During Vagahau Niue Week, Room 3 loved learning about Niue!

Here’s a quick look at some of our class proudly showing off their posters they made after researching remarkable places in Niue.   You can see:

• Niue Maps: Finding special places like the airport, Limu Pools, and Avaiki Cave, paired with our own mini sketches.
• Self-Portraits: Drawing ourselves and introducing who we are.
• The Niue Flag: Colouring the bright yellow and blue flag.
• Favourite Landmarks: Drawing a special spot and practicing our writing.

Watch our quick video below

Our posters are now proudly displayed on our classroom wall—feel free to pop in and take a closer look!

To celebrate Niue Language Week, Room 23 got to make Takihi. It is a traditional Niue dish made with taro, pawpaw and coconut cream.

First, children took turns peeling the taro. Some got to cut the pawpaw and others scooped out the seeds. Then children took turns peeling the pawpaw. Everyone was careful not to peel the too much off the taro and pawpaw.

After that, Miss Lavakula took over with the help of Whaea Sandy. Quickly, they sliced taro into thin pieces and thinly sliced the pawpaw. We put the slices into layers on foil, poured over some coconut cream and baked it on high for an hour. The leftover pawpaw was quickly devoured by everyone too.

Once cool, the children got to eat a sample of the takihi. Some even got seconds. The children enjoyed this experience very much.

Fakaaue lahi everyone.

Check out our learner blogs for their challenges of Vagahau Niue. Here’s Nufaysah’s post here. She won the orators challenge.

We are learning about music. We have had the beat station in our classroom a couple of times, and are practicing making a beat.

We watched some of the stage show Stomp in class today. The performers didn’t use any instruments – they used things like brooms, newspapers and their shoes to make music. It was neat to see that music can come from anywhere, and there are lots of ways for musicians to make beats, melodies and songs.

The next time we have the beat station, we’re hoping to get through some of the level 2 lessons so that we can start adding some ukulele to our songs.

This week the Calypso group had a play as part of their reading contract. The students worked together each day to decide their roles, practice, add actions and props. Check out what they shared with the rest of the class on Friday!

Bula Vinaka! 

What an epic week celebrating the beautiful islands of Fiji and learning all about this friendly and vibrant Pacific nation!

Fiji is a tropical paradise filled with sunshine, sparkling sandy beaches, crystal-clear waters, colourful flowers and delicious fresh food. Throughout the week, we explored Fiji’s rich culture, traditions, language, art and music. We shared our learning, got creative and celebrated the beauty of Fijian culture together.

Vinaka vakalevu !

Bula Vinaka, Whānau and Friends!

This week, our amazing Year 1 and 2 learners took on an exciting challenge to celebrate Fijian culture. Our task was to dive deep into research, discover fascinating facts about the beautiful town of Savusavu, and present our findings in a creative way. We knew we were being judged on three main things: our information, our creativity, and our overall presentation.

Here are some amazing facts that we share in the video:

• Crystal Clear Waters: Savusavu has beautiful, see-through turquoise water that is perfect for swimming and diving!

• Friendly Dolphins: Playful dolphins love swimming right alongside boats in the bay.

• Ocean Pearls: Savusavu is world-famous for growing rare, colourful ocean pearls deep underwater.

• Hot Springs: There are natural thermal hot springs right in the town where locals actually cook food in the boiling water!

• Cocoa Pods: Bright cocoa pods grow on trees here, which are harvested to make delicious, local Fijian chocolate.

• Yummy Food: From fresh tropical fruits to delicious traditional Fijian dishes, the food in Savusavu is mouth-watering!

The Big Idea: Passing the Fiji Vibe!

We filmed a dynamic video that kicked off with the whole class coming together to shout a warm, loud “BULA!”

We learned so many cool facts about Savusavu, and we also had a total ball filming and watching the finished video together. 

Check out our video below!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19uDWG2N2SCBG2nZ-G-imyUiAx-mCA6dH/view?usp=sharing

Vinaka vakalevu for watching and supporting our Fiji Language Week learning!

Bula Vinaka!

In maths, we learned all about the ‘Unit of Repeat’—the specific combination of shapes or lines that repeats over and over again to create a complete pattern.

Here is how we put our learning into action:

1. Explore: We looked closely at Fijian masi patterns and identified the geometric shapes hiding inside them.
2. Design: Using whiteboard markers and mini whiteboards, we selected our own “unit of repeat” (for example: triangle, diamond, stripe).
3. Repeat: Working carefully, we repeated our unit to build our masi inspired designs.

Using whiteboards allowed us to experiment freely, test out different repeating sequences, and make adjustments as we refined our mathematical patterns!

Look at Our Amazing Work!

Vinaka vakalevu to our wonderful students for their focus, creativity, and mathematical thinking this week!

This week we have been celebrating Fijian Language Week!
Our 2 challenges were to create a Masi (like tapa cloth) design, and to make a presentation about the Fijian Island of Kadavu.
Here is Mr Lloyd’s example of a Masi design drawn on Google Drawings! Check out our learner blogs to see our designs and videos!

Today we had the beat station in our class! We had so much fun. Each group chose a band name by picking an animal and then a colour. It was interesting to watch the different groups problem solve when they didn’t agree. Some used paper scissors rock and others voted.

We then got into the music making. There were 4 percussion instruments that students swapped throughout the song. How do we sound?

In the afternoon we designed our band posters on canva! Students had fun picking a background, choosing a font/colour and then selecting the graphics and placement. We are so excited for the beat station to come back to our class!

Like all other language weeks, te wiki o te reo Māori was celebrated at our school. First we started with our opening assembly and our senior Kapa Haka roōpu performed. The challenges were announced and everyone had a week to complete them. You can find them on the site here. Here’s our entry for the pukana challenge.

At our closing assembly, our junior Kapa Haka roōpu performed and we found out who the winners were for our challenges. Kia kaha te reo Māori!

This week we are celebrating Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. We had the chance to learn some drawing techniques from Whaea Moana, so that we could create kōwhaiwhai patterns which we turned into printing stamps. It was tricky for me, but I am so happy with how my art turned out.

The tamariki have done such a fabulous job with their art. We are so lucky to have the opportunity to explore the history of the patterns and shapes, and turn it into something we can treasure forever.

Kia ora, whānau!

What an incredible week we had celebrating Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori!  Our classroom was buzzing with excitement, big voices, and fun learning te reo together.

Here are our awesome highlights from the week:

• Our Class Superstars! Three of our amazing classmates were the MCs for the opening assembly.  They stood up in front of the whole school, spoke with confidence, and did our class proud!
  

• The Epic Pūkana Challenge! We loved taking on all the challenges, especially making our fiercest pūkana faces.  We had big eyes, tongues out (boys only!), and plenty of giggles!
  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LSN_qDKOcYxlp6N2RJw_o-yW_z-yRr3W/view?usp=sharing

• The Longest Name Challenge! We tried our absolute best to pronounce Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronuku
  pokaiwhenuakitanatahu.

Learning te reo Māori is fun.  Keep practicing your reo at home with your whānau!

Kia kaha te reo Māori! (Let’s make the Māori language strong!)

Kia ora e te iwi,

Anei tō mātou kiriata mō te Film Festival 2026. Ko te ingoa o tō mātou kiriata ko, Tūī me ngā Taniwha. E pā ana tēnei kiriata ki tētahi tama, a Tūī, me tana whakawhitinga ki tētahi aorangi rerekē, arā ko te ao o ngā Taniwha. Ki te hoki atu a Tūī ki Papatūānuku, me kimi ia i ngā taonga tapu e toru mai i ngā rangatira. Ka taea e ia? Mātakitaki mai i te haerenga a Tūī ki tuarangi!

Nā Whakapono.

Tēnā koutou e te whānau,

Mātakitaki mai i te kiriata nei!

I te Wāhanga 2 o 2026, i whakarite ngā whetū o Manawanui ki Whakamārama Atu (Explain Everything) ki ngā īPapa he kirata mō te Film Festival o ManaiaKalani 2026!

Ko te kaupapa matua mō te kiriata – Te Wehenga o Ranginui rāua ko Papatūānuku.

Ngā Kaikōrero
Ngā Kaiwhakataki – Jack-James rāua ko Atiya
Tāne Mahuta – Rakairoa
Tangaroa – Mia
Tawhitimātea – Haki
Haumia-tiketike – Ivy
Rongomātane- Tautu
Tūmatauenga – Haki
Rūaumoko – Atiya

Ngā Kaitāpikitia:
Ranginui – Ace / Raine
Papatūānuku – Ace / Raine
Tāne Mahuta – Niwa
Tangaroa – Atarangi
Tawhirimātea – Tytan
Haumia-tiketike – Vienna
Tūmatauenga – Tuua
Rūaumoko – Mama Mia
Te Ao Marama – Ivy

Whakarongo mai, mātakitaki mai…

Kia Ora Kia, my name is Zac. I am Year six. I go to St. Joseph School, Grey Lynn. The title of the film is: See You In the Future! The film is about six boys who are telling their future selves, “are you still doing the same things as you were in the past?”

This is our first ever film we have created, and it’s the first time St. Joseph School, Grey Lynn has ever been involved in the Te Purapura Ngatahi o Manaiakalani film festival!

We would like to thank the following who have made this film come to life!

Film Editor:  Zac | Creators: Walter, Winter, Francis, Moses and Luke.

Nau mai ki tā mātou kiriata. Ko tō mātou tumanako kia kite koutou i te auahatanga me ngā pūkenga mīharo a ō tātou tūpuna. E mihi ana ki ngā ākonga mō tō rātou mahi ki te kiriata nei. Mātaki mai!



Tēnā tātou. Kua tae te wā mō te Ahurei Kiriata. Hūrō! Nei rā te mihi nui ki ngā tamariki o Whakaute i whakapau kaha ki te waihanga i te kiriata nei, “He Taonga Tuku Iho”.

Te tira whakatika, me te hākori: ko Paige, ko Cairo, ko Harbour, ko Nanaia. Ko Paige te ringa hopuata hoki i ētahi wā.

Te kāhui kiriwhakaari matua: ko Timothy (Koro), ko Hemi, ko Jayda (ngā mokopuna).

Te kāhui maramataka: ko Milena, Tame, Ahikā, Nanaia, Kharisma, Tangihaere, Eli, Taiaho rātou ko Joshua.

Mauriora!