Matariki - a time of reflection, coming together, celebration and looking to the future.
Earlier this month Montessori celebrated Matariki with their whānau and community. It was also a time to acknowledge 30 years of Montessori operating in Blenheim and the unveiling of their Enviroschools sign. A very special event that was marked with whānau and friends coming together, sharing kai and a heartfelt performance from the tamariki. Ramona Millen from the MDC Environmental Education team was invited to their event to present the community with their sign. She also shared some information about the Enviroschools kaupapa.
The Enviroschools kaupapa is about creating a healthy, peaceful, sustainable world through learning and taking action together.
Montessori signed up...
Read More Walking into Awatere Early Learning Centre on the 27th June there was the hum of people, adults and children. In the kitchen a group of mums were organising crock pots of soup and buttering bread. Whilst also arranging other kai that had been brought in by whānau. Meanwhile a group of dads walked through carrying the BBQ ready to start cooking outside. Children were playing and laughing, and younger siblings were desperately trying to keep up. The feel of whānau and community resonated within the room - they have gathered to celebrate Matariki and unveil their new Enviroschools sign.
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- Fairy lights lit up the outdoor area
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- Whānau helping out in the kitchen
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- Ramona Millen unveiling their Enviroschools sign
Awatere Early Learning Centre have been involved in an Enviroschools pilot programme since...
Read More The students at Waikawa Bay School have been learning about the values of Matariki with a focus on tuarua - giving back.
Free Fair at Waikawa Bay School The first three weeks of term 2 students explored what it means to help and support others. They explored ways that appreciation can be shown and developed an understanding of how in working together as a community everyone is valued. Ideas came flooding in as to how the school could say thank you to the people and local community groups that had given time, shared their knowledge and expertise, donated sports and classroom equipment, and funding for projects. The ideas were sorted and grouped together...
Read More The Matariki public holiday will be celebrated on the 28th June 2024 this year. The lunar period is 29th June till 2nd July 2024 "The Matariki public holiday is based on the winter rising of the Matariki cluster in the early morning sky during the Tangaroa period of the lunar month of Pipiri." https://www.tepapa.govt.nz/discover-collections/read-watch-play/matariki-maori-new-year/dates-for-matariki-public-holiday ...
Read More Our term two Sustainable Action Ideas newsletter explores the Enviroschools Guiding Principle of Respect for the Diversity of People and Cultures.
It highlights some up coming awareness dates that support this guiding principle as well as shares ideas to celebrate other cultures in your school or centre. There are also a number of workshops happening this term. Click here to access our online Padlets to view this newsletter and previous ones....
Read More Matariki is the Māori name for a group of stars also known as the Pleiadea star cluster, or The Seven Sisters, Te Iwi o Matariki (the nine stars of Matariki) are referred to as the traditional Māori New Year. The Matariki holiday for 2023 is on Friday 14th July....
Read More Take a look at our list of ways that your students could take action towards sustainability this term.
Click here to link through to the list in our Enviroschools Marlborough google drive....
Read More Fairhall School
The focus for Term 2 was compost making, starting with the critters that help with that process – the ‘Recycling Gang’! The children laid out samples of compost onto tarpaulins, then used their observation skills to look for and identify some of the bugs living in their compost heap. They found worms, slaters, centipedes and slugs. Next, they watched a video clip on a bug that we don’t want in New Zealand: the brown marmorated stink bug. Now that these students know how to identify insects, they will be able to be super sleuths in our gardens, protecting our fruit and vegetables from unwanted invaders. The next topic explored was winter pruning. The...
Read More Blenheim School
It was a very wet Term 2 at Blenheim School – it seemed to rain every gardening day! The children found plenty to do inside the classroom. They investigated how plants talk to them and what it means when the leaves of some plants turn yellow. Their citrus trees had yellow leaves, and the children discovered that the trees were probably suffering from a lack of nitrogen or iron. Between showers, the children gave them a good feed with layers of lawn clippings, blood and bone, compost and mulch. Back inside, they talked about replenishing the soil and resting beds. Having planned to build another compost heap, it rained yet again. Instead, the...
Read More Although it has been cold and wet outside, Marlborough students have been keeping up with their winter gardening tasks. Over the next few weeks, we'll be sharing some of the learning that went on in Term 2 at schools in Marlborough's 'Kids' Edible Gardens' programme.
Witherlea School
While the growth of vegetables slowed with the onset of winter, the children kept busy by investigating composting. Before getting started, they looked at soil with very little organic matter or compost and compared it to soil in their vegetable garden. The soil from the vegetable garden was darker, fluffier and had lots of insects living in it. It was a good way to learn how compost improves the soil. After talking about what goes...
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