Ōrongomai

This week has been a busy one as we have truly begun to delve into Tūrungawaewae and what this means to us. We have been exploring and building our confidence in learning our own mihimihi and the importance of connections we have to others. We have also been evolving our ideas of building homes and shelters and have incorporated digital technology aspects such as coding. Students have been using the bee bots and programming them to drive around cities they have constructed. Other students have been building dioramas of their homes or writing about and constructing their own dream bedrooms.       Lastly, we would just like to say a huge congratulations to those students who have been ACTIVE learners and received awards today in our Ōrongomai assembly.  Thank you from the Ōrongomai team!

Setting ourselves up for a great year in Ōrongomai has included creating our own team treaties. Inspired by the book 'The Treehouse Treaty', the students have worked together to create a list of things that they think are essential for a successful year in Ōrongomai.  The Halswell School values of Respect, Care, Honesty and Resilience feature in all of our treaties. Each student has individually signed a leaf for the Tōtara tree or a feather for the Kereru or Kāhu to show that they agree to live up to the promises of our treaties. Feel free to pop in and see the treaties for yourselves!

Welcome to Ōrogomai for 2020 Over the past two weeks, we have been building relationships and routines across our T groups and the wider syndicate. Thank you to all the families that came and joined us at our whānau evening, and those who have come to introduce themselves in the mornings! We have been exploring the concept of Tūrangawaewae (a place to stand) across our curriculum and what this means to us. We have begun with ourselves: exploring our names, interests and hobbies and what is important to us. If your child's name has a special meaning, or there is a story behind their name, encourage them to share this in class. In the following weeks, we will be moving beyond ourselves and will look at our family and community. We have already started by building and constructing places which are significant to us.