Is a chocolate bar a fruit?

Of course a chocolate bar is not a fruit says Room 8, but how do our clever five year olds know? We went to the edible gardens, with Mrs Daniel, to explore the orchard and find out what makes a fruit, a fruit.

Room 8 found pear trees, plum trees, an apple tree with apples growing on it and much more.

The children helped pull some giant weeds that were crowding our gardens too. We put them in the compost to make nutrient rich soil for our gardens. Nothing goes to waste; that's being sustainable!

After looking, thinking and talking we decided fruit has to grow on a plant or a tree. Also fruit has seeds inside. So no; a chocolate bar is not a fruit.

We're looking forward to learning more about how bees are garden helpers in our next enviro lesson.

Finding fun fruit facts with Room 15

Today Room 15 had their first enviro lesson. We had to hunt down fun facts in the edible gardens.

Here's what some of the tamariki thought:
Andreas: "I found out tomato leaves are poisonous".
Rubi: "I learnt my first Maori word because I came from Australia. Aporo is apple".
Ryan: "Capsicums come in three colours".

Everyone agreed it's fun to learn outside. We want to do more scavenger hunts, weeding and grow our own veges. We're also  looking forward to eating the rock melons that are growing!

Room Seven Enviro Stars

A big thank you to all the Sunnyhills whanau who watered our edible gardens over the holidays. The gardens are looking lush. Classes will soon be harvesting rock melons, tomatoes, silverbeet, lettuce, zucchini, egg plants, capsicum and water melon to eat, as part of our Enviro

lessons, with Mrs Daniel. Yum!

Room Seven are now taking on the important job of watering our vege patches. Thank you! Look at the giant marrow they harvested while visiting the garden. Mrs Fowler is going to make chips out of it using her dehydrater. What a great idea! Comment below to tell us how it tasted Room Seven.

Room 3's Helping Hands with Trees For Survival

On Thursday Room 3, along with Lynda Wylie from Auckland City Council and Mrs Daniel, put in a mammoth effort to replant over 250 seedlings, as part of the Trees For  Survival project.

Eventually these native seedlings will be planted out into the community to form new habitats. What a fabulous legacy for our graduating Year 6's to pass on to future generations.

With it being such a rainy day, we were all very glad of the new covered senior court yard. What a great learning space.

Special thanks goes to Lynda for all the time she has put into helping Sunnyhills School begin their TFS journey this year. And a big well done to Room 3 for our biggest planting day yet.

Links to: 'Green Fingers Get Busy at Sunnyhills' - article in Howick and Pakuranga Times and Mother Earth Website

Links to: 'Green Fingers Get Busy at Sunnyhills' - article in Howick and Pakuranga Times and Mother Earth Website

Link to the Article in The Howick and Pakuranga Times
http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/eastern-courier/86435762/green-fingers-get-busy-at-sunnyhills

Link to Mother Earth Website
http://www.motherearth.co.nz/congratulations-sunnyhills-school/

Planting the New Planter boxes

Planting the New Planter boxes

On Monday the 14th of November people from Mother Earth visited our school to see the new planter boxes that they had payed for.  Our fabulous parents had put them in place at the working bee on Sunday. We planted the plants that Mother Earth gave us and they took photos for their website. There was also a photographer from the newspaper.  It was very exciting

Weeding the Camellias

On Friday the 4th of November, Room 15 weeded the camellia hedge.  It is a big job and we didn't get it finished.  We are going to ask our buddy class to help us later in the term