Yendarra Senior Whanau Blog

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Week 10 Attendance Results

Congratulations to the following classrooms for achieving BEST attendance...

Room 23 with 95%

Room 20 with 92%

Room 2 and Room 22 with 91%

Ka rawe Tamariki!

Matariki Learning

Children in Room 21 have been learning about Matariki, what makes it unique to New Zealand and how we celebrate it.

We read and listened to stories. We learned that there is a cluster of 7 stars. There are old stories that say these 7 stars represent 7 evil sisters that tried to starve Matai’s brothers to death. (Keithaline)

We learned that there are many ways to celebrate Matariki. We can celebrate it by spending time with our family and friends. We can gather kaimoana and go fishing. We can also learn to weave and carve. (Awhiana)

A small group of us visited our wharehui to look at the beautiful carvings.

We thought we would try weaving. With the help of our kaumatua Mrs Baker, we learned to weave angel fish and flowers. We discovered that it is a lot harder than it looks!

We can’t wait for Matariki next year!

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Matariki

Everyone at Yendarra School is busy celebrating Matariki, the Maori new year.

It is a fantastic time of the year to celebrate the Maori culture and use the beautiful Te Reo language.

10 very lucky students from our school were invited to visit the Otara Library to celebrate Matariki with students from other schools in our area. They travelled in our Yendarra School van.

The children loved learning about the Pacific Islands and how people came from these islands on a waka. They couldn't believe that it might takes months to get to New Zealand! All the Yendarra students loved listening to stories and seeing artifacts from the Pacific Islands. They had heaps of fun doing the hula and swaying their hips.

It was great to come back to school and share all of their new learning with their classmates!

Happy Matariki to everyone!

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Room 22 Presents... Alligator Alley!

On Tuesday Rm 22 had an assembly. We performed a play called Alligator Alley in the wharehui. When the children walked in I felt so nervous that I got butterflies in my stomach. I was the reader with Joyful and I was trying to read with expression. When our assembly finished I felt proud of myself because I was using a loud voice. I saw the kids happy so I knew they thought the play was excellent. Josey.

Josey and Joyful as the readers and Mykyll as Mrs O’Malley.

Room 22 performed a play and it was called Alligator Alley. We did the play in the wharehui. When we started I felt really confident. I was Mrs O’Malley and she was the main character who went walking down by Alligator Alley. When we finished I was very proud of myself because I was not too shy. I went and hugged my mum and she was very proud of me too. Mykyll.

Savannah, Daniel, Tamanui and Javaan as the frogs.

Last Tuesday we performed a play at the wharehui. I was a frog and the play was called Alligator Alley. The parents arrived first. Then Rm 13 was the first class to show up. I was feeling pretty confident. Suddenly all the classes came. It was time for our play. “Alligator Alley,” said Joyful and Josey. The frogs, (me, Tamanui, Savannah and Torah) said “Beware! Beware! Don’t stop, don’t stare, don’t dilly-dally in Alligator Alley.” Finally it was the end and I just felt like hugging my mum. Daniel.

Mafi, Hope, Ellen-Rose and Johnny as the snakes.

Waimarino, Kristina, Kay-Lee and Dejunay as the birds.

Rm 22 were performing a play at assembly and it was called Alligator Alley. I was a bird. When the guests arrived I was feeling like I was going to explode with happiness! I was excited and I felt like I was going to be sick but I wasn’t because it already started. I wasn’t shy anymore because nobody laughed at me. At the end I felt free! Kristina.