Graphic Organisers Are Go . . .

Graphic Organisers are currently being integrated into classroom programmes at Oranga School. They are included in reading programmes and as part of inquiry learning. More professional development for teachers about different graphic organisers will continue in 2008.

Laptops in Action

Students at Oranga now have access to 13 Apple Mac laptops that can be transported around the school in a 'cow' (computers on wheels). They are using the laptops for internet research, kidpix slideshows, reading programmes, iphoto, imovie, inspiration, computer skills and basic word processing.

Photos from the Multicultural Festival

Niuean group



North American Line Dancing



Maori group



French group



New Entrants



Fijian group



Hip-Hop group



Tongan group



Kiwiana group



Indian group



Folk Dancing group



Samoan group



Cook Islands group

Fabulous Festival

Saturday was a fabulous celebration of our Term 3 and 4 Performing Arts based Inquiry. The weather was on our side and the sun shone down on the incredible performances. First up was the Kapahaka group welcoming our Oranga Community onto the school grounds, showcasing some impressive poi skills, fierce haka and beautiful waiata.
The Niuean group were the first of the Island nations to perform with a medley which included the Niuean drum dance. Next up was the French group with some traditional songs. The New Entrants also joined in our celebration giving the audience a "Hi 5" with their dancing movement skills. Some students donned cowboy hats and bandanas to present two line dances all the way from America. The children in the Fijian group looked amazing while performing a fan dance. A group of junior children were next to entertain the crowd with their Hip Hop moves. They have been tutored by 2 senior students who went on to showcase their own skills.
Following this was a combination of European cultures who make up part of the New Zealand culture. They displayed Celtic, Scottish and English dances finishing on a very Kiwi note with Fred Dagg's gumboot song.
Wearing detailed valataolunga 5 senior girls performed their Tongan dance. The whole group then sang teufakatulou.
Next to appear on the stage were the folk dance group who entertained us with 2 dances, Cumberland Reel and Strip the Willow. Loud music heralded the arrival of the Bollywood Group. Bright costumes swayed and swirled as the children performed a mixture of traditional and modern Indian dance movements. The Samoans then entered with their popo lou tuli. Dressed in fala with kiki and pale adornments the Year 6 children preformed a taolunga with the school principal. Led by their juniors the Samoan group then sang pusi nofo. This was followed by all the group participating in a Samoan medley. Wearing a white ei the Cook Island Group moved onto the stage for the finale. Their first dance was te ei nei au, which then moved into their traditional drum dance. The festival concluded with the Cook Island group inviting members of the community to participate in the ura piani. A big thank you to all those parents, extended family, teachers, and community members who tutored, sewed and created amazing costumes and accessories. Thank you also to the PTA and their helpers who prepared the food to be sold on this occasion. Thank you also to the sound and video team for recording the event for us.

Preparing for Multicultural Festival 2007

In Term 3 and 4 we have been focussing on the Performing Arts, music, dance and costume. This inquiry will lead to the culmination of a Multicultural Festival on November the 3rd, it will be held in the school grounds.
The senior syndicate has been thinking about the question "Why does each culture have it's own style of music, dance and costume?"
The middle synicate asked the question "How can we use music, costume and movement to tell a story?"
The junior syndicate have been talking about "Why do different cultures wear different costumes when they dance?"
Our Key Competency focus has been on 'Participating and Contributing', the students, teachers, support staff and community have been involved in sharing cultural dances, costumes and music.
During the Immersion Stage of our Inquiry we watched a performance by the Victoria Connelly Moore Dance Studio. We have included a photo showing contemporary dance.

Tools for Learning

Inquiry
At Oranga School we are nearing the end of our Inquiry about the Ocean. Our classes have used various learning tools to help them develop their understanding of their essential question.
Kid Pix
This is a programme on our classroom computers that makes it easy for children to present a professional looking product. We can choose a background and add images in. We can also include writing about the picture. Room 10 and Room 15 have all created their own Kid Pix picture. Older children will move from using this programme to developing their understanding of other types of presentation programmes on computers.
Inspiration
During our Inquiry some classes have been using Inspiration on the computers to brainstorm what they know about the Ocean. This programme also helps us to oragnise our ideas and information. We can make links between ideas and also add in images that relate to our brainstorm.
Six Thinking Hats
In the six hats method, thinking is divided into six different parts. Each part is represented by a different coloured hat.
Red Hat > feelings & emotions, How do I feel about this?
Yellow Hat > the good points, How will it help us?
Black Hat > the bad points, judgement, caution, What is wrong with it?
Green Hat > creativity, different ideas, What are some other ways to solve the problem?
White Hat > information, What information do we need to get?
Blue Hat > organisation of thinking, What do we do next?
We have used the six thinking hats to help us reflect on our learning and look at problems in different ways.

Our Inquiry Journey So Far . . .

At the moment teachers at Oranga School are busy with their classes working on an Inquiry about the ocean. In the Junior Syndicate they are looking at the question "What can we do to make sure that the ocean is a good home for sea life?". The Middle syndicate are focussed on the question, "How do we take care of what is in the ocean?". And the senior syndicate's question is "What do we need to do to ensure we maintain a sustainable supply of fish?". These questions are called essential questions. During the Immersion stage of the Inquiry all students visited Kelly Tarlton's Aquarium and watched videos or DVDs about the ocean and it's inhabitants. After discovering lots of new and interesting things we moved on to the Brainstorm part of the inquiry. This helped all the children to share their ideas and new learning with their classmates and teachers. After being busy brainstorming the children came up with smaller (subsidiary) questions that will help them to find some possible answers to their big (essential) question. Our next step is to begin researching our smaller questions, using the internet, books and maybe even some experts from home. Check out these photos of the inquiry process so far.