Year One's Broad bean harvest

We are learning about growing kai with 5+Aday.  Today we harvested the broad beans we had planted in the Mara Kai.  We had great fun pulling the fat pods off the tall bean plants.  Then we put the plants into the compost, so they can make new soil for growing new food.

Back in the classroom we each opened a pod and tried the beans.

 "The inside of the pod was slimy" Thea

Sapphire "The "beans were big when I opened it".

Mia "They are yucky"

Liam "It smells good, it tastes good and the beans were big"

Advika "It tastes good"

Emile "The inside was fluffy and the bean was wet"

Ethan "There were some tiny ones like babies and some big ones like grandpas"

William "I liked them"

Jackson "They are light green in colour"

William D " They were sour an yucky"

Alice "They tasted a bit like  a chemical"

Riley Hathaway Young Ocean Explorers

 Riley Hathaway from Young Ocean Explorers visited Wakaaranga this morning. She inspired our tamariki with her vast knowledge of the Moana.  Afterward, we thought about what we'd learned and the actions we could take to be kaitiaki for our seas. 

Check out all our Mahi here

Yesha's poster

Check out all our Mahi here

Year 6 investigates the Australasian Bittern

 

Like John Oliver did for the Puteketeke in 2023, we want to champion the Australasian Bittern Matuku-Hurepo, in the 2024 Bird of the Year Competition.  We have been studying our estuary and have discovered this very rare and very shy shore bird that we hope will move into Wakaaranga Creek.

Bitterns are a Threatened (Nationally Critical) species and only 250-1,000 mature individuals remain. Matuku are wetland birds, eating eels, frogs, 

fish, and insects. They are 70cm tall and have a distinctive “freeze” stance when disturbed, while their brown-grey plumage enables them to 

camouflage into the reeds.

Year 6 further researched bitterns and then created artwork to 

promote this bird for Bird of the Year.  

We are also going to enter the Forest Bridge Trust Bittern.

You can view our mahi here:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Fw3FXaYmG4yG5xov5

Korora Little Blue Penguins with Year Two

Today our mini bird inquiry focused on korora little blue penguins.

What do you already know?

"It lives in different place from normal penguins" Henry

""They are light blue" Hugo

"They have white tummies"

Ammar "They have blue backs"

"They have flippers to help them swim" Nala

Acacia "They live in NZ"

What do you want to find out?

"What do they eat?" Oliver

"Which part of NZ do they live in?" Kayden

"How do they swim?" Milly

"How old can they live?"Kevin

"What rivers do they swim in?" Eden

"How can you tell if it's female or male" Amber and Leo

Diamond "How do they run?"

Ryder "Can they stay underwater for ten minutes?"

"What do they normally do?" Amy

"Why can't they fly" Holly

"What is their lifecycle like?" Charles

"Where do they sleep?" Naira

"How are their feathers waterproof?" Pearl

What we found out:

"They eat eat fish" Suvini

Amber "They eat squid too"

"They live in NZ and Australia" Collins

"Little blue penguins are camouflage" Isabelle

"They sleep in burrows on the shore" Evvelyn

"Penguins use their flippers to swim" Toures

We love Pedro Penguin Yoga!

Lastly, we loved learning about the korora that tried to live under a 

sushi shop in Poneke Wellington.

Next time we are going to learn about kereru and think about 

how we can help them in our area.

Yr 1 Investigate Exercise and how to fuel your body

 Yr 1 Investigate Exercise and how to fuel your body.

Today we looked at fuelling our body with the right foods that give us lots of energy to get through our day. We looked in our lunchboxes...

We looked at the food in our lunch boxes 

and decided whether they would give us the right fuel for our school day. We categorised them into Healthy and Unhealthy or Good Fuel and Not-so-good Fuel.

Then we did some 'Banana' Yoga with Cosmic kids

Lastly, we planted some more good food into our Mara Kai.

Check out the worm we found!

Our bodies need many things for our day including:

- the right food for fuel, - exercise, and - water.

Eco Warriors Enhancing Biodiversity with Pest Free Howick

Today Ms Von, Ms Daniel & our eager Eco Warriors met with Sam from Pest Free Howick.  Wakaaranga have been lucky enough to be one of ten schools selected to take part in their "Native Trees for Native Birds" programme. 

Results of our annual bird survey show that while we do have a bird population, we have almost no native birds visiting the school.  Did you know birds are an indicator of the health of an environment?

We began by introducing ourselves and then discussing areas on the school map that might be suitable for native tree planting.  It was decided that the North West corner of the school by the existing native tree area might be a great place to enhance.  

Next, we showed Sam this area of the school and she agreed that the patch of grass in the lower native bush walk area and upper part of the bank by the steps would be a great place to plant.  We are going to ask Mr Dowden to help us cover this area in cardboard and mulch ready to plant in September.  Sam is going to come up with a planting plan for us that will attract more native birds.

The Eco Warriors also wanted to beautify the area with ceramic art, so we'll approach Mrs Murray when the planting is completed.

We can't wait to see how this plan comes together! Thank you Pestfree Howick we love collaborating with our sustainable community!