Year Six Being Kind to our Community Heroes

 Today Year Six were lucky enough to work with the Youth Project.   We were learning about what it means to be kind and the importance of kindess in our community.

Our next school wide inquiry is 'Community Heroes'. We wanted to do something to be acknowledge the wonderful people in our community who do amazing work like fire fighters, police, conservation volunteers and aged care workers.

Each child worked carefully to create a origami manawa (heart) then they decorated it and wrote messages thanking the community volunteers for their service.

Claire will distribute the hearts in the community.  Last year the response from the people who recieved our gifts was overwhelming.  One of the gifts made it all the way to a volunteer fire fighter in Antartica! We wonder where our kind words and thoughts will reach this year.

Year Two Being Kind in our Community with the Youth Project

 Today Year Two had Enviro with Ms Daniel.  We were lucky enough to work with Claire & Claire from The Youth Project.

First we learnt about what it means to be kind - being friendly, generous and considerate.

The tamariki had wonderful ideas about how to be kind including:

- if you make a game ask other people if they want to play

- if someone is upset cheer them up

- say hello when some one is new

- keep our friends safe

- smile

- wait patiently

- ask them if they are ok

- get help from the duty teacher

Kindness is contagious so we decided to do something for someone in our community.  We created kindness bugs to hide in our neighbourhood. When people find them it will brighten their day.  Hopefully they will pass on the kindness to someone else. 

Learning to be generous, and give away our creations, is part of learning to be kind.

Thank you for cheering up our community Year Two!  Maybe if you visit a local library or community centre you'll find a kindness bug.

It's also Sea Week so afterwards we went on an adventure walk to clear litter from the drains.  As well as lots of litter, Emme found a ripe pumpkin in the Mara Kai.  Wow! Thank you to everyone who packs a litterfree lunch.  It really makes a big difference to keeping our grounds clean.

Year Five Digital Scavenger Hunt and Autumn Harvest

 

Today Year Five went on a digital explore of the Enviroblog to reflect on our learning and actions over the years.

Madeleine "I saw my sister eating quince"

Aavin "I saw my little brother eating too"

Milana "I saw students who used to be at the school"

While they were working Ms Daniel prepared some of our autumn harvest for them to taste.

Room 3 ate quince.

Room 2 & 1 ate kamokamo.

Constance "The kamakamo tasted like pumpkin.  It was sweet and salty."

Gihansa "First I thought it was very yummy but it was too sweet and sour"

Flynn "The texture was soft"

Emily "I first thought it would be yukky but turns out it was yum"

Camellia "The skin tasted like apple"

"The texture was pamello" Alice

Luci "It tasted a bit like potato but the texture was like noodles and it was sweeter"

Hazel "The skin tasted like nothing"

Briar "I did not like the taste"

Joseph "It tasted like a pumpkin"

Year Three Curious About Quince

 Today Year Three explored a strange fruit growing in our orchard. It's yellow, lumpy, a bit fluffy and very hard.  They're called quince!  You can't eat them raw or they taste super bitter and sour.  Instead we picked them to cook in the hall kitchen.

While we waited for the quince to cook everyone explored the Enviro Blog on their devices.

Billie "I saw me when I was in Year 1.  I was eating spinach"

"I saw my sister in a video about the compost" Zoey

Margaux "We saw the people who are at a different school now talking about the gardens"

"The quince looked like a yelllow lumpy apple.  It felt smooth and fluffy" Evie C

"It smelt like peanuts" Ibrahim

"It smelt like perfume and a little bit sour" Evie K

We boiled the strange fruit in sugar syrup and then tasted it:

Zoey "The quince tasted like a sour sweet pineapple"

Elsie "It tasted really really sweet"

"It tasted like a sugar apple" Christina

Keaton "It sort of salty and sweet almost like a lemon"

Jasper "It tastes like boiled apples and sugar"

"Quince skin looks like banana skin" Thiweyn

Chevan "It tastes like toffee apples"

Zoe "I think quince tastes like a sweet and sour lollipop and it looks like a lumpy lemon"

Sri "It was soft and it tasted like sugar, a pinch of apple and it was smashed like potatoes".

Reyna "It smelt like candy and it tasted like sugary and sour apples".

Jaxon "It tastes like apple and pear combined with some melted sugar on top"

Sammy "It smells like raspberries.  It tasted like sour lemon. I want to try more fruits".

Year Five Turangawaewae

 

Year Five took responsibility today of our Turangawaewae.  We reminded ourselves of all the places and practices that make us a GreenGold Enviroschool by watching this video:

Isabella "We grow food in our gardens"

Jin "We give nutrients to our plants in our compost"

Ella "We are tidy Kiwis"

Ciara "We ban vaping in our school"

Hunter "When you see rubbish pick it up"

"We have edible gardens" James

Jessica "We have lots of trees"

Briar "We don't allow dogs cause they could dig up the garden"

Next we took part in a fun scavenger hunt all around the school.

Room1 put their hands up to take responsibility for the hot compost while we wait for our Eco Leaders to be selected.

To get ready for the Matariki Hangi in July, Room 3 potted up cabbage seeds in the Green Room & Room 2 planted carrot seeds in the Edible Gardens.

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Year Four Welcome back to our Enviroschool

 

Welcome back Year Four!

What makes Sunnyhills a GreenGold Enviroschool?

"Making compost" Henny

"Bringing a naked lunch" Clara

"Helping the environment by getting rid of rubbish" Logan

"Also getting rid of pests like moth plant and banana passionfruit vine" Vincent

"Planting fruit trees and vegetables" Aiden

"Getting rid of weeds" Kaylee

"When you eat a banana don't put it in the bin put it in the compost bin to make nice healthy soil" Ananya

"Also if you do bring chip packets put them in the bin in the Koru Courtyard to help the homeless people" Kacy

We went on a fun scavenger hunt to explore all the places that make us a GreenGold Enviroschool. 

Next time me we'll go on a digital explore of the Enviroblog and native tree release in the Bird Corridor. 

Year Six Launch 2026

 

Welcome back for another year or Education for Sustainability Year Six!  Lucy from K1 kicked off by bringing in one of the FORTY spaghetti squashes she grew at home with the seeds from the squash we ate last year.  AMAZING! 

All the classes worked hard in the mara to weed, feed, water and plant kumara seedlings.  We all got cherry tomatoes to eat that had ripened over the raumati.

Everyone agreed that the best Enviro lessons are outside lessons.

Next time we are going to do community work with the Youth Project.