Sunnyhills School Environmental Blog

Tuesday, 15 February 2022

Room Tahi's Orca Inquiry

Room Tahi's Whale Tale work led them to learning all about Orca. They recorded their discoveries on a Padlet:

We can't wait to see your Orca artwork Room One 🐳 ❤️

Wednesday, 9 February 2022

Look out for the Whale Tales Colouring Competition going home this week. Thank you to our sponsor, Nyrelle Foss for providing printing and prizes. You can return your masterpieces to the red box in the school office.

Tuesday, 8 February 2022

Inspiration from the Experts

Our classes are excited to be able to learn with experts with these upcoming morning science seminars. Which are you looking to most?

Coming in Term One 2022, an ARRAY of free online science seminars perfect for kids aged 5-12. Kids will get to learn first hand from leading marine species experts, just what marine species live in Hauraki Gulf! Register for as many or few seminars that tickle your fancy, and feel free to share the details with your teaching comrades – the more the merrier!! Links below

15 February 2022 | 9.30am‘Blue Whales’ – Dawn Barlow: Explore the world of the largest animals on earth, the blue whales and learn how blue whales in Aotearoa are unlike blue whales anywhere else in the world https://wwf.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ch_DzBDGSXu0RJxqMy7jYA
24 February 2022 | 9.30am‘Orca in our backyard’ – Ingrid Visser: Explore the world of killer whales with Ingrid as she reveals some of her research secrets on this incredible species https://wwf.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hNPyEBCUQDqLszoi5CYfRw
10 March 2022 | 9.30am‘Can you keep a secret?: Stories about our secretive Kororā / little penguins of the Tikapa Moana / Hauraki Gulf ’ – Karen Saunders: Three short stories about our little blue penguins, interweaving a few key facts and takeaways https://wwf.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ao2RZv5dR3-y6j_lJcfsmw
24 March 2022 | 9.30am‘Leopard seals in Auckland – from the isolated Antarctic to urban New Zealand’ – Krista van der Linde: A peek into the world of the leopard seals and why they might call Auckland home https://wwf.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_srI1g_B7Tya3Zhnd-NnQIQ
7th April 2022 | 9.30am‘An introduction to false killer whales in New Zealand waters’ – Jochen Zaeschmar: An insight into the unique behaviour, occurrence, and social structure of the charismatic, false killer whale https://wwf.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ytTyjLWuS82MYZnRXey6Cg
13 April 2022 | 9.30am‘Bryde’s whales in our backyard’ – Rochelle Constantine: Learn about the Bryde’s whales and their important role in the Hauraki Gulf’s ecosystem https://wwf.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_r2RWVZQ1R-ygqlF5ddS7iw

Launching our school wide Whale Tales Inquiry

Each class at Sunnyhills School is excited to investigate the Whale Tales and begin our own moana inquiry with these slides and resources. Already, Ms Lewis' class have started to think about "what are marine reserves and why do we need them?", after she shared the story of a snapper nibbling her toes on at Goat Island. I wonder where the rest of our GEMs learning will lead us.

Click on the slides below to see our starting off point:

Wednesday, 2 February 2022

Our Whale Tales Journey Begins

We're so excited to receive a mini Whale Tale to create our very own fabulous eco art sculpture. A very big thank you to Nyrelle Foss Harcourts Howick for sponsoring our Whale Tale.

Have you seen the Whale Tales all around Auckland? Check out https://whaletales2022.org/ to go an exciting eco art adventure and unlock prizes.

Follow our learning journey on the GreenGold Enviroblog, as we discover sea creatures and how we can protect them. We'll use this knowledge to create our sculpture.