Creating a Wharenui through tinkercad

Our reading group read a text called ‘Building a Wharenui’ by Dougal Austin. It was full of interesting facts, such as:

  • The kaikaranga (welcome ceremony) is performed at the front of the wharenui.
  • The wharenui represents an ancestor.
  • Each part of the wharenui represents important aspects of tangata whenua culture

 

We examined the design thinking process behind building a wharenui through an inquiry lens. We learned that whakairo (carving) begins 3-10 years before construction, and that no nails are used; instead, rope and wood hold the wharenui together.

Check out Ofili’s design of the wharenui (created in Tinkercad) and his recording of the building process in iMovie.

http://Ofili’s blog
Task Description:Today i created my WhareNui by using a website called Tinker Cad i had to make a WhareNui,by using all the different objects and features.

Rm 9 PENN ‘A Time with friends’…

Before our writing test, Room 9 and 10 had a challenge – to design couture attire using toilet paper in groups of 3-4 friends. We had 8 minutes to create this wearable art.  The outcome was both hilarious and stressful.

Our class had a great time collaborating, using their creativity, communicating with each other, and critically evaluating their designer dresses.  Check out our PENN

Keeping ourselves Safe – No excuse for Abuse

We had our 2nd visit from Constable Gordon to talk about different forms of harm.  This was a valuable experience for students. It is important for learners to know about harm so that they can identify and avoid harmful situations.

The activity that Constable Gordon facilitated, was explaining different forms of harm and their rights.  He went through different forms of harm (they labelled and blue-tacked around the room, on the wall) used various of case scenarios, then the students had to stand beside the headings (classified forms of hard).  This activity was thought-provoking for students, as they had to discuss why they stood under that form of harm.  This was a great way of critical thinking to develop a better understanding of harm.

I had some interesting feedback from students about this activity.  A few students were uncomfortable with some of the terminology that was used.  A few students were able to describe some of the forms of harm that they have been exposed to and we talked what their next steps would be.  A few students asked if Constable Gordon will be returning for further learning.

Here are some questions that could be asked for our students to reflect on the activity:

What was the most challenging part of the activity?
What did you learn about yourself and others from this activity?
How can you use what you learned in this activity to help yourself and others?
I believe that it is important to have open and honest conversations with students about harm. By talking about it, we can help to break down the stigma and make it easier for students to seek help if they need it.

Having these open and honest korero/talanoa with students about harm, allows them to break down the stigma and make it easier for students to seek help if they need it.

Link to the lesson plan

Niuean Language Week

“Fakatūleva e Vagahau Niue mo e Tau Aga Fakamotu ma e Tau Atuhau”

Sustain Niue Language and Culture for Future Generations.

Fakaalofa lahi atu – this week is Niuean language week.

This week is Niuean Language Week, and did you know that Niue has the world’s largest raised coral atoll?

In New Zealand, 12% of the 30,867 Niueans speak the language. However, only 7% of children under 15 speak Niuean, which is a concern for the future of the language.

As a class, we acknowledge and recognise different ethnic cultures, within in our school.  As part of our cultural responsiveness, we research in depth Niue, it’s customs, culture and its people.

One of our outstanding students, Meki, will now introduce himself in Niuean.  Check this out!

Meki’s Edublog link

“Keeping ourselves Safe” – Safe or unsafe

Constable Gordon, our community guest speaker, talked to us about the real world today.  We used laminated cards with different case scenarios to spark discussion in small groups about how to categorise them as safe, unsafe, or unsure.

Each case scenario was ambiguous because it depended on the context and the people involved. For example, “if someone is staring at you while you come out of the pools…”. If the person staring is a toddler or someone with learning challenges who is unaware of social etiquette, it is unclear whether the situation is safe or unsafe.

Key ideas:

• identify behaviours of other people that make them feel unsafe or uncomfortable
• distinguish between touch they like, touch they don’t like, and touch that confuses them
• say “no” to unwanted touch
• use Stop, Walk, Talk in risky situations.

Overall, the activity made us all more aware of our safety boundaries, regardless of who the other person is.

If you have any questions, talk with your teacher or an adult you can trust.

Keeping ourselves safe

Creating prototypes using Spaghetti and Marshmallow

Bula Vinaka – This term we’re using the  ‘Design thinking’ process to help us with our inquiry.

Design thinking is a creative problem-solving process that helps students develop empathy, ideation, and active problem-solving skills. Students learn to understand users, challenge assumptions, and redefine problems to create innovative solutions.

This process involves:

Empathise: Understand the user’s needs and pain points.
Define: Frame the problem as a challenge or opportunity.
Ideate: Generate creative solutions.
Prototype: Build and test low-fidelity solutions.
Test: Get feedback from users and iterate on solutions.

Design thinking is a powerful tool for students to learn how to solve real-world problems in a creative and user-centered way.

Check out Room 9’s process, especially prototype and testing process.

Term 4 Inquiry – Make it Work!

Bula Vinaka!  Welcome back to Term 4 – this term is jam-packed with so much exciting events, our learners have learnt to roll with it.

Our inquiry is “Make it work”, under the umbrella of technology ‘designing and developing materials outcomes’. As a team one of our common problems is not having anywhere to sit or store our bags/sports gear. By using the ‘design thinking’ framework – empathise, define, ideate, prototype and test, this help the learners how design works.

This is our team 4 video of what we’ll be working through this term – thanks Mrs Lagitupu, great video!

Technology TKI link

Term 3 – PENN ‘Fit for purpose’

As part of our “fit for purpose” inquiry, we explored ways to prepare for Cross Country and stay active. We enrolled in the Zespri Virtual Adventure program, which provided us with pedometers. We then entered our daily step counts.

To stay active, we participated in daily brain breaks, which included sprinting twice on the basketball court, cross-country training with Team 4, and Kiwi sports. We also took our pedometers home to see how many steps we could take each day. Even Mrs. Siō had a goal of reaching 10,000 steps per day.

With the Virtual Adventure program, we also entered our food intake and water breaks (we did not include our data for this).

By staying hydrated more frequently, collaborated more as a class to come up with more “plays” for our brain breaks, and even tried to create new brain break ideas; We were more settled when we returned to class after our brain breaks.

We hope to continue this more consistently until the end of the year!

Tongan Language Week

This year Tongan language week theme for Uike Lea Faka-Tonga 2023 is ‘E tu’uloa ‘a e Lea faka-Tongá ‘o ka lea’aki ‘i ‘api, siasí (lotú), mo e nofo-‘a-kāingá, which means the Tongan Language will be sustainable if used at home, church and in the wider community.

Half of the students in our class are Tongan, so it is important to reinforce the Tongan language. According to the Ministry of Pacific People, only 40% of the 82,389 Tongan people in New Zealand speak their language. This is especially concerning for children under 15, of whom only 21% speak Tongan.

One way to support the Tongan language is to teach students how to recite their pepeha in Tongan. A pepeha is a traditional Māori way of introducing oneself, and it can be adapted to other cultures. By reciting their pepeha in Tongan, students can learn more about their heritage and culture, and they can also help to keep the Tongan language alive.

Check out one of our students Mia reciting her pepeha in Tongan!

ps>. Check out Eziaz, Meki & Ofili’s facts about Tonga below! Malo ‘aupito!

Five Facts About Tonga

 

Meki’s 4-facts-Tongan-language week

Eziaz’ 5 Facts: Uike Lea Faka-Tonga

 

A heart of gratitude!

Today, we had a special assembly to honour representatives from the Chen Family and other donors, including the Kadempa Buddhist Charitable Trust, Frank Family Trust, and Megaforce International Corporation.

During the assembly, our Senior Kapa Haka performed to express our gratitude on behalf of the school. Their generous donations have helped to ensure that more families have access to digital devices for their children’s learning.

The Chen Family’s dedication to promoting education and creating a nurturing environment for our children is truly outstanding. They are an inspiration to us all.

A Maori whakataukī – ‘He taonga rongonui te aroha ki te tangata’ translate to ‘goodwill towards others is a precious treasure’.

With this kind donation, it means and aim to increase leadership knowledge and skills for our learners.

We express our sincere gratitude and aroha for their generosity and support.