percussion with Andreas

Today we had a fantastic percussion workshop with Andreas, who taught us about a whole lot of percussion instruments including bongos, congas, vibraslaps, cowbells, toms, snares, high hats, cymbals, gongs, sound boxes, cajons, maracas, and many others. It was awesome!

Sāsā

Today we began learning about percussion, rhythm and beat, by learning this sāsā.

See if you can keep up!

Leader & all: Milli milli milli .....
Leader: Patia
Leader: Lua Pati
Leader: Hey hey
All: Hooooo
Leader: Mumai
All: Moo
Leader: Ata mai
All: Ah
Leader: Ita mai
All: Iiiiiiii
Leader: Totala fa
(*** *** *)
1 2 3 4 (turn 1/4) shu!

Leader: Tulolo nofo!

Leader: Sauni!

Mahuri Term 4 Newsletter

Kia ora parents, caregivers and children,

Term 4’s looking like our best yet: Rongoā Māori workshops with Enviroschools Rongoā expert Arihia Latham, Athletics day, the school fair, kids-as-experts-workshops, visiting William Kentridge’s The Refusal of Time at the City Gallery (for the Y4s) and creating a shadow pageant, swimming (for the Y3s), a student-led Amazing Race, walks to identify local native plants for Rongoā Māori, Zoo sleepovers, democratic classrooms, making kawakawa balm, walk to Red Rocks, hackschooling, school picnic, percussion jams…!

U-Learn conference

Last week Shanon and Amy A travelled to Rotorua with six other teachers from school for the U-Learn conference. We heard some fantastic international academics and New Zealand practitioners who gave us lots of food for thought that has inspired us to keep developing our teaching and learning practice. In M13 we are looking at how our classroom can be more democratic, handing over as much power as possible to children. Check out the hackschooling TED talk, posted below...

Inquiry: Rongoā Māori

Through the context of Rongoā Māori, we will explore the physical and chemical changes that occur to substances when they are mixed, heated and cooled. We’ll get hands-on, identifying and classifying local native plants, learning about their medicinal uses, and creating our own balms and other kinds of Rongoā Māori medicine. Enviroschools Rongoā expert Arihia Latham will come and run workshops with us in the Learning hub to teach us about Rongoā practices. Our reading and writing programmes will integrate with our Inquiry learning.

Our maths focus areas this term are Number, Problem Solving, Basic Facts, Algebra, and Statistics – probability. In physical education we will focus on athletics.

Music: percussion

We are running a music rotation this term – each class will spend 2 sessions with each teacher in the team, across the term. From rākau to sāsā to Stomp beats, we’ll be drumming and exploring different elements of rhythm, beat, and percussion.

Parent help

If you can support our class programme with either regular or one-off parent help, we’d love to hear from you. Spelling testing and reading with children are particularly useful ways to help. We always welcome parents visiting to read a favourite book or share some knowledge or expertise; even if you’ve already read to the class, we’d love you to come back again!

Home learning

A reminder to return home learning folders to school on Mondays. Each Monday children will bring home a new list of ten spelling words, an updated Reading log (if needed) and basic facts to be learned off by heart during the week.

Dates this term

Tuesday 21 October                         Rongoā Māori workshops in the Learning Hub

Wednesday 22 October                   Whole School Athletics Day at Wakefield Park

Thursday 23 October                       postponement day for Athletics Day
Friday 24 October                            Whole School powhiri, 9.15am

Monday 27 October                          Labour Day

Saturday 1 November                      School Fair

Tuesday 4 November                       M13’s trip to the City Gallery

Wednesday 5 November                 M12’s trip to the City Gallery

Thursday 6 November                     M14’s trip to the City Gallery

Tuesday 11 November                     Southern Zones Athletics

Tuesday 2 December                       Mahuri inquiry exhibition, 9am – 10.30am

Thursday 4 December                     Day walk to Red Rocks

Monday 8 December                       Amazing Race

Wednesday 10 December               M12 & M13’s zoo sleepover

Thursday 11 December                   M11 & M14’s zoo sleepover

Monday 15 December                      Whole School picnic

Tuesday 16 December                     Portfolios come home

Thursday 18 December                   Poroporoaki, last day of school

Thank you for your ongoing support. As always, if there is anything you would like to discuss regarding your child’s learning, please get in touch to make a time to talk.

Ngā mihi,

Shanon, Adele, Ximena and Amy

Our latest tidy-up song: Happy

In M13 we always have a tidy-up song to dance along to as we tidy the classroom. For a long time we would get tidying as soon as we heard the first strains of the Wellington International Ukulele Orchestra's version of Cry Me A River.

But now we've changed over to HAPPY by Pharrell Williams. Just see if you can stay still while you listen to it (bet you can't!)

Happy
~
It might seem crazy what I’m about to say
Sunshine she’s here, you can take a break
I’m a hot air balloon that could go to space
With the air, like I don’t care baby by the way
~
Chorus: Because I’m happy;

Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof, because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth, because I’m happy
Clap along if you know what happiness is to you, because I’m happy
Clap along if you feel like that’s what you wanna do
~
Here come bad news talking this and that, yeah,
Well, give me all you got, and don’t hold it back, yeah,
Well, I should probably warn you I’ll be just fine, yeah,
No offense to you, don’t waste your time, here’s why
~
[Chorus]
~
Hey, come on (happy)
Bring me down; can't nothing bring me down
My level's too high
Bring me down; can't nothing bring me down
I said (let me tell you now)
Bring me down; can't nothing bring me down
My level's too high
Bring me down; can't nothing bring me down, I said
~
[Chorus 2x]
~
Hey, come on, bring me down… can’t nothing…
Bring me down… my level's too high…
Bring me down… can’t nothing…
Bring me down, I said (let me tell you now)
~
[Chorus 2x]
~
Come on