Gold Miners Needed

After reading 'Bok Choy' by Paul Mason the Justice League created posters that may have been used by The Otago provincial government to encourage Chinese miners to come to New Zealand.

Kuri by Priscilla Weir

After reading 'Kuri' by Priscilla Weir the Avengers collaborated on a Compare and Contrast Map and summary. They compared Kuri, an ancient breed of dog brought to Aotearoa and the German Shepherd.

Over two thousand years ago, the early Polynesians began sailing across the Pacific Ocean looking for new lands. One of these lands was Aotearoa New Zealand. These early explorers were not alone but often brought with them dogs (kuri). We have a much larger collection of dog breeds in New Zealand these days. We are comparing kuri with a breed of dog found in New Zealand in 2017, the Alsatian, German Shepherd.

Working Dogs - Nikhil and Jack.

The Kuri and Alsatian breed of dog were both working dogs. However they don’t have the same job. Kuri’s were hunters their job was to help catch fish and birds, such as moa. The Alsatian dog’s job was to herd sheep.

Diet - Moksha

Both dogs had diets based on the foods available. Kuri ate the same type of food as the people of the time such as moa and fish.  On the other hand the German Shepherd ate food especially prepared for them such as beef, rice, vegetables and oats.

Hair - Harrison and Aadi

The Kuri’s hair was long and often used for cloaks and clothes. However the German Shepherd’s hair was only used by the dog as protection against the weather. The German Shepherd has two coats, an outer and under. The undercoat is softer but still thick.

Origin - Brianna

Both dogs arrived in New Zealand from overseas. Kuri came from east Asia and travelled from island to island. The kuri arrived on waka with early Polynesian explorers. However the Alsatian breed of dog came from Germany in Europe. This breed of dog would have probably have come with German settlers on large ships.

According to scientists the kuri died out when Pakeha arrived in New Zealand. However what if they were still around today? We believe we would treat the kuri more as pets, we would not shave them or skin them to make clothes, we wouldn’t eat them such as the early Polynesian people did and we wouldn’t use them to hunt for our food.

We believe this comparison is Relational. We made several comparisons between the breeds of dog. We also looked at the information in a new way by thinking what it would be like if kuri were still alive today. To extend our thinking we could have given an opinion about which breed we felt was the easiest to look after, most useful and which one we would prefer as a pet.

Sailing the Pacific

After reading "Sailing the Pacific" by Maria Samuela, an article about the early navigational voyagers throughout the Pacific the Avengers designed a new vaka that could be used to explore the Pacific today. Here is Harrison's design for a vaka.

Whakapapa of Papa and Rangi

After reading 'The Story of Papa and Rangi' A Maori legend, retold by Mihi Roberts the Guardians of the Galaxy charted the whakapapa (family tree) of Papa and Rangi to show who the characters were in the story. Here is Boston and Rayan's whakapapa.

Job Vacancy - Archaeologist

After reading "The Past Beneath Our Feet" the Justice League used the information in the text to create a job advertisement for an archaeologist. Here is Charlotte's advertisement. Do you have what it takes to be an archaeologist?

I Love and Loathe School

We were tasked to write a poem describing something we love and loathe about school. Our poem needed to have eight lines and feature rhyming couplets. Here is a sample from Kristy, Sam, Angelika, Jacky, Joshua, Moksha and Mizuki. Check out more fabulous examples in our student blogs 

Springboks Tour 1981

After learning about the visit to New Zealand of the South African rugby team (the Springboks) in the winter of 1981 and the civil disturbances that followed we created hashtags that could have been used as a way to protest. Which one do you feel best captures the feelings of the time?

New Zealand - A New Dawn 1970s and 1980s

Analysis of Immigration during the 1900's

In Inquiry after learning about immigration to New Zealand during the 1900's we analysed the effect immigration policies had on New Zealand.

During the 1900’s New Zealand had a very restrictive policy on immigration. This meant that only people who were desired by the New Zealand government were allowed to enter the country. During the 1900’s this mostly meant people from Britain.

One group of people who came to New Zealand during the 1900’s were the Chinese.  Chinese immigrants supported the local industry, allowing gold mining to continue in Otago after the British miners had left for new rushes on the West Coast. Gold mining paid for schools, roads and bridges to be built. Without the Chinese Otago would have been poor, had few schools to offer education and less families would have stayed.

Another group of immigrants who contributed to New Zealand industry were the Dalmatians (Croatians). Dalmatians came to Aotearoa to work in the Kauri gum industry. Gum digging provided a  major source of income for Māori and settlers in Northland. Without Dalmatian immigrants this important industry may have ceased leading to poverty for Maori and other settlers.

Many British came to New Zealand as evacuees from the First World War. New Zealand provided a safe and secure area for British children to grow up far away from the dangers of war. If New Zealand had refused entry for these children they may have had to travel elsewhere or stay in war torn Britain.

For a long time in New Zealand there was a ‘white only’ attitude towards immigration. This meant it was very difficult for Asians to come to New Zealand. One group who struggled to enter New Zealand were people from India.

The evidence suggests that New Zealand was very different in the 1900’s to how it is now. In our classroom we have many ethnic groups such as Indian, Chinese, Pacific, British, Australian and New Zealand European. Our school values cultural diversity and we are encouraged to work together, share and learn from each other. This wasn’t the attitude during the 1900’s where the New Zealand government seemed to only want ‘white’ people. If New Zealand had retained it’s ‘white only’ policy our classroom would be very different, almost no one would be here!

In the wider world the president of the USA, Donald Trump is wanting to build a wall to stop Mexican immigrants and also ban Muslim people from certain countries from entering the USA. Trump’s ideas sound very similar to those of over 200 years ago in New Zealand, if he succeeds in his vision then the world would change dramatically and the USA would miss out on all the advantages of immigration such as people bringing new skills, ideas, new infrastructure (schools, roads) and cultural practices. In our opinion New Zealand is a better place now for allowing people to enter, work and live here.

We believe this analysis is extended abstract as we evaluated the contribution each part (ethnic group) made to the whole (New Zealand society). We also looked at the information in a different way by linking the effects of immigration on our classroom and also how immigration policies would effect the wider world.

New Zealand 1860s to 1970s

Te Reo Pronunciation

Podcast #1

Cause and Effect British Colonisation

The Justice League collaborated on a cause and effect of British colonisation.

British Colonisation

Prior to 1840, it was mainly whalers, sealers, and missionaries who came to New Zealand. These settlers had contact with Maori, especially in coastal areas. Maori and Pakeha (Europeans) traded extensively, and some Europeans lived among Maori. With the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, New Zealand became a British colony. This saw a massive increase in the number of British migrants coming to New Zealand. The effect of British colonisation on Maori was disastrous.

Large numbers of British people left for New Zealand to escape poverty. In Britain at the time and especially Ireland people were starving due to a destructive potato famine. Another possible reason for British migration was the search for a better climate and conditions, especially for farming. Historical evidence also suggests that people left Britain to escape the class system. The class system restricted people from improving their lives. For example if you were born poor you stayed poor regardless of how hard and how much you worked. As a result of these factors British people arrived in Aotearoa in massive numbers. In 1858 Pakeha people outnumbered Maori for the first time.

The colonization of New Zealand by the British had a devastating impact on Maori. The large numbers of settlers led to a huge demand for land, and from the 1840s Māori were under great pressure to sell their land. Due to the loss of land tribes were reduced to living in poverty, losing their access to traditional food sources and having to live in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions. Evidence suggests that colonisation negatively impacted the life expectancy of Maori. Settlers brought muskets which led to the death of 700 Maori per year, they also introduced diseases such as bronchitis and tuberculosis, which also killed large numbers of Māori in the 19th century.

Overall the impact of British colonisation was catastrophic. Maori lost land and their population plummeted. We believe that Maori people need to be better represented in parliament, some of the land should be returned and they should be better respected through people learning their language and history.

We believe we are extended abstract as we used “historical evidence” “possible reason” and “as a result of”. We gave several causes and effects of British colonisation with evidence. We also gave an “overall” with ideas about what we could do to rectify problems caused by colonisation.

First Morning in Room 3!

What's it really like being in Room 3? Read Sam's and Kristy's recount of their first morning.

The First Day in Room 3 by Kristy

As I walked into the class nervously the 8:30 bell rang, nearly deafening me. The bright and colourful classroom was warm and inviting. Superhero posters were plastered all over the walls like they were watching over all the children. Bobbleheads and figurines stood in nearly every corner of the class. The strong aroma of tea filled the air. The classroom was very organised and neat as if the teacher was obsessed with being tidy. An enormous whiteboard was covered with words and I thought “why are we doing this much work. It’s only the first day.”

Mr Bainbridge was my new teacher for year 5. My teacher was tall and skinny. He was a giant compared to me. Wandering around with an enormous grin plastered on his face, Mr Bainbridge greeted all the parents and new kids. His bark brown hair pushed back on an angle. He was coated in strong smelling deodorant. Mr Bainbridge’s arms were full of colourful tattoos. “Good morning” Mr Bainbridge said in a friendly British accent. Mr Bainbridge wobbled around like Bambi on ice. I could hear him sip his steaming hot cup of tea.

I looked around the room blinking my eyes. My friend Charlotte was standing in the corner, so I ran right to her. “Charlotte, Charlotte” I called out with excitement. She was the only person I knew in class, but I did recognise Rhea from Netball. Charlotte seemed excited but nervous at the same time. Her hair was brown like milk chocolate and she wore black glasses. We went on and on about our holidays. Charlotte was showing off as usual, while I talked about my holiday sitting on the couch playing video games. All of a sudden the bell rang loudly and everyone ran towards the mat. We were all squashed together ready to start the year.

The First Day in Room 3 by Sam

“Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr” the school bell rang like crazy it was 8:30 am and time to enter Room 3. I saw the Suicide Squad pictures surrounding the clock. The Doctor Strange poster hung from the wall like someone hanging onto a cliff for dear life. The windows stared out onto the yard. The new entrants looked like hunchbacks trying to carry they're big, bulky backpacks.

Silly me I hadn’t noticed my new teacher yet. I saw Mr Bainbridge, my new teacher for year 6. He said “good morning” in a British accent, but not a posh British accent.  He was very skinny and bony like a skeleton. He had his super cool looking tattoos showing, there were some interesting colours like pink, blue, purple, and red. The tattoos were of a girl an anchor, butterflies and flowers. Mr B was a hairy faced man with  a controlled, chocolate brown beard. On top of his furry face was his hair which sat in a wave at the top of his head.

Into the classroom next walked Mizuki. He looked very nervous and had an apprehensive expression. He was biting his nails and his wide eyes were looking around. “Hey”, he said in a little voice “are you nervous”, “pretty nervous” I said faking confidence. Suddenly the screaming 9am bell went and we all went and sat down nervously ready for year 6 to begin.

Early British Colonization

Dick Frizzell - New Zealand Artist

Aotearoa Needs You!

We created these posters to illustrate what sealing and whaling companies may have used to attract European's to New Zealand waters during the 1700s.

Pre - Treaty Freeze Frame

After reading about the lives of pre-treaty settlers we created Freeze Frames to show what life may have been like for whalers.

Pre - Treaty Aotearoa

Cyber Safety

In Room 3 we have a focus on being a positive digital citizen. Within digital citizenship their is a responsible to be cyber safe. We discussed what Cyber Safety means to us in Room 3. Kristy and Charlotte created this poster to illustrate what you can do to be Cyber Safe.

Tiriti O Te Ruma Toru

After much negotiating we finally settled on our "Tiriti O Te Ruma Toru" (Room 3 Treaty).

Ruma Toru Iwi

After learning about Pre - Settler Aotearoa we imagined our class had just arrived in New Zealand on one of the Waka Hourua. We then applied for a different role within our new iwi. We could apply to be either a builder, warrior, hunter, gatherer or grower.

Woven Art

We created these Maori weaving inspired artworks to decorate our akomanga (classroom). When Māori first arrived in Aotearoa, they encountered a climate that was extreme compared to their homelands in Polynesia. They adapted quickly by utilising their existing twining and weaving skills to produce korowai (cloaks) and other practical objects such as kete (baskets) and whāriki (mats).

Pre Settlers Aotearoa