Our School Powhiri - A Warm Welcome!

Kia Ora, last week we had our first school Powhiri.  Everyone had to sit down for ages but it was all worth it in the end.  At the start Mrs Robinson greeted the Maori visitors to Gulf Harbour School.  Our Te Reo teacher Whaea Anna was a great help for the Powhiri. We sang a waiata. The song we sang was called ‘He Honere’. Then Hayoto spoke with great dignity, after that we sang another waiata. This one was called ‘Te Aroha’.

Then it was the visitors (Manuhiri) turn to speak, after that we sang one more waiata this one was called Tutira Mai Nga Iwi. They did an awesome job at singing the waiata. Everyone did a great job on the day.

Thank you to all the students and parents who participated  on that day. After the Powhiri the parents had morning tea. They said our singing was awesome!

By Laura & Ellie

Edited by Anna

Super Animal Card Craze!

Hey you listen up, Countdown have made some collectable cards that are spreading throughout the coast and everyone is collecting them. They are animal cards! Most kids have brought the cards to school and have been trading them.

Some kids have the entire collection. Some kids are still trying to get them all. There are 108 cards to collect.

The cards have been a big thing our school. The cards are called Super Animals. We will list 9 animals and the different categories...

1. Free tailed bat - Fastest.

2. Honey badger - Toughest.

3. Southern cassowary - Deadliest.

4. Green tree frog - Smartest.

5. Monkey eating eagle - Fiercest.

6. Narwhal - Weirdest.

7. Tokay gecko - Sneakiest.

8. Oil bird - loudest.

9. Black tailed trainbearer  - Showiest.

...and there are a lot more. The cards are a huge addiction to kids.

Some of the animals on the cards are herbivores. Which means they eat plants and some are meat eaters. Get into the latest craze!

By Nicole and Tammy

Swimming Sports

We got off the bus and were buzzing with excitement. Everyone wanted to run to the pool and jump in but we had to controlled ourselves and wait. There were competitive and non-competitive events. It was amazing how many people did the competitive ones, but it would have been awesome if all Year 5-8s competed.

There was Medley, Freestyle,  Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly. Not that many people did Butterfly. Well done to the people that tried doing butterfly it is stroke that is tough (well for us it was!). We have some great swimmers.

There were some fun non competitive activities that the kids enjoyed. There was a motorbike race that students did to the other side to the pool (using noodles). They also had a horse race and lots of other non-competitive things too.

People had lots of things to say after swimming sports. Here are a few comments.

“Swimming sports is really fun I think we should it every term!” - Jemma  

“It was so awesome everyone had a great time,” - Liam

“It was such fun!” - Renee

All in all, we had a great day! Congratulations to everyone involved! (More pictures below)

By Isi and Hollie

It's Good to be Back to School

Welcome back, great to see all the students back to Gulf Harbour School.  

We’re off to a great start. We are in week 2 already, team names are sounding pretty good.There’s Poutama which means building up, the Shire which is from the Hobbit, there’s the Thunderbirds which is a movie made in the 1960s and the Stadium which is undecided.  It’s really good to see the teams getting together.

Year 5 camp to Whatipu is coming up soon. Year 3-4s are getting ready to go to Shakespear.  Camps are in Week 4.

The Stadium challenged the teachers to a game of Cricket. Quite a lot of students turned up with signs that they made saying ‘Go teachers’ or ”Boo Stadium’. The Stadium won but the teachers are still not sure about score. Every kid in the school is learning how to play cricket.  I’m pretty sure that at least one student in Gulf Harbour School will make it into the Black Caps. Watch this space! They will be learning how to catch and hit a ball and all of that type of stuff.

The water slide has been in action this week, people have been slipping and sliding down it like crazy. Soon we will be having a speed competition teachers against students. Can teachers get their revenge?

The picnic at Shakespear was really fun. There were Bouncy castles, Sports equipment and loads of people introducing their parents to their teachers.

So all in all a fantastic start to the year!

By Ellie and Anna

Saying Good Bye to Golly

Golly came to GHS on October in 2008. Every term Golly has had four different kids reading with him every week. Golly loves coming to GHS because he loves being petted and he loves listening to people read. He also loves the treats he gets at the end of the lesson. Sometimes he plays 'Hide 'n' Seek'. Golly has to find the reader!  

Golly turned twelve on the ninth of November. He is going blind and he's back legs are not so strong any more. Room 22 had a birthday party and retirement party for him. Mr Brown had drawn a picture of Golly and Room 22 made tails and played 'Pin the Tail on Golly'. They also played 'Guess Who's Under the Blanket', and 'Pass the Parcel'. They had cocktail sausages,

cupcakes with chocolate paw prints and more.

Everybody sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Golly and he had his very own cupcake. Now Golly is retired and his nephew, Mr Bingley is going to take his place next year. Mr Bingley looks like Golly but smaller and not as smart, he needs the help of the Gulf Harbour student's. So lets say a big goodbye to wonderful Golly and hello to Mr Bingley!

By Tiana

Caleb's version of the GHS GALA

                        

As I wake up I think to myself, I feel different, no I pinch my eyes trying to get back to sleep. An instant thought comes into my head “CALEB! Get up! It’s GHS’ first GALA and you're going to be late for it. I zoom out of bed to avoid hitting my head on the top bunk. I crack  a couple eggs and chomp them all up, by then it was 10:00 am.

I ask my dad if he face paint me.  “I have to be the best clown ever!” I say.

“Yeah sure’” my dad replies. I wish I never asked it. For a whole 30 minutes he is face painting me. He is bragging about how good he is at face painting and how he should become a professional, boy was that a night mare. “No time to lose” I said, as flew on to the couch. “Lets have a race!” my brother says.

“Ok, you’re on, three two one GO !

“Boys please stop!” my mum says as me and my brother sprint off into the distance leaving the rest of the family behind.

As soon as we got there, the first game I set my eyes on is the ‘Dunk Your Teacher’. It’s the game when you can get back at your teacher for all that nagging, whining…

Here is a demonstration...

“CALEB!”

“Yes Teacher?”

“Write me and six page reflection about camp NOW!”

You get what I mean? I instantly press the old rusty button.

“There she goes!” I say as a teacher splashes into the ice cold water. Just looking at the water made me shiver.

The next game I go to is ‘Crockery Smash’, a game when you get to smash plates. Now kids, if you are reading this story at home (which you probably are because I am a famous and amazing guy) doesn’t that sound cool, smashing plates? Back to the story…

One ball left, six plates left, all on one shelf. I take a big breath and throw. As it instantly touched the shelf the power and the awesomeness from my body causes the shelf to plummet to the ground. Mr Barrow is not happy. It takes about 5 minutes to drill it back on. It was the best GALA I have ever gone to and also the only one. Can’t wait for the next one!

by Caleb  
Wonderful photos by Nina
www.mamarazzinina.com

   

Great Day at The Gala

We had a fantastic day for our first gala. Thanks to everyone involved!

Making a Pinwheel For the Gala

We had a great time on Friday making pinwheels for the Gala. Well done to all our hard workers. Students have even been making them in their own time. Check out the video below by Mrs Brown if you want to make another one!

Blake's Award Winning Poem!

A big congratulations goes out to Blake Wood from Room 13 who won the Poetry section in the 2014 Rodney District Children's Writing Competition Years 5/6.

Here is his winning poem...

The Fiery Beast

Ancient, rumbling giant signalling his rise from deep within the Earth
the intimidating sound of a dragon hunting its prey
gulping in air and blowing it over trespassers approaching it’s lair
immortal beast on a rampage, throwing out brilliant orange jewels in fits of rage
a menacing glare, enough to turn liquid to stone
selfish, mysterious, powerful
eyes of magma
heart of obsidian
volcano

By Blake Wood

Epic Coastal Clean Up

Kids from G.H.S Lead Epic Coastal Clean Up 

Students from Gulf Harbour School have been inspired by problems with rubbish and lead epic beach clean up. They ran around in the rain but it didn't  bother the super kids. They picked up a lot of rubbish. On Monday the kids again sprang into action sorting out rubbish and weighing it. They did a good job. They are super heroes.

By Siina 

Follow them here...
https://www.facebook.com/events/308507279350250/?fref=ts

The Taste of Terror With Hut 20

Check out Hut 20's reactions to tasting different foods.
Here are the movies they made to show how they felt.
They were pretty brave!!

Support Canteen Day - Watch Sky Train's Promotion Videos!

Watch all Sky Train 25's movies promoting Canteen day. Remember bandannas are available outside the office this week. Support Canteen!

Visit From Our Chinese Sister School

We have had a great visit from students from our sister school Beilun Huashan. Hopefully one day we will be able to visit them.

Amazing Masks!

This term we are weaving masks into our learning journeys. We started the term bring our decorated masks to school and there were some stunners. We will be putting them up on display so have a look in the foyer the next time you are passing the office!

The Stadium's Stunning J-Rock Performance!

The Stadium's J-Rock performance was absolutely amazing. GHS won three awards but the highlight was the sheer quality and impact of the performance.