Room 1 have been working so hard on their phonics and spelling this term!
We are so proud of the effort and progress they are showing.

Look at our superstars!

Through phonics, our tamariki are learning how letters and sounds work together to help them read and spell new words. These skills are helping them become confident readers and writers.

Today Room 12 did the very important job of analysing the two science experiments the Maunga Team have been doing this term.

The first was compost in a jar. We were surprised to see that the contents of our jar had changed significantly over 6 weeks. Have a look at one of the photos to read the amazing observations the students made. We concluded that the compost in a jar was very successful and something easy enough to do at home.

We also wrote up the findings from the buried rubbish experiment. We found that the fork, cardboard, paper towel and lunch packaging had completely or mostly decomposed. The fruit cup and lid had not changed at all. The orange was the biggest tsuprise as it had ripened but nothing had started to eat it.

It has been incredible learning to watch these experiments over term 2.

Tēnā koutou

This week we became movie makers!

We learned how to use Google Vids to create our own digital movies. We added texts, pictures, voiceovers, and background music to make our videos interesting and engaging. Our movies were all about ourselves, helping us share who we are in a creative way.

We developed our digital skills by learning how to plan, create, edit, and present information using different digital tools. We also practised speaking clearly, being creative, and using technology responsibly.

This was a fun way to learn new skills and express our ideas!

Check out my short movie about me! Enjoy!

Ngā mihi

Mrs Rubena

The Papa Team have been learning about habitats this term, this was very apparent when I spoke to Room 6 this morning. The students were able to explain what a habitat is, identify what it provides for a living thing and name some types of habitats.

We explored the idea further in our māra by searching for and observing micro-habitats. There were shouts of excitement as students uncovered centipedes, slugs, worms, snails and even spiders hiding cleverly in our garden. We talked about how important it is to leave these living creatures safely in their habitat and to put the item back that they had lifted to find it.

If we leave these creatures uncovered they may be found by a predator.

We also talked about the ways we as humans can help these creatures by providing habitats like bug hotels and lizard lounges.  We had a look at the ones around our māra and restocked them so that they are safe and inviting for insects and skinks.

We finished the day planting and weeding.

It was a fun day of solidifying Room 6’s learning.

Not only did Room 22 get to explore compost and its changing states of matter in the māra but they also had their Tread Lightly Caravan session this afternoon.

They got to visit stations teaching them about sorting rubbish and why it’s important, what should and shouldn’t go down our drains, how much energy it takes to run different electric items, our carbon footprint and the importance of some of our very small garden creatures. The activities were a lot of fun, not surprisingly the VR headsets were the most popular.

Without all of the parent help we got this would not have been possible so thank you so much to them.

The students wrote a letter each to the Lorax which was a lot of fun and something I think I will do again.

I hope that some of this learning was shared at home as we were reminded that our learning and knowledge is far more powerful when it is shared.

As you can probably tell, we’ve been busy preparing reports to go home this week, hence the late entry for Week 8! There are still a few reports to be handed out on Monday for those who weren’t at school to receive them today. I am looking forward to meeting Whanau at our Student Led Conferences on Thursday next week. I know your tamariki are really excited to show you all the hard work they’ve been doing in the school garden.

The Matariki disco was definitely a highlight of Week 9. It was so good to see everyone enjoying themselves with such huge smiles on their faces. We checked on our recycled paper that we were working on last week. It’s nice and dry and resembles the cardboard that egg cartons are made from. We’re very proud of our efforts!

Last week, Tama went home with Azyla, and this week, he has gone home with Bob for the weekend. Well done to both of you for demonstrating our school values!

Kia ora whānau,

SWEET 16 is currently working on their speeches based on Roots, Voice and Future. They had to come up with a main idea and integrate all 3 main points. Yes, they did use AI as a tool, why not? I’ll be assessing them on their delivery seeing as Orators is our year theme.

Check out one of SWEET 16’s speeches by Selanau.

Whaea J

Kia ora e te whānau,

A lot has happened since our last post!

We celebrated Samoan Language Week, we even won the best dressed challenge for our Maunga team, and boy did we look matagofie while doing it!

We said farewell to our class pets. It has been a roller coaster, but after emailing DOC it was confirmed that they were best returned to the farm that they came to us from.

Most recently, our tamariki wore their jammies for Jammies in June. Those gold coin donations went to Middlemore Foundation which provides winter pyjama’s for South Auckland tamariki. Thank you for that generosity!

Looking ahead we have Tread Lightly, a learning experience about looking after our environment, Papatūānuku, as well as our Matariki Market day. I’m sure your tamaiti has come home and told you about what we’re creating, and I know that they can’t wait to share photos of all our finished products in 2 weeks time!

This week, our learners developed their understanding of angles by estimating and measuring angles using degrees. They learned that a right angle is 90°, a quarter turn is 90°, a straight angle is 180°, and a full turn is 360°. Students confidently used mathematical vocabulary such as acute, obtuse, right angle, degrees, quarter turn, straight angle, and full turn to describe and compare angles.  

In writing, metaphors were a huge hit! Learners enjoyed identifying what two things were being compared and explaining the meaning behind them before creating their own imaginative metaphor sentences. In P.E., students practised dribbling, passing, and shootingin basketball while demonstrating teamwork, perseverance, and enthusiasm.

Celebrating the Publication of Our Book

Today marks a very special milestone for Room 12 as we celebrate the publication of our book ‘Weymouth Way’ we have worked so hard to create. Seeing our ideas, learning, and creativity transformed into a real book is an exciting achievement that we are incredibly proud of.

On behalf of Room 12, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped make this possible.

A special thank you to David Riley for publishing our book. Your support and encouragement have given us the opportunity to share our work with a wider audience. We are proud to see our writing and learning brought to life, and we are grateful for the belief you have shown in us throughout this journey.

We would also like to thank Whaea Saane and our Literacy Team (Mrs Miers, Mrs Johnson and Mrs Reddy) for their guidance, dedication, and unwavering support. From the very beginning, you believed in us and encouraged us to do our best. Your patience, hard work, and commitment helped us turn our ideas into something truly special, and we could not have achieved this without you.

This has been an exciting, rewarding, and memorable experience for every student in Room 12. Through this project, we have learned new skills, worked together as a team, and gained confidence in our abilities as writers and creators.

We are incredibly grateful for this opportunity and will treasure this achievement for many years to come. Thank you to everyone who played a part in making our dream of becoming published authors a reality.

                              .        .                          .           

Today our tamariki attended a Music Show in the Hall here at school. Tamariki were able to see  and hear many instruments that make sound such string instruments, percussion instruments, woodwind instruments and brass instruments: each making their own distinct sound.  It was a wonderful experience.  They were also shown how they can make simple instruments at home, using items that you would find lying around the home or garage.  Tamariki got the opportunity to touch and play some of the instruments and at the end of the show, they all played an instrument together and made music. Ka Rawe waka Ahuru.  That was music to my ears.

What an unforgettable day of discovery! We packed up our backpacks and headed out for an action-packed, hands-on learning experience at the zoo. The mission? To get up close and personal with some of the animal kingdom’s most fascinating creatures.

Trips like this bring our classroom lessons to life in a way that books simply cannot. We asked thoughtful questions, shared observations, and interacting with the zoo staff—showed just how much we valued this experience.

A huge thank you to Weymouth Primary School, our wonderful parent helpers and the fantastic zoo education team for making this such a safe, successful, and inspiring day for us.

First of all we fed the school animals, they were hungry. We also made sure their beds were cosy and comfy.

After we finished that Whaea Deirdre showed us where another class had seen a lizard, it was in one of the bug hotels. We saw 5 bug hotels in the māra. Last year some year 6s made bug hotels to make insects safe and cosy.

After morning tea we went back to the māra to do some weeding, a weed is a plant growing where we don’t want it. We had to make sure we were pulling our the whole weed including it’s roots. Mātua Jim thought we did such a great job!!! The garden bed is now ready to be topped up with compost. Next ew planted some carrots that had been growing in the hothouse.

In the afternoon we learnt about the two types of whales – baleen whales and toothed whales. We were able to categorise whales according to their diet.

We finished the day with a game of animal memory and floor puzzle showing the life cycle of butterflies.

What a fun day of learning we had!

Jammies in June  is a winter campaign run by the Middlemore Foundation. It helps raise funds and collect new pyjamas for children in need across New Zealand.

We learnt that some children need warm pyjamas in winter. We wore our pyjamas to school and talked about being kind and helping others. We all brought a gold coin to help fundraise. It was fun wearing our cosy jammies to school!

“Can Whaea Saane make jammies our new school uniform?” said Kahalehili

Kia Ora whanau

Hope you are keeping safe in this cold weather.

Below are some clicks from the ‘Sound show’ which took place in the school Hall on 9th June where children learnt about playing different instruments. As we are doing  topic ‘Sound’ in our Inquiry, so this was good opportunity for our students to play some musical instruments and to get knowledge about how some of the musical instruments can be created from recyclables.

Attached is a video from ‘Lets Siva’ performance as well. Thankyou

Room 4 had a very exciting visit from a Guide Dog puppy and its trainers. The children were thrilled to meet the beautiful dog and learn about the important work that Guide Dogs do to help people who are blind or have low vision.The trainers taught us how Guide Dogs are carefully trained from a young age to become confident, calm, and helpful companions. We learned about the different signals that dogs use to communicate how they are feeling. The children were fascinated to discover that a dog’s tail, ears, eyes, and body position can tell us whether a dog is happy, nervous, relaxed, or excited.The puppy was very well-behaved and showed us how it follows commands and listens carefully to its handler. The children asked thoughtful questions and enjoyed hearing about the puppy training journey.This visit helped us learn about kindness, responsibility, and how animals can support people in their daily lives. It was a wonderful hands-on learning experience, and Room 4 would like to thank the Guide Dog team for taking the time to visit us and share their knowledge.

What a pawsome day of learning for Room 4!