Year Three Sorting Out Healthy Kai

  Today, Year Three were thinking about how eating a wide variety of food helps our bodies grow and learn.  We began by talking about our favourite meals. Then we got into groups to sort picture cards into protein, grains, milk and milk products and fruit and vegetables. 

Different kai is good for different parts of our body.  We had a magnetic board and labels to help us sort this idea out. 

Lastly we completed a cut and paste activity and fill in the blanks sheet to consolidate our learning.

Next time you have a meal, can you check if it contains different food groups?

Our Medicinal Mushroom Mara

 

Last weekend Ms Daniel went on a foraging expedition in Murphy's Bush.  She learnt about edible and medicinal plants and fungus.  

Ms Daniel was able to bring back a log covered in medicinal turkey tail fungus.  Today the Eco Group looked at the fungi and wetted down the pile of rotting wood that it has been placed on.

Turkey Tail is a woody funghi and when it's boiled for an hour creates an immune boosting tea.

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 Six Estuary Inquiry Begins - Get Thinking

Today, Year 6 began their estuary inquiry.  First we discussed our prior knowledge and experiences: 

Lucy "On Great Barrier there is an estuary you can swim in with a slide and a boat you can play in"

Maya "I go to Little Bucks everyday and climb up the mountain"

Renee "My house is really close to the estuary and I walk my dog there"

Brayden "I had my birthday party at Snakes and Ladders playground on the estuary"

Lacey "At Snakes and Ladders I find crabs under the rocks with my brother"

"I walked along the Bucklands Beach estuary on the board walk" Fay

Alysia "I ride bikes along the estuary"

"At Cooks Beach I like swimming across the estuary" Emma

Next, we watched a video of our local estuary and read through a slide presentation from DOC.

We tested whether we could identify estuaries with a Kahoot

Afterwards we created a mind map to inform our next steps. Check out our mahi here.

When we had finished we got to eat feijoas from the school trees.

Next term we'll use our wonderings to form inquiry questions to research about our local environment.  Then we'll be able to identify any issues and come up with actions to help our estuary.

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.

Year Three Explore Our Enviroschool

 Today, Year Three had their first Education for Sustainability lesson with Ms Daniel. We reminded ourselves of all places around Sunnyhills that make us a GreenGold Enviroschool with a fun scavenger hunt.

Some highlights included:

- hot compost

- the bike track

- the bee hives

- an adventurous walk through the nghere (forest)

- apples in the orchard

- tomatoes from the Mara Kai

- The Green Room

Next time we are going on a digital explore of the Enviroblog and we are going to help in the Mara. 

Year Four Okonomiyaki Veggie Pancakes

 

Liam "I enjoyed eating the pancakes"

Curtis "I didn't know fruit or vegetables could turn into pancakes"

Valentino "Flour, egg, milk, zuchinni and salt made our pancakes"

Chase "I enjoyed eating the pancakes.  They tasted a lot like normal pancakes"

Olivia "We I flipped the pancakes. I thought it was going to explode"

Carrie "We had to wait until the pancake was bubbly then we could flip it.  I found it easy"

What could we do next? 

Valentino "We could cook a soup"

Chase "We could have roasted kumara"

Year Four Take Action Against the Yellow Legged Hornet

 

Today Year Four learnt about the problem of the yellow legged hornet.

What does it look like?

Ciara "They are 3cm.  They have yellow tipped legs"

"They are blackish" Hunter

Why is it a risk?

Marcus "It can kill our honey bees and the bees pollinate"

Ranger "If you get stung enough times you can die"

We walked about the Edible Gardens and saw the flowers that were out waiting for the bees to pollinate - cucumbers, zucchini, feijoas, spaghetti squash and strawberries.  If the hornets kill the bees we won't have this kai.

We brainstormed in groups what we can do to help stamp out the yellow legged hornet before it spreads:

"If we see one we can stand back and take a photo. Send it to MPI" Payton

Flynn "Build an indoor bee garden"

"Make traps and put them everywhere" Octavia

"Capture them and study their weaknesses" Milana

"Bug spray" Coby

"Send out informations so everybody knows to take a picture and send it to MPI" Jessica

To spread the word about these invaders we created "WANTED" posters. See them displayed in the library.