 We are incredibly proud to celebrate a special group of boys who have been recognised with our Manaakitanga Awards. Each of these students was initially identified for the genuine care and kindness they show towards a younger student in our school, taking the time to include him, communicate with him, and ensure he feels a true sense of belonging. What has been even more powerful is that, once nominated, so many more stories from teachers and teacher aide's began to emerge. Stories of encouragement at camp, quiet leadership, supporting classmates with their learning, noticing when others need help, and consistently choosing kindness in both big and small ways. These boys remind us that Manaakitanga is not just one action, it’s a way of being. It’s shown through inclusion, empathy, respect, and the everyday choices to lift others up. You are all making a meaningful difference in our school, and we couldn’t be prouder. Keep leading the way. Manaakitanga is a foundational Māori value embodying hospitality, care, respect, and generosity, fundamentally aimed at uplifting the mana (prestige/spirit) of others. Derived from mana and aki (to uphold), it means supporting, caring for, and nurturing relationships, often extending to caring for the environment (kaitiakitanga).
 In Room 14, we have been writing stories about monsters using characters, similes and dialogue. Here are some snippets.
Furry the angry monster eats his prey in the deep sea where no one ever dares to go. Boats scattered all around the sea. Furry wished for a monster friend. Later that night, he looked around and saw the friend that he had been waiting for. He looked as friendly as a brother… By Fletcher The Megaoctopus emerged from the deep. He lived in the stormy seas where ships vanished to the ocean floor never to be seen again. Captain Seahong trapped the ships that vanished in 1847… By Mindy The Mermaid Monster was lurking in the forest to find water. Each day, she tried to look for more water but there was none anywhere. Then another monster came along and told her where to find some water. The problem was that the water was protected by a big boss… By Zodiac Robyir the monster robbed a shop. He was tired from robbing the shop so he went to his dark black cave. The next day a fox came to the little dark black cave. The fox ran into the cave and he hid there with the monster. The fo got a fright. The monster said, “Who are you?” I am Robyir… By Ollie The deep dark creature lives in the watery cave that is 400m wide and 400m tall. He has two eyes in the middle of his mouth as well as his teeth. His rib bones are exposed and you can see his beating heart. It is terrifying! By Elijah The Megladon crashed into my boat. I had to fight the Megladon. It lives in the deep sea. Don’t go near it, it will swallow you whole. He was as big as a blue whale. Along came Captain Barnickles, caught him and put a tracker on him. He swam as fast as a dog fish. “I’ll see you later, " said Captain Barnickles… By Landen The Megladon lurked under the waves. He was as huge as a tower. He wanted a new friend. One day a monster friend came along. He was named Fangor. By Jake The Teketeke is a no legged monster. He lives in Tokyo, Japan. He lurks around you on the trains. He is very dangerous. He comes out in the dark tunnels. People dare not go there because he is as slimy as an octopus. By Moana The Silk Monster, named Lilly, lived in a small silky cottage. It sat in the middle of a stormy island. But the problem was the Giant, Mr Stampalot. Lilly did not like the Giant. He stamped and crashed his feet everywhere when he walked. Lilly’s body shook timidly when he came in sight… By Indie The Hallway monster waits for its moment to pounce. He lives in the shadowy, scary ends of hallways. When his moment came, he jumped out of the shadows and landed on a little girl named Aleisha. Aleisha screamed so loudly that it woke the neighbours. When the neighbours woke… By Amalia  Floyd Beale attends the Horse Riding program each week.
This year at their break-up, Floyd was presented with the Dawson Family Memorial Trophy for Animal kinship and connection. This is a very special award and Floyd is the very first recipient of this trophy. Well done Floyd. Keep up the good work, we are all very proud of you.  You cannot survive school unless you are friends with everyone.
If you see smoke, RUN!!! Fire, Fire! If you hear someone scream Markus, that means something is broken. Never get in the way of Kristine’s vacuum. Leave your chocolate at home. Beware of all the noise, bring earplugs so you can survive. Don’t wear muddy shoes in class you will get on the teacher's bad side. You can’t survive when everyone has a better lunch than you. In order to survive school stay away from Room 12, nah just joking but still run for your life. Don’t waste tape…it’s a waste of money. Never bring up 67, follow my advice. Do not leave your classroom sports equipment out or the PE shed takes it! Make sure that you know when anything bad or mysterious happens, it was Markus! Have fun and treat others with kindness. Try not to tighten your sunhat too much or you will get a red mark on your forehead. Stay away from the attacking bees and wasps! Don’t question Mrs Pasco or Miss Prattley…you have been warned. Stay away from trouble. Don’t climb the skinny branches, your legs have been warned. Stay away from bees! Don’t backchat or you will get on the teacher’s bad side. Beware of Mr English’s lawn mower!    Ayden and Fletcher from Room 14 have turned a simple learning-through-play idea into an inspiring real-world project! It all began with a prototype skate ramp they built during class. Excited by their design, the boys decided they wanted to create a full-sized ramp for our school.
What followed was a huge amount of hands-on learning: drawing up detailed plans, pricing materials, writing emails for permission, and organising a fundraising strategy. They settled on hosting a sausage sizzle, created order slips to send home, and today proudly ran their very own BBQ. Lunchtime was full of happy faces—and full tummies! The boys made an impressive $125 profit, which will go directly toward building their real ramp for all students to enjoy. So watch this space! A big thank you to Ayden’s grandma for her wonderful help on the grill. Well done, Ayden and Fletcher! Your initiative, teamwork, and perseverance are something to celebrate.  Our talented golfers have brought the trophy home for the second year in a row! Maehe, Jett, Blake, and Karlee represented West Gore School at the Southland Primary Schools Golf Tournament in Drummond yesterday, and we couldn’t be prouder.
These four keen players had a fantastic day on the course—having fun, supporting each other, and giving it their absolute best. Their efforts paid off as they were crowned Champions of the Year 5 & Year 6 division! A big thank you to Hayden, who accompanied the team as manager. We truly appreciate your time, support, and dedication. We would also like to acknowledge Katelynne who showed the West Gore values of resilience and respect when she was the unlucky person to be balloted out of this team. Katelynne managed this disappointment with respect and understanding. We are proud of you Katelynne. Congratulations, team—what an achievement! Room 2 students have been learning to ‘show not tell’ for writing which means they are describing something without actually saying what it is. This type of writing allows the listener or the reader to create a picture in their mind. It's a fabulous genre to use language features such as adjectives (describing words) or similes in, to enrich writing. Below are some wonderfully descriptive pieces of writing showing an emotion. Can you work out what emotion the children are showing? Remember the time…
My feet were stomping, my fists were punching, my face was as red as a West Gore school T-shirt and my eyes were crunched up like a piece of paper. By Brodie Remember the time… I punched the door, I slammed the cupboard, I screamed and it felt like my head was on fire because it was all red. By Aubree Remember the time… I was screaming, my face was screwed up, my feet were stomping, my heart was racing, I was screaming and I was stressed. By Bella Remember the time… When I was kicking out my legs, my fingers were all crunched up like paper, flames were coming out of my head and I was walking like a giant walks. By Manasvi Remember the time… My fists were scrunched up like a ball, my feet were stomping and I got more angry than a gorilla. Reef Remember the time.. My feet were kicking the wooden pillars outside the classroom, my hands were over my face, my fists were scrunched up like an asteroid and my head was going round like a tether. By Ethan Remember the time… My fists were punching the air, my feet were stomping and my eyes were scrunched up. By Milly Remember the time… My head felt like a circus, my heart was pounding like fast Sonic, my fists were curled like a snail and I stomped my feet on my way to my room. By Nash This term in Room One, our Learning Through Play focus has been on transformation, with a particular focus on working with fabric and materials. We are incredibly fortunate to have Holly Attfield join us a couple of times each week to teach the children the basics of sewing and how to use a sewing machine. Each child will have the opportunity to create their own pillow. The children have learned so much from Holly and have thoroughly enjoyed her visits. Here are some of the pillows we have made so far!         Snip! Snip! Snip! My big, insanely huge mullet was drooping to the ground and looked like feathers. I looked down at the big pile of hair. Surprisingly this was turning out to be one of my best hair cuts ever. I walked in the door at home. Mum looked at my new hair cut. “Amazing” she said. Tegbir  I was chewing away on my sandwich when I felt one of my teeth wiggling around in my mouth. Then … Pop! My tooth came out! When I looked into the mirror I suddenly felt really weird. I saw the gap in my mouth and how it made me kind of look a bit goofy. That night I tucked my tooth under my pillow and slept. In the morning the tooth had been replaced with a gold, shiny coin under my pillow. Fereti  I sat down in my set and heard the plane roar like a lion. I snapped my seat belt in place as I felt the plane start to move. The plane lifted into the sky like an eagle. As I looked out of the window, I saw the world below me disappear. When we landed I didn’t want to get off, but I also wanted to explore a new country. Adam  It was a school holiday and me and Nan were at Grandads when all of a sudden… Pop! Spring! My tooth was hanging by a thread from my mouth (a root). A whole lot of blood started gushing from the area. I started crying. Then Nan told me how I would get money. This cheered me up. Lexi  I sat on a chair in the kitchen with a cape wrapped around me. Snip! Snip! Snip! My hair drifted down to the floor, including all of my baby hair. When I looked up at the mirror I did not recognise myself. All I could think was maybe change is a good thing. Morgan  I knew it was time for a hair cut because my fringe was coving my face. I wasn’t scared because I knew what I wanted. The worst part was knowing it would take an hour. My Mum was so excited because she thought my hair looked like a mop! When I looked up at the mirror I was shocked by how short it was but at least it looked good. Looking back this was probably my best hair cut I have ever got. I can’t wait to go back as I know I won’t be scared like I used to be. Neko  Check out our new WGS News Crew clip about Learning Journals! Some of you may be seeing your child's journal tomorrow, we encourage you to leave a comment and return to school at the start of Term 4. Our Learning Journals are a partnership between home and school, focused on your child’s progress and achievement in the wider curriculum. |
|