Little Sister Magazine: Issue 2

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Meet our editorial team Editor: Louise May Designer: Janice O'Kane Year 8 Big Sister Writing Team Rosa Cox – Leader Sapphire Tutini – Deputy Leader Zara Bennet Maia Smith Ishita Barot Ashwini Mahadeva Coco Shale

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science in the junior school 05 INTERVIEW WITH fiona cottam 11 stationery for samoa 15 music 17 foundation fitness 19 learning in the classroom 28 outdoor enhancements 42 SPORT and pe 43

What’s inside

welcome from Kerry oldman 03

word search and COLOURING fun 45

Meet Bailey Bailey, created by Doris Wu in the Year 6 before school art group, is up to new adventures. Can you spot him on each double page?

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Welcome om r f Kerry Oldman

Welcome to our second Little Sister magazine, showcasing all of the wonderful things that happen in our Junior School. I am mesmerised by the enriching programmes that happen in every classroom, creating excitement and tapping into every girl’s natural curiosity and creativity; encouraging her imagination to flow and experiences to come alive. This, alongside the teaching of core skills in Mathematics and English, brings outstanding academic achievement in the Junior School and, just as importantly, a joy of learning that will remain with your daughter throughout her life.

Strong relationships with students are at the core of good teaching and we pride ourselves on enabling the girls to be able to challenge themselves in a safe learning environment, which often means working in smaller groups.

We are passionate about maintaining our traditional learning spaces but with a 3

progressive approach, making sure your girls are well equipped – socially, emotionally and intellectually for the world they are entering.

I hope that you enjoy reading through this edition of Little Sister, which exhibits more of the incredible work happening in every year group as well as giving you a deeper insight into our standout Science programme in the Junior School.

It is a privilege to be working with such a fantastic team and to witness the incredible lightbulb moments that happen ‘too often to count’ among our St Cuthbert’s girls.

Ngā manaakitanga

Kerry Oldman S T

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Year 5 and 6 girls

explore science!

Over the past four years, St Cuthbert’s has taken a leadership role amongst New Zealand independent schools by taking an innovative approach to science education.

Specialist Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science teachers from our Senior School have been introducing our girls, at a much earlier age, to scientific concepts through dedicated science classes and laboratory sessions.

The science programme, originally trialled at St Cuthbert’s with Years 7 and 8, proved very successful. The success, demonstrated by positive feedback from students and their mid-year testing results, inspired and motivated the Senior School science team to create unique learning opportunities for our Year 5 and 6 girls as they knew they were capable of learning big concepts and wanted to introduce them to science in an engaging way.

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“The potential for extraordinary learning is huge!”

“We aim to feed the girls’ desire to know how and why things work, to feed that enquiry, and help them explore scientific concepts really well”

Stimulating young brains

planned and developed key concepts and topics for each year level, establishing learning objectives for each teaching year, and for each department – Physics, Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Science.

Although we simply call it ‘Science’ in the Junior School, our girls are learning concepts from each of the science streams.

The teachers are big believers in STEAM and when it comes to the sciences: they are a strong advocates for the role of science, scientific process and scientific thought being taught at earlier year levels. He explains that the reasoning, critical thinking, and investigation that are required for science education are much like a language. It uses and stimulates a different part of the brain and is integral for brain development.

Younger students have an open mindset and are more willing to take risks and explore ideas without being limited by the social context that comes with the fear of failure. This open mindset, enthusiasm to keep asking why, willingness to explore a theory and get it wrong and then get back up and do it again, builds resilience in our girls and prepares them well for future learning.

There are no limits to learning At Years 5, 6 and 7, social context does not influence behaviour in class and when faced with a problem or challenge, our girls are willing to try and fail and move forward.

As students move into Years 8 and 9, it has been well recognised that they become more socially aware, which translates to a hesitancy to take risks in class due to a concern of what their peers may think of them. At this point in the educational process, students also start focusing on how they will be assessed and what they need to know, rather than delving further and truly questioning what they are working on.

A unique opportunity for both our girls and our teachers The excitement amongst our teaching team was inspiring! They had the opportunity to design a curriculum for Years 5 and 6, which would essentially front-end the girls’ learning across their entire school years.

The team looked at girls in Year 13 and said, “How can I implement changes now that will help them get there with the best mindset, foundations and experiences?”

This attitude and approach helped us to redefine teaching in Years 5 and 6.

At the beginning of the 2019 school year, a team of six specialist secondary teachers from our Senior School (three Physicists,

one Chemist and two Biologists) started dedicated Science classes for one period a week. Each teacher takes one class for the entire year, teaching across all the science streams.

The classes are held in specialist labs, usually dedicated to Year 7 and 8 students.

The walls and display boards are filled with models, posters and displays of the Year 7s' and 8s' work. This is an important element as it allows the girls to experience a real laboratory and to do ‘proper science’. After receiving the more formal ‘lesson’ and instruction from their teacher, where they are introduced to the concepts and have a chance to discuss this, the girls move to the lab stations to undertake the practical element of the class.

Working in groups of three, the energy levels are high and the excitement is visible as the girls burst into each practical with enthusiasm. Group size has been intentionally limited to three to ensure each girl has the opportunity to voice her opinion and ideas.

Taking all these factors into consideration, Mr Curtis, Head of Faculty – Sciences, saw the opportunity to stimulate a deeper passion for science in our girls at the Year 5 and 6 levels through the engagement with specialist science teachers.

“We aim to feed the girls’ desire to know how and why things work, to feed that enquiry, and help them explore scientific concepts really well,” said Mr Curtis.

Taking a lead from the Year 7 and 8 programme and extending it further, Mr Curtis worked with the entire science faculty to map a curriculum from Year 5 – 13 in order to ensure the units of work were developmentally appropriate. They 6

Year 5 and 6 Science Continued Our girls and teachers all say that the time they have together flies! The lessons are filled with chatter and they never run out of things to talk about or discover.

Providing dedicated subject teachers has given our girls an insight into the fundamental scientific concepts that they will need as they move on to Senior School.

It has also helped to shape their understanding and passion for Science and the world around them. The move to a dedicated classroom for this subject helps the girls with the transition from home class based teaching to the Senior School environment.

“The girls’ enthusiasm continues to inspire our teachers and they love teaching at this year level.”

Stepping up to Science Across the course of this year, the same programme is being

taught to girls in both Years 5 and 6, in one period a week, providing them with a solid introduction to scientific concepts, backed up by practical applications. Within each year group there is also the ability to stretch students who demonstrate a natural affinity for sciences.

Towards the end of the year, the teaching team will rewrite the curriculum for 2020 and provide a completely new programme for Year 6 to bridge to Year 7. In subsequent years, there will be separate teaching programmes for Years 5 and 6. And as the girls progress through the senior years, they will be exposed to the same philosophies and techniques, just different levels of complexity to the concepts we are teaching currently.

This gradual ‘step up’ to Senior Science and mapped sequential learning, supports our girls’ ability to adapt to the transitions at each year level and set them up for future learning. The introduction to Science at Junior School is expected to have a flow-on effect with many of our girls following through with Science across Years 9 – 13. By Year 10 every girl will have a sold basis to choose their specialty subjects for NCEA or IB (should they wish to).

The Eureka moment!

We are seeing an extraordinary level of engagement with our Years 5 and 6 girls.

They are demonstrating critical thinking,

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“The girls’ enthusiasm continues to inspire our teachers and they are loving teaching at this year level. They are feeling accomplished and satisfied.” analysing problems and working through trial and error to find a result. The girls are working well as teams; sharing ideas and negotiating within their small groups. They have open minds and are eager to learn and explore the world they live in.

From Mr Curtis' perspective, “the more time we spend with the girls, the better their understanding evolves.” There are plans to extend the class time to two periods per week in 2020 and build on this each year as the girls progress through Years 6, 7 and 8.

Sharing scientific success Providing parents with an insight into what is happening within the Science classes is an important way to share and document their child’s success. Parents are able to track their child’s learning and see what they are doing through the myCollege Science class page. Photos and vlogs are posted regularly and capture the excitement and enthusiasm within each class. In addition, every parent receives an individual report on their child’s progress.

Science in action In a recent class, our girls were taught about heat (which is a Physics module).

They learned about the concept of conduction, what it means to conduct heat and how the flow of heat is always from hot to cold. The practical application of this lesson was designed to help the girls understand and apply the concepts in a real world environment. They were given the challenge to make a thermometer from a plastic water bottle partially filled with water, a straw, and a lump of plasticene to form a seal around the straw. Once the thermometer was constructed, the girls tested how effectively it worked to measure a change in temperature. The water level in the straw was measured with the water bottle at room temperature.

After bringing the temperature of the water in the bottle to 65 degrees, the water level in the straw was measured again and any change in the water level noted. This led to a discussion about kinetic energy and the girls were given the freedom to go off and think about how

and why the water moves up the straw and bring back their own theory for group discussion. From this, the class looked at the conductive properties of different substances – for example the melting rate of an ice cube on black cardboard as compared to polystyrene – which in turn led to a discussion about the concept of insulation, setting the girls up well for the next class the following week.

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Interview with Fiona Cottam The Year 8 Big Sisters Interview Fiona Cottam, Deputy Principal and Head of Senior School.

Move over Herald journalists, our Year 8 girls didn’t hold back in asking challenging questions to Fiona Cottam when they met last term. From the new Senior School Year 7–13 structure, to the new uniform, to Ms Cottam’s interests outside school, the Big Sisters tackled it all.

Ashwini: Was a career in teaching always what you wanted to do? And do you have any other responsibilities outside being Deputy Principal?

Fiona: I’ve always known I wanted to do something that meant something, something that is important to humanity and gives back to our society. I often reflect with the staff that teaching is the most important job in the whole world as we are educating the next generation;

we literally have the future in our hands.

Outside St Cuthbert’s I have three activities that I particularly enjoy: I am on the Board for the New Zealand Baroque Orchestra (nzbarok.org.nz); I volunteer for New Zealand Land Search and Rescue which could mean searching through the night in the bush for a missing person or helping someone with dementia in the suburbs. For land search operations I’ve ended up in helicopters scanning the ground below; and last but not least I adore being with my 3 stepdaughters and sons-in-laws and my 7 grandchildren – one of my granddaughters is starting at St Cuthbert’s in Year 7 next year and I can’t wait to see her around our school.

Sapphire (asked by Coco): Are you really as ‘scary’ as they say when you see senior girls wearing jewellery?

Fiona (said with a keen glint in her eye and wide smile): Oh, I’m much scarier than they say, especially if spot a hoodie or the wrong shoes.

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Ishita: What is the biggest difference

between Senior School and our Middle School in regard to our growing independence? And what is your opinion on the change to the Senior School structure now including Years 7–13?

Fiona: Once a girl is in Senior School she has started her journey out into the world with a focus on qualifications leading to University and her career. Senior School girls are beginning to look outwards, and along with this comes opportunity which, in turn, requires responsibility. Towards the end of her time at St Cuthbert’s we see our girls take on more and more leadership both within and outside our school. In Years 7 and 8 girls are developing their abilities and our key driver is scaffolding their growth so they can make decisions on their own, learn to look beyond themselves to understand the world and see how they can make a difference.

Ishita: To follow on from that, what is your

opinion on the change to the Senior School structure now including Years 7–13?

Fiona: I’m thrilled, I’m really excited about it for you. I think there are two aspects to the opportunity and they are both associated with our school goals of being a Knowledge-Rich School and our Global Citizenship programme. Becoming a Knowledge School means working on the development of concepts, so when you are in Year 7 you’re working on concepts that will be built on as you grow up through the school. So I think we have the opportunity with a school that runs from Year 0–13 to have oversight of how those concepts are developed and implemented in each subject. The other thing is the Global Citizenship aspect. I work very closely with Kerry Oldman, Head of Junior School, and we actually think very similarly which means we can then plan well together for seamless growth. We have the opportunity in Years 7–13 to develop that side of girls in a smooth transition all the way through.

We have the opportunity to make sure it’s a very sleek development of ideas and as global citizens.

At this point Fiona surprised the girls by introducing ‘Cuthbert’, a doll knitted by her mother to celebrate the time she became a beginner teacher at St Cuthbert’s.

Cuthbert sports bagpipes and our school’s Black Watch tartan.

Fiona led the girls through the background to her association with the Black Watch regiment.

Fiona: This is Cuthbert, and you’ll see he’s wearing Black Watch Tartan. My mother knitted him for me when I first came to St Cuthbert’s in 1989 as teacher. Cuthbert was significant as he wears Black Watch Tartan to celebrate our school but also my mother’s family are Munros and their clan tartan is the Black Watch tartan. When I left after six years’ teaching I didn’t feel I should take Cuthbert with me (quite a hard decision), but I felt he belonged in the school so I left him here. When I came back to this school I visited Robyn Foote’s classroom and he was sitting there – he’d been sitting there 22 years waiting for me and now he sits in my office!

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Coco: After hearing about the Black Watch tartan I wanted to know if there was going to be a teacher’s uniform?

Fiona: It’s funny you should mention that as Mr Ian Torrie, who teaches chemistry, has a full Black Watch tartan suit and he looks magnificent in it! He wears it with a Black Watch tartan bow tie and doesn’t need much excuse to wear it. Recently staff have been circulating funny photos of Black Watch tartan items they’ve found around the world and they keep threatening to wear them around school. I don’t think we would bring in a teachers’ uniform but I think it’s a really neat question and a great idea!

Zara’s question (asked by Maia): What

leadership opportunities will there be for Years 7 and 8? Will Year 8 still have important roles even though they are part of the Senior School?

Fiona: I think it’s very important that Year 8 has leadership opportunities and it’s good that you’ve asked as I’m actually in the process of meeting with other staff members to work out these leadership positions.

Leadership positions must be real and not contrived so we need to work it through very carefully. I’d like to know from you what you think would be a good leadership opportunity. Can you tell me your thoughts?

Year 8 girls responded: We would keep House Captain roles and make them slightly separate from the Senior School Captains but work together with them on team projects. Possibly we could have Junior School liaison to work as buddies

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with girls in Years 0–6 to let them know what it’s like in Years 7 and 8 and have contact with them, especially if they don’t have an older sister or know anyone in older years.

Zara: Will Year 7 and 8 events like Swimming

Sports, Cross Country and Athletics days be changed to accommodate the new 7–13 structure?

Fiona: We think it’s really important you get to compete in your own year level, and in a level that is appropriate to you so that you are not always being beaten by the much older girls.

Maia: What is your opinion on the new school uniform? Do you think the old uniform is better?

Fiona: Oh no I think the new uniform is fantastic. I just love the Black Watch tartan skirt as I think it looks so smart and it looks really stylish in the new length. The pleats are designed so that every girl of every shape will look good in them. I love the new blazer as I think the blue really complements the Black Watch tartan and I just adore the piping around the edge of the lapels. But I think the key thing is how very comfortable the entire new range is. For example the skirt will be easier to move in than the current one where you can’t even sit cross-legged on the floor, and the blazer is nicer to wear and less scratchy. I can’t wait to see everyone in it.

Maia continues: What will happen to the Middle School classrooms?

Fiona: We are working on this at the

moment. There will be one of the faculties in the Middle School area and there will be both Year 7 and Senior School classes there.

The Year 7 girls will have homerooms so they will always have a locker nearby. What we do is look at how many classrooms are needed by the faculty and how many are needed for Year 7. We are looking for an area that will best accommodate all of our Year 7s together so you feel you have your own identity and your own special place to belong together which is close to the Junior School but very much on the way to the Senior School. Our most important aim is to ensure that the transition from 6 to 7, 7 to 8 and 8 upwards is smooth for you and that you understand you are an important part of the school no matter which year you are in. Each year has its own character, its own value, and its own contribution to the school so we want you to understand that wherever you are, you are important so we will ensure your area will always reflect that.

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Each year has its own character, its own value, and its own contribution to the school so we want you to understand that wherever you are, you are important so we will ensure your area will always reflect that.

Ashwini: Will Year 7 and 8s still be restricted

from their phones even though they’ve joined the Senior School?

Fiona: I’m sorry but I’m afraid they will be! We’ve communicated to all families the details about this. We think it’s really important to have a policy which is based on the welfare of the students. We had to think long and hard about what is best for our girls and what we think is really important is a) that you develop strong positive relationships with other people and this has to be face to face and so we have to be disciplined around phone use. b) the learning in the classroom cannot be disrupted.

Zara: Will Year 8s be appointed a Big

Sister to buddy up with from the Senior School?

Fiona: Would you like one?

Zara: Yes as it’s similar to what we are doing with our Junior School buddies. It’s fun and interesting.

Fiona: I think it would be really nice for Year 8s to have someone who could show them around, help guide them in how to study and where to go. I also think this would be a huge benefit to the older girls to have an opportunity to get to know Year 8s better and if they were buddied up with you, they will listen to your opinions and experiences and therefore empathise with you and learn how to respond in a way that is positive for you.

Ashwini: Will the tutor groups be mixed

7–13?

Fiona: No. In Year 7 you’ll have your own homeroom and your own peer group. You will have the best of both worlds because you will also join in with other Senior School activities so that when you come into Year 8 you’re already comfortable in the new environment and with being with older girls in our vertical tutor groups.

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Stationery for Samoa As part of our Global 1 Citizenship programme, our Year 6 girls were visited by a number of speakers who shared insight into the qualities of Leadership in Term 1. In particular, the girls showed great empathy when they learned from our Head Girl, Johanna Setefano, about the challenges schools in Samoa face due to the lack of resources.

In the leadership speech, Johanna shared a story her father always told her about helping others using the metaphor ‘throwing starfish back into the sea’. The Year 6 teachers

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built upon this theme and invited Year 6 students to respond with an idea about how they could be like the boy in the story and make a difference and to submit this on a starfish-shaped paper. These were set up on a display in the Junior School reception along with a donation box and a sign which read ‘Stationery for Samoa’.

Over the course of two weeks, there were enough donations to fill one suitcase and another large bag. In addition, reading books were donated.

us wrote a letter to Air New Zealand to ask for help”.

Scarlett wrapped up the presentation with the words “We hope to put a smile

on the children’s faces when they receive our donation. Thank you for helping us to complete this project. As Melala Yousafzai said “One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world”. Faafetai.”

During the presentation of the stationery collection to Johanna, Emily read: “Johanna, thank you for telling us the story of the starfish, you really inspired us and moved our hearts. We want to be like the boy in the story and help the children in Samoa by donating stationery.”

Xheherazade added “We hoped that you could help us take the stationery to Samoa but we did not want your family to have to pay the extra luggage fees so three of

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Terms 2&3

Music The girls have really progressed in Terms 2 and 3 and it’s great to see such a wide variety of instruments being adopted. Andrew Stewart makes musical instruments so accessible to all ages and teaches at just the right level to give our girls confidence no matter their age, their instrumental experience, or level of music ability.

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Junior School is rightly proud of their two hard-working and passionate choirs, the Junior Black Watch Singers (JBWS) and Voichestra. At the Kids Sing festival on 13 August, both choirs performed beautifully at the Town Hall. Voichestra were awarded Bronze, whilst JBWS received a Gold award as well as the Best NZ Work award for Primary Schools. Our thanks to Mary Cornish, Jennifer Maybee and the many staff who helped facilitate such a wonderful day for our young choristers.

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Foundation Fitness Filler ?

A child’s sensory and physical development affects their ability to remember what they see, hear and do and therefore, their ability to learn and achieve.

We’ve implemented a bespoke programme, Foundation Fitness, that enables our girls to develop their fine and gross motor skills so that when they move into formal learning situations they will be more switched on to learning.

Foundation Fitness is held in Years 1 – 3 across mixed-level groups for 15 minutes at the start of the school day. The girls progress their skills sequentially through the development programme on a weekly rotation allowing a stage-by-stage improvement which is proven the best approach to aid formal learning:

Foundation Fitness • Reflexes Integration • Sensory Integration • Motor Development • Oral Language Skills • Auditory Skills • Visual Skills • Mindfulness • Breathing exercises • Reading, Writing and Mathematics Girls love the variety each session brings, especially the 20+ Brain Break games teachers run. In addition, we take the girls through more than 50 activities so they will experience balance, hand-eye coordination, kids’ yoga, picking up objects with tweezers and tying knots, to name but a few.

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WE CELEBRATE

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Learning in the classroom Year 0 Seasons

Autumn is such a wonderful season to observe, with leaves changing colour and falling off the trees, the weather getting cooler and the days getting shorter. ‘OBOY’ enjoyed observing these changes and collecting leaves to sort, draw and write about.

We learned about how having different

seasons in a year is important to the lifecycle of plants and for some animals.

We looked at how the changes in the season affected our own lives and changed our behaviour. We noticed that we used electricity more as we put on our heaters and lights. We noticed we changed our clothing to put on warmer items and more layers of clothes to stay warm.

We enjoyed writing about what we observed and making this display for our classroom.

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Year 1

Marking their first 100 days!

At the beginning of Term 3, our Year Ones celebrated our greatly anticipated 100 days at school, as part of our daily number knowledge in Maths. We observed the day by dressing as if we were 100 years old. Some of us also wore t-shirts with 100 items stuck on them. We made 100 day projects and created 100 year-old self-portraits. The day was spent taking part in a range of Maths and Literacy activities based around the number 100. Lastly, we celebrated together with a shared lunch. There was a variety of delicious foods that represent the different cultures in our year level.

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When I am 100 years old, I hope to buy a car that helps me open the door, so I don't need to open the door; and to do some knitting.

Amber Qu 1MER

When I am 100 years old, I will be really wrinkly. I will talk with a creaky voice.

Claudia Manon 1ING

When I am 100 years old, I will be a grandma and look after children. I will love them. I will be a good grandma!

Olivia Taylor 1ING

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Year 2

The Importance of Bees Year 2 has been learning all about bees and their importance in our environment.

The classes developed insightful writing and artwork, as well as an inquiry project, which led to the creation of fantastic videos hosted on their class myCollege pages.

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If I were a bee…

If I were a bee, I would have black and yellow hairy stripes. I would have five gleaming eyes – two big eyes and three small eyes. These eyes would be absolutely AMAZING! They would notice things that people do not, and they would see colours differently to the way people do.

I would also have two stomachs – one for digesting nectar and the other for turning nectar into delicious, gooey, sticky, honey.

If I were a bee, I would be a worker bee.

I would be extra busy and would spend my days collecting nectar from beautiful, colourful flowers to make honey without any help from the lazy drone bees. I just don’t understand why they are called drones when they don’t go anywhere! If I were a bee, I would flap my wings soooo fast that they make a blurry buzzing noise like Mr Whatshisname’s snoring. I would fly between the beautiful colourful flowers swaying in the breeze. I would also dance in different directions through the clear, shimmering sky as a way of talking to my bee friends and family. If I were a bee, I would visit thousands of flowers a day, and although I’d spend all my days busily working to make honey it would take me my whole life to make just 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey – that’s hardly anything!

It is so unfair that the drones wouldn’t do anything to help us. They are as lazy as a sleeping sloth. If I were a bee, I would enjoy carrying pollen between flowers like a postal delivery service. It would be a busy but BEE-utiful life being a bee.

Alira Patel (2FSH)

If I were a bee, I would have furry yellow and black stripes like a zebra. I would have five little black, shiny eyes like the shimmering night sky. I would flap my transparent wings super-fast like a flash of gold lightning as I fly from flower to flower, collecting pollen like a goblin stealing little gold coins. If I were a bee, I would become best friends with the bright radiant flowers helping them make new seeds and grow sweet, juicy fruit. I would dance through the sparkling blue sky like a ballerina to let my bee friends know where all the sweet, delicious nectar is. If I were a bee, I would flap my wings so fast I would sound like a racing car’s roaring engine. I would have a long red tongue like a giraffe and I would use it to collect nectar from thousands of flowers. If I were a bee, it would be exhausting doing all the hard work to make sweet, delicious honey. If I worked hard my whole life I would only make 1/12th of a teaspoon of nutritious honey. It would be hard work being a bee!

Emily Zhong Zhang (2FSH)

If I were a bee, I would have three body parts and a fuzzy wuzzy stripy body. If I were a bee, I would make all my buzzing noises with my wings by flapping them super-fast like a flash of light. I would have two big eyes and three small eyes. If I were a bee, I would have six small legs like a beautiful butterfly. I would always be busy doing all the work while the drone bees just laze around. If I were a bee, I would pamper the Queen Bee because she is the boss of the hive. It would kind of be like her being the Prime Minister of New Zealand. But if I were a queen bee, I would be the biggest bee in the busy hive. I would have the most beautiful crown and would be pampered all day by the Worker Bees. I think I would prefer being the Queen Bee! Olivia Zhang (2FSH)

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Year 3

Water, The Moon and Tides Year 3 has been learning about Water, The Moon and Tides. They started the subject in Term 2 by asking lots questions our girls had never considered before, such as where does our water come from? Why does water at the beach move in and out? And why does the moon look different each night?

Together, the two classes learned about the water and lunar cycles, the phases of the moon, day and night, and what causes the change in seasons. They brought this to life through their writing and artworks.

Hannah’s adventures

By Hannah Warren I am Hannah, the laughing water droplet and I am going to tell you about the water cycle.

First, there is evaporation, next there is

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condensation and then there is precipitation.

I will now tell you about what it feels like.

Evaporation is when the sun heats up the ocean and turns me, Milly and Sparkle (my best water droplet friends) to water vapour.

Then, we cool down which is condensation.

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Sometimes we turn into hail, sometimes we turn into sleet and sometimes we turn into snow. Sometimes we just stay as rain.

Now it’s time to precipitate! We start to fall down and we get a big adrenaline rush. If we are hail, we hit the water painfully! If we are snow, we feel cold and when we hit the cold water, we melt. When we are rain, we fall and join the other water droplets down on earth. I love being a water droplet.

The Water Cycle

By Nalani Tuhoe I was sitting on a lilypad with my friend called Maiana talking about how hot it was. When suddenly Maiana said that she couldn't see me anymore. Then I started turning into vapour. I went high into the air; it started to get really chilly and cold. Then suddenly, I went into this cloud with lots of other droplets. Now it's time to jump off the cloud and fall as rain. The flowers and grass love the rain; now it's time for me to jump off the cloud. Ouch I hit a red flower and then I landed on the grass. I sank into the ground and met this droplet. She told me where we were going. Suddenly I fell down the waterfall. It was cool and awesome. Now I am back and ready to meet my friend Maiana.

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Year 4

Is it Fair?

Last term, Year Four’s P.E.A.C.E investigation was introduced when girls worked together in teams and were issued a challenge to create the tallest tower. Each team was given different resources to complete the challenge. From there, we then focused on Fairtrade through baking and chocolate making.

Fairtrade Baking The classes created recipes and baked for the Fairtrade baking competition.

Cocoa beans grow on trees, and to be dried they have to go on a massive rack.

Charlotte 4TYL

Fair trade is important because the people who make the chocolate are paid fairly. They work a decent number of hours and get treated equally.

Arya 4TYL

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Cocoa beans are harvested two times a year – June to July and October to November. Each year, twenty cocoa pods are taken to make chocolate. They grow cocoa pods in Ghana.

Teresa 4TYL

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Year 4

Is it Fair?

Chocolate Making This term, Year 4 is learning about the process of making chocolate and expressing this through art.

They are using mixed media to depict the cocoa pods on the tree.

The girls are blending their paints then using their fingers to show how the beans look once they are dried and sent to market.

They grow cocoa trees and then after that they have to wait until the pods are yellow. Then they cut the pods open and there’s little seeds inside called pulp. They have to wait five to seven days before they become brown, so they cover it with banana leaves. Then they make it into cocoa powder and take it to Europe to make it into chocolate. They add milk and sugar, and then it turns into chocolate and they sell it at the supermarket.

Anya and Joyce 4WEL

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Year 5

P.E.A.C.E. Inquiry Continuity and Change Philosophy, Ethics, Attributes, Citizenship and Exploration, or P.E.A.C.E., are the subjects explored within Years’ 4 – 6 Social Science studies. Across Terms 2 – 4, Year 5 will base their inquiry upon the subject of ‘Continuity and Change’, with the subject being the United Nations’ Sustainability Goals.

Across the three Year 5 classes, girls will gain an overall understanding of the United Nations and the 17 Sustainability Goals. Individual classes then choose a Goal to explore in more depth, through various approaches and media, and will then gather to present their findings to all classes at the end of Term 4 allowing the broader learning to be collectively shared. This approach will help our Year 5 girls to understand the past, and the present, and to imagine possible futures.

Mrs Harris's class has selected Goal 11 — Sustainable Cities and Communities. The girls investigated what makes shopping malls sustainable, investigating the upcoming Newmarket mall as one of their subjects. Girls have built shopping malls using blocks, incorporating features which are sustainable, such as sourcing waste water and lighting options.

Mrs Knight and Ms Hadfield’s classes are investigating the role of Kaitiakitanga, or guardianship, and have selected Goals of 14, Life Below Water, and 15, Life On Land, to explore the topic of preservation. Mrs Knight’s class are creating seaweed art as they investigate Life Below Water and Ms Hadfield’s class used Pic Collage to create powerful statements on pollution.

Today an expert from the senior school came for some light experiments.

The 1st one was the ‘Light Tube.’

How it works is it uses the body and you can have as minimum people as you want or maximum as you want.

You hold hands with all the people (or yourself) and create a circle called a circuit. Then, once you’ve done that, the ‘Light Tube’ will turn on.

There you go.

You’ve done with the ‘Light Tube.’

By Adeline Iverson

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Year 6

ANZACs Year 6 worked on a deep inquiry project as a year group in Term 2 exploring the history of our ANZAC soldiers and the impact of World War I on all New Zealanders.

The theme was explored in many different media including designing websites; developing high-impact poppy art which was displayed in our reception; and creating broaches.

6PIN

Above: Website created by Madeleine McDonald.

Below: Website created by Emily Cheng.

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Stacey Pinique’s class spent a day at Auckland Museum them early in Term 2 to learn more about their six-year project in which they created 32 WWI replica items.

Girls could choose from 1 of the 32 items to undertake a research project and used the website walkingwithananzac.co.nz as a reference. The class then visited St Cuthbert’s Archives department to see first-hand the St Cuthbert’s Roll of Honour records detailing the impact of the war on students in our school. They learned that girls wore a red button had their family lost a soldier in the war and a white one should someone have returned injured. One student researched Madeleine Caughey, a previous student of our school, and wrote a letter detailing her experiences. Girls chose to present their project by creating their own webpages using Google Sites which has given them their first experience of digital publishing in many cases.

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6GRS Amy Greenstock’s class took their interpretation of the museum visit in a different direction, and loved using the research tools to immerse themselves in the century old period. They took their learning further by putting themselves in the shoes of others, creating letters similar to those that would have been sent at the time, even using tea bags to age-stain the paper.

Museum Trip Account

On Friday 24th of May, Year 6 went on a field trip to the Auckland War Memorial Museum. Our lovely teachers had organised an awesome and interesting day so we could learn about WW1. We got to the museum on a bendy bus and Sienna was my bus buddy. The parent helpers from 6GRS were; my mum, Chelsea's mum, Maddies dad and Rebeca's dad. I was in my mum's group with Sienna, Yahan and Amelia.

Ines Grayston.

Right: Vintage-style letter created by Amelia Atkins.

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6IRE Shelley Ireton’s class extended the knowledge gained from their museum visit by reading more around the subject, in particular the story ‘Anzac Biscuits’ by Phil Cummings. The story resonated with the girls as the central character is a girl, Rachel, who sends Anzac biscuits to her father in the trenches. The class went on to create Haiku poems and ornate ceramic poppy broaches which the girls wore on their blazers, and, large poppy artworks that were so striking in the reception area.

Left: Haiku poem by Xheherazade Anushan.

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OUTDOOR ENHANCEMENTS

Girls returned from their holidays to vibrant changes around our Junior School. We know that children learn best in spaces that inspire them which is why we have a continuous improvement programme for our Junior School grounds.

Our Year 0 Cottage gardens are well shaded and girls can now play year-round on the new turf grass. Complete with replanted House gardens, a new wooden play car and bridge, and upgraded sand play toys, this area encourages our students to foster strong relationships with one another.

The St Cuthbert’s Values messages now brighten up the Year 5/6 playground and recall the values they are learning in their classrooms.

We are proud of our many communal gathering areas – often used for storytimes – and our engaging playgrounds. The kiln building has never looked so good, with a bespoke painting reflecting our two Junior School groups – Huia Whanau and Kea Whanau. Nichole Mayer designed the incredible artwork and worked with our students in breaktimes and Stretch classes to paint the detail.

The Huia, which represents Years 4–6 is an extinct North Island bird whose tail feathers were used as a sign of leadership. The mural reflects the landscape with flax and kowhai flowers. The Kea, a cheeky but curious little South Island mountain bird, is the perfect representative of our youngest girls from Years 0–3 and is set against a snowy mountain range. Lila MacDonald, Year 4, has been a very keen participant and is pictured here painting the detail into the Kea’s feathers.

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Sport and PE in the Junior School Terms 2 and 3 Our girls’ development happens just as much outside the classroom as inside. Integral to this are our PE & Sports programmes, which are designed to encourage physical activity, skills development, and prepare students for playing sport as part of a team. Our specialist teachers guide girls through a huge variety of activities – encouraging many girls to ‘give it a go’ – in Terms 2 and 3, just some of which we’re sharing here.

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Word Search ANZAC ARMY AUTUMN BEES DAWN FAIRNESS GALLIPOLI GRAVITATION JUNIOR LEAVES MOON OCEAN PERIODIC POPPY SEASONS SCIENCE STARS TIDES VALUES WATER WAR WEATHER

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St Cuthbert Paint by Number Fun

Have fun following the colour guides below and once you've completed your artwork hand in your completed drawing to our Reception team.

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Until next time...