excited to share our pepeha that we have been learning for Māori Language Week!

We have loved learning how to introduce ourselves and ask others:

Ko wai tō ingoa? – What is your name?

We have been practising replying:

Ko __________ tōku ingoa. – My name is __________.

We are so proud of the effort everyone has put into learning and practising their pepeha. 

Happy 6th birthday, Maria.

Wishing you a wonderful birthday filled with lots of smiles, laughter, fun and all your favourite things.

Reading King & Queen, creative book covers, whānau dioramas, and a fun Book Parade! Ka Pai, Room 4!

Book Week Character Parade Fun!

Our Book Week Character Parade was full of fun, excitement, and amazing costumes! It was wonderful to see our students dressed as their favourite book characters and celebrating the joy of reading. Thank you to our wonderful whānau for helping make PBS’s first Book Week such a special and memorable celebration!

Who is your Favourite Character? And what is your Favourite book?

Our kind words make someone else very happy and proud of their learning. We have been leaving kind comments for our Tuhi Mai Tuhi Atu buddies when they share online.

Room 5 @ Ruapōtaka School

We made up a story about leaving kind comments.



Book Week Buddy Reading!

As part of our Book Week celebrations, our students enjoyed some special buddy reading time together! It was wonderful to see our older and younger students sharing their love of books, reading stories together, and building connections across the school.

A big thank you to our reading buddies for making this such a fun and memorable experience!

Last week, Room 5 warmly invited Room 3 to visit and explore their very own art gallery in their classroom. Led by their teacher, Ms. April Song, the experience gave our Year 2 children a wonderful opportunity to discover and appreciate the creative artwork of their peers.

The students in Room 5 proudly shared their artwork with Room 3 and explained the ideas, processes, and inspiration behind their creations. Room 3 enjoyed listening to their explanations, asking questions, and taking the time to carefully look at the different artworks on display.

It was a wonderful hands-on learning experience that encouraged our students to appreciate each other’s creativity and learn from one another. The Room 3 children were inspired by the creativity and confidence of the Room 5 students and were very happy to have the opportunity to visit their art gallery. We would like to thank Ms. April Song and Room 5 for welcoming us and sharing their wonderful artwork with us!

Malo e lelei!

Every Friday is Fun Day Friday in our room! After working hard to grow our brains throughout the week, we make sure we take some time to give our brains a well-deserved break too — otherwise, things might get a little situational!

So, sit back, relax, and enjoy our movie!

My qualities are determination, patience and helpfulness.

• Determination: Although math is challenging for me, I am determined to work hard to succeed.
• Patience: I practice patience by listening carefully and waiting for my turn to speak.
• Helpfulness: I show helpfulness  at home, like helping my mother clean the house without being asked.                                                                                                     By Manu

We had three amazing lessons with Constable T about how to travel safely in a car, including how to wear a seatbelt correctly and where to sit to stay safe. We also learned how to walk safely, check for cars coming from hidden or sneaky driveways, and cross the road safely. The students really enjoyed the lessons and learned some very important road safety skills!

Friday, August 14th, was a special Mufti Day at school. We were allowed to wear our own clothes, with the theme being sports teams. We had to bring a gold coin, and the money was for the Sports Camp for the seniors. We loved being in our fun clothes.

Team One had lots of Warriors supporters. Here’s Mrs Shirley (herself a massive Warriors fan) with the decked-out supporters. UP THE WAHS!!

Room 4 is exploring the fascinating world of space as part of our Inquiry learning this term. This week, students are creating miniature models of Planet Earth while learning about its features and what makes our planet unique.

Through this hands-on activity, students are also developing their explanation writing skills by explaining how Earth works and what makes it special. Ka Pai, Room 4!!

More fabulous learning in the pool, growing confidence.

Last week, Room 3 explored sunprints as part of our art and inquiry learning on seasons. The Year 2 children were excited to get creative and experiment with colour and printing.

During our activity, we used cardboard cut-outs along with yellow and orange paint to create sun-inspired prints on white paper. We talked about how these warm colours remind us of the sun and the changing seasons, and we practised our printing skills by carefully pressing our cardboard shapes onto the paper.

This hands-on experience helped us connect our art with our inquiry into the seasons, as we explored how colour and light can represent the sun’s warmth throughout the year. We are looking forward to sharing our bright and colourful sunprint creations with everyone.

We have had a fantastic start to Term 3! In Maths, we have been developing our algebra skills using the Algebros website, created by former Ruapotaka teacher Mr Nevalagi. In Writing, we have been persuading our peers by explaining why our chosen invention is the greatest invention ever created. We also enjoyed an engaging road safety session with the Tamaki Regeneration Company, where we practised important skills through interactive activities. As we prepare for the upcoming Pacific Language Weeks, we have been exploring and celebrating the many cultures that make up our classroom. We warmly invite our whānau to join us this Friday at 1:30 pm for our Cook Islands Language Week Closing Ceremony.

The past two weeks have been packed with exciting learning and cultural celebrations in Room 1! We have loved learning about and celebrating Samoan, Sri Lankan, and Filipino cultures through games, stories, research and a special visit from Rohansie’s dad, who shared his knowledge with us. These experiences have helped us learn more about the rich cultures that make up our community. We also enjoyed our Pyjama Day fundraiser, where everyone came to school in their comfiest outfits while supporting a great cause. Wheels day was also another fun activity.



Our favourite colours

Kia orana This week is Cook Islands Māori Language Week. We joined Mrs Grant online in a Google Meet.

We also practised using some of the special tools in Google Meet. Can you see the tools below? If we want to show we like something in a meet we can click the emoji. If we want to ask a question we use the raise hand button

We watched how to create a traditional palm frond hat then tried to create an image of our own wearing a palm frond hat. Let us know what you think.

Today in Room 4, we used fraction walls and physical blocks to practice comparing fractions. Hands-on manipulative help us visualize fraction sizes and keep our minds and hands busy as we learn!