Relationships Count @ SGHS
We have spent time over the last week getting to know each other. We started off by interviewing a partner to find out their thoughts on topics we brainstormed together. After we had interviewed our partner we introduced them to the class. 8EK did a really good job of speaking in front of their new class as it is never easy speaking in front of a group. We found out all sorts of things like several girls in our class weren't born in NZ, lots of girls in 8EK ride horses and many girls got phones, iPads and tablets as Christmas presents!!!
We have also been creating quilt squares. These are a visual way of getting to know each other. Our quilt square has lots of sections and we decided as a class what would go in each: who I am as a learner, my culture, my family, my hobbies and interests etc. When our quilt squares are finished we will put them on the wall and each square will form a big class community quilt!!! This will help us see that we are all unique and individual but also that we all join together to form a community and class. They will help us to see how we are both similar and different to each other. They are going to look fantastic!
We have started to think about relationships beyond each other and SGHS too. In the holidays Miss Pickering was lucky enough to go to Thailand and she spent some time teaching at Sahamitr School.
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Miss Pickering working with a group
at Sahamitr School, Thailand |
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Maegen, Katelyn and Molly drafting their letters
looking very comfy on the floor in 6JBE |
At the moment we are writing to the students to see if they would like to be pen pals with us. Writing to us will help them to practice their English which they are very keen to work on.
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Madison and Maria choose to write outside and enjoy the
sunshine while they write to the students of Sahamitr School |
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| Sahamitr School students reading in the school library |
As well as this we have been discussing other things that we could do to help the students at this school. Some ideas we have had so far are sending our old books to them as they don't have many books in their library and writing narratives which we then read aloud and record the audio to send to them! Let us know if you have any other ideas for us!!!
As part of our Physical Activity Learning Package we have been learning about models of health. We explored Te Whare Tapa Wha and even made our own whare: in groups of 5 each individual was responsible for creating one wall. The look of the wall had to represent the element of health - for example, te taha tinana (physical health) or te taha whanau (family health). The 5th group member had to create the roof. The trick was that everything needed to balance and remain standing which was harder that it looked, just like in the model with wellbeing. Next we investigated Te Wheke which is a model of health based on an octopus metaphor. Our next step is to investigate wellbeing aspects that affect year 8 students like sleep, making good decisions and keeping positive relationships. Then we are going to create our own model of health using a metaphor AND promote it! We have been wondering though, are there Pacifika models like this or similar ideas in cultures around the world? 
