Farewell Awesome 2012!

Yes it's that time of the year where we say 'Farewell'.  Most of the students have posted their final post for the year stating their highlights and lowlights.  Have a read, I had a chuckle to myself at what some of the students had to say about their year.

My highlights have been numerous.  Firstly it would have to be the amazing kids in my class.  I really had fun teaching/facilitating/guiding and learning myself this year.

Another highlight was definitely camp.  I'll be honest in saying I was a bit skeptical about going on camp at Mt Holdsworth.  Only because I am from the North and our idea of camp is usually camping at a Northland beach packing items such as togs, towels and sunblock.  I was pleasantly surprised of how much fun we had (even in the cold).  The rafting was the absolute highlight of the week long camp.

I also enjoyed watching kids grow and flourish - sounds cliche I know but it REALLY is the most rewarding part of teaching.  The random selection box worked a treat - ask any student about our random selection box and they will tell you the various occasions in when the box came in handy.  They hated the box at the beginning because I would select students randomly to share their writing, thoughts, ideas and opinions.  Towards the end of the year students were often volunteering to share before names were selected.  It was GREAT!

We wish all our Year 8 students all the best at College next year and to our Year 7 students, another fantastic year at Tawa Intermediate.  I will miss you all but will be following your blogs to follow your learning journeys.

Arohanui - Ms T x

Engage, Grow, Inspire Mosaics

We had a discussion in class about leaving our mark here at Tawa Intermediate.  Something we could look at in the future to remind us of our fantastic year here at school.

A decision was made to use tiles donated by our talented SPEC teachers Mr Bunckenburg and Mrs Lewry to create mosaics to display somewhere around the school.   We wanted to create something that was meaningful and special to both us and our school.  The school motto "Engage, Grow, Inspire was the perfect inspiration for our project.

Room 13 chose koru designs to depict our interpretation of the 3 powerful words.  The three designs were agreed upon and drawn up...  our visual adventure was underway.  Every member of the class took part and surprisingly it took us just over a week to complete.

Special mention needs to be made to the students who came in on Saturday to complete the grouting process on the last 3 boards - Kia ora Ryley, Be, Arielle, Lily, Shannon and Abbey (Shannon's cousin).

Our task now is to find a place to hang them.  Maybe you have a suggestion?

Lachie's Surfing Experience

The heat waves shot through the small batch like a bullet. We had been in the small town for around 2 days. The waves lightly crashed against the soft wet sand. "Looks pretty good out there" my brother said. I nodded in agreement. "Well then lets go" I said.

We lay there gently bobbing on the water, upon our boards. "Lets move in so we can catch a wave at the right time," I said. We both paddled with composure and were now about 30 metres from the shoreline. Then in a flash a decently sized wave rose behind me "Yes!" I shouted. I lay flat on my stomach waiting for my fate, suddenly a green salty curl lifted me up and shot me skimming amidst the waves at such a speed, salty liquid shot into my eyes.

 I was closing in on shore when the worst thing happened. I got caught up in the adrenaline rush, I leaned too far forward and the tip of the board plummeted into the sand beneath the water, flipping me fowards and filling my mouth with unpleasent grey grains. I stood up and felt a sharp pain in my ribs where the board had jabbed me. I looked back over my head towards the waves and spotted my brother laughing his head off. "Shutup" I shouted with grief.

We arrived back at the batch and had settled for a game of pool. My ribs still ached but at least I beat my dad at pool. I couldn't be bothered taking off my wetsuit when I got back, but eventually got persuaded by my mum in a yelling manner to take it off.

Nicole's Camp Post

On 23 of October, my fellow classmates and I caught the train to Masterton for our School Camp.  I must say the actual train ride from Wellington to Masterton was quite long because there were so many stops.  I didn't pay much attention to the scenery.

Our campsite awaited my fellow classmates and I.  When we arrived at the campsite all we could say was  " WOW".  The scenery was quite amazing. 

The first activity we did was the flying fox.  I put on a harness and off I went.  I felt the wind rushing through my hair and hitting my face, it was an incredible feeling but scary at the same time.  We also went caving on the same day.  Although I was so scared about the wetas and spiders I made it through and it wasn't that bad after all.

Dinner for the first night was burger and chips which we dipped in and prepared ourselves.   All of us had fun collecting firewood for our cooking.   Meat patties and potatoes were cooked over an open fire.   We  had sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce and ready sliced cheese for fillings.  Our burgers and chips  were so delicious.

For the first night we all slept in tents.  I shared a tent with Ruby, Zoe, Manaia and Emma.  It was really warm that night.  We all wanted to get out of the tent and sleep outside but in the end we decided to stay put.

On Wednesday, we walked to Donelly Flats where we built our bivouacs.  I shared a bivouac with Eden, Shannon, Melissa and Emma.  We all had a great night of chat and laughter before we all fell asleep. 

Early Thursday morning, Reilly (our walking alarm clock) walked around all the bivouacs and woke everyone up by screaming " It's 7 'o' clock everybody, get up" even though it was actually  6 'o' clock in the morning.  We were all mad at him.  His punishment was to carry all the containers,  bread trays and of course his own luggage.  Later that day, we took a bus ride to our cabins .  Lily, Arielle, Ruby, Ryley, Zoe, Emma and I shared the 'Browne Cabin'.   

That night we went to Masterton pools.  It was so relaxing swimming in a warm pool.   We were allowed to take our shampoo, conditioner and soap so we could have a proper shower.   Back at our cabin that night, I slept on the top bunk and thank God  I didn't fall off.  Matter of fact I slept pretty well knowing I had a good shower.  Oh yes I felt clean.

The next day was my birthday, the 26 October and by far the best day of camp.   Soon the news spread that it was my birthday so at breakfast my fellow classmates sung 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' to me.  Thank you classmates.  I felt so special!   

After breakfast we did abseiling down a 30 metre wall.  I was so scared of falling but  I made it down the wall safely because I felt secure with my harness being tight and the encouragement from everybody at the bottom. 

To finish off the last day of the camp we did water rafting which I found very enjoyable.   I was so positive about jumping off the high rock until I got to the top and realised it was a long way down.  I wasn't sacred, I was petrified and horrified of the height but I made the leap into the icy cold water with my teacher's encouragement.   Thank you teacher! 

I felt  a little bit sad leaving the camp site behind but at the same time happy that I was going home to see my family.  The bus ride from Masterton to Wellington was long and sometimes scary because of the windy roads and high cliffs.  

Overall my camp experience was amazing.  I had  a great time and I'm sure everyone else did too.  I faced my fears and tried  every activity and I am truly proud of my effort.  I felt that this camp was very much like an adrenalin course.

Lily's Team Entry

Ruby, Renee, Be, Arielle and I have been working on a movie about sustainability to enter for the Outlook For Someday movie contest. We have filmed nearly all of our movie and Ruby is working very hard on editing it, so far it looks great!

 Our movie is about water pollution. Me Renee and Be are news reporters. And Renee (who is a fish) interviews fish about how they feel about the water pollution and how it  is not good for life under water. Then me and Be say some facts about the water pollution.

Making the movie was really fun but it took a lot  of time and hard work. Our first idea was about something different but that did not really work so we had to do it on something else. We had to do all the storyboarding and planning the fun bit was making the fish for our heads to go through then the filming!

 For our whole movie we had to use the green screen and that was really fun. We thought that we filmed all of it but we had to re film most of our movie because we were not very good fish.  I think that we have a really good chance on winning this and that so far our movie looks really good and it will look even better when it is finished.

Out look for someday movie reflection:
Something that I learned from this project that I did not  know before was some of the Information about water pollution like:  How long different objects  took to degrade when there dumped in water.

process?
I learned how to work a camera.

The part of this project that was most challenging for me was:
The green screen and trying to see what worked with the green screen and what did not.

The part of this  project I found most rewarding was:
When we were the first group to finished our movie.

Lachie's team entry!

Here is Lachie's post about their movie.  He has also included a reflection about his learning journey.

I've made this movie along with 3 other students in my class. We have entered this movie into channel 7s competition called the 'outlook for some day' which is getting students to make short films about sustainability.  My group and I made our short film on mind pollution, which is basically what electronics and other modern things are doing to our brains.  We came across this idea when we were discussing possible ideas for our film with Ms Tito.  Here is our film by:  Lachie, Reilly, Jackson and Jorge enjoy!

Reflections:

Something that I learned from this project that I did not know before was how to edit using iMovie and how to digitally insert public domain pictures into a green screen background. I also learnt a great deal about what sustainability means.  I've also learnt how to put legal pictures into a film and that you have to acknowledge where they came from.  During the making of the film I learnt to be more organised especially with the script.`

The part of this project that was most challenging for me was writing the script in time for the deadline, keeping some of the other kids settled while filming.  Managing my time and staying on subject and not going random when I write the script.  Keeping a straight face while acting and using editing equipment and other electronic equipment.

The part of this project I found most rewarding was finding out more about my friends and having lots of fun.

If I had to do another Outlook for Someday movie, the things I would do differently are:  be more organised with my script and possibly choosing different people to work with.  Try not to get as much help from the teacher.

Sustainability Movies

We have been really busy in Room 13 creating movies for the 'Outlook for Someday' young film maker competition.  I apologise for not updating our class blog for over a month, that is a direct result of how busy we have been.

I am pleased to say our class managed to submit 6 movies into the competition.  I'll be posting up the various movies or links to students blogs for you to check out their creations.

Students have given each other some really good feedforward and feedback.  If you are interested in their own reflections about the process, make sure to check their individual blogs for both movies and reflections.

The first movie I managed to upload is available for you to check out and give your own feedback/feedforward.  Here is Anton's 'Sustainability Rap' featuring his good friend Nicole.  Anton wrote and produced this movie on his own.  Well done Anton!

I apologise for the first 10 seconds of blackness in the beginning of the film, it was a requirement for the 'Outlook for Someday' Competition.

Ruby's Dodgeball Post - Win, Win, Win!

On Friday the 29th of July, Room 13 had another game of dodge-ball against Room 3. We lined up, got ready, bent down, and then... the whistle blew. We ran! Smash, smash, dodge-balls flew everywhere! I dodged, jumped, ducked and ran to get away from the dodge-balls. In the end we won! The players the were still in had to line-up so the Sports Committee could count how many people were left. Yea, yea, yea we WON!!

 On Thursday the 2nd of August, Room 13 played a game of dodge against room 8.  It was the best game we have had in the dodge-ball inter-class competition.  About half way through, I got out.  Like the last two games... We Won!! We did our three cheers, shook hands, walked back to class and celebrated! We made to the quarter finals! I can't wait until we play another game.
Reported by Ruby

Budding Animators

Last week Room 15 of the Mighty Pouakai Syndicate were preparing for another TIS assembly.  Being the innovative and creative class that they are, they chose to celebrate Kotahitanga by asking each class in the school to recite a line in a Dr Seuss story "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" 

Room 13 was given the line "Waiting for the fish to bite."  It was decided that we do something different (because we like to stand out in a crowd).  Ruby, Renee, Arielle and Be took charge!  They decided to create an animation.  Once that was created we thought we'd sing our line instead of reciting it.  Thanks Lasi for providing us the background track, so here's the snippet of the animation.  The 'created by' bit was added on to acknowledge the girls hard and creative work.  Well done girls and Rm 13 choir :)  Hopefully I can share the link to the full school effort soon.

Rahul's wonderful writing progress!

This week I thought we'd celebrate students who are making superb progress in their writing.  Meet Rahul.  At the beginning of the year Rahul needed a lot of encouragement to write.  Our last writing sample was a couple of weeks ago and this is Rahul's sample.  I was filled with excitement as he handed this piece of writing in for me to read...

I went to Titahi Bay with my dad to the Field to get warmed up. I put my boots on and my gloves on and ready to play this match.

The whistle blew and the game starts now. I saw the players tackling and passing. My friend skilled the other player and tries to score a goal but he misses. The other player from that team tries to score but i caught the ball and kicked it to the other player. My team got the ball and Narlin passed it to Josh and scored a goal and we were cheering for Josh.

25 minutes to go and the other team tried to score. The player ran up ahead towards the goal and tries to score and I dived towards the ball and bounced off my head and its a miss. The player goes for a corner and he took a shot and they scored.

It came to half time and I had a drink of water and listened to the coach whats he saying. Its our turn to kick the ball and the player passes it to someone and ran up to the goal keeper and took a shot and it went into the goal.  The tacklers tackled the players and tries to score but it was a over.

We won and it was 3-2 and we ate chocolate and oranges. The player of the day was me at my first game of soccer. I really enjoyed my first game.

Konichi wa!

Term 3 has kicked off and we have so much to look forward to.  Our first celebration in Room 13 is the beginning of our Japanese lessons, led by our very own Shannon.  Shannon was one of the lucky students who took part in our Asian exchange last year traveling to Japan.  Over the next term we will be learning Japanese greetings and simple phrases, learning about Japanese culture and cuisine.  During our first lesson today, we learned how to count to 20 and beyond.

If you speak fluent Japanese, please let us know how we are doing.

Sheridan's Fun Run Post

On Wednesday the 13th of June 2012 at the top Field was the Tawa intermediate Fun run. We had to fund raise and I raised $182.  I got $182 because I told my Mum and Dad to take it to their work and ask their Friends if they could please sponsor me.  For the fun run my class had to come as a sport star but I just brang my shorts and my rugby socks.

After morning tea the whole school walked up to the top Field the teachers were telling us about what were not aloud to do then we were off.  Ms T was recording on the camera then she told Pouakai syndicate to yell out Pouakai on three then she went 1 2 3 and we all  yelled out Pouakai! as loud as we could. We all started running it was awesome I ran with Mason, Elias, Zac and Raumoa most of the way then we all split so I just ran with Sione all the way. I ran faster because I didn't want it to go into my lunch.

When it was over I was so glad because football and Dodge ball are the next interclass sports.

Celebrating Matariki

To celebrate Matariki - The Maori New Year, our class are creating 'Matariki Panels' that represent  whanau, new growth and their own understanding of Matariki.  I am looking forward to the finished art works and they will adorn our school hall during our 'Matariki Performances' evening next Tuesday night.  Some will then be  selected to be displayed down at the Tawa Library as part of the Mana Tiaki 'Matariki Celebrations'.  Here's a slideshow of the students in action.  Watch this space for their finished masterpieces.

Our Assembly Presentation

The week finally arrived when it was Pouakai's turn to run our School Assembly again. Room 15 did such a great job last term that we (Room 13) had to figure out how we wanted to run our assembly.

'Operation Assembly' emerged! We decided on a 'TIS News" theme and we wanted to try some green screening.  We were lucky that some of the content was already made throughout our term so it was just a matter of selecting what we wanted to celebrate and delegating jobs.

 An assembly committee came together and decided what needed to be done: Brittany (Be) and Jorge were in charge of writing their scripts for the introductions of each DLO (Digital Learning Object / Movie). Ruby and Anton were in charge of producing movies for the School Disco and Cross Country, Melissa and Reilly had to write and learn scripts for their Sports presentation, Shannon, Lily and Ryley interviewed students about citizenship during lunchtimes (with Ruby as Videographer), Ben was in charge of explaining our Whakatauki and the rest of the class were in charge of independent tasks while green screening was done.

Special thanks to Eden and McKenzie for sharing their musical talent, Las for fostering the musical talent in our room, The videographers for the cross country, Stephanie for her Camp Video, the students who recited our class Whakatauki, the Room 13 students who worked independently and of course... the assembly committee!

 Here's most of the presentation. I hope you've got a bit of time, it's actually 21 minutes long - but well worth the watch. Well done our 'Nga Hau Mahana!

Personification Post from Ruby

In room 13, we have been learning about personification so we can use it in our writing. Personification is when an object is doing something that a person can do. It is like "the trees danced in the wind" because a tree can't dance but a person can but you can imagine the trees dancing. Ms Tito gave us a piece of paper that had sentences on it that we had to turn into personification. Here are some of the sentences:

The door opened.
The arrow moved across the page.
The leaf fell from the tree.

Here is what I turned them into:

The door slid open.
The arrow jumped across the page.
The leaf dived from the tree.

Here's the rest of the class sharing their Personification Snippets.

 

Who's got talent?

As part of our Digital Citizenship topic this term, students have been learning about being 'Cyber Smart'.  Students were asked to share their understanding of some of the important 'Cyber Smarts' like; Smart Surfing, Smart Footprints, Smart Money and Smart Relationships.  Eden and McKenzie worked together to produce a Rap/Song about Smart Relationships with the support of Las (on guitar).  What do you think?

Football training has begun!

Cross Country is over and it's time to get out the footballs.  Yes, that's right, the students are now focusing on learning or improving their football skills.

Last week we had the pleasure of learning from the master himself 'Mr Rickard'.  Check out the learning/teaching resource that we put together to help others practise their passing skills.

Jorge's Cross Country Experience

18th May 2012 is one of the most exciting events of the school year.  Here at Tawa Intermediate a tonne of energy is about to be vapourised.Cross country is about to begin the other year groups have all left and now its our turn the year eight boys turn.  PWWWEEEEEEERRRRRRRRTTTT! The whistle blows and were off.  Blood pumping,Heart racing,breath dissipating into the empty sky.We race of after the sound of the blistering whistle.Fighting for air I continue to race,

After completing the block run I continue onwards to the most devastatingpart of the course..... the linden school hill.I start to head down the hill and jog under the bridge, half way across the course I start to get stitch and that's bad since I can see lots of people in front of me.

Nearing the end i can barely move I'm going to drop but I see the final corner people cheeringand I sprint to the end and I can hardly see anything,but then I whispered to myself,  "I did it".  I walk to the desk and hand in my number I was not happy with my result.  I have not improved in fact I got worse by thirteen places.

Nicole's Cyber Smart Movie

I've uploaded the video I made for my cyber smart project. It was lots of fun taking pictures, recording voices and videoing people. I hope you like my video. Please comment!  Thanks heaps - Nicole.

Taiaha @ TIS

Some of you may be aware that a few weeks ago we started our first Taiaha lessons here at Tawa Intermediate.  We feel very blessed to have Matua Nori Ngaheu, Matua Tahi and Matua Pourua to teach our community Taiaha from Te Whare Tu Taua O Aotearoa - Hawaiki Tu Ki Parirua.  The movie has been made to support the students in their learning so they can practise.

Renee's Kiwiana Cupcakes

As part of our homework this term I made Kiwiana cupcakes for my
class.  They were vanilla cupcakes and I made some nice blue icing for
on the top with chocolate drawings of  Kiwiana icons.

Here's a slide show of each cupcake!  Can you see what shapes of famous NZ symbols (Kiwiana icons)  are on each cupcake?

Ryley's Deadly Touch - Reading post

In reading, my group have been looking at the ongaonga tree.
Ongaonga is sometimes called tree nettle or fierce nettle. It is one of the worlds most dangerous plants. The ongoonga tree is a deadly tree that when a needle or hair goes into your skin and the poison bursts throughout your body. This plant is found as far south as Otago and the West Coast. It might be extinct north of Auckland. The bristles are about six millimetres, each one like a hypodermic syringe.
When the ongaonga grows, it goes past head height and the hair/needles grow fatter and more poisonous than when they were before.
Out of the world's most dangerous kinds of nettle, there are nettle that are more poisonous than the ongaonga. More dangerous ones come from tropical islands such as Timor and Java. In those places, the plants have names like devil leaf.

Learning Afrikaans

We are lucky enough to have two students (Rochelle and Callista) who are fluent in Afrikaans.  For Languages this term we are learning how to count in Afrikaans, some simple greetings and simple commands.  Every week the two girls organise a half hour session to teach us.  We are also learning about South African culture as well.  They are doing a great job - "Hulle doen goeie werk"

Term Two 2012 - Up and running!

Yes it's Term Two already and what a term we have to look forward to.  It's fabulous to be back and the students have turned up to school ready for action after a well deserved break!

One of the highlights of this term will be our School Cross Country coming up in a few weeks.  I have been really impressed with the students of Pouakai Syndicate and their dedication and commitment to their cross country training.  We are blessed to have the infamous Mr Rickard 'lead the way' implementing a mighty training regime and offering words of advice and expertise.

I managed to capture some of our students training hard.  Well done you lot! 

Good Old Board Games

Remember the good old days when families sat around and played board games and cards?  I certainly do.  We never had a TV when I was a kid so we played board games and cards all the time.  I know (from what the kids have told me) that some of you still do.  Fantastic!  Board games promote a whole lot of things.  strategic thinking, co-operation, competition, logical thinking, honesty, mathematical skills, literacy skills and plenty of other things.

As part of a class reward: Everyone has posted on their individual blogs Wooooohoooooo! We played board games this afternoon.  As a teacher it is wonderful to see your class engaged and 'playing' respectfully and genuinely having fun.  Well done Room 13, I am proud of you :)
Ms Tito

Awesome Animations

Wednesdays are funny days because students are in and out of class attending various Academies.  So, we decided that this would be a good time for all the 'left over' students to do something fun.  Today we looked at some software called I can animate.  We started off with something pretty basic and we'll be starting to develop storyboards and characters during future sessions.  Here's a slideshow of the process and a completed animation by Sheridan, Sean and Rahul.  We love it!  Please leave them some feedback on their own blog.

And here is the actual animation.
A Bugs Tale from Janine Tito on Vimeo.

School Survey WORDLE

Over the last couple of weeks, students at our school were sent a form/survey to have their say about "What makes this school (Tawa Intermediate) cool? These are two Wordles created from the results by our wonderful teacher Miss Warren.  Very cool Tawa Intermediate :)

McKenzie's Rap

Wanna hear a rap? Ok.

Samoan Gama from Janine Tito on Vimeo.

Talofalava I'm a Samoan brother, don't mess around with my ie lavalava. Driving in my car with a ka'e fa'amalama. I like the colour blue but I hate samasama.

Tolafoalava - Hello
ie lavalava - sarong
ka'e fa'amalama - Smashed window
Samasama - Yellow
Kama - boy
Kei Malamalama - Do you understand?

Shannon's Ngati Toa Post

Hey all, This is my recount of my syndicates trip to Ngati Toa Domain. =D

On the 16 of February, Pouakai syndicate at Tawa Intermediate went on a trip to Ngati Toa Domain for a day.When I got to school every one was in crowds admiring each others  mufti. You could feel the excited vibes coming off everyone.

We gathered outside for a talk on rules and behavior, I don’t know how many people were listening because you could hear whispering coming from a few people.

We then marched off to the train station chattering, gossiping and giggling with excitement about the coming trip. I was looking behind me chattering with some friends when I looked back in front of me.... SMACK!!!. I walked straight into a road works sign, giggles erupted from my friends that were around me, I learnt my lesson then.

We continued walking to the train station and once we got there we sat down and counted off. “1,2,4,6,7,3” numbers were being said every where. It was hard to focus on what we were meant to be saying, and when. We all were advised/told to put on sunblock so we wouldn’t end up as red as a tomato.

The train finally arrived and we all piled onto the train like cattle being loaded onto a cattle truck.  Once we were on the train we all sat in seats of three. I was squashed in the middle, yay. The white noise that was muffles and shrieks of excitement were making hard to hear the person next to me. Once the train came to a stop I let out a sigh of relief. I made sure I’d left nothing behind and got up and off the stuffy train.

Once we got there we were told all about boundaries and where to put our bags, oh and how the toilets weren’t working. Yay life. Melissa, Callista, Bex, Zandrea, Nikki and I went and sat on a small rubber mat part. We had a mini shared lunch that was really only some chips and hummus Bex had brought with her. Everyone was either sitting down talking, playing on the playground or on the field playing sports. Laughter and shrieks of joy were all around us as we were just sitting down gossiping and chattering.

Finally the beach was open, most of Pouakai was now going to get changed. A range of colours was coming out of the girls bathroom. As they all had colourful togs. I walked down to the beach with my towel in hand. I laid my towel down with all of my friends stuff. I saw my dad (Mr. O’C) sitting on a log with some of his students. I walked over to them and started to talk to them.

After quite a few hours the whistle blew and it was time for us all to tidy up. Picking up rubbish and gathering bags, the boring part of the trip. Once we were all done tidying up we walked back to the train station, and waited. Once the train came we all piled in again. It wasn’t as noisy now because everyone was tired from the long day. The train finally stopped and we all hopped off the train. Most of us went back to school, but some of us left on other stations I left for home from linden train station, and that was the end of pouakai syndicate trip.

Did you know... Treaty facts.

We have been reading about the Treaty of Waitangi and here are some facts students chose to share with you.

Did you know Treaty facts from Janine Tito on Vimeo.

What can you tell us about the Treaty of Waitangi?

Our Sensational Athletics Day

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr! The wonderful Wellington wind sent shivers coursing through my body while measuring discus throws up on the Tawa College field.  It was the very first whole school 'event' of 2012 here at Tawa Intermediate.  Athletics day!

The commitment shown by passionate and patriotic students to their syndicates were apparent when I scanned the hall in the morning briefing.  I saw clumps of blue, red, pink, green, yellow and purple students dressed to show their support.  Pouakai (my syndicate) wore pink.

So the scene is set... watch our movie, it captures the mood of the day along with some excitement and talent.  Are you one of the talented ones?

TIS Athletics 2012 from Janine Tito on Vimeo.

Thanks to Lasi, Mr O'C and Miss Goldfinch for the photos and footage.

Fale Fale

Talofa lava... This afternoon Lasi Hunt taught us how to count in Samoan. We then had a game of 'fale fale' (housie/bingo) to practice. The students picked it up really fast :) Have a look:
Untitled from Janine Tito on Vimeo.
We can't wait until our next game. Vasega Sefulu Tolu Tofa soifua!

Pinkilicious Pouakai

The students came to school 'Pinked Up' to represent the "Mighty Pouakai" syndicate.   I spent my day with Mr O'carroll up at one of the Discus circles set up on the Tawa College Field.  The cold Wellington wind cut right through my pink Lava lava, skins and merino long sleeve top but I really enjoyed watching our students having fun and giving Athletics a good go.  I'm collating more footage and photos from other staff members to put together a movie of our students striving to do their best during our wonderful Athletics day.  So, watch this space :)

Meet Ryley Bridges

Ryley is definitely one of our talented writers.  I thought it would be a good idea to post a pic of her so you can put a face to her writing.  Hopefully she will accept a challenge to write a book this year or publish some of her work in the next Journal of Young People's Writing.  As you can see she is a lot of fun too.  If you happen to see her, maybe she will share with you what she had written on the stickers on her forehead and school shirt.

Ryley Bridges - Ngati Toa Trip

February 16th. A hot Thursday morning at Tawa Intermediate School. Pouakai Syndicate were going to Ngati Toa Domain. The courts, where everyone lined up, outside of the classrooms smelt like sun screen. People wore hats, sunglasses and bits of clothing that might of been the  latest fashion craze. I stuck with my normal style (T-shirt, shorts and sneakers). The teachers made us shout “POUAKAI!!!” at the top of our lungs. We then walked off down the street towards the train station, chatting among friends.

The train ride was boring but at least we weren’t stuck on the train forever (last year at the end of year picnic, we were stuck on the train for a length of time that felt like hours but was only about an hour). Pouakai syndicate filled up the train and the only other person on the train was some guy listening to music. We chatted about where we could go (and where we couldn’t). I attempted to take some pictures of people walking but sadly, failed miserably.

The playground was as hot as school. The suns energy was focused on us today. After eating, people split up and ran around the not so big playground. Students laughed, talked and shouted all around the place. Some boys went and played rugby on the field. Today was a day for fun in the sun.

The beach was hot and beautful. The water was cool and peaceful. I didn’t go in the water but my friends did and they enjoyed it. Reilly, Jackson and a couple of other boys went crab hunting. They screamed a couple of times like little girls when they saw big crabs. It was pretty funny.

The beach trip ended after hours of fun. Everyone enjoyed it and had the time of their lives. We become closer as friends, as a class and as a syndicate. Best Beach Day Ever!!!

Pouakai Syndicate Trip - MOVIE

Kia ora everyone.  Here's a movie I made with footage captured by myself and a couple of Room 13 Students (Zoe and Ryley - theirs is the 'wobbly' footage).  It was the motivation for our effective paragraph writing today, so hopefully our next few posts are exceptional examples of E.P's (effective paragraphs).  So watch this space!

Yes it was a marvelous day and I can't wait until our next one
Ms T x

Pouakai Syndicate Trip from Janine Tito on Vimeo.

Our very first Outing...

Kia Ora... Nau mai haere mai!

Hi everyone and welcome to our blog.  If you are wondering about the name of our blog, I'll let you in on how and why we named it "Ngaa Hau Mahana".

When I was given the wonderful class Room 13 here at Tawa Intermediate I knew I wanted a 'learning statement' that we could say every morning to start off our day to set us up for success.  I am lucky enough to have a wonderful partner who has a passion for Te Reo me ona Tikanga Maori and he helped write our learning statement in Maori with it's English translation:

E ngā hau mahana

Piri mai ki a mātou I tēnei rā

Hei mahana tōku hāere

May a warm, yet gentle wind

Be with us this day

In aid of my journey

So, Ngaa Hau Mahana (Warm, yet gentle wind) is the name of our blog.  When coming up with the learning statement we had in mind Wellington, which is famous for it's wind.  It was written especially for our students and they are busy learning both the Maori and English version.  Maybe you could ask one of the Room 13 students to recite it for you and share the deeper meaning of it also. We hope you love it as much as we do :)

 
Kia ora ano
Ms Tito