Ruma Tahi - Room 1

Welcome to the website for Ruma Tahi.  Our classroom website serves as a way for you stay connected and engaged with your child's educational journey.  We will update this space with new learning throughout the year. Thank you for entrusting us with the privilege of nurturing your child's intellectual and personal development. We're excited to embark on this journey together and look forward to working hand in hand to support your child's success.

Kia ora e te whaanau

My name is Nikki Stirling, known as Whaea Nikki within our classroom and school community. It is both an honour and a privilege to co-teach alongside Mrs. Seator, guiding the bright minds of Room One through their learning journey. I will be teaching in Room One every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

The start of the 2024 year has been a wonderful and positive one. The camaraderie and joy that have blossomed as we've acquainted ourselves with one another have been truly delightful.

I am deeply grateful to be part of the Tauwhare School community. My commitment to education spans across all facets of the curriculum, from nurturing artistic talents to fostering athletic prowess, and promoting social-emotional well-being. I love to teach it all, following the direction of the children as much as I can.

Please feel free to visit our classroom and see what we are up to. I firmly believe that it is through collective support, that we can truly nurture each child in their learning journey and individual passions.

If you have any wonderings or questions, please do not hesitate to contact me nikki.stirling@tauwhare.school.nz 

Kia ora e te whaanau,

My name is Lorelei Seator and I am so excited to be teaching Ruma Tahi this year. I will be in the classroom on Thursdays and Fridays every week. The other days I will be around the school in my role of Deputy Principal and SENCO.

I have a passion for Te Ao Maaori, Literacy and Numeracy and I can't wait to explore this more with the class. If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to email me lorelei.seator@tauwhare.school.nz

I look forward to working with you, the children and Whaea Nikki to make this year an engaging and successful year for everyone. 

“Mehemea ka moemoeaa ahau, ko ahau anake.
Mehemea ka moemoeaa a taatou, ka taea e taatou."
(If I dream, I dream alone. If we all dream together, we can succeed.)
Te Kirihaehae Te Puea Hērangi (1883–1952), Maaori leader

Skool Loop and School Facebook Page

Please download our school app Skool Loop to stay up to date with what is happening around the school. If you need help signing up to this just let us know and we can sort it out. The school Facebook page is also there to find out other school news. Please note if you want to contact teachers or the office email is best as the messages on Facebook won't be checked.

Home Learning 

Click on the links below for websites to support home learning -:

Google Classroom

Studyladder Story Online

Epic Books Read Theory

Typing Club Prototec Maths 


Term 1 2024

Cultural Self Portraits

This term, we created self portraits using pencil then colouring in crayon. For the background we thought about the countries and cultures that we felt were part of us. We then researched the flags and used paint to show them in the background. These will be up in the classroom so you can come and see them in person. Click on the link to see them - Cultural Portraits 2024

Term Four 2023

Farewell from Mrs G 🥹

And..."cut!...that's a wrap, folks" ---- in more ways than one.  The school year is done, as is my time at Tauwhare School, and I couldn't have asked for a better group of students to end with. 


Thank you to everyone for all your messages, emails, cards, and gifts.  I feel overwhelmed and humbled by the kindnesses and meaningful words you've shared, and grateful to have been part of such a supportive school community for the past 15 years. 


Go well everyone - I look forward to seeing how well our students do and have no doubt they will continue to be amazing Tauwhare people.





2023 Room 1 - End of Year 6 Slideshow.mp4

Production!!!

The students have been working incredibly hard to learn their lines, stage moves, and how to manage their props effectively.  Keep an eye on our Room 1 Facebook page for any updates on costumes, rehearsal days, and production week information.  The countdown is on now, and it will be showtime before we know it.    We are so excited to show you the what we've been doing! 


Term Three 2023

Science

Term 3 kicked off our science learning and Monday saw the students practising their 'serious scientist' faces  before experimenting with polymerisation (aka flubber aka slime). Wednesday's science experiment involved learning all about carbon nanoparticles, on Thursday the students started learning about crystallisation, and on Friday we began learning and experimenting with hydrophobic materials.  Whew!!!

Speeches

The students have been working exceptionally hard this term to write, develop, and present a speech.  Every student presented their speech in their class, and from here a total of 18 students from Rooms 1 & 2 were selected to go through to the Semi-finals.  A further 9 have been selected for the finals, in order to choose our top three speakers. 

You can enjoy reading their speeches here.


Term Two 2023

Writing with Ms Melton

The students have been working on some fabulous writing with Ms Melton on Anzac, WWI, & WWII, and completed either a letter or diary piece to present at Grandparents Day.  

Enjoy reading these pieces here

Term One 2023

Portrait Art 

Have a look at the amazing portrait art that the students have sketched this year!  These are on display in our classroom too, please do pop in and have a look!

Guess Who I Am?

 Click here to see the student's writing about themselves - such a neat way to introduce who they are and to share a little bit about their families and the things everyone does at home.  Enjoy!


Welcome back to school for 2023!

Please join our Facebook page to see updates and photos of the things your children are doing at school.  Click here to request to join.


Term Four 2022

2022 School Camp

We had the most wonderful time at camp!  A huge thanks to our adult helpers, and to all our transport and activity providers who ensured we were happy, learned lots, and enjoyed every minute.

Because of Covid, we were not able to hold our usual Camp Presentation evening for our parents to see everything we did, so the students have instead made individual slideshows of the things they personally really liked.  We hope you enjoy viewing the photos as much as we enjoyed experiencing the moments.  

View all Camp 2022 photos here

Room 1 - Individual Camp Slideshows


Writing Cup Entries 2022

Each year our Year 6 students enter a piece of writing to compete for the honour of being awarded the Writing Cup.  These entries are judged by an external expert, who does not know any of the students at the school - we label each student's submission with their initials only, and then send these off.

Traditionally, the standard of writing is always very high, and this year was no exception.  You can read all the entries here - and see why the judges commented on what a very difficult task it was to choose the top writers as they are all deserving and have individual merits, which I think you will agree with.  

Enormous congratulations to our placegetters -:

1st - Lily Hayward

2nd - Mackenzie Harrison

3rd - Ruby Sampson

4th equal - Tabitha Sharman & Jack Brown


Term Three 2022

War Writing

The students have been doing some wonderful writing with Ms Melton - in Term 1 & 2 we focused a lot of our learning around the history and happenings of WWI and WWII and the ANZAC stories.  You might enjoy reading the students' diary entries and their letters from the trenches.  


Speeches Update!

Well done to all our speechmakers, you did yourselves proud!  

A special congratulations to our placegetters who will go on to represent Tauwhare School at the Cambridge Rotary Speech Competition, as well as at the Country Cluster Schools Speech Competition.

We loved the variety of topics and ideas - you can enjoy reading these speeches here.

Speeches

This term Ms Melton will begin working with the students on their speeches.   Please do chat with your child at home about their speech and help them to think of topics to talk about which they are interested in and can speak enthusiastically about.  We will be writing the speeches in class, but you are welcome to help them at home too - their speech will be typed on a Google Doc in Classroom, so that it can be accessed easily from home as well.

All the children will present their speech to the other students in Room 1.  From here, the semi-finalists across Room 1 and Room 2 will be chosen and they will then present their speech in the Multi-Purpose Room in front of students and teachers.  We will have a panel of three teachers (who have not helped with the speech writing) to be our judges and to select around 8 finalists.   The finalists will present again in the Multi-Purpose Room and we will get an external judge to come into the school and decide who our winning speechmakers are for 2022.  You are welcome to come and watch the semi-finals and finals - the dates will be advertised in our newsletter and are also detailed in the information sheet which has been given to the students.  

We do appreciate that public speaking can be nerve-wracking for many people; we will ensure that your child is well-supported and that their experience is a positive one, so that they are well prepared for speechmaking when they progress on to middle and high school.  Of course, if you have any queries about the speeches, please do get in touch with either Mrs G or Ms Melton.  


Term Two 2022

Writing

The students have been following their 'wonderings' in their Space research, completing some effective sketches of the moon, and writing evocative pieces based on a John Lewis advert, called "The Man On The Moon".  You can enjoy reading their pieces here.


Art

They are finally complete!  The students began making papier mache masks in Term 1 with Mrs G, and it's been a long process...but we think you'll agree that they look fabulous.

Art

The students have completed some gorgeous Autumn Art with Ms Melton!


Term One 2022

Writing

The students have been doing some wonderful writing with Ms Melton in class.  

Follow this link to read some of the latest pieces -:

Do You Know Who I Am?

Sizzling Summer

Maths

We have started exploring number patterns and the students are working together to solve the challenges.  

So neat to see them discussing, challenging, explaining and justifying their answers!




Term Three & Four 2021

Speeches

This term Ms Melton will begin working with the students on their speeches.   Please do chat with your child at home about their speech and help them to think of topics to talk about which they are interested in and can speak enthusiastically about.  We will be writing the speeches in class, but you are welcome to help them at home too - their speech will be typed on a Google Doc in Classroom, so that it can be accessed easily from home as well.

All the children will present their speech to the other students in Room 1.  From here, the semi-finalists across Room 1 and Room 2 will be chosen and they will then present their speech in the Multi-Purpose Room in front of students and teachers.  We will have a panel of three teachers (who have not helped with the speech writing) to be our judges and to select around 8 finalists.   The finalists will present again in the Multi-Purpose Room and we will get an external judge to come into the school and decide who our winning speechmakers are for 2021.  You are welcome to come and watch the semi-finals and finals - the dates will be advertised in our newsletter and are also detailed in the information sheet which has been given to the students.  

We do appreciate that public speaking can be nerve-wracking for many people; we will ensure that your child is well-supported and that their experience is a positive one, so that they are well prepared for speechmaking when they progress on to middle and high school.  Of course, if you have any queries about the speeches, please do get in touch with either Mrs G or Ms Melton.  

Term Two 2021

ROBOTICS WORKSHOP AT HILLCREST HIGH SCHOOL

On Thursday, four Year 6 students were given the opportunity to explore robotics at Hillcrest High School.  It was a wonderful experience in programming, debugging and running the LEGO robot to see if it could drop off some spare parts to the rocket which had crashed on the moon.  Cooperation and communication were the order of the day and successfully accomplished by Alyssa, Stevie-Lee, Easton and Harrison.

I was presented with some very interesting expressions of interest to attend the next robotics morning at Hillcrest High School Computer Lab for another group of children to have a go at programming robots.  This was such a great learning opportunity for the 5 students to learn how to programme the robots using LEGO robots, communication and cooperation as they worked together to solve the problem of getting the robot to the crashed rocket on the moon.  Lots of changing parameters, debugging, trial and error but as you can see by the videos the robot got there in the end. Mahi pai tamariki.

Photos and videos here.

Matariki Digital Technologies

Room 1 have been working with Ms Quinn using the story the Seven Kites of Matariki as the motivation for a digital unit incorporating Geometry, (Seesaw, Tinkercad and 3D Printer), Kites (traditional Maori kites as well as other cultures), Literacy with Digital Storytelling (using ArtRage & Explain Everything ).  Using these apps we have all learned the importance of following directions, thinking about detail and being organised.

All of the children retold the legend in their own words and with their own ideas.  Their published stories are here.

We have made digital stories using Artrage for the art and Explain Everything for the animations.  We have animated the characters and then recorded the story over the top.  Enjoy our digital stories here.










Genesis Energy Human Energy Generator

Genesis energy lent us their HEG or Human Energy Generator for a week so we could learn about the energy savings using LED instead of Standard lightbulbs.  The students had a turn powering the standard bulb which took quite an effort to produce a low level flickering light and were amazed by the miniscule amount of effort needed to brightly light an LED bulb.  

Enjoy our photos here

Science Roadshow

Room 1 & 2 visited the Science Roadshow for a morning of Scientific exploration and experimentation.  The demonstrations were thought provoking and reactionary especially when hydrogen met oxygen with a very loud bang and nitrogen showed its freezing properties!  Magnets, solar power, electricity, honey-tasting, colour spectrums, periscopes, friction and many more were all available for hands-on learning.

Enjoy our photos and videos 

Term One 2021

Buoyancy & Density

Room 1 students have been scientists!  We have been learning all about buoyancy, density, mass and volume.  This week we have been designing and making boats.  The boats need to be able to get from one side of the pool to the other, so the students have been thinking carefully about how they will power their boats.  Sail? Motor? Paddle? Balloon?  

Click on the link to see the wonderful range of boats they have created.  

Visual Pepeha with Mrs G

The students combined their 'About Me' writing with their pepeha work and their portrait art, along with a chalk pastel rendering of their maunga and/or awa, to complete their visual pepeha.  They are on display in Room 1, or you can view a photo of their work here.  Enjoy!

Art with Ms Melton

Come and look at the art the students have been doing with Ms Melton.  This work is in response to their writing, which can be viewed here.

Maths - Statistics & Data

This term, Mrs G tasked the Room 1 students with conducting an independent inquiry into a question of their choice.  They needed to design the survey question(s), collect data from students across the school, collate and analyse their data, identify themes and findings, critically review their research method to identify anomalies or causes for incorrect data, recommend future actions and areas of additional research, and finally, use Google Sheets to present their graphs and research report.  Whew!!

'About Me' Writing with Ms Melton

Click on the link here to read some fabulous writing 'About Me'.  The students wrote about themselves and their families, in conjunction with creating their visual pepeha.  These are on display in our hallway and we'd love you to come and have a look!


Room 1 Portrait Art with Mrs G

The students have completed some fabulous portrait.  First, they needed to go with a partner and take a photo of each other.  Next, we changed these into black and white and printed them out for reference.  The students then needed to sketch themselves, using the photo as a guide.  I think you'll agree that they've done an amazing job!! Please do pop in and see them on display in Room 1.

Term Four 2020

 Term Four Writing

Follow the link to read some about our school T-Ball -  we have some wonderful writers here!

Term Three 2020

Speeches

Here is the link to Room One's speeches.

Elastics

We have been learning how to play that old-fashioned game of elastics.  The students love it!!





VID_20200616_142004.mp4
VID_20200616_143242.mp4
VID_20200616_143259.mp4

Ki O Rahi

Here are a few photos from our Ki o Rahi games - we have loved learning how to play this game - if only we could enter a tournament or two.  I like to think we'd be pretty tough competitors!

Nanogirl

Nanogirl came to visit!  We loved her experiments and being able to take part in real science, using items that can be found at home.  

Term Two 2020

Lockdown

Term Two has been a term like no other!  

A national lockdown has moved our learning online and it's been a learning curve for us all. 


It has been wonderful to see so many photos and stories being shared via our classroom Facebook page and to see the amazing skills and talents that so many of you have.  

Thank you for taking the time to share - it has helped us feel just that bit more connected.


Writing over lockdown

Anzac Writing



Term One 2020

This Is Just To Say ...


We have been working on a project with Mrs G called Keep NZ Writing, which has been put together by SchoolKit.  


This year the focus was on poetry and we were challenged to write our own version of the poem 'This Is Just To Say' written by William Carlos Williams and to publish these using a programme called Canva.  

Enjoy reading our confessions here!



Writing

Check out some of the writing we have been doing with Ms Melton over Term One:

About Me

Summertime

Summer Is


Learning from 2019

Sir Peter Blake Award Recipient

Congratulations to Helena Brown who was the recipient of the annual Sir Peter Blake Young Leader Award for 2019.  Helena is a very deserving recipient and we were delighted to be able to share this occasion with her family.  Congratulations Helena!

Room 1 Writing

The students have been doing some wonderful writing with Ms Melton - have a look at our recount writing and our  poetry  work here.







Science Fair

We had a wonderful science fair here on Thursday, 12th September.  Have a look at some of the photos and our science boards.







ANZAC Learning




The students have written some very powerful pieces around Anzac Day which you can view here and have also created stunning artwork.  Do pop in and look at their wonderful work!

Lego Engineering

We have begun our Lego Engineering and it has been wonderful to watch.  They are fully engaged in being either the supplier, builder or engineer --- and in resisting the temptation to take over someone else's role.  It's a fabulous way to teach patience and the need for specific and purposeful language.

Get NZ Writing

Watch this space to see the work that we are engaging in with School Kit and their endeavours to Get NZ Writing! 

So far we have been looking at colour as the inspiration for combined poetry.  We are really focused on how words sound and how careful placement of words can create a sense of rhythm, cadence and feeling.

Here are a couple of photos of our work in progress as we take our individual ideas, collate and order them and then combine to create a class poem.  


Check  back in to see the finished piece.

Physical Education in Room 1

At school we do a lot of teaching around physical education and health.  In Term 1, the focus has been on swimming and includes aspects such as stroke development, endurance, water safety and survival skills.  The Sports Leaders in Room 1 have organised and very ably run a Tabloids event for the Senior Syndicate and we have also had Project Energise in who have been teaching ball skills - here are a few photos of our physical activity fun!

Kiwi House - Enviro Learning

Kiwi House have been working in the native bush area on a Friday morning as part of our Enviro learning.  They have made the task of spreading mulch into a game and have been so much fun to be around!

Learning from 2018

Kapa Haka

Many of the Room 2 students are involved with our school Kapa Haka and on 25th June, we had a visit from Matua Heemi Walker of Hillcrest High School, as well as two former Tauwhare students - Puhangawai Wheki and Raumati Beazley.  It was fabulous to see our former students!

They came to work with our Kapa Haka roopu to help us prepare for the upcoming Tai Ohinga Maro festival we are performing at, on 31 August.  

You can see the photos and hear the songs we are learning for the pōwhiri  here.

Grandparents day

What a fabulous Book Week and Grandparents Day!  

It was wonderful to see so many of our whanau at school for Grandparents Day - and we thoroughly enjoyed showing you around our beautiful school and hosting you for morning tea.  We also loved the challenges that Mrs G set for us - you can see photos of our building challenges and the video of our paper plane flying competition here.


Mihi


The students are learning about their own whakapapa / genealogy and this will continue to be a focus in Term Two.  As part of this, they have been writing their mihi.  They will be learning their mihi and we hope to record the students presenting these.  Keep an eye on this page, but in the meantime, you can check on their progress with writing their mihi here.