Mini News from our kura

TECH @ KURANUI:
Our Year 7–8 ākonga have been engaging in a range of specialist learning opportunities at Kuranui College every Monday afternoon this term. This is the first year we've partnered with Kuranui in this way, and the feedback from both staff and students has been incredibly positive.

The four specialist subjects on offer are Food Technology, Te Ao Māori (utilising hard materials), Music and Music Production, and Visual Art. Each area has offered rich, hands-on learning experiences that have seen our students thrive.

This week, the Food Technology rōpū will be inviting a special guest to enjoy an afternoon tea—all the kai will be prepared by the students, showcasing the skills they've built throughout the term.

In Visual Art, students are putting the finishing touches on striking self-portraits that creatively combine sketching, collage, and painting techniques. The Music students have formed small bands and are learning instruments including drums, guitar, bass, and vocals, while also exploring digital music production using GarageBand.

The Te Ao Māori class has created traditional Māori instruments such as purerehua and porotiti, and constructed visuals of Te Whare Tapa Whā as part of their learning about hauora and wellbeing.

Perhaps most impressive has been the way that our students have represented our school with mana and have been so engaged in the learning. They have developed remarkably quickly in a number of key skills in their respective areas of learning.

TPEPEHA TRIP - TEAM KAWAKAWA:

On Thursday 27th March, a very excited Team Kawakawa (Year One  to Year Three students) headed off on their annual Pepeha Trip. The purpose of this trip was to provide our students with the opportunity to connect to the places in our school Pepeha. 

The day began with a bus ride out to Gladstone, where we made a quick stop outside Hurunui-o-Rangi marae, before continuing on to the Ruamahunga awa for morning tea. Afterward, we got back on the bus and ventured out to Mount Holdsworth. Once there, we enjoyed a short walk to Donnelly’s Flat for lunch and took part in nature-based activities such as taking photos with a 'human camera' (cardboard camera), collecting objects to make a nature mandala, creating stone sculptures, and incorporating maths by ordering objects. 

It was a beautiful spot for us to sing our Pepeha, and students had a wonderful time, with many saying they enjoyed the bus ride and playing with the stones by the awa. A great day had by all!

The four specialist subjects on offer are Food Technology, Te Ao Māori (utilising hard materials), Music and Music Production, and Visual Art. Each area has offered rich, hands-on learning experiences that have seen our students thrive.

This week, the Food Technology rōpū will be inviting a special guest to enjoy an afternoon tea—all the kai will be prepared by the students, showcasing the skills they've built throughout the term.

In Visual Art, students are putting the finishing touches on striking self-portraits that creatively combine sketching, collage, and painting techniques. The Music students have formed small bands and are learning instruments including drums, guitar, bass, and vocals, while also exploring digital music production using GarageBand.

The Te Ao Māori class has created traditional Māori instruments such as purerehua and porotiti, and constructed visuals of Te Whare Tapa Whā as part of their learning about hauora and wellbeing.

Perhaps most impressive has been the way that our students have represented our school with mana and have been so engaged in the learning. They have developed remarkably quickly in a number of key skills in their respective areas of learning.