Today in Room 5 we used Google Slides to create our Term 2 Cybersmart Celebration Presentation. We had to use different tools in Google Slides to make our slide creative. It was hard to make our transitions and animations, but it was a lot of fun.
Matariki Whole School Celebration – Sharing, Singing, and Togetherness
On Thursday before Matariki Friday, our whole school came together to celebrate Matariki, the Māori New Year. We started the day with a special treat—a warm milo and biscuit in the school hall. It was lovely to sit with friends, share smiles, and enjoy the cosy feeling of being together.
After morning tea, we gathered for a special Matariki assembly. Each class joined in singing the “Nine Stars of Matariki” song. The hall was filled with proud voices and joyful faces as we sang about the stars and their meanings—hope, remembrance, food, nature, and dreams.
This celebration helped us remember the values of Matariki: whānau, kindness, reflection, and new beginnings.
It was a beautiful way to start the new year together.
🌟 Celebrating Matariki Through Art – Our Window of Wishes
To celebrate Matariki, our class created a special stained-glass window art together. Each student made a colourful background using bright marker colours on clear contact paper, and we added bold black paper silhouettes to bring our artwork to life.
We talked about the nine stars of Matariki and what each star means. Some students wrote wishes for Hiwa-i-te-rangi, some remembered loved ones for Pōhutukawa, and others shared their hopes for the new year.
This project was not just about art—it was about thinking, remembering, and sharing together. As we placed all the artwork on our classroom window, the colours shone through like a real stained-glass window. It now reminds us of our whānau, our dreams, and the beauty of new beginnings.
Come and see our Window of Wishes—it’s full of colour, kindness, and the spirit of Matariki. ✨
Duplicating, rotating and nudging
Today in Cybersmart we learnt how to duplicate, rotate and nudge our diamond into place to create a Matariki star. We also had to use our bucket colour to make custom colours. It was tricky to place our diamonds into place. We had a lot of fun.
Student Led Conference- Our Learners Take the Lead!
Monday, we welcomed all our whānau into the classroom for our Student-Led Conferences. It was a special time where each student became the leader of their own learning, proudly showing their work to their families.
The classroom was full of smiles, excitement, and great conversations. Students shared their writing, art, maths books, inquiry projects, and even their goals. It was a chance for parents to sit beside their children and see all the progress they’ve made this year.
We were so proud to see our learners speak with confidence, explain their thinking, and reflect on what they’ve achieved. These conferences help our tamariki build pride, responsibility, and ownership of their learning.
Thank you to all the parents and caregivers who came along—it meant so much to our students!
Ki o Rahi
This week in Room 5, we had an exciting PE session with Kelly Sports, where we learned to play the traditional Māori game Ki o Rahi.
This fast-paced and fun game helped us practise teamwork, listening skills, and fitness – but it also taught us something even more special. We learned to follow instructions and respond to game rules spoken in te reo Māori. It was a great way to connect physical activity with language learning and Māori culture.
We enjoyed learning new words and moving our bodies while playing a game that is important in Aotearoa. A big thank you to our Kelly Sports coach for guiding us through the game with energy and encouragement.
Ka pai, Room 5!
Explore Myths and Legend story
This week, Room 5 has been diving into the world of myths and legends through our reading and writing lessons.
We explored stories from different cultures, looking closely at the setting, the characters, and most importantly, the moral or lesson each story teaches. These traditional tales help us understand how people from different places explain natural events, celebrate values, or pass on important messages.
As we read, we asked questions like:
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Where and when does the story take place?
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What is the message or moral of the story?
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What can we learn about the culture from this legend?
In writing, we have started to create our own myth-inspired stories, using what we’ve learned about structure, setting, and meaningful messages. It’s been a great way to connect storytelling with cultural understanding and creativity.
We can’t wait to share our own legends soon!
Tālofa Lava!
This week, Room 5 proudly celebrated Samoa Language Week with lots of fun and meaningful learning activities.
We began by exploring interesting facts about Samoa, including its location, flag, language, and culture. Each day, we also learned a new Samoan phrase to greet and talk with one another. It was a great way to appreciate the beauty of the Samoan language and use it in our classroom.
One of the most exciting parts of the week was creating our own collaborative tapa cloth. Each student designed their own section using traditional patterns and symbols, and we joined them together to make a beautiful class artwork.
We were also incredibly proud of our girls Ine, Dahlia, and Havania, who performed a beautiful ‘Lau Samoa’ dance at the school assembly. They represented our class and the Samoan culture with pride and confidence.
It has been a special week of learning, sharing, and celebrating Samoan identity and language. Fa’afetai Room 5!
Twinkle Twinkle~~
This week, Room 5 explored some new digital skills during our Cybersmart session with Matua Peter.
We learned how to use polylines and shapes to create our own Matariki-themed landscape pictures. Each student used their imagination to design a unique scene that reflected their personal thoughts and feelings about Matariki, a very meaningful celebration in Aotearoa New Zealand.
It was a fantastic way to combine our creativity with digital learning. We’re proud of the beautiful artworks we created and the stories behind them!
Measurement fun in the classroom
This week in Room 5, we have been focusing on measuring length using classroom rulers.
We began by learning how to read the indicators on a ruler, how to line it up correctly with the object we want to measure, and how to identify the correct end point for an accurate reading. We also discussed what to do when the ruler is not long enough — in that case, we learned how to continue measuring by moving the ruler along and then adding the lengths together.
After our group learning, we moved on to an independent digital task. Working in pairs, we challenged ourselves to measure objects of our own choice around the classroom — but with specific length requirements! We used our iPads to take photos as proof of each completed measurement task.
It was great to see students applying both their maths and digital skills, working together, and showing confidence in using real-world measuring tools. We look forward to building on this learning in our next measurement challenges!
