More Buddy Time

Here are some more beautiful butterflies.

Buddy Time

We have been doing an inquiry into butterflies with our buddy classes. We found out that the patterns on butterfly wings are symmetrical so, yesterday we did some symmetry art with them.

Wonder - Pg. 144-148 - Courage

Jack finds out that August is not his friend anymore. He says that it’s a good thing. How is he actually feeling?

• confused
• he is really unhappy about it
• he’s blaming August
• he’s coming up with excuses for why he’s ok with it
• sad but he’s not showing it
• annoyed because August isn’t talking to him but he doesn’t know why.

Mr. Browne has a new precept: “Fortune favours the bold.” - What does this mean?

• if you do something really brave you will get good fortune.
• If you save someone you might get a reward or well known.
• If you do something good you might get something more out of it.
• Big things will happen to those who make big decisions.
• If you do something brave or good it could help somebody else.
• If you do something brave you will get something in return.

Jack said that the bravest thing he ever did was be friends with August. The fortune he gained from that was a great friend.

We told stories about a time we or someone else was brave or courageous and something good came from it.

More football!

"Flag Tag", apparently there are rules.

Football in the hall

Stage E6 Maths

In the stage E6 maths group we have been doing “Little bit more, a little bit less.” This is when you round a times table to the closest 10 or 5 and then subtract the amount you added on.

Here is an example created by some of the group members.

Whānau Challenge

Te Wiki o te Reo Maori is happening in Week 2 of this term (25th July - 2nd August).  The theme for this year’s Māori language week is “Ngā Mātua” (nurturing the language for parents and children). Maungaraki School’s whanau group (Ngā Kākano Puawai) has created a whānau challenge (wero) to help our children, their families and those in the wider community to learn more about our local place names.  You will see 14 posters like this on display, or ‘hidden’ around our community, each one represents a different place mentioned in the Maungaraki School waiata (song).  Remember to check out our school blogs, twitter account and school website for QR codes as well.

By scanning the QR code on each poster you will find the meaning of the place name.  If you don’t have a QR reader you can download one for free via the app store.  Families can then choose the most creative way to share/present/display this information and either send it to rebecca.perkins@maungarakischool.net or drop off to the school office by Monday 3rd August.

Waimarie Pai! (Good luck!)

Whanau evening

Maungaraki School families are invited to come on a voyage with Reuben Tipoki (watch captain of Te Matau Māui) as he shares his knowledge and experiences from using traditional navigation techniques to sail around the Pacific.  This will be on Tuesday 4th August and will start at 5:30. The evening will incorporate the prizes being handed out for our Whanau Challenge.  

Please bring a plate of finger food dinner to share.

This event is open to all members of the Maungaraki Community.

100 Word Challenge

This time our prompt was a picture and a phrase:

…looking down, I was surprised to see…




Looking down all I could see was the landscape beneath me covered in eyes.All staring at me. One looked like a cow.Another looked like a pig.There were about a million of them.Then the hot air balloon started moving we came to a swamp but not a ordinary swamp.A big purple gooey swamp.I don’t know how it was purple but lets move on to the rest.And yes there was more than just the eyes and the swamp.There were people all screaming clapping and cheering i wondered why they cheering i remember i won.
By Aisling


Looking down I was surprised to see a ginormous pink statue of my teacher obsessed with singing below me.  The statue of my teacher whose name is Mr McC was holding his hand up in the air and was standing on one leg.  A guitar was tied to his back and his pip cleaner spider that he always kept on his guitar strap was strangely crawly up his neck.  The other hand (the one which was not up in the air) was patting the pipe cleaner spider kindly.  I decided to land and question some people.
By Allie


Looking down, I was surprised to see what appeared to me as a broken tree. I took one more glance at the broken tree and found some sort of creature near, maybe he know’s something, after all deforestation is NOT ok in the trees-4-life committee. Mate! He focused his eyes on me, but no answer. As i got closer it soon became clear that this was no ordinary human, it was a DOG with a chainsaw. I tried getting his attention but it was too late. As I hit the ground, there was no sight of him at all.
By Zoe

I was in my hot air-balloon in the clouds just flying smoothly along then I saw a very weird bird with rainbow eyes but that Impossible the only way to do that is with a mmcon id slid mona q la rodona medicine impossible to make.

Then I saw Mountains the animals and trees and a Chocolate water fall... weird, but as I was saying it was so weird so I landed and found this map and it said “DIE!” it was not really a map, I jumped up in the balloon and never went to that weird place again.

By Sharna

Wonder - Jack Will - Pg. 136-143

Jack tells the story about the first time he saw August:

Jack and his brother stared at August without meaning to and they left very suddenly with their babysitter Veronica. Veronica felt awful for leaving so suddenly but she was afraid of what Jack and his brother might say.

“Sometimes you don’t have to mean to hurt someone to hurt someone.” - Veronica

We talked about if August had started in our class at the beginning of the year. We think that we might have hurt him without meaning to.

Is Jamie (Jack’s brother) right to say that he couldn’t help make a gasping noise and saying “ahhh” when he saw August? Or is their mum right to say that he could help it?

What does it mean to be sympathetic?

• Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.
• Understanding how another person might be feeling.

Jack tells us 4 things he’s learnt about August:

1. You get used to his face.
2. He’s actually a really cool dude.
3. He is really smart.
4. Jack actually wants to be August’s friend, not because Mr. Tushman asked to spend time with him.

August lies to protect Jack from getting in trouble.

Is lying to protect someone ok or is it better to always tell the truth, even if a friend gets in trouble?

• It’s a white lie - Is any lie ok?
• It depends on how ‘big’ the lie is.
• A true friend will always forgive if you are trying to do the right thing.
• If you lie and the person finds out it will probably make it worse.

Quote of the Week

I heard an amazing quote come from one of our students today which really made me feel good about what we are trying to do at Maungaraki School.

During circle time, we were asked to say something we really like about our school.  This boy had put a lot of thought into it and when it was his turn said:

"I like that you are allowed to be a weirdo and it doesn't matter."

How true.  After all, we're all a little bit weird in some way.

100 Word Challenge

Here is the second prompt we used.

Cautiously, Jack climbed up the tower of junk, trying not to tip it over. When he got to the place where a humans heart would be, he created a hole, then put the two batteries down in the tower, and closed the hole.

On the ‘head’ there were two, kinda flat, car tyres for ‘eyes’ and a kitchen-sink rim for some ‘lips’. Behind the sink rim was old TV screen.

The TV screen and the Tyres started to glow, and the tower started to rumble. Immediately, Jack was pushed off the tower and onto the field behind the rubbish-dumps fence.
By Flynn

One day I was walking along the road.When I saw this RoBo GuArDiAn thing and I went up to it and had a closer look and it looked really deformed and weird I couldn't believe someone could build something this colossal I was really astonished because it was so colossal and when i got home I heard heaps of stomping and I was really scared and discombobulated what all that stomping was? So I went to go look outside and when I got outside i realised it was the RoBo GuArDiAn.
By Daniel

I heard a drill running and looked out my bedroom window, only to see a colossal robot made of discarded junk.  a shadowy figure held the drill and was holding a remote.  Soon afterwards he pushed a button and the whole robot sprang to life with a BEEEP!  I stood there helpless as the thing walked to my house and lifted it off the foundations.  I heard somthing yell in robotic

“doctype TEO explode virus.  scan 3, terminater negative!!” it was the shadow

the robot stopped and lowered my house.

it stood frozen

but a bomb fell out..
By Ruben

“Wow!.. Cool!.. Awesome!.. What is it?” I said it was made out of a tv and this thingy and that thingy and that big pointy thingy I was just so speechless until someone said it is this a bunch of garbage and just walked away. The thing I liked the most was the face it just looked so creepy it was a masterpiece.

By Tara

100 Word Challenge

This week we have been taking the 100 word challenge. We take a writing prompt and write a story about it. But, our story has to be 100 words or less!

This was our first prompt and some of our stories are below.

I was just walking along the rocky lake edge then suddenly “Splash!” something pulled me into the water “blob, blob, blob” I said while trying to say “Help, help, help!” Then I saw it a huge big 2 foot tiger shark was swimming right at me I had to turn around because I landed upside down! I made my way the the top and then ran all the way home as fast as a Cheetah running away from something so as soon as I got home I told my Mum all about, But she did not believe me.

By Sharna


I jumped or maybe fell.The ground falling underneath me.SPLASH!!!I land right in the pond.Ha Ha an evil laugh sounded near me and out came my worst enemy. I stood speechless as he emerged from the pond dripping weed from his head. ’So we met again’ he said. ’You said you could beat me’ Well I can I thought. ’Attack’ I yelled. From the depth of the pond my robots rose they started attacking. After 4 whole hours of reckless yelling he finally gave up and begged for mercy. ’This is not the last of me’.
By Josephine

Dead of night camping next to Westmar swamp Zach (My brother) and I were going to see if the swamp monster existed.

Zach had just woken me up because of some strange noise then it happened I could bare to watch so I ran (and screamed) all the way home.

The next day I went to the swamp and I saw it the swamp monster (a crocodile) and Zach’s legs in the air in the swamp attached to nothing was I next to be devoured?
By Jess