Discovery Learning is:
Deep: A probing, deep approach rather than just scratching the surface of learning about a concept
Meaningful: Being memorable, real-life, relevant contexts and related to our experiences
Challenging: Extending thinking and ideas, questioning knowledge, beliefs and assumptions
Enquiring: Researching, wondering, asking and answering deep questions
Hands-on: Lots of doing, learning through doing, being creative and creating
Engaging: Fun, lots of doing, student directed, leading on from student wonderings

Health and PE and social sciences
​Term 1 2017

This term our discovery focus is around science and social sciences. All classes are focussing on the Whatawhata School gala day, making proposals, creating ideas, exploring the science and economics behind them, considering the practicalities and, ultimately, creating something to be part of the gala day!

Reading, writing and maths closely follows our Mountains, linking into the areas above where possible to add purpose and relevance.

Our health and PE focus areas are swimming, small ball skills, triathlon and fundamental skills. We’re hosting a junior fundamental skills day here next month and are involved in inter-school swimming and softball.

We begin a brand new young leaders programme in association with WILSS for our older learners.
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Assemblies are on Friday at 2pm—You are welcome to come along and join in the celebrations. 

 

The Arts - Dance and drama
Term 2 2016

This term our major learning area focus is on The Arts - Dance and Drama. As the NZ Curriculum states, "The arts are powerful forms of expression that recognise, value, and contribute to the unique bicultural and multicultural character of Aotearoa New Zealand, enriching the lives of all New Zealanders. The arts have their own distinct languages that use both verbal and non-verbal conventions, mediated by selected processes and technologies. Through movement, sound, and image, the arts transform people’s creative ideas into expressive works that communicate layered meanings." We will be exploring dance and drama through many different hands-on approaches, using local experts and professionals as well as our own knowledge and enthusiasm! We look forward to sharing our learning late this term.

We start the term with a big investigation into ANZAC day, learning more about our soldiers and the horrors they faced, why they went to war, and how we remember them. We will hold our own ANZAC commemoration service. 

This term sees the start of our new enviro-weeks, a termly week devoted to maintaining, improving and learning more about our environment and sustainability. There are lots of projects planned for this week. 

Our health & P.E. focus is on cross-country, large ball skills for older learners and fundamental skills for the littlies. 

Technology - Creativity and innovation
Term 3 2016

This term our Discovery Learning is technology focused.

The senior classes’ discovery learning focus is 'Animal enclosures and enrichment.'  Our key concepts are everything has a place on earth and zoos have the role in protecting habitats and species. There is a correlation between us and animals and our actions can contribute to the environment in which animals live. Environmental enrichment improves or enhances zoo environments for animals, stimulating them to investigate and interact with their surroundings. We can enrich animal environments by making changes to structures in their enclosures, presenting novel objects and smells for them to investigate and explore, and by changing how we present food to them. 

The junior classes are all focussing on solving real problems through the technology process - Room 4 and 5 are designing/creating around the shoes/bags/cloak bays messiness problem around school, the Junior learning centre learners  are looking at repurposing and recycling rubbish (an environmental focus) and Room 3 is looking to deal with minimising their waste, healthy eating and designing lunch boxes to help achieve this. We are planning a trip to the recycling centre in Raglan in the next few weeks and this will all tie nicely with Mr X visiting later in the term and getting ready for school vege gardens again in spring.

As indicated above Mr X returns to school for our Enviro Week, helping us learn important messages and skills around sustainability and the environment.

Our sports focus this term is around traditional winter sports. There are inter-school junior football, ripper and winter sports tournaments to work towards. The seniors are continuing with jump jam. Richard is helping us with the Home Play challenge, indoor games, Huff n Puff activities and daily fitness circuits! The Academy are again off to the snow for three days late this term…

We are entering the inter-school speech competitions at Te Uku School and, for our best Y7/8, we are now involved in Waikato / BOP wide competitions with cross-country and speeches this term. 

Science - The Nature of Science and the Material World
Term 4 2016

The junior children are learning that they are all scientists. They are learning to wonder about how things might change or do something amazing if we do something to change them. They’ll be trying all sorts of exciting experiments to make their own discoveries. Their big ideas are based around curiosity, investigating, being a scientist, recording and communicating, and relating science concepts to their own experiences.

The seniors are focused on food science. They are exploring the context of food preparation and cooking for learners to explore examples of changes in their everyday lives. Learners are learning to classify materials as solids, liquids or gases according top their observable properties. They also learn to identify reversible and non-reversible changes in substances, They will use appropriate scientific vocabulary  to describe and explain their observations.
Our health and PE focus is on gymnastics, fitness circuits, athletics and fundamental skills. Our whole school athletics day is just a few weeks away so we’re working hard already

There are many events and activities already planned and more to come. See the calendar online. Our term will end with our now-famous whole school trip to the beach!