Year Three Dig in for Trees for Survival

 

Today Year Three began the process of potting up our Trees for Survival seedlings.  Every year Sunnyhills School grows over 800 native tree seedlings and plants them on farmers' land to protect waterways, fight climate change and enhance biodiversity.

We made filling the potting bags with soil an interclass competition:

Room 18 - 165 bags

Room 7 - 206 bags

Room 8 - 180 bags

We are looking forward to a science lesson about taxonomy next time and hopefully seeing the seedlings potted up by the Year 5's & 6's.

Year Four- Prime Minister's Response, Litter Hunters and Moana Protectors

 

Year 4 have been learning about the moana.  We were excited  to hear Christopher Luxon's response to our letters here. And now it's time to take more action!  We began by going on a litter hunt.

Afterwards we analysed the litter to see where it was coming from.

Room 6 found that in the Nature Trail most litter came from people outside of school.  We knew this because the waste items were things like fizzy drink that children are not allowed at school.  There was some lunch box waste too. We decided to make posters to remind visitors to take their litter with them.

Room 4 found that in the Mara Kai most plastic waste was coming from lunch boxes, so bringing a litter free lunch is the easiest daily way to avoid this issue and  help the moana.

How could we remind people to bring a litterfree lunch?

Vincent "Tell our friends"

"Set an example by bringing a litterfree lunch" Kacy

"Make posters about bringing a litterfree lunch" Raysha

Room 5 worked hard.  They tipped the compost moved the planter crates and did a litterhunt around the field.  Like Room 4 they found lots of lunchbox plastic litter.

Well done to these people for bringing a litter free lunch:

Room 5

Litter free lunches - Theo S, Amelia, Jaxon (winner), Karina, Yeja, Onidu, Kimaya

Room 6 

Yuri, Aila, Lucy (winner), Isaac and Jaden

Room 4

Diyon, Logan, Kacy, Vincent, Raysha won the prize from Paradice Ice Skating.

Room 4 had very few litter free lunches sadly, but they did have 100% participation in the Wednesday Challenge which shows an awesome commitment to sustainable transport.

Thanks to Paradice for providing prizes for our litterfree lunch draw.

Lastly all the classes got to try cabbage fresh from the Mara Kai.

Next term we're looking forward to learning about ecosystems based on the new science curriculum and our food gardens.

Hearty Year Fives

Today Year Five began their lesson by taste testing the kumara we dug up last week.

Hazel "It tasted yummy."

Chase "It tasted like honey and a bit salty too."

"There were two types of kumara.  The yellow kumara had purple skin.  And there was gold kumara that was orange" Madeleine

"It was very tasty" Luci

"I expected it to taste like potato but it tasted way sweeter" Milana

Next, we logged our Wednesday Challenge results.  

Today we're learning about how active travel is great for our hearts.

What do you already know about your heart?

Ciara "Your heart can beat 150 beats per minute."

Lakyn "It goes da doing da doing"

Awa "It makes you live"

Audrey "It makes your blood pump."

"Younger people's hearts beat faster" Annie

"Your heart has blood vessels that lead to other blood vessels.

We read about our hearts in our online work book. Here's some facts we found out:

Orlando "Taking your pulse is a way of measuring how fast your heart is beating."

Alice "Your heart is the size of your clenched fist."

Camelia "When you exercise you can feel your heart rate go up."

We learnt how to take our pulse and work out our BPM.  Next we graphed how our pulse changed with exercise and how long it took to come back down.

Next time we are going to find out how active travel is good for our muscles and mental health.

Year Six Collect Data on our Biodiversity - Annual Bird Survey

 Today Year Six took part in the Landcare Bird Survey.  Every year we record all the species of birds at our school.  Did you know birds are a bio indicator species?  More birds means a healthier environment.  

When we analysed the results, we were excited to see that we had recorded 16 different species of birds.   That's great news, as last year we only recorded 12.  Here's our year on year data:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PjnmDwG-9r-ua6NTvOoFGKhvQWn8tjTHF1DGLZrYGmI/edit?usp=sharing 

Afterwards we created fact files to research how we might further improve our school environment for the birds.  Some ideas included bird feeders, more native trees and a bird bath. Check out our fact files in the school library.

Year Four Take Action

 On a very wet and rainy day Year Four began their letters to the Prime Minister to make a call to action for our Moana. We were inspired by our visit from the Young Ocean Explorers. What persuasive writers Year Four are! Next term, we’re looking forward to writing and decorating our good copies.

Year 5 Are Travelwise

 Today Year Five thought about how we can independent active travelers.  We want to be able to walk, bike and scooter more, because it's good for our bodies and good for the environment, but we need to be safe too. 

We began our lesson by checking our class rankings for The Wednesday Challenge.  Every Wednesday we try to use active travel more and log our results in an inter school and inter class competition.  WELL DONE to Room 1 who are currently in second place.

Next we created a giant jigsaw puzzle.  It was great fun to work as a whole class team.  We timed it to make an interclass competition:

Room 2 - 5 minutes 41 seconds

Room 1 - 7 minutes 23 seconds

Room 3 - 6 minutes 38 seconds

Then we looked carefully at the picture we had created and identified children who we being unsafe.  We marked them with red flags.  Lastly we labelled the children with flags to describe what they should be doing.

To review we completed questions in our digital workbook.

Next time we're looking forward to taking part in Civil Defense's "Disaster Readiness" Competition.

Year Six Learn the Importance of Estuaries and Wetlands for Protecting our Homes

 

Today, Year Six learnt about how our local estuary and wetlands protect us from flooding. First we discussed our experiences of heavy rain and flooding and read a slide show from DOC.

We conducted an experiment in the Mara Kai, which showed how much faster rain water flows over concrete than natural surfaces.  

Then, we  watched a video about how cities around the worldand especially in China, drained their wetlands, and are now spending billions to put them back in as sponge cities.  Lucky we never drained the Wakaaranga Creek!

Lastly we played Niwa Flood Challenge Game to learn how to make good choices as a home owner and community member in a future where flood events are getting for frequent.

What did you learn?

Lucy "Don't buy next to a river and if you do make changes so floods won't hit it.  Always look at the flood maps before you buy a house".

"Sponge Cities are human made to work like estuaries and wetlands to stop flooding" Renee

"Wetlands stop chemicals going into the sea" Brayden

"Don't drain wetlands to build houses" Alysia

"When I buy a house I won't buy next to a river" Angela

"Buy a house near grass and trees so the rain gets absorbed" Haniya

"Buy a house on top of a hill" Grace

"Don't live near water" Aileen

"Use your money wisely"

"Plant trees and build stop banks to protect against floods" Kaiden

Next time we'll look at the animals that live in our local estuary.

Year Four Dive Into Te Kapa Moana

 Today Year 4 began their inquiry into The Hauraki Gulf.  After watching a wonderful video by the Young Ocean Explorers, we located the Hauraki Gulf on a map and saw that it's right on Sunnyhill's doorstep.  

We wondered:

David "How many sea animals live in the Hauraki Gulf?"

Koen "What is the biggest shark in the Hauraki Gulf?"

Hirva "Why is it called the Hauraki Gulf?"

Shiloh "What type of colour is the Gulf?"

Mila "How many types of whales live there?"

"How many types of sharks live there?" Leo

Ken "How close is Rangitoto to Auckland?"

Lucy "What species live in the Hauraki Gulf?"

Hirva "How many islands are there in the Gulf?"

David "How big is it?

Quinn "What types of fish are there?"

"What can we do there?" Hirva

"How old are the islands?" Arjun

"Do sea horses live there?" Azara

Nick "What is the deepest point?"

"Are there any manatees?" Chace

"Which mammals live there?" Alyssa

Ananya "What type of dolphins live there?"

Vincent "What jobs can you do in the Hauraki Gulf"

Himaru "How many orcas are there?"

Aiden "How many people visit?"

"How do octopuses produce ink?" Logan

Henny "What's the oldest sea creature"

Lastly we read a KCC magazine about the Hauraki Gulf wetlands and checked our comprehension with a Kahoot. Next time we are going to look at how we can keep the Hauraki healthy.

Year Five Ready Steady Go for WOW Week

 Today Year Five celebrated WOW Week by focusing on how active travel is good for our bodies and the environment.  We discussed active travel and completed a quiz in our new online handbooks.  Then it as time to work together as a team to make a giant jigsaw puzzle.  Just for fun we timed how quickly each class completed it:

Room 2 : 8min9sec

Room 3: 9min 1sec (half of the children at Kapa Haka) 

Room 1: 8min30sec

We flagged the puzzle with green environmental facts and yellow health facts.

Thanks to everyone who walked, biked and scootered to school today.  It's good for our bodies and the environment.  And at the moment it's also very good for our household budgets! 

Will you walk to school next week?

Year Four Taking Action with the Youth Project

 

Today Year Four are working with the Youth Project to learn about the importance of being kind to the environment and our community.

Being kind has three elements - friendliness, generosity and consideration.  Being kind doesn't need to cost any money and it is contagious.  What could you do to be kind today?

Each Year Four child made a small key ring gift to be delivered to our neighbours. Hopefully it will brighten their day and they will pass on the kindness. 

Lastly we took action for our local environment by going on a litter hunt.  We discovered a lot of the litter we found came from lunch boxes.  We acknowledged the children making the extra effort to pack a litterfree lunch with a random prize draw. Congratulations prize winners.

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 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 Three Plant Kumara, Munch Cucumbers and Promote Worms

 

Today Room 8 managed to get out in the Mara before the electrical storms to plant some kumara seedlings.  We picked to big cucumbers and two enormous marrows.  

Rooms 18 & 7 completed their worm posters and ate the cucumbers.  Don't the posters look awesome!

Next time we're hoping to make veggie pancakes for our last session.