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 Recap food groups and how Kai makes us feel

 We reviewed our learning from last week. Remembering the 5 food groups. 

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.

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

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

Year 5 Continue their journey into Active Travel

 First, we reviewed with a Bus Stop activity the definitions from the last lesson.

Climate change, fossil fuels, exhaust emissions, air pollution, greenhouse gases.

Then we circled back to this picture...

We re-created the scene showing what an urban community would look like if people changed their behaviours and made good choices in terms of caring for the environment.

We brainstormed what we could put in our pictures...

Maz- we could add electric cars

Anna- put in more trees

Noah- make a safe space for families to socialise

Hunter- make the pond clean and free from rubbish

Kera- make a walking and cycling path

Create- fewer parking spots so more people can cycle, scooter and walk.

Juliet- build a playground for the children

Tom- make the water safe for fish and people to swim in

Nova- I am going to add lots more trees

Muller- I am adding a zebra crossing to make it safer to people to cross

Rachel- I would like to add a river

Aaria- I am going to add a water tank to store water sustainably

Shae-  I am adding a bus stop for people to wait safely in

Tanya - a lifeguard tower at the beach front

Year 6 Look at Estuaries as Habitats

Did you know our estuary contains six different habitats that are home to lots of different plants and animals?

Year Six quizzed, read, cut, pasted and played to learn about the salt marshes, mudflats, shallow/deep water, seagrass meadows, mangrove forests and sand shores that make up the Tamaki Estuary.

Room 21 had time to draw a tricky mud crab:

Year 5 explore How Active Journeys help the Environment.

 Today, Year 5 looked at ways active travel can help the environment.

We tackled some big concepts today. 

Finding links between Fossil Fuels, Exhaust Emissions and Air Pollution. 

We then looked at a community with a challenge.

We identified signs of pollution, waste and poor infrastructure. 

We thought about how this affected the people living there. 

Then we came up with solutions!

Next time, we will create our own urban communities, 

looking at all the possibilities for a clean, green future.

Being Kind with the Youth project.

 This term, Claire from the Youth Project will be working with all our tamariki to explore what kindness is and how we can be kind to our environment and the community.  Each year group will take a different action to care for our tangata.

We learnt that there are 3 aspects of kindness: 

1. Being friendly 

2. Being generous 

3. Being considerate 

All these things are FREE.

5th May

Year 5, we made hearts for our local heroes, which will be distributed in the community anonymously.

https://www.facebook.com/share/1CsNpHaEXq/?mibextid=wwXIfr

25th May

Our year 3's made gorgeous key rings for our gifts for the community.

Travelwise Leaders, Leading the Way

 Today, our Travelwise Leaders had a visit from Maggie, who works at Auckland Transport. She works closely with Travelwise Leaders in lots of schools in Auckland.

We looked at what makes a good leader. Did you know that all our Travelwise Leaders used an active travel to school today!

We looked at actions we could take this term... Maybe a Big walk to school? or "Look out for us" campaign.

Zara the Zebra Mascot Crossing campaign, or Red Man/ Green Man crossing campaign.

Mia suggested A bike check at school.

We all liked the idea of Red Man/Green Man crossing Campaign.

We are going to book Maggie for a SPEED RAIDAR Activation to measure the speed of the cars outside our school gate.