Room 14 @ Pt England School

Kia ora and welcome to 2026.

Our school value for this year is Respect – Kaitiakitanga i ngā wā katoa.

• Kaitiakitanga: A core concept in te ao Māori, which  translates to guardianship, stewardship, protection, and preservation. A kaitiaki is a guardian.

• i ngā wā katoa: This phrase translates directly to “at all times,” “always,” or “forever.

Caring for the Environment: (Te Taiao) reducing waste, recycling correctly, and keeping the school grounds clean, and tending to school gardens,  being mindful of energy and water usage.

Caring for Others: (Whanaungatanga) acting as guardian for the well being of peers/friends/family.  Looking out for friends and others.  To create a safe, welcoming and supportive school community.

Caring for Property and Resources: Looking after our school property, the  equipment we use, sports gear and our digital devices.  Including to be respectful in the classroom and shared spaces.

Caring for Oneself (Hauora):  Being a guardian of one’s own learning journey, physical health and mental wellbeing.  Take responsibility for growth and doing one’s best in the classroom. “i ngā wā katoa” (at all times) every day to make the right decision. Whāia te iti kahurangi (Striving for Excellence):  A Māori proverb (whakataukī) about seeking the things in life you value most dearly, and aiming high. It perfectly encapsulates “doing one’s best.”

Imagine to feel the sun on your back and laughter all around and picture the sound of footsteps on grass, voice and quiet moments that make us smile.  It’s about learning, dreaming, and finding our place in the world.  Every smile, every stumble,  every shared experience becomes part of our circle – a bond that lasts.

This is “Circle of Us”.  Enjoy!!

Harold gave us a look inside his pātaka kai (pantry), where we explored the four main food groups. These included:

• Grain foods such as bread and cereals.

• Fruit and vegetables like apples, pears, potatoes, lettuce and carrots,

• Proteins from meat, chicken, and fish.

• Milk and milk products such as milk and yoghurt,

We learned that each food group provides important nutrients that help to keep our bodies healthy, strong, and full of energy.

Here is on PENN movie about our visit and time with Harold and Sylvia.

Welcome back to Term 3.

Our inquiry topic for this term is  Positive Difference.  Team 2’s main focus is about understanding and managing our emotions, balanced living with the key concepts of identifying emotions, expressing feelings, self-regulation, healthy eating habits, being active and finding joy.  Our focus question: How can I keep myself balanced? 

Key ideas:

• Identifying emotions: What am I feeling inside?
• Expressing feelings: How can I share what I feel?
• Self-regulation: How can I help myself feel calm and in control?
• Healthy habits: Eating well and being active.
• Finding joy: Discovering what makes me happy!

In our immersion assembly, Team 2 teachers and Mrs Fester, became colourful characters from the movie. “Inside Out” Joy (harikoa),  Anger (pukuriri), Sadness (pōuri), Fear (mataku) and Disgust (whakarihariha).  Riley whose emotions — Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust — live inside her head and control how she feels and acts. When her family moves, her emotions get mixed up, especially Joy and Sadness. They go on an adventure inside Riley’s mind to help her feel balanced again, learning that even sad feelings are important.

Last Friday,  Team 2  embarked on a special hikoi (journey/walk) to Point England Reserve. This outing was a key part of our term’s learning,  to explore and connect with the history our local area and community.

We were incredibly fortunate to be joined by our special guest speaker, Matua Wyllis Maihi from Ngāti Whātua/Ngāti Paoa.  Matua Wyllis, shared interesting  kōrero (stories, discussions, histories) about the land, its history, and the ancestral connections of the mana whenua.  The local Māori people (mana whenua) have a very strong, long-lasting connection to the land because their families have lived on it for many, many years, going all the way back to their ancestors.

It was time for a fun, quick play on the playground,  the perfect way to wrap up our hikoi before we made our way back to school.

A huge ngā mihi nui (sincere thanks) to Matua Wyllis for generously sharing his valuable knowledge and the rich history of this whenua with us all.  It was a day of great learning and connection.

Kia ora and welcome to 2025.

Our school value for this year is JOY – koakoa mai, koakoa atu.

One of the  greatest joys from our learners is a celebration of success. To show them that their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed.  Whether they have grasped a tricky concept, persevered through a challenging task or shown an improvement, they become recognised for their efforts.  This encourages them to continue striving to push beyond their comfort zones and to embrace future challenges with greater confidence.

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Nuna is feeling strange and confused.  She doesn’t know why she’s feeling this way?  Nuna pays a visit to see Dr Colour Monster, the feelings doctor.   The Colour Monster and now a doctor who can help heal emotions especially those that are so big they are difficult to experience. Let’s find out how the doctor Colour Monster can help Nuna,  feel less strange and confused, but also help heal those big emotions.  We hope you enjoy our movie.

Last week, we got to do an exciting experiment, which involved using water balloons. We were all curious to find out and explore what would happen if we dropped our balloon from a different height?  How we use force, will it change how it lands onto the ground?

We first tried this on our own by standing on the bench, outside our classroom.  What we noticed that from the higher height and using lots of force, the balloon made a big splash.  Compared to using less force, the balloon stayed intact, which means didn’t burst and it kept its shape.

Next we got into groups and dropped our water balloons onto the ground.  Some dropped their water balloon from a low height. When it hit the ground,  there was no splash and it didn’t break.  Others dropped their balloon from a higher height.  The splash was big and the balloon burst everywhere.

What did we learn?

More force = bigger splash: When we dropped the balloon from a higher height, it had more force when it hit the ground. This made a bigger splash.

Less force =  no splash: Dropping the balloon from a lower height meant it had less force, so the balloon stayed intact.

Our thoughts and reflections:

Jireh:  “I really liked when the balloon went splash, it was so cool to see the water go everywhere!”

Luisa: “It was so fun watching the balloons go splash onto the ground!”

Marcus: “I know if you put more force on your throw, the balloon will definitely make a big splash?” 

It was a lot of fun watching the water balloons splash and burst! We learned a lot about force and how it can affect the outcome of an experiment.

Today I went to Room 23 to learn how to make an aeroplane, from watching Team 4’s movie.  Myself and the whole class went outside to test our aeroplanes. I won the competition and I felt proud.