Project Jonah Visit Year 4

 Today, Year 4 had a very special visit from Michael and his walk-through whale from Project Jonah.

What do we already know about whales?

Nolan "Whales hearts are bigger than people"

Luke "As big as a car"

Evelyn "They live in the ocean"

Kyrie "Whales are fat and juicy. They breathe air"

Eiden "Whales are thick"

Aiden "Whales are the biggest mammal"

Eden "Whales have a spout to shoot water  and to breathe"

Celine "They can hold their breath for 20 minutes."

What did we learn after visiting with Michael and his whale?

Charles: "The humpback whale has the biggest arm of all animals"

Atlan: "A humpback whale can eat 6 tonnes of krill a day"

Hiraya: "Some whales have baleen, but some do not"

Nico: "Blue whale hearts are bigger than small cars"

Collins: "Humpback whales are the only whales that have long tubercles for smell"

Gaynuka: "Humpback whale sing loud"

Millie: "They have eyes on their sides, so they can't see forward very well so they use smell and hearing to locate things"

Bryn: The fluke is made out of cartilage, the same as our noses"

Rylee: " When the humpback whale sprays out of the blowhole, it is not just water. It is snot, air and water"

Verage: "Humpback whales work together to eat krill by blowing bubbles while spinning underneath them"

Thank you so much, Michael and Project Jonah.  We loved learning with you!

Pestfree Cadets & the Furry Vermin

Today, in Session Two  of  Pest free Cadets we began by creating a predator free sanctuary.  We had to choose the native animals to place inside the fence and the pests to keep out. Ethan talked about some of the amazing native species we have in New Zealand like the luminescent limpet, the puriri moth, the Kiwi & tuatara. then he told us about some of the destructive pests that harm our native animals.

We were amazed to see taxidermy specimens of some of the pests that threaten our unique native species.  

Ethan handed out fake poop and footprints for us to match to the pests like master trackers. 

Next time we are gong to set out tracker tunnels to see which pests are in our environment.

Year 3 Feelings About Food

 Today Year Three got thinking about food.  We reviewed the food groups and how they're good for our bodies. 

You can watch the video about it here

We checked in our lunchboxes to see if we could identify what food groups we have to eat today. It was very tempting not to eat anything.....

Next, we looked at how kai makes us feel. Too little and we might get HANGRY, too much and we feel overfull. 

Room 29 made posters to encourage everyone to make healthy food choices.

Room 1 Look at what a plant needs

 Today, Room 1 looked at what a plant needs to grow.

A plant needs: rain, sun, air, warmth, soil, compost and space.

We also had a chance to do a quick litter hunt to keep our native bush clean. Well done, Room 1, for your mahi.

Year Three Connecting with Kai

 Today, Year Three were thinking about how eating a wide variety of food helps our bodies grow and learn.  We began by talking about our favourite meals. Then we got into groups to sort picture cards into protein, grains, milk and milk products and fruit and vegetables. 

Different kai is good for different parts of our body.  We had a magnetic board and labels to help us sort this idea out. 

Lastly we completed a cut and paste activity and fill in the blanks sheet to consolidate our learning.

Next time you have a meal, can you check if it contains different food groups?

Pest Free Cadets with our Eco Warriors

Today, Ethan from Pest Free Howick held his first of 4 sessions with our Eco Leaders. Ethan began his journey in sustainability just like our tamariki, in his school enviro group; now he is studying environmental science at university and working for Pest Free Howick.  Ethan started working in sustainability as part of his Enviro Group at Howick College. Part of his work was trapping pests in Mangemangeroa Reserve.

Session 1

Introduction to what Ethan does, and what is in our local area.

Session 2

Year 6 Put Their Research Skills Into Action in the Estuary

 Today, Year 6 learnt about endemic, native, introduced and pest species. We learnt with the Science Learning Hub and then reviewed with a Kahoot, Ms Daniel made using the animals that live in the Wakaagranga Creek. We know the species in our estuary as in 2023 our Eco Warriors went on a trip there.  They observed the animals and then did DNA testing.  Here's the link to the blog post we made at the time : https://wakaenviro.blogspot.com/search?q=edna

Then it was time to put our research skills into action.  We each chose one estuarine species to read about and summarise into posters.  We are going to share our findings on the Piwakawaka windows. We are especially interested in how we can protect these animals. Check out our  beautiful posters HERE and HERE