Class Treaty and our Kotuku (white heron)

On our classroom wall is a Kotuku - this is the maori word for White Heron. The Kotuku is one of New Zealand's rarest birds and in maori mythology the White Heron is a symbol of prestige and uniqueness. The Kotuku represents ourselves in Room 9 - we are unique individuals with different learning strengths and styles who have teamed up as a learning community.  We can all be successful if we work hard and help each other along the way.

Our class Treaty is framed in black, with a finely woven silver background, a Kotuku (Heron) bone carving image and a putiputi flower. Room 9 chose the colours of earthy red and turquoise blue to match the coloured tiles on our class White Kotuku (Heron).

In our first session, as a class we explored the importance of team work and how we are part of a learning community.  We discussed how a team of paddlers are able to power their waka together over the finish line and be successful together - but only when each team member is paddling in unison with the others. In the same manner we need to work together as a team and do our part to create a learning environment where everyone can be successful.

In another session, we discussed how a class treaty could help us and what kind of shared expectations we could include in our treaty.  In small groups we came up with several ideas and shared them for consideration and explained why we thought each one was important.

For our final session we voted on the expectations we would like to include and tweaked the wording until we were satisfied.

Here is what we came up with together:

Tō tātou Tiriti

In Room 9 we agree to...

Strive to do our best and encourage others to do the same

Try new things and give everything  a go

Treat each other as we wish to be treated

Take responsibility for our actions

Show respect towards others, their property and the environment

Our Class Treaty Signing Hui

On Thursday 14th February, the Senior School strolled down to the Hamilton Gardens for a special hui to sign our class treaties.  

Our blue Hillcrest hats dotted the backdrop scenery of the mighty Waikato awa, as we sat in a perfect spot to observe and participate in a special occasion.

In the act of mutual agreement to endeavour to live up to the very expectations our class decided on, we put pen to Treaty and signed our names.

   

With time to spare before having to head back to school for lunch, we tested those all important team co-operative skills.  A deceptively simple task was to create a pyramid in small groups.  It was all go, with the strongest chosen to create the pyramid base and the more nimble and non-fearful carefully climbing to the top.   Bony knees and the pressing weight of several friends had the bottom lineup of children red-faced and grimacing - check out Emma and Lilly Anne's facials for examples!  Unfortunately those at the top forgot to look up and smile at the camera before the collapse and mass pileups ensued. Now that would have been true dedication!

 

The Stunning Faces of Room 9 2013!

Hello Class of 2013

What a lovely first day we had! Yes we will be changing the class photo at the top of our blog very soon so watch that space!