Final Post

The Tree of PRIDE is taking a well earned break. It will not be deleted and you can still explore the past posts if you're looking for something. Thank you to all the readers, commenters and contributors over the last three years! You made this blog so worthwhile.

Visit our new blog, Rimu Learning Hub. These are exciting times for learning!

Fish and Chips are excited about their new environment!

Tī Kōuka Hub

Breaking News

Monday is the first day of term four. It is also the first day in our new learning environment. We have teamed up and are now Tī Kōuka Hub. It is such an exciting opportunity for the students and teachers of Room 21 and Room 10! 

Waiata and Haka on the Way to Sports Exchange

Girls leading waiata

Haka fun

Boys in the back of the bus

Victorious captain reading Pokemon

On Friday, we had our annual sports exchange with Riverdale School. It was a beautiful day in the Manawatu and everyone felt very lucky to participate in the trip and represent our school. Our rugby team played their best game of the season and won 103-0. Our netball team drew 10-10, our soccer team lost 3-1 in a very competitive game, while our hockey team lost 11-2 to formidable opponents. A big thank you to Mr Dickson for organising our trip. It was fantastic fun for all of us! Below is a video of us, practising our waiata and haka during a quick toilet stop in Woodville.



Waiata and Haka On Way to Sports Exchange from Kieren Moriarty on Vimeo.

A Message From Miss Eglinton

Hi Room 6,
I just wanted to thank you again for such a wonderful 3 weeks. It went way too quickly! I had a lot of fun with you all and more importantly, learnt so much. I will see you again very soon and in the meantime here are some cool photos I took on my last day.
Oh, and welcome to Toothless, Liquorice, and Randy!

Miss Eglinton

Computer Parts

Computer Parts from Kieren Moriarty on Vimeo.

Check out Jaidyn's creative inventions from the weekend!

Tremains Rippa Rugby Tournament

The Year 5/6 Rippa tournament was a huge success for Parkvale. We had six of the thirty-six teams in the competition! All the teams showed Parkvale PRIDE and played with enjoyment and determination. We even had an all Parkvale final between Parkvale D and Parkvale E. The Parkvale A team finished top of their pool. They won their quarter final against Irongate, before losing to Te Mata in the championship semi final. They easily won their 3rd and 4th playoff to finish 3rd overall. 

All the children who competed should feel proud of their day and have gone home with an awesome certificate for their efforts. A huge thanks to the coaches, Lehi Miller, Karl Morgan, Trish Little, Nicole Solomon and Yvette Hardaker, who all did a fantastic job. Also, wonderful to see so many parents coming down to support their child in a sport which is great for boys and girls!

Road Patrolling in the Rain

Keeping our community safe!

Our road patrollers play such an important role for our school community. Yesterday, I captured a snapshot of Ben and Traylan on road patrol at Windsor Ave. Two responsible road patrollers from Room 6, showing Parkvale PRIDE. Even though it started to rain hard, not once did these boys complain or stop concentrating on their job.

As we walked back to school, a rainbow came out. It was almost as if the rainbow was thanking the boys for their efforts.

A rainbow over Parkvale.

I know where the pot of gold lies!

Holt Planetarium Visit

Created with Padlet

Replica model of the space shuttle!

Today Room 5 and Room 6 went to the Holt Planetarium in Napier. We got to view the night sky in extreme detail, guided by the amazing Mr Sparks. My favourite things under the dome were learning more about the significance of the Southern Cross and seeing exactly where all the planets and constellations are in the sky at the moment. The night sky is like a calendar.

I also loved the chance just to lean back and gaze at the night sky and get pointed out super cool stuff! Earlier, we watched an amazing video of NASA astronauts in space. It showed us some very amusing effects of being zero gravity.

I would strongly recommend a visit to the Hawke's Bay Holt Planetarium. Sunday evening is family night.

Matariki Workshops

Matariki from Kieren Moriarty on Vimeo.

Yesterday, Tōtara Hub enjoyed a day of Matariki workshops. A huge thank you to Yvette Hardaker and her amazing volunteers who made this day happen. Wow!

I was lucky enough to wander around the workshops and capture some of the learning action on video. The video above is part one, look out for part two soon!

Here is a Padlet which reflects Room 6's thoughts on what they learnt yesterday.

Created with Padlet

Barefoot Sevens Rugby Tournament

The brave Parkvale Hurricanes

On Thursday, the annual barefoot sevens rugby tournament was held at Akina Park and Hastings Boys' College. This is a fantastic rugby tournament, with a proud history. Future All Blacks have played back in their primary school days. The tournament is all about participation and Parkvale School showed the way with 9 teams and 90 students representing us with PRIDE. Unfortunately, the tournament has been cancelled in the past three years due to bad weather.

Sunshine was back this year. All teams and schools had a wonderful day of rugby in the sun. Three of the Parkvale teams went undefeated, while some of our teams battled hard to compete in tough pools. Our nine teams really walked the talk of Parkvale PRIDE and I was especially proud of their behaviour. We returned home with smiles on our faces.

A huge thank you to the parents who supervised and coached the teams. Without you, we could not have given 90 students the chance to play rugby in such a great setting. It was pleasing to see you all getting the respect that you deserve from our young rugby playing boys and girls.

Leaders

Congratulations to all the students who were lucky enough to be named into a school leadership role. Can you spot the happy Room 6 leaders?

Kuripapango: A Sneak Preview

Our Survivor Camp is coming soon! This afternoon, I was lucky enough to visit the site at Kuripapango on the lovely Ngaruroro River. Mrs Hardaker, Mrs Roil and I had a great time being shown around by our knowledgeable tour guide, Mr Ford. I even dived into the river in my work shorts, just to you know, check it out. Beautiful!

Here are some snapshots I took on my phone. As always, click on the image for a closer look.

First Day of School, 2014

Fish n' Chips love their new class!

The Tree of PRIDE has relocated. I can see horses outside our windows and Mr Cottrell is busy next door. Welcome to Room Six! I can't wait to get to know our new class and look forward to the adventure. There's something very special about that first morning in a new class. Real excitement, anticipation and maybe a little nervousness.

I wonder if anyone's morning will be a little bit like this video clip?

The Recovery of Chips

Chips on the left, Fish taking the limelight as usual

This morning we got a scare. Marcus discovered that Chips, the smaller half of the dynamic duo, Fish n' Chips was stuck and injured. I got him out from behind the pump, but things didn't look good. However, with a little TLC it seems our fishy friend is on the road to recovery. Thanks Marcus!

 
The Recovery of Chips from Room16 Parkvale on Vimeo.

Remember the PRIDE award? Good times!

Nala and Zippa

On Friday, the Tree of PRIDE were visited by two mischievious labrador puppies. Nala and Zippa are from the same litter. Their owners, Henry and Joshua are both proud daddies.

Nala, Simba's playmate 

Room 16 thought they were so cute, except for Teva who thought "they were a little terrifying." They definitely were excitable and curious. You can see for yourself by watching the video below. Sharyn (Josh's Mum) said that "they are the most photographed puppies in the world." Joshua also wrote a neat story about the arrival of Nala which is definitely worth a read.




 
Nala and Zippa from Kieren Moriarty on Vimeo.
Music: Don't go down the mine, Dad by Frank Miller used under licence through Creative Commons.

Holiday Highlights

   
       












We have enjoyed our holiday and it is great to be back in Room 16! Here are some holiday highlights that the students will be sharing on their blogs soon. Our highlights were pasted into Star Wars Crawl Creator and Tagul to produce the word displays. If you scroll over the Tagul word cloud, the text is highlighted and then zooms out so you are able to read the smaller words.

Gandhi Parts 1 and 2

Gandhi Part 1 Room 16 from Kieren Moriarty on Vimeo.

Please watch our Gandhi movie. It tells the story of two great men and the birth of a nation. The movie was directed by Hannah and Tracey and stars Teva, Sam, Hannah, Ben, Lily, Jessica, Crighton, Dylan and Room 16 as the crowd. It is also screening at the Parkvale Arts exhibition which features our henna hands and Taj Mahal art.


Gandhi Part 2 Room 16 from Kieren Moriarty on Vimeo.



Speaking of the arts exhibition, today I felt privileged to see our hall filled with the sparkling art of our 21 classes, based on many cultures around the globe. It looks amazing.

Here is a great quote from Mr Gifkins which sums it up: "I am blown away by my visit to the school hall. The exhibition is BRILLIANT! AMAZING! FANTASTIC! AWESOME! and UNBELIEVABLE. I am very proud to walk into the hall and look around at the exceptional quality of work achieved by our pupils under the amazing teaching and guidance of you all. You are simply superb!! The hall is exploding with PRIDE."

Countdown to Camp Kaitawa!

There are now five more days until we go to Camp Kaitawa. We are all getting pretty excited! Remember to be at school with all your gear by 8.30am on Tuesday.

Here are the camp groups with their logos. I think they did clever jobs. Which one do you like best?

On Thursday, the groups have a cooking day, where they prepare, cook and eat all their own meals. They also need to provide small samples for the judges of the Master Chef competition. Here are their ingredients for the day. Already each group has come up with a proposed menu. I wonder which group will win Master Chef.

Kiwi Icons

Today many students and teachers of Parkvale School dressed up as kiwi icons. Can you name all the wonderful kiwi icons that these students from Room 16 are dressed up as?

Two Weeks Until Camp!

There are now two school weeks until we go to Camp Kaitawa!

The video below has important advice for heading into the outdoors. By following The Outdoor Safety Code, we can enjoy all our outdoor adventures safely. It's from the Adventure Smart website, which is especially for enjoying the New Zealand outdoors. I watched it on Room 17's blog. They go to camp the week before us.