ALL BLACK EVERYDAY!!

Check out this interactive online poster from 'Thinglink' ALL BLACK EVERYDAY!!
My tamariki use thinglink to create a poster about the text in class they are reading (Young NZ Entrepreneurs). The tamariki then link in other websites, videos and text that is relevant to the text they are reading.

Remember Te Mahia School Tamariki tomorrow we are wearing black in support of our AB's..

2015 All Blacks Rugby World Cup Squad by NZ Rugby

THINGLINK.COM|BY NZ RUGBY

The importance of knowing your market and what customers want.

This term our inquiry is based around 'Show me the money!' - Young Entrepreneurs

Last week Room 1 tamariki constructed survey questionnaires in regards to ideas for their string art (chosen class gala stall) and what designs the staff and tamariki would buy. We had many discussions over the surveys in regards to open, closed and multi-choice questions. It came down to the children using multi-choice questions where they could allow their own designs/ideas to be read and chosen from. The tamariki then collated their survey data to see which were the popular choices.

Here is an example of Kalani and Angela's survey they did.

This week Room 1 tamariki have to explain why it is important doing research before you design/sell a product.
Some of the ideas the tamariki came up with to write about were:

• It is important to know your market and the needs of customers
• Surveys were important in helping them decide what designs they were going to do in string art.
• From the surveys the tamariki could also see what materials were needed (in particular the paint and wool colours to use).
• Also pricing their artwork so that a profit is made based on what the customer wants and the cost of materials.

The tamariki know it is crucial research is done before jumping into a business, to allow marketing for customers needs, customer satisfaction, and ensuring a business succeeds.

Opoutama Wetlands

On Wednesday some of the Te Mahia School students went for a little Tiki tour with Mr Pickering and Nanny Dixie.The students travelled from school to Opoutama and learnt about what sort of weeds they could find and what their names are.The students had some fun finding insects, bugs and fish in the wetlands. The students also learnt about birds around the wetlands and how important the wetlands are.

Kristine: I learnt that the wetlands don’t just protect the plants around them, but also protect the creatures that live around the area.

Patricia D: I learnt that in 2009 there was a fire that burnt down most of the wetland it took five helicopters to put out the fire. I also learnt that there is a new weed called ragwart.

Khalos: I learnt the different types of bugs and insects that live in the wetlands like water worms and such.

Angela: I learnt that in 2009 the fire that happened spread all around the wetland at Opoutama and that honeysuckles are weeds and that not much people see the bitten flying around.

Rebecca: I learnt what native plants are and what exotic plants are and much, much, more.

Anthony: I learnt the native plants and exotic plants.

Rome: I learnt how to catch a fish with a net and the names of the two flaxes

which are harakeke and swamp flax.

The students had a lot of fun and they will like to take an opportunity to go again someday later. They would like to say a big thanks to Mr Pickering and Nanny Dixie for making their little tiki tour possible.

Written by Kristine Stevens-Wesche

Gratitude!

Today in Room 1 we discussed all of the things of late that we need to be grateful for. The Whangawehi Catchment Management Group have kindly given Te Mahia School $1000 to replenish books in the school library. Our 700 section of non-fiction books, (science and technology) had a lot of books that were outdated and the information in them was no longer relevant. This money has boosted the books in this section that our tamariki have access to extensively. With the science fair in term 3 next year, we now have an extensive resource of knowledge and information that will help our children's learning. Our children got creative with selfies, (a little bit of an obsession by some) and some apps on the i-pad/macs to illustrate their gratitude! A little thing such as the words thank you can go a very long way so... THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR OUR NEW BOOKS!

The journey of the Crayfish

The journey of Crayfish

The journey of crayfish started in the sea but our day started down at Whangawehi as we waited patiently for the boat Aurora to come and dock down in the Jetty. Skippered by Selwyn and his crewman Tom they pulled into the jetty with baskets full of crayfish. The tamariki got a close up look of the crayfish in their baskets.

Both our journey and the crayfish’s journey carried on to Mahia Beach as we trailed behind Selwyn’s truck that carried the sea creatures. We got to view the holding pools where the crayfish were transferred into from the truck. Yvette weighed the catches in their baskets before they were put into the pools. The water in the holding pools had to be around 11 degrees to keep the crayfish from getting distressed. No more than 12kg of crayfish were put in each basket allowing room for the crayfish to move around. The holding pools that we viewed could fit up to two tonne of crayfish but the truck that transports them out of Mahia can’t hold as much crayfish therefore the number of trips per week varies.

When the crayfish are delivered to the depot in Masterton or Wellington they are graded A, B, C or D based on their size. Crayfish are then exported to other countries and are put into special chilly bins to hibernate. The temperature inside the chilly bin is lowered in order for the crayfish to hibernate and sleep. When the crayfish arrive at their destination the temperature in the chilly bin is increased resulting in the crayfish waking. Majority of the crayfish that leave our shores are exported to Asian countries, one in particular is China.

We all had an amazing day learning about crayfish. The tamariki also held a crayfish and loved posing holding them.  We learnt interesting facts about crayfish and crayfishing too. A female crayfish has fins on the inside of its tail and that is where the eggs are kept. Around the beginning of October is when female crayfish start dropping their eggs. Two of the most important facts the children were told is you cannot take crayfish with eggs, and the legal size in which you can take a crayfish, is it has to measure at least 60mm across the tail.

Thank you Selwyn, Tom and Yvette for sharing your experiences and knowledge of crayfish, crayfishing, storing and exporting crayfish, and also to the crayfish where none were harmed in our journey!

String Art

Room 1 tamariki have decided on doing String Art for their classroom stall at our School Gala. We viewed some amazing pieces online and the tamariki can't wait to create their own masterpieces. We have been kindly given a heap of wood to use for our artwork, just need to buy some string and nails.