Play in Koru Week 4- Sushi Restaurant

Welcome to the Sushi restaurant. What fun the children had gathering up all the blossoms from our courtyard tree. They were so imaginative using it as rice to make sushi and miso soup. The play was sustained over several days as the children designed and expressed their ideas. Children made signs, decided on prices and recipes and worked together as a large group. Then they created a living social/drama as they acted out their parts in the game

 

Balmoral Arts Festival 

Arts festival is a wonderful time of year where the whole school is given the opportunity to grow their creativity and build skills with in the arts. Each student from year 1 through to year 8 spends three days making art. Every year there is an artist in residence working in the school to inspire children and show them how artist work. The festival ends with a school wide exhibition where each student displays a piece of work and whanau and friends are invited to come and celebrate with us . 

                                                        Kāinga Rimu's art work

Art week in Whanau koru

Kāinga Kōwhai 

In Kāinga Kōwhai we have been inquiring into birds and what makes a bird a bird. This lent itself beautifully to bright and colourful art projects. The Piwakawaka's decided to learn about screen printing and print their drawings of birds. The Pukeko's let their imaginations run wild with big bright crazy birds.

Piwakawaka's

The Piwakawaka's started off drawing every kind of bird you could imagine. There was lots of close looking of shapes and lines and some beautiful drawings were produced.

We took the drawings and photocopied them cutting them out to use as stencils for our screen prints. The teachers helped with the cutting. 

Next everyone chose a color and placed their stencil under the screen and pulled the ink across.

 They waited for it to dry and then choose another colour.

 The reveal of printmaking is always so much fun!

Here is Lucas's Hawk standing on a rock. Can you see the egg?

 Look at Jason's Flamingo!

The final pieces had two colours and were sewn onto fabric.

This is Violet's owl sitting in it's nest with it's eggs!

All the work look fabulous on opening night!

Pukeko's

The Pukeko's started their project by designing their crazy birds. They had to think about how big it would be? what type of beak their bird might have? what would the wings look like? what about the the legs? big or small? spiky or smooth? So many decisions to make! Then they set to work drawing, painting, detailing with vivid and cutting. They stuck all the piece together and wow... they had created their own unique birds!

Their work took center stage at the exhibition being hung along the glass banister on the second floor. Their birds had been painted and designed to be seen from both sides! What a great exhibition.

 Term 4 in Whānau Koru

Welcome back everyone- let's hope we make it to the end without a break!

It has been so good to see everyone return to school with big smiles, lots of stories; eager to see friends and continue learning.

Great to see everyone wearing pōtae- it's going to be hot!

This last term at school is proving to be as busy as usual. Please keep an eye on the newsletters for everything that will be coming up.

Nathan Mikaere Wallis is speaking at school this week. This is a must! We are so lucky to have him speak to the community. Don't forget to purchase your tickets.

This term we continue to welcome our newest tamariki to Kāinga Pōhutukawa

Our older students have taken them under their wings and are being great friend and learning buddies. We are thrilled to have them as part of Koru and our Balmoral learning community.

A Koru snaphot...

A bird's foot by Omo. We could see it's beautiful shape in its shadow.

Kākapo

Getting to know each other- Day 1!

In the new gymnasium

Sea shell song

Dinosaur Kaitiaki!

Kaitiakitanga

Te Whānau

Whānau Learning
August

Tū mai e moko. Te whakaata o ō mātua. Te moko o ō tīpuna.

Stand strong, O moko. The reflection of your parents.

The blueprint of your ancestors.

This whakataukī guides the principles, the Kaupapa whakahaere, 

of our guiding curriculum Te Whāriki.

The principles are 

Whakamana- Empowerment

Kotahitanga-Holistic development

Whānau tangata- Family and community

Ngā hononga- Relationships

In this time of learning together at home, thank you for nurturing these principles with your tamariki. 

Thank you for sharing- here is a snapshot of whānau learning.

So good to see you all!

Ollie is ready to go. He's called the Roll!

Birds, birds everywhere!    

Bird making

Nest making

and 

Bird Feeders! 

  

Can you find a Rimu tree?

We went on a Rimu tree hunt. The first tree we found had the wrong type of leaves - they were round not spiky - and the berries weren't red… Dad thought he'd found one, but I told him the tree wasn't right… We are pretty sure there is a Rimu tree just down the road from my Nana's house.

Play is your work- so busy and creative!

Exploring Groups of Ten

or groups of six because Isla is 6!