Jesse's Special Dog, Casper!

Jessie was keen for us to meet her auntie's dog, Casper so they came to visit us. Her cousin, Nicky, told us about Casper who is a Bichone Frise breed and is ten years old. He was so delightful and was quite happy for us to pet him at the end. Thank you for arranging for this special treat, Jessie. We enjoyed meeting Casper.

Our Cultural Celebration Assembly and Last Day

Our school boasts a rich variety of children from different countries. Each contributing their own special traditions and ways of doing things. To celebrate our cultures, language and heritage we all dressed in clothing to depict this and we enjoyed the special assembly showcasing various cultural dances and pursuits. We were so proud of Constance who showed her amazing skills in the Taekwondo display.

We got into groups to show the various cultures we relate to in our class.

Celebrating Cultural Week

This was another great week of learning and we thoroughly enjoyed visiting Room 6, 3 and 4 where we enjoyed discovering more about other cultures. In our own classroom we saw how tapa cloth is made in the Pacific Islands and then we made pseudo tapa on paper. We drew patterns inspired by nature in black and then crumpled and dyed the paper.


In Room 6 we were introduced to the tradition of Mehndi where henna dye is used to paint designs on hands and feet in countries like India. Each child enjoyed making their own design and seeing their creation being done on their hands. The dye will last for a week.

Chinese songs and a dragon story were the theme in Room 6. Everyone enjoyed colouring a dragon and hearing songs that taught them to say "Hello/Ni Hao" and "Goodbye/ZaiJian" in Cantonese.

In Room 4 the children loved trying their hand at using traditional rakau sticks, as is the Maori custom. They found it tricky at first but soon got the knack and were able to get the rhythm and the moves in time with the beat. Ka Pai, everyone!

Goodbye, Mrs Naicker

It has been so wonderful having Mrs Naicker in our class. She is such a dedicated, encouraging Teacher Aide and always lends a hand outside of her expected working hours!! Mrs Naicker has supported all the children in their reading, writing and maths groups. She is multi talented and is presently working towards a certificate in TESSOL in order to help children who have other languages as their first language. She will be working in Room 32 now and will be greatly missed. Many thanks for all you have done this year, Mrs Naicker.

Jet Comes for a Visit

Miss Smith, one of our amazing Teacher Aides, organised for her friend to visit and to introduce her very special dog, Jed, to us. Sinika and Jed are registered at the SPCA and they volunteer their time mainly in retirement homes and hospitals. Jed is a Therapy dog and he loves to spend time with people. He cheers up people who are ill or lonely and brings lots of joy wherever he goes. Jed was so sweet during the visit. He enjoyed looking around at everyone and then sniffed for some special treats in Sinika's bag. He was quite happy for us to pat or hug him. Sinika told us his life story and she also helped us to remember how to be safe around dogs. She showed us some pictures of working dogs, of which Jed is one. What an amazing and special visit it was!

The Chinese Moon Festival

We enjoyed finding out more about the Moon Festival and how the Chinese people celebrate this festival all over the world. It is called the Mid-Autumn Festival in China but it is actually a mid-spring festival in New Zealand.

Raymond's family gave us some very special moon cakes and we all had a taste of the delicate flavours. We looked for the egg yolk in the middle that signifies the moon.