Ngāhere Year 5-6 The Forest

The Ngāhere team is the first syndicate in the senior part of the school. In Year 5-6, we still maintain a firm emphasis on developing the foundational literacy and numeracy skills that students have already gained while prioritising the use of these skills to support wider learning in other curriculum areas. As well as the classroom programme, there are increasing opportunities for students to participate in extracurricular activities such as Mathex, Zone Sports days, Tough Kid, Kiwi Competitions, and the local Lactic Turkey Sustainability Challenge. Excitingly, all senior students are assigned a school house to be a part of (either Piha, Anawhata, Muriwai, or Te Henga) and get to participate in house competition days throughout the year.

Our team continues to focus on the school values. Students are expected to demonstrate these by being role models for junior students and being the best that they can be. Opportunities also arise for them to show emerging leadership abilities as they are given the chance to be PE Shed monitors, Librarians, Walking School Bus monitors, and School Council reps for their class.

In Year 5-6, our students use devices more frequently to support their learning and growing independence. The BYOD (Bring your own device) programme gives broader access to technology and allows students to start to become confident, capable, and safe digital citizens. Platforms that students use include Microsoft Office365, Canva, Writer’s Toolbox, and Typing Club. In the Ngāhere team, the Seesaw app continues to be the method for students to track personal goals and share their learning and successes with whānau.

Every second year the team have a four-day, three-night camp at Marsden Bay camp, south of Whangarei (Term 1 of odd years). This opportunity to live our school values and to stay away from home is a highlight for staff, parents, and students alike. The aim is for students to participate in challenge by choice and to stretch themselves to try something new. This could be staying away from home, trying new foods, or participating in an activity such as the flying fox, kayaking, or archery.
In even years, there is a focus on wider opportunities for learning through our Education Outside of the Classroom (EOTC) programme. During this year, the students participate in a number of activities that broaden the classroom perspective. These activities often have a local and school values focus while aiming to enhance inquiry learning by taking it beyond the classroom. We thank all of the family members who give their time to support us by attending as a supervisor on one of our trips.