Our Te Reo Maori Moment - Zamera

  Today is the first day of Maori language week. We are celebrating it by taking a moment to sing a waiata as a school. At 12:00 our intercom rang and Whaea Maryanne started the whole school off singing a waiata over the intercom. People around NZ are doing the same things at the same time. 

The reason we are doing this is because at 12:00 pm on September 14th 1972, 30,000 signed a petition and gave it to Parliament. It was about the use of Maori language. Back in the day you were not allowed to speak your native language, if you spoke your native language in school you would be hit with a cane, so when people spoke their native language to their friends it was like swearing! We must treasure our language.

Why is Culture Important to Me? Toby

 I’m proud to represent my culture, Maori. I enjoy it because my immediate family always represent our culture other than our cousins who don’t usually celebrate it. I would like to show them what it means to believe in your culture and show them how important our culture is. My culture means nearly everything to me.

I love the feeling when the entire group is banded together and performing as one.

Last Saturday me and my family visited a funeral for Maua Pagaialii-Taulu when they were bringing the coffin outside the church my brothers, their friends, my father & me, brought our voices together and performed a haka as loud as a siren.

I wonder where I'd be if I hadn’t known my heritage. I’m proud to be Maori.

This place is very special to me because this is the home of my Maori Heritage, Rukumoana Marae. It’s also where my koro is buried, Ike Samuels.

Tongan Tapa Maths - Nadia

 Today we completed a problem solving task that related to Tongan Language Week. This task is about working out dimensions and area of a tapa cloth.

Elisaia is measuring his tapa cloth.

Each small section is about 20cm by 15cm. 

20 x 6 = 120 cm

15 x 7 = 105 cm

120 x 105 = 12600 cm²

Area = 126m ²

Perimeter = 45 cm

Tongan Language Week by Sauma

Malo e lelei, ko Sauma au. Today my class is learning about the Kingdom of Tonga because this week is TTONGAN LANGUAGE WEEK!! The whole of Team 5 is going to be focusing on learning facts about Tonga which is amazing. It will be really great to see how my class and I are learning NEW CULTURE!

the theme of this years Tongan Language Week is Fakakoloa 'o Aotearoa 'aki 'a e Lotu Mo'oni" which means in Tongan is Enriching Aotearoa New Zealand through Prayer and Faith. Each year has a different theme of how we present Tongan Language Week!

The capital of Tonga is Nuku'alofa which is the city in Tonga where my Mum was raised, where the Queen of Tonga is, and where there is great sightseeing and great people. Tonga has great amazing events and they celebrate eveyrthing reall well, like the Helal flower festival.

Tongan Vocabulary:

Thank you very much - Malo 'aupito

No, thank you - 'Ikai, malo pe

Hi. (Informal) - Malo e lelei

Hello (Formal) - Malo 'etau lava

Measurement Madness!

 This week we have started a new focus in Maths: Measurement! One of our tasks was to select the correct device and unit to measure a range of household items. If we couldn't use a device then we used a non-standard unit of measure (for example, using paperclips to measure the height of a kettle).

                     

Check out these awesome videos of us measuring items around our homes!

Random Acts of Kindness

 Today, the 1st September is Random Acts of Kindness day in New Zealand. Kindness and gratitude are really important values in Room 4. Last term we practiced being kind to each other through the compliments project, so it felt important to celebrate this day.

We did a few random acts, but kindness does not need to be announced, so we shall leave them secret. However,  this day gave us the perfect opportunity to express our gratitude for a fantastic teacher in our block.  He himself is very kind and compassionate and we love having him in Team 5. He teaches us for PE and he spends all of Friday in Room 4!