Jets visit

Today we had Miles from the Jets come and have lunch with the Aroha Pod.  Charlotte Burt (Homeroom 8) won a competition to have lunch with Miles and he arrived with a big pile of pizzas to share with us!

We all got to have some pizza to add to our lunch boxes

Yum!

Then it was gone

Charlotte showing Miles how tall she is going to be!

Ben and Miles sharing a fist pump.

Mynika and Miles comparing shoe sizes.

Thanks for coming Miles.

After lunch Miles did the roll for Homeroom 8 

"Good afternoon Mr Miles"

Wonderful writing

Wow Work

Aaliyah wrote an amazing story today about her family's special dinner at Lone Star.

Well done Aaliyah 

Penguin explosion....

Look at all the penguins who have joined our iceberg in the Inquiry room (Homeroom 8).

We are learning lots about the animals that live in the 

Arctic and Antarctica.  

Change of clothes

The rain this week has also bought with it some very large muddy puddles.  A few of our children have come into the pod after lunch a bit muddy (sometimes through no fault of their own!)  

Can you please make sure your child has a change of clothes in their bag (mufti is fine) in a plastic bag - accidents do happen and it is much easier if there is a change of clothes.

Thanks for your help.

Jack Flash and the Jumping Beanstalk

Today we got to see an awesome play by a group from New Zealand Playhouse called 'Jack Flash and the Jumping Beanstalk".  Full of humour and a great story line, our kids enjoyed the songs and were able to join in different parts - including the Mexican wave.  

Ask them about which part they enjoyed the most!

Great work!

This term it is going to be even harder for our learners to earn the lanyards... the standard of work keeps improving each term!

These three worked really really well yesterday in Literacy time and worked hard to do their best.  

Awesome work boys.

Nana Judy's knitted slippers

A huge 'Thank You" to Nana Judy (Harrison Eden's Nana) who delivered a wonderful rainbow filled  parcel filled with knitted slippers for the children in the Aroha Pod.  With all of these cold mornings our Pod have stayed warm and cozy and we appreciate her thoughtfulness and the time it took to knit so many.

Thank you!!

Penguin Post Office

 As part of our Antarctica Inquiry we have been told about a documentary screening on Prime called "Penguin Post Office"  (7.30pm, Wednesday, Prime)
This might be worth recording for those who can and want to find out more about the penguins in Antarctica.
(We have not seen it but the reviews say it is a family documentary)

More Information:

In the heart of the Antarctic Peninsula there's a unique British post office staffed by a dedicated team and surrounded by jaw-dropping scenery that includes 3,000 gentoo penguins. Every summer, this particular colony of penguins returns from an intensive spell of deep sea fishing to its breeding grounds alongside the post office, trekking nearly two miles across sea ice and snow to get there when the weather is especially bad. They rush to find a partner, build a nest, lay eggs and protect those eggs from predators, and then finally get down to the task of raising their young. We see their four-month drama unfold against the backdrop of their lives - primarily, the comings and goings of cruise ships, bringing enthusiastic tourists to photograph the penguins and their chicks, and to buy postcards to send to friends and family around the world - from the Penguin Post Office.

Ice Cream Making Photos

                   Photos from our Ice Cream making today

I scream, you scream, we all scream for....

ICE CREAM!

Today we had a try at making some ice cream - in a bag with some ice.

Here is the original clip that we watched to learn how to follow the recipe:

Pod Newsletter Term 3

The Pod newsletter is out now - check out the newsletter tab near the top of the blog for a copy of the newsletter (or try your child's book bag!?)

PLEASE NOTE: We are now hosting Assembly in Week 8 (not week 3) - in case you were going to arrange your time to come and watch.

In our package...

This morning Aroha, Pippa and Nathan (our focus children) got to open the mystery package and meet...

our penguin!

The mystery package was a great introduction to our Inquiry unit and got everyone thinking about what living in a cold icy place would be like.

We have started transforming our Inquiry room into an icy wonderland - come in and see all of our penguins with personality!

Mystery Package!!

Today we received a mystery package which Mrs Durham bought us from the office.  It is addressed to Aroha Pod - do you have any idea what it might be?

Created with Padlet

Term 3 is just around the corner!

Hi everyone,

Hopefully you have all enjoyed the holiday break and our Aroha learners are all refreshed and ready for the new term!  We haven't made any major changes, HOWEVER homeroom 8 will now have their own room in the mornings for the roll.

As of Monday homeroom 8 will be hanging their bags in the cloakbay by the toilets (shared with Poutama - room 7).  Shoes will also go in this cloakbay.

Homerooms 9 and 22 will share the other cloakbay that our pod has been using. 

We have a new space for all the lunch boxes and drink bottles in the Atrium too.

All students will now need to use the cloakbays in the morning; we can now use all the entrances as the builders have taken down the fences around the new Navigator Centre.

We are looking forward to seeing you all on Monday.  In the meantime if you have any questions please send any of us an email:

Carissa Davies:

cdavies@whakarongo.school.nz (Pod Leader, Homeroom 22)

Niki Di Mattina

ndimattina@whakarongo.school.nz (Homeroom 8)

Heather Cobham

hcobham@whakarongo.school.nz (Homeroom 9)

See you in term three!

We have had another successful term where the Aroha children have worked really hard! We hope everyone has a chance to recharge their batteries... We will see you all in two weeks.  Stay safe and have a great break.

Stay tuned...there will be a few minor changes to start the term, but we will update you once they are confirmed...