Stage Art in Napier - Senior Camp 2018

What a fantastic time we all had in Napier!  After loading the bus with all our food and gear we were excited to be off performing in a big Stage in Napier our Whirikoka performance.  

Travelling on the bus was fun watching DVD's! We stayed at Kennedy Park and did loads of things:

Sunday 5 August:

When we arrived at Kennedy Park, we set up our cabins ready for bed.  After lunch we headed off to Laser Strike.  This was awesome!  Even the adults had a go! 

That evening, after dinner and singing to Jahdin (whose birthday it was), we went off to bowling in Hastings!  This was awesome.  Some of us had never bowled before and we really enjoyed it!  

Bowling was awesome!  We were tired by 9pm though! We were straight home to bed!  After all there was a big day on Monday at the Theatre!  

Monday August 6: 

We arrived at the Napier Municipal Theatre.  This is a really cool Art Deco Theatre in the middle of Napier.  We got straight into a warm up and workshops.  Here are some videos of our first 2 workshops: 

           

After a break from dancing and a walk on the beach we began to get ready for the big performance.  We were first up!  Lots of us were nervous but we had done it before so that helped us to know what we were doing!  

Our parent helpers were amazing at hair and make-up and we really enjoyed the hype of getting dressed up for a performance.  

Here is our performance: 

It was really neat to see Gisborne intermediate School's performance also.  They performed the Wizard of Oz.  Theirs was different to ours but that's what live theatre is all about - seeing different things!  

We got a certificate for our Year 3-6 Entry.  

Tuesday August 7: 

Another birthday on camp!  Happy birthday Levi! 

Our last day was spent at the chocolate factory having a treat and then the playground for lunch.  We were all so tired and Mrs Hall lost her voice!  What a great experience - something we will never forget!  

Makaraka School - Making Memories! 

Tuhi Mai Tuhi Atu

Kia Ora Room 13 @ Kaikohe West, 

We are really excited to be a part of Tuhi Mai, Tuhi Atu (Write to me write to you) for 2018!  We are a small semi-rural school on the outskirts of Gisborne.  There are about 130 students in our school and we are the senior class.  

Our classes are all named after Atua and ours is Tawhirimatea. We follow the Whakatauki “Hokia ki o maunga kia purea e koe I nga hau o Tawhirimatea” - Return to your ancestral mountains to be cleansed by the winds of Tawhirimatea.  We also have a waiata about this which you will see on our class website!  Our other four classes are named after Atua also - Tangaroa (5 year olds), Rongomatane (Year 1/2), Rauamoko (Year 3), Tanemahuta (Year 4/5).  

This Term we have a busy term!  We are off to a trip next week to Napier to perform our performance Whirikoka in a competition and we will be back at school on Wednesday.  We may be able to show you our performance by then!

Our class focus this term is Science and we are learning about Environmental issues in Farming.  We run our class through an Enterprise where we are the workers in a company.  Our company is called Seeds R Us and we are trialling different grass seeds to see how they grow.  You will be able to see this on our blog as we started last term.  This is a 2 term study!  

Here is a photo of us performing: 

We are looking forward to learning more about your class also! 

From Tawhirimatea and Mrs Hall

War Memorial Theatre Arts night

On a starry night by the light of the moon the River and Sea Creatures play together!

Each year students from Makaraka School create something artistic to showcase the performing arts.  This year we created 4 performances in our House groups.  House groups are cross school groups where we do whole school activities.  Each house group took one of our school values and created a performance to show the key ideas of that value.  

Blue House  - Kia Maia, Stand Proud

Red House - Kia Kaha, Be Strong and brave

Yellow House - Kia Manawanui, Have a Heart

Green House - Tuku Patai, Be Hungry to Learn and Have Curiosity. 

After these performances were shown, the Year 5 and 6's performed their Stage Art entry which is going to be in a competition in Napier.  The Stage Art is about a local Whatatutu story depicting a man called Whirikoka and his pet seal Oioi.  The story explains how oil is made and the origins of fossil fuels.  

Here is our performance: 

Whirikoka Yr 5&6 Dance Workshop 14-05

Today the Year 5&6's had a dance workshop with Lucy from The Royal NZ Ballet.  First we warmed up and then worked on the opening sequence.  Just before lunch we shared what we created and then went for a walk to the Botanical Gardens.  After lunch we worked on the final sequence and nearly timed it with the music :-).  It was a full on day but a lot of fun!  We really got cracking and choreographed about half of our dance!  Whew! 

The process we followed to choreograph was:

1. Look at vocabulary describing our scene/characters/feelings.
2. Turn those words into moves.
3. Create 8 count phrases from the moves.
4. Layer entries/exits/freezes and unisons into the mix. 

Don't forget Levels, facials and gestures and you have a great movement sequence!  

Ka Pai everyone!  Now we just have to remember it and practice it, create costumes/props and we're done....  (not a big ask really is it!)

Looking forward to our Sunday practices starting this week! 

Thanks Lucy!  You are awesome :-)

Here is a snippet of our work today.  I didn't video the rest of it but will do on Sunday!  

Te Pakeke o Whirikoka

Today we visited an ancient Pa site in Whatatutu from the iwi Nga Ariki Kaiputahi (meaning The Chiefs who Partake of the Goodness). We were cloaked in the Korowai o Waikohu (the cloak of mist for the area) however it didn't affect our enjoyment and learning.  It was a very powerful experience to see everyone learning about our area's history and make a connection with local stories.  The Lloyd Whanau have collected and created some beautiful artwork and made their Pa a welcoming place for all.  Of great interest is the philosophy which our class follows closely Te Whare Tapa Wha - the four corner stones of health and wellbeing - Taha Wairua (Spiritual health), Taha Hinengaro (Mental Heath), Taha Tinana (Physical Health), Taha Whanau (Family), Taha Whenua (The Land).  We have ben learning about this and relating it to our own mindfulness particularly in sessions with Mrs Mill.  Below is a picture of the artwork that Marcus has created showing the concept and how they fit together with families - Beautiful! 

Before we went to the Lloyd's house we called into Mangatu Marae to be welcomed and practice our Powhiri.  Mangatu Marae is a different type of marae with no carvings other than the Tipuna - Tamanui as the people follow the teachings of an ancestor Te Kooti.  However the Whare Kai is beautifully decorated and is a place of sharing food and stories together.  

Thank you, thank you, thank you Marcus for a beautiful day! 

Museum Trip Monday 21 March

Last Monday we went to the museum.  It was amazing to see the da Vinci exhibition and have a go on some of the machines!  
The main reason we went however, was to learn more about the Whirikoka story which the teachers at the museum did a great job researching! Thanks Koka Julie and Koka Iona!