Today Year Four learnt about the amazing Bryde's Whales that live in our Hauraki Gulf. We used our maths skills to measure how long they are. WOW 14 METERS We used our measurement skills to compare how long we can hold our breath compared to the. About 1 minute VS. 15 minutes!
We learnt lots of facts about these incredible tohura and recorded them under a detailed sketch.
Lastly we read "The Hauraki Broo" a picture book all about the Bryde's Whale.
Today we learnt seaweed gives us 70% of the oxygen we breath and is a vital building block for moana food chains. We sketched one type of green, brown and red sea weed then created an online simulation of an ocean ecosystem.
Lastly we took part in Kelp Quiz. Next time we're hoping to try to some sea weed and study our local sea birds.
Today Year Four learnt about the three types of dolphins found in the Hauraki Gulf - the bottlenose dolphin, orca (the biggest type of dolphin) and the common dolphin. The Maori name for dolphin is aihe. Did you know the orca is the biggest dolphin?
We estimated and measured different types of dolphin species. We drew a common dolphin and recorded the facts we had researched. Lastly we played a Kahoot to review.
Room 5 helped refill the kumara beds with compost too.
Today Year 4 learnt about the important role of ocean voyages to our island nation.
We 'Got Thinking' by listing all the vessels we knew in five minutes. Some of our ideas included waka, dinghy, cruise ship and boogie board. Ritchie thought of 19 including "waka, dinghy, speed boat, Titanic, jet ski, surf board, navy ship and submarine."
We 'Explored' our ocean history by watching this:
Indigo "When the Egyptians were building the pyrimids the Polynesians moved to the Pacific Islands"
Kadien "They found their way using the starsa and the clouds"
Kayla "The first person that came to Aotearoa was called Kupe"
Touma "NZ has won lots sailing competition"
Ava "Ancestors from south east asia moved to the Pacific Islands 4000 years ago"
Mukundi "Kupe came approximately 1000 years ago"
"Many ships visited New Zealand" Elsie
"Captain Cook arrived 500 years after Kupe" Kayla
Lucy "NZ has won sailing cups"
Hunter "4000 years ago people travelled into the Pacific"
Saane "All of the people travelled to New Zealand with their boats"
Lastly we 'Made Meaning and Connections' by using A4 pieces of paper to design and build our own waka. We "Shared & Shined" by testing our boats to see if they floated and making improvements.
Today Year Four began their EfS lesson by estimating 15 metres. We discovered there is an animal that lives in the Hauraki Gulf that is this long. Wow! It's the Bryde's Whale and they live in our neighbourhood all year long.
Nicolas "There are very few Bryd'es whales"
Peyton "A Bryde's whale is 15 metres long"
Hunter "It takes patience and time to find Bryde's whales"
Renee "They are medium size whales. Ships crash into them so they need to slow down"
Emmersyn "They are smooth"
Hunter "The Hauraki Gulf is one of the few places the Bryde's whales live"
We learnt about what threatens the Bryde's Whale and how all the ships in the Hauraki Gulf have agreed to slow down.
Richie"I think the boats slowing down is one of the few things humanity has solved. It makes me feel happy that creatures in the ocean aren't dying"
What can we do?
Isabel "Fishing is a risk"
Indigo "Getting caught in a wave and going on shore"
Isabel "Ships need to slow down"
Pick up litter and bring a litterfree lunch
We learnt some Te Reo Maori words to describe the whales
Tahora - whale
Nui - big
Roa - long
Tino momona - fat
We sang a waiata to learn them - Tahora Nui Waiata
Room 6 collected 96 pieces of litter. Well done! Sadly it sill lots of food wrappers.
Next time we are going to learn about how people voyage across our moana.
Room 4 had time to vote for the Fish of The Year https://www.mountainstosea.org.nz/fish
Year Five dived into exploring the Hauraki Gulf today. We discovered the amazing creatures that live there, mapped our location in the Gulf and found the meaning of many of the Maori place names.
Vida "Crayfish, sharks, fish, octopus, whales live in the Hauraki Gulf"
Yumi "Crabs live there and lobster"
Blake "There are turtles and they look like birds because they flap flippers like wings"
Yumi "I learnt that manta rays come to New Zealand"
Blake "The seals were hunted and now they are coming back"
Ruby "In the Hauraki Gulf there are lots of sea creatures that are almost extinct"
Laela "Seals were almost extinct"
Gabby "I never knew there were so many cool animals down there"
Fred "I learnt how big the Hauraki Gulf is"
Aiden "Seals jump out of the water"
Olivia "I learnt the Hauraki Gulf if so amazing"
Lucas "Rangitoto means sky blood because Maori people saw it erupting"
Blake "Wakaaranga is called the resting place of the canoe because that's where they put their canoe when they went up to Ohuiarangi"
Alexander "Musik Point looks like it's pointing to Browns Island and Rangitoto"
Ben "If you look for Musik Point you can find Sunnyhills because there's a lump to the bottom left"
Blake "Sunnyhills is south of Rangitoto"
We wondered how we can protect the Hauraki Gulf...
Ben "Pick less plastic when you're shopping"
Mia "Before we throw things away think if we can reuse or recyle them"
Harper "Bring a litterfree lunchbox"
We went on a litter hunt.
Room 1 found 106 pieces of litter. We noticed:
Harper "It's disgusting"
Taryn "There wasn't much around"
Cody "There were loads of plasters around"
Alexander "There was lots of paper"
Jake "Most of it was plastic which can't be reused"
Ben "At lot of rubbish was semi buried in the dirt so had been there a long time."
Room 3 collected 101 pieces and Room 2 found 66.
Olivia "Most of it was plastic"
What can we do to stop this litter problem?
Vienna "Talk to neighbours to stop throwing rubbish over the fence"
Evie "Bring a litter free lunch and after you have sushi take the litter home"
Olivia "Use beeswax instead of plastic wraps"
Fred "Be careful when your you are opening plastic packaging and styrofoam"
Today Year 4 continued their Moana studies. We're celebrating being part of the Hauraki Gulf. We learnt some of the many sea creatures that live there:
Warren "Sharks, turtles and fish"
Renee "Sting rays, octopus and orca"
Hunter "Marlin, sprats, and kingfish"
Richie "Bronze whaler sharks, whales and seals"
Then we used our mapping skills to locate Sunnyhills School in the Hauraki Gulf.
Maori were here first. We learnt the meaning of some of the names they gave the places in the Hauraki Gulf.
How can we protect our moana?
Maya "Don't fish"
Kayla "Use less plastic"
Aelene "Be a tidy kiwi"
"Put rubbish in the right spot"
We took action by going on a litter hunt.
Room 5 found 106 pieces of litter on the field and edible garden! Room 4 found 30 pieces of litter in the native bush walk. And Room 6 found and incredible 152 pieces of litter around the school after lunch. Wow! That's 288 pieces of litter collected in just ONE day.
What did we discover about the litter?
Ambrose "It's coming from food and juice"
Zachary "There were lots of plasters"
What could we do about it?
Brayden "some of it can be recycled"
Zara "through it in the bin"
Luca "stop using plastic"
Caitlin "bring litter free lunches"
PLEASE BRING A LITTERFREE LUNCH. PERHAPS WE CAN ASK THE OFFICE TO BUY BIODEGRADEABLE PLASTERS ...
It's Ngahuru (autumn) so just like Soha and Manushree suggested last time, we're harvesting and eating from the Mara Kai. K3 picked a fatty spaghetti squash and roasted it with olive oil and salt. K2 ate honey roasted squash. Unfortunately all the spaghetti squash were gone by the afternoon, so K1 ate a pumpkin baked with Sunny Honey. The pumpkin was less popular than squash.
While our kai cooked we celebrated Sea Week by reading a KCC magazine and exploring the Young Ocean Explorers Website.
After eating we tested our memory with a quiz based on the KCC articles.
What did you learn today?
Arta "pukeko live in the wetlands"
Albert "pukeko fight for their territory"
Frida "lots of vegetables and fruits are harvested in autumn"
Katara "In the wetlands the plants' roots grow up and down for air"
Carlos "The skin of spaghetti squash tasted nice but feels like cardboard"
Samuel "Eels live in wetlands"
Zoha "Pukekos eat grass holding on with their feet"
Robyn "You can use spaghetti squash instead of pasta"
Carina "Pukekos fight for territory"
Maia "The inside of a spaghetti squash looks like pineapple"
Monique "They used to use gourds to hold water"
Andrew "pumpkins taste alright"
Melody "When pumpkins are yellow they are not ready"
Tai "Wetland trees' roots grow up and down"
Ella "Pukekos start to fly when they are 3 months old"
