Friday, April 19, 2013

Class 5 Indian Day

This term Ancient India has been at the centre of our story curriculum. We have heard stories about different gods and heroes and learned about some aspects of Indian culture.

This week we celebrated an Indian Feast Day to mark the end of our studies. Children dressed up in Indian clothes and cooked Indian food to share with classmates and parents.

Several parents came in to help and offered the children a chance to try Indian Dancing, prepare flat breads and have henna designs drawn onto their hands.
 It was a fantastic day and offered the children a chance to taste another culture and experience the beautiful colours and vibrancy of India.

Purdy Biddle








Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Titahi Bay Geology with Class 9

Recently class 9 went on a field trip to Titahi Bay to study the bedrock that underlies the Wellington Region. This trip was part of the geology main lesson.

There were many landscape features that had been created by erosion such as this sea arch and the flat area of rocks that had been leveled by wave action.



This cave was made where the weak rock along a faultline had been eroded out by the sea. Uplift due to earthquakes has lifted the cave out of reach of the waves


The rocks themselves are made of layers that were once laid down horizontally on the sea floor. They have since been tipped up so that they are nearly vertical.

 The diagonal line is a fault cutting through the layers of rock
The rock has also been folded in places as you can see here.







Students had to make careful observations of the different features. This is a good way to gain a practical understanding of some of the concepts taught in the lessons.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Class 3 on the farm

Developing a healthy and appreciative relationship to the environment that sustains us is a vital part of childhood. This has always been recognised in Steiner schools.

Class 3 recently went to visit a farm as part of the farming lesson. These photos give an impression of the experience:


Feeding the chooks:




Standing on the firewood!



What a whopper!

















By the end of the day we had collected all these pumpkins and there were many more to go.