ANZAC DAY

I recently attended the Eastbourne ANZAC day ceremony where Muritai had a heavy involvement, not only in the upgrade of the memorial wall but also in the proceedings itself. I was immensely proud of the senior school kapa haka group for the way they set the tone with a heart warming haka. It was encouraging to see the mutual respect shown between the returned servicemen and our Y7/8 young leaders during that special moment. We also had our student representative Ned Grenfell and Ellen Sullivan lay a wreath, symbolizing the special relationship Muritai School has with the RSA. Ned and Ellen also had the honor in assisting with the unveiling of the newly added names of the soldiers who did not return to Eastbourne. It was moving ceremony and one which I believe is symbolic of the community spirit of Eastbourne.

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The Year 5 to 8s are studying WATER.

The Big IDEA
To understand the importance of being kaitiaki (guardians) of the environment, and that our waterways are interconnected and have mauri (life force)

The platform for learning will be the “TAKE ACTION FOR WATER” programme, which is an exciting unit supported by Greater Wellington Regional Council. Take Action for Water is an environmental education programme developed in order to give students the opportunity to learn about the value of water, preserve our most important resource and take action to keep the environment healthy and clean. The unit develops children’s environmental awareness and teaches the skills needed to act responsibly for the world.

The Veggie Garden

In the last week of school we finally planted out the boxes. It was such a hot day that some of us sat under the shady tree while we waited for our turn. Firstly we put in the compost with the potting mix and really mixed it together. To keep the plants happy we watered it a little before putting them in. 

In the boxes we made little holes for the roots and carefully placed in the cabbage,lettuce, broccoli, carrot and spring onion seedlings. Then we watered them again very carefully. Now we have to water them regularly and wait for them to grow.

Very exciting!

Shopping for Plants.

The Year 3 and 4 team are growing plants at school to make some soup for the whole team.We have had to learn a lot about how plants grow and what their needs are to survive and are now ready to plant up our boxes. They were made from recycled timber by our caretaker Ted. Thanks Ted.
On Wednesday Mrs Chao took a group of students to buy the plants we needed for our planter boxes. Armed with a list for each class we started at Pak and Save as they have bundles of plants at a good price. Well when we got there we found that the bundles were 2 for $5 so they were a bargain!
Each class decided as a group which vegetables they wanted to grow. Dorrie and William needed peas and cabbages for Room 11. Just to be sure we checked the packet to see if peas grew in autumn and they do !
Room 10 had a big list and Harrison was in charge of it. Room 8 were going to share vegetables from other classes and Louis knew a lot about plants and was very helpful.
Room 11 already had carrots,lettuces, broccoli and strawberry plants. Thank you Jessica for bringing them to school. We found most of what we needed and bought them at the checkout.
Sadly we couldn't find spinach and some of the herbs but we got celery instead. Lots of people probably can give us cuttings of herbs for our garden and that won't cost us anything. Good gardeners share plants with their friends.
It was great that we were able to buy the plants and not spend a lot of money. We spent about $17 for 6 bundles of plants and a packet of peas.
All we need to do now is to plant out the boxes and look after them...

Green/Gold Taskforce

It’s an exciting time for Muritai. We are in the process of gaining Green / Gold as an Enviroschool. A taskforce has been set up to establish where we are at and what we need to do to become a Green / Gold School.

Where we are at:
We have a living, evolving school where progress is celebrated and new ideas are being added all the time. The Guiding Principles are woven into all aspects of our school life. Environmental sustainability is part of all our decisions and everything we do. Students at our school have a strong sense of connection to the environment - we know we can effect change for a sustainable world. The enquiry and action is mainly led by students. We have been able to measure many changes from our actions, and show that we are making a difference. The environment is more vibrant and healthy; it feels like a living ecosystem that can support our community towards sustainability. Māori perspectives are enriching our journey. The school is involved with our community, honouring the diversity of people within it.