Huia 1 and Kea 1's camp at the Awhitu Environmental Camp

This is where we have been for a week.

and here.

Here are some random photos from our camp at the Awhitu Environmental Camp last week.


They are in no particular order but will give you an idea of some of the activities we did and the experiences we had.


There are still lots more photos to come.

There are some places along the road to Awhitu where you look right down into valleys and out to the west coast.




Fun on the rope swing - over a creek which got deeper as the tide came in and swept away Stanley's bridge and dam.


Red-billed gulls who shared some of our biscuits for morning tea on Thursday.


We went for a long walk to find the eels - and to entice them out of the water with some of our luncheon sausage. They got quite good at standing up on their tails to 'beg' for food after a while.




Recreating a scene from World War 1.


Some of us had a cold swim.


The zoom slide - getting wet and wild... and dirty. And, that wasn't only the students.

Well, you didn't think you'd get me on the zoom slide, did you?

At the light house at the tip of the Awhitu peninsula - investigating the Orpheus shipwreck.







A walk through the Awhitu Regional Park.



We found a nest of plover eggs in the paddock. (Mrs Whitehead knew they were plovers).


Hobo stove cooking - Master Chef-style.






And then we had to speak Spanish to say what we wanted for meals.





We went to the Orua Bay bird park - and fed the birds.








The men taught the boys how to light a barbecue.


We saw the sun rise and we had a beautiful full moon.

Camp Preparation

All the Intermediate classes are going to camp over the next two weeks.

I have had several requests for another copy of the camp kit list- so I will publish it here so it is available any time you need it: I know it hasn't printed well, but it gives you the main idea. It should also be available on our school website.

Camp Kit List 2010 All items named, please.
CLOTHES - School uniform is to be worn to and from camp only, and stored in a plastic bag in between times, ensuring one clean change in which to return your child.
2	warm jerseys
2	track suit pants / long pants
5	changes of underwear - minimum
2-3	pair of shorts
4-5	t shirts/shirts
4-5	pairs of socks
1	jandals or slip ons to get to ablution block /around camp and inside wear.
1	pair of comfortable walking shoes – most likely these will get dirty
1	raincoat or jacket (Suggest “disposable” raincoat as well, if jacket is short)
1	hat - sun cap /school cap OK
1 set	old shorts/top for a “Mud Walk” in the event of a very rainy day. Keep in a separate plastic bag.
1	sleepwear suitable for being seen in public on way to ablution block – or add light dressing gown
BEDDING
1	sleeping bag/duvet*
1	single fitted sheet or cover sheet for mattress.
1	pillow and pillow case
1 *	Light blanket or extra warm sleepwear if sleeping bag is summer weight.
TOILETRIES
1	soap in container – shower gel in plastic bottle/tube is easiest
1	face cloth – in plastic bag (recommend week’s supply of small Chux disposable cloths as alternative )
1	bath towel
	tooth brush and tooth paste (small tube or near-end-of-service tube from home is fine)
	small pack of tissues/handkerchiefs
	hairbrush/comb
	shampoo/conditioner (suggest in separate plastic bag – small containers recommended )
	deodorant - avoid excessively fragrant cans of aerosol
	any other personal needs
BEACHWEAR
1	beach towel
1	togs suitable for mud slide - can include Mud Walk clothes as above
OTHER
	plastic bags for wet clothes
	plastic bags for dry washing
1	water bottle with tight fitting lid
1	small torch and batteries
1	light day pack for hiking. (small school bag ok)
2	named tea towels
	pencil case, including colouring pencils and glue stick
	reading book/s
OPTIONAL
	Polyprop or thermal singlets for extra warmth or instead of an extra blanket
	Beanie hat – for warmth or if your child is prone to earache in the wind.
	camera – disposable camera recommended. For digital battery charger please name it and give to teachers once at camp to look after and oversee recharging batteries.
	playing cards or travel games (no battery operated games) or board games
	sun glasses
	insect repellent (stick or roll-on preferred), sun block, lip balm is a good idea
	aqua shoes(or old shoes/footwear suitable for getting wet) , jandals for shower
	bathing cap only if you don’t want to get your hair wet.
Please note: No cell phones including camera-phones, iPods (or other battery-operated technology), or personal food supplies are to come to camp. See note about camera battery chargers above.

Our School's Cross Country Competition

Every year most schools in New Zealand have a "Cross-Country" running competition. Our school is very close to Totara Park so this year, our PE teacher, Miss Griffin, organised for our entire school (students aged 5 - 13) to run our cross-country through this park.

Here are some photos of the Intermediate Cross Country from my marshall's station towards the half way mark of the course.

Sitting in house groups before the races start. All students are wearing their house colours.

The park is a farm as well. These cattle are obviously used to people passing through their home.

Now you see them....


'Now you don't....

This was one of my views while I was waiting for the next lot of students to run past. As you can see, the ground is quite dry. We desperately need some rain now.

Uphill and through the gate.....

To the far end of the tress and back again.......

I spent a bit of time talking to this guy while waiting for the groups of runners to come past.

Up the hill....

The view from the top of the hill.

Running .....
Running....


Arty photo of the downhill course to the finishing line.

Another NZ teacher in Argentina

http://www.holadekells.blogspot.com/

Check out this blog to follow the Argentine adventure of another New Zealand primary school teacher who is on a one month Ministry of Education AFS Immersion Award - to Argentina.

This time last year I was the one writing about my experiences and I'm enjoying (and somewhat envious) reading Valarie's blog. She is in a totally different part of Argentina from where I was but many of the things she wrote about seem very familiar to me now.

¡Felices Pascuas! (Happy Easter)
From Mrs Vincent

Our Term So Far...

First of all we have changed our next Poutama* group for Science, soft materials, hard materials and photography. *Poutama is Maori for technology. It is the name of our technology building.

In soft materials we are making bags which look fabulous. When we first started our Poutama some of us felt a bit nervous and thought that we might not be good at it although when we compare the results from the start to mid-week, we think that our Huia1 class is getting on pretty well. That's why there is a saying "Never judge a book by its cover."

Madison is the first to print her photo in our Photography group. Can you guess what it is?

It's called Polluted Prison

We have some fantastico news.

Our lovely teachers have organised a special outdoor education camp and almost all of the students in our team are going which sounds tremendously fun!! We have camp meetings on Friday afternoons to help us to be prepared and to know what to do if things do go wrong in the actual event.

We have watched a video called "It Was Just a Tramp In the Bush" and learned about hypothermia and how to notice the signs of it and also about what can go wrong if you are unprepared when heading out into the great outdoors.

Mrs Whitehead taught us a good way to remember some of the signs of hypothermia called... "The ...umbles". That is: stumbles, mumbles, grumbles"jumbles", tumbles and fumbles.


The one tip we learned from the video and in our meetings is 'ALWAYS CHECK YOU HAVE EVERYTHING' which is the important tip! Almost all of our Huia 1 class are extremely excited to go to camp since it is an outdoor education experience.

A note from Mrs Vincent: Check out this brochure which tells you all about hypothermia

Our homework two weeks ago was on the Winter Olympics that was held in Vancouver, Canada. Our next homework is doing research on New Zealand's involvement in World Wars 1 and 2 and about Anzac Day.

We have also got 'The Blog Team' that work on the Huia 1 blog. Team members have been visiting some of the junior classes and helping to start their blogs. These are the websites that we have started so far:

kiwi3thegardens.blogspot.com
takahe2thegardens.blogspot.com

Be sure to check them out because they have awesome stuff like cool pictures and great news.

Our classmate Madison went to play cricket and represent our school and guess what?
They won!! It is excellent news and we are so happy and proud that our school was represented in the inter-school girls cricket for Year 7 and 8.

In class we have be writing 'Inside Me' poems. Here are some examples below:

Inside me is a packet of sweet strawberry-flavoured lollies
Inside me is a fast-running Ferrari
Inside me is a computer full of technology
Inside me is a Silver Fern waiting to shoot the winning goal

By Brittany

Inside me are lollies sweet and sour
Inside me there is an apprentice chef learning to cook mouth-watering meals
Inside me is an egg beater going round and round singing the same old song
Inside me is a ukulele, strumming "Somewhere Over the Rainbow"
Inside me is a computer - a branch of knowledge
Inside me there is a camera and I see the world through its lens

By Nikeeta


Inside me is a sour lemon of nastiness
Inside me is a fearless soul of an angry white tiger, waiting to pounce
Inside me is a shining star of happiness
Inside me is the largest, brightest, reddest strawberry of sweetness that never shows
Inside me is a clown of cheekiness
Inside me is a dictionary of different languages

By Erica


Inside me is a red heart of love
Inside me is a sour lemon of anger
Inside me is a fast cheetah, ready to bite my brother when he annoys me
Inside me is a piano ready to play
Inside me is a cruise ship, waiting for the chance to go to a Pacific Island
Inside me is a playful monkey who loves to play, climb and eat bananas
Inside me is a soft and cuddly kangaroo who loves to jump
Inside me there is blue - it's crying when it raining.

By So Yeon

If you couldn't guess what Madison's photo was - it was the grill on the drain with water reflecting the blue sky. Do you see why she called it "Polluted Prison"?