Matariki Shared Lunch with Rm 21!

 Rooms 21 and 24 came together to celebrate the auspicious occasion of Matariki through a shared lunch! Students from both rooms worked hard, with their families, to prepare delicious food for us. As part of our Matariki learning we also learnt about the names of the Seven Sister stars. Each of the Seven Sisters represents a different aspect of nature. Waita represents the sea, Waiti represents freshwater, Waipuna-a-rangi represents rain, Uru-a-rangi symbolises wind, Tupu-a-rangi for forests, and Tupu-a-nuku for crops.

Week 8 Awards!

Well done to Emacyn, who was awarded the Merit Certificate for Week 8! She showed great Manawanuitanga (resilience and persistence) through her work on Time. Emacyn showed a positive attitude when answering questions and worked hard to show her knowledge of time displayed on analogue clock. Keep up the great work!

Bigfoot Bike Training!

On Monday, Room 24 had an exciting day of  learning about bikes with Bigfoot Bikes! We learnt about the importance of wearing our helmets correctly, wearing appropriate clothing, checking important functions of our bicycle like brakes and lights, and also about riding safely. After our lesson we got to test our knowledge by practising all the safety procedures and techniques and challenge ourselves through a range of obstacle courses. Well done Room 24! Remember to practice safe use of your bicycles and always be prepared with the right equipment!

Samoan Language Week!

Last week, Owairaka School observed Samoan Language Week! It was a week of awesome fun where we got to learn Samoan culture. During Garden to Table, two of our awesome parent volunteers showed us how coconut cream is made in Samoa. The coconut is first grated by hand, on a large tool. Some lucky students from Room 24 got try this task! Room 24 also got to learn about a traditional Samoan game called Lape. It is a game similar to softball and there is a lot of emphasis on teamwork. Each team had to come up with their own dance and chants to use during the game. We had a blast!

Matariki at Owairaka!

Jaerok from Room 24 has been one of the students chosen to design a sculpture that will displayed at the Owairaka Matariki festival! He has been working with our school caretaker Peter and has made some excellent progress so far. The Owairaka Matariki festival takes place on Saturday the 30th of June at the top of summit drive. The art installations will be displayed from 8am to 6pm. Come along and support the hard work our students at Owairaka have put in!

Garden to Table Weeks 4 and 5!

In Week 4 for Garden to Table, the gardening team worked with Ms. G and team on harvesting and weighing kumaras! We learnt that kumaras sell for $9 a kilogram! The largest kumara we found was just over a kilogram. The kitchen team in Week 4 prepared a delicious Japanese lunch for us. The team prepared sushi, soy sauce, and salad for us. In Week 5, we had a Samoan themed Garden to Table! The gardening team completed various jobs around the school. We put soaked cardboard in the worm farms, trimmed our strawberry plants, and filled up bottles with worm tea. It was tiring work! The kitchen team got the privilege of working with Hamida and learning about traditional Samoan food. We found out that in Samoa the boys do all the cooking and serving for the families, while the ladies eat first. The main ingredients we used for our Samoan lunch were coconuts (which was used in shredded form, cream, and milk!), bananas, and taro (root and leaves).

Our Awards Winners!

Well done to our awesome students from Room 24 who did a fantastic job of representing Owairaka School at the Eden Albert Inter-School Touch Competition. They showed kotahitanga (unity) and manawanuitanga (resilience) and produced an excellent result by finishing in second place! It was a nail-biting final where our team lost only by one point! Congratulations once again team and keep up the great work!