2016 - PRIZEGIVING

The 2016 Prizegiving was held on Friday 9th December from 11am. There were several items and many happy students who were awarded for their hard work.

We are very proud of all the award winners!

Year 8's Prepare for Graduation

The Year 8 students are preparing for their last week at Red Hill School. Everyone is part of an item that is going to be shared on Monday night so every moment to practise is important.

We have all learnt to waltz so that we can dance with our mum's and dad's as well as dance to our "Happy" song.

We are all excited about 2017 when we will be off to High School. We can't wait!

Our Rainbows End Experience.

The Year 5-8 students were lucky enough to be able to attend the Rainbows End Reward Trip a fortnight ago. Although it rained for most of the day we made the most of the rides that we were able to take part in.

By noon the weather had fined up and a whole lot of schools had already left. This gave us the run of the park so we had several rides on all of the attractions. It was awesome!

Whanau Athletics House Day.

North Counties Athletics Day.

The Year 7 and 8 students took part in the North Counties Athletics Day earlier in the week. We all did a fantastic job and some of us have made it through to the next event. We are looking forward to the Interzone Competition.

 

The Term Four Mathathon.

Beyond the Beyond.

Amua Hub have been working through our new Inquiry in preparation for our visit to the Planetarium later in the term. We are investigating what is Beyond the Beyond. We are starting on the journey well.

The SPCA Mufti Day - Our Presentations.

The School Leaders are preparing for the Friday 4th November Mufti Day - SPCA focus. As a school we select 4 key causes to support at animal welfare is one of them.

We are dressing up as our favourite animal in support of the SPCA.

The Year 7 and 8 Students at the North Counties Touch Competition.

A group of 20 Year 7 and 8 students attended the North Counties Schools Touch Competition on Thursday afternoon. They played with a positive attitude and fair play spirit. The competition was very tough and the students held on in all games to have one win, two draws and a loss.

Although we didn't win the overall competition we had a fabulous time and we worked well in our teams.

Learning Languages

We have been working on how to connect images to our Te Reo Second Language. Here is one of our digital book pages completed by Steven.

Te Reo Tasks

Roman's Fishing Experience.

Tuesday 11TH October 2016

Roman’s Fishing Trip 2016.

Roman got a new kawhai fat fish.

It was running away from my fishing rod and then the fish I had on my reel pulled me. I reeled the fishing rod and I caught It.

The fish I caught was bigger than me. The fish was so heavy that it almost pulled the rod into the water.

I went to Devonport with my brother Joel and my dad Brian.

My brother Joel caught 2 juicey kawhai fish I was so happy for my brother Joel. Afterwards we cleaned the fish then we went to home.  

Loud Shirt Day 2016

 The Students of Red Hill School took part in Loud Shirt Day to help raise money for the hearing impaired. We had a Mexican theme and the students in the entire school took part with a positive results.

Here are some photos to show much fun we had.

My Place.

The students in Amua hub have been writing about "My Place."

Here is an example of what we have been writing -

Everyday.

Everyday I go to school to achieve my goals and to be as successful as I can possibly be.

When I think about the best place in the world I would say it is up north where we call home.

We have a beautiful beach, amazing mountains and very exciting sites to see.  Ask me where it is and I will tell you it is Te Kao.

Te Kao is a very small town about 50km from Cape Reinga at the very top of the North Island. Some say it is a sleepy and lonely town but it is where I call home.

My Grandpa is from Te Kao and we go up there to remember my Grandma.

At Christmas time our entire extended family come together in Te Kao to celebrate the Summer holiday’s together. We go to Te Awapoka Bay to have a big shared kai and we all just love food. When I think about Te Kao I think about food, glorious food. I love that.

After lunch we sit together and Grandpa tells us tales of the good old days in Te Kao - every year he tells us the same stories and every year we listen as if it was the first time we have heard it. He is a really good story teller.

He tells us about how he grew up and how hard it was for his family. They didn’t have a lot of money and had to work for everything that they were given. He tells us how lucky we are to have everything that we now have and to value it all and appreciate it too.

He tells us about this beautiful place that we call home. A place to come to when you are feeling sad. A place to come to when you want to celebrate. A place to come to to feel safe and protected. A place where our ancestors lie.

That's why there is no place like home.

Lyric.

Rehu Tai 2016

This year we had 3 students represent Red Hill School at the Rehu Tai Festival of Oral Language. The students took part with pride and enthusiasm and we are all very proud of their efforts. They shared their thinking about "My Place" in rap, poem and speech.

Although everyone who performed were excellent, Sonny from our school was the winner of the rap competition. We are very proud of him too.

Below are the links to each students piece of work. 

Marena https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1xK5olTnPpECbhoK2vqk3h0BKHvSofCiMTYA5Vxbfe-I/edit

Lyric - 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PWCFPXh5pPrJOoqqyp1thNK79EjfJewrKZfczMTWYt8/edit

Sonny - 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mOGlCHej2sFAy8-k9GyJDz_9TdkgFNLJKpmKzuwF6CE/edit 

Red Hill Boys Go for Broze at the Rosehill Intermediate Chess Competition.

Today our fabulous chess team went to Rosehill Intermediate School for a Chess Competition. The boys all played very well with all players winning some of their games. There was one player who won all of his games and was placed 3rd overall. We are proud of all of the work that they have put in to be able to compete at competition level. Well done to all of the boys who took part.

Remember: perseverance is important!

Red Hill Year 8 Boys and the Mathex Experience.

Last night two teams of Year 8 Boys took part in the Papakura Schools Mathex Competition. It was a fun filled night with many problem solving questions to ponder. The boys took part with a positive attitude and tried their very best. We are proud of their efforts and encourage them to continue to take part in competitions like this.

Keep it up boys!

The North Counties Mini Basketball Competition.

The Year 8 Boys and Girls Basketball Teams took part in the Interschool Basketball Competition. The students took part with enthusiasm and pride. They were a pleasure to have out of the school.

The Wolf is he a Criminal or a Victim?

In Amua Hub we have been learning about persuasive writing and how to write a piece of writing with impact. Our latest moot has been "Is the Wolf a Criminal or a Victim" in the Three Little Pigs. Below are some thoughts from a group of students.

The Three Little Pigs Are The Victims.

I completely believe the 3 pigs are the victims and I have countless reasons that will satisfy you to know the truth.

Obviously pigs will be frightened when a carnivore shows up at their doorstep. I believe the pigs were trying to defend themselves from death. Wouldn't you?

Expert vegetarians tell us pigs shouldn't be murdered and used for food. Especially for cuts of pork chops, ham steaks, crispy bacon and packed luncheon.  Would you like it if you were eaten in that many ways by carnivorous beasts like the wolf?.

Why hurt such innocent pigs? They are just living their lives who are smart and are clever carpenters knowing how to build a house and survive the harshness of life.

Remember when the wolf specifically said,

“What juicy tender meat you will make?” He definitely does not mean ‘making it by hand’. Its obvious that he wasn't trying to be nice at all!

Surely you can sympathise with me and notice how the 3 sweet juicy piggies are the victims. The wolf is a predator who is only thinking of his stomach and how delicious the 3 pigs would taste. He hunts for prey and he will do it for any price, even innocent lives!

SO BEWARE OF THE BIG BAD WOLF!!

Sweet Innocent Pigs

The wolf is the real victim? Are you mad? How on earth can anyone feel sorry for this sharp tooth, saliva dripping, evil grinning hairy murderer?

I disagree.

How could Three Little Pigs ever hope to survive when their mean old neighbour, Mr Wolf continues to blow their house’s down? I strongly believe that they have every right to be terrified with this vicious vandal at their doorstep.

These sweet little pigs are so frightened! All they want to do all day is dance and play around. They should be allowed to live how they want to. They are hard workers! They have built 3 houses in one day. Then suddenly without any warning, just a knock at the door and not a please or thank you, the wolf just feels like blowing down a house.

Surely you have heard that wolves are carnivores. The pigs could not defend themselves to this vicious wolf. This wolf will do whatever it takes to get an easy meal.

It is a fact that wolves eat pigs, it is a fact that pigs are on the food chain for any predators such as wolves. It was just luck that these three little pigs got out of this situation alive.

Equity - Sharing with our Community.

One of the key learning areas we have been working on is developing a sense of community. The Highwire Year 7 Leadership Group has been looking at Equality. They spent the day with a group of adults who were able to share their life experiences with them and they took part in some activities together.

The Cross Fit Session

The Highwire Group took part in a crossfit session with a focus on determination. They all persevered and worked through each of the activities. We tried our best and that was the most important lesson.

Our Reflective Statements about the North Counties Cross Country.

Wednesday 24th August 2016.

Out of School Cross Country.

My highlight was to watch the Redhill boys and one of our girls push their way through the course. Some of them came last and one pulled out of the race. My thoughts were, at least they gave it their best shot. Toward the end of the race it was cool to watch them all finish. Plus I was helping Koa out when he was very ill and cold. He looked very red in the face when I caught up with him. He was coughing so much he could hardly breathe properly.

My low light was when I had this feeling that Koa had to stop running the race because it took him forever to come around the corner. Once Steven finished I turned around and saw Koa bending over and coughing. It looked like he was cold and sick. So I decided to take my kathmandu jacket off and put it around him so it could keep warm. I took him upstairs and sat him a on a chair to have a rest.

Isitolo.

Cross Country

Today, we went to Strathallan to take part in the Cross Country. At Strathallan there were heaps of schools we had to race.

They were hard to race. When we were pushing through the course I was trying my best to pass a boy who came from St Mary's. He kept on running past me. It was quite annoying to see. I waited till he began walking then I took the moment to sprint past him!

At the end I felt so proud of the Year 8 boys from my school.

So my next step is to make sure I get fitter. My highlight for the day was when we were trying our best to get to the top ten runners. My lowlight was we never quite make it to the top ten.  

Regan. 

The North Counties Year 7 and 8 Cross Country.

Today a group of students attended the North Counties Cross Country. The event was very successful with our students putting in their very best effort.

We were very proud of their hard work.

The Red Hill School Cross Country Event 2016

The Students, Staff and Community had a fabulous time at the school Cross Country this year. We all took part with a positive, fair play attitude and pride in our House teams. We are proud of the effort put in by everyone. Come and look at our awesome athletes young and older.

The Highwire Leadership Year 7 Group - Session Four.

The Highwire Leadership Team took part in a tramp and bush survival programme this week. The focus was on Success and we were all very successful in the achievements for this session. We are all looking forward to next week.

Our Highwire Leadership Experience - Session Three

There are currently seven Year 7 students who are continuing to work with the Highwire team to develop further their leadership qualities.

This week the focus was on Encouragement. The group took part in a series of High Ropes Experiences to assist in understanding the concept of encouragement.

They did fabulously!

The South Auckland Chess Competition - Our Super Star Team.

Today the Year 8 boys team went to Everglade School in Manukau with Gran to take part in the South Auckland Chess Competition and came 5th. This is an excellent result for our team given that it is the first competition that we have ever taken part in.

Now that we have had this experience we are feeling better prepared for the next competition in a fortnights time.

Persuasive Writing - Bending the Truth!

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Bending the Truth!

Is it ok to bend the truth? I think it is, because imagine what it would be like if you told the truth to someone close to you and it hurt their feelings and made them mad or dislike you.

Everyone knows that if you are to bend the truth you can sometimes save yourself from seeming like a bad person, like this scenario for instance: I took some money from your wallet because I wanted to do this. You could say I borrowed some money for that school trip I wanted to go on. I am sure you would have wanted me to have the experience.

It is a well known fact that if you bend the truth and feel bad about how that person reacted just remember, don’t let it get out of hand so try to gently bring them down instead of ripping them out.

You tell your friend that they were good at stunting and end up trying to do an impossible stunt off a tall platform in front of a lot of people, he ends up failing, humiliating and hurting himself then ends up being a joke at school. You could’ve stopped him before he started. So in the end just let them know how good they are gently instead of lying to their face.

I strongly believe that if you manage to get into a tricky situation try not to lie your way out either prove it wasn’t you if it was then just take it. E.g: Your brother ate the last cake that was for your dad and he blames it on you so you say that you don’t, the look mum gives you shows she doesn’t believe you so you find ways you prove it was him. You start by saying you had a small piece and say your brother had the rest. After hearing this mum questions your brother and he cracks and says he had all of it and you had none. So see how bending the truth to shows that if you look into it you might just be able to save yourself from taking a hit from someone who pins the blame on you.

       

Surely you know that in telling the direct truth you can hurt a lot of people but when you bend the truth or fib as it’s more commonly known you’ll tell the truth but in a nicer way. Take this for example: You don’t enjoy the cakes your dad bakes you and don’t want him to be upset about it so instead of saying they are terrible you tell him they are ok but they need some more work.

So after hearing all of this and seeing the facts do you still think it is a bad thing to bend the truth?. If still then I guess you have to stay with you beliefs but if I managed to change your mind about this, then my job here is done.

By Matthew.

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Persuasive Writing - Should Animals be kept in a Circus?

Why animals should not be kept in a circus.

I believe that animals should NOT be kept in a circus. They are being tortured, hurt and stressed.

Ahh, the Circus!

A place where animals do awesome tricks, stunts. This is a place where you would forget about your worries and let the people/animals entertain you!

But... Behind the curtains, bad things happen to animals... and I’ll tell you what happens.

Animals are being trained, but tortured. Animals are locked up in cages, but not fed. Animals give birth, but their babies are taken away. (That’s just sad! What horrible people.) Click this link, to see an image of a bullhook (A weapon used for elephants.)

In 2015. About 80 elephants were killed just because of the circus men. Torturing elephants with these, Sharp, Metal, Heavy sticks called “Bullhooks” (Wow, poor elephants.)

They are endangering poor, poor animals… I think they should at least feed, train, and care for the animals being in circuses.

I hope circus men/woman would care for the animals soon enough.

Shayden.

The Red Hill School Olympic Games Event.

The Year 7 Highwire Leadership Group Experiences.

There are ten students who are actively involved in a Leadership Programme with Highwire. They have been looking at resilience and the qualities that they need to show. All students are keeping a reflective journal and will share it on their individual blogs. We are very proud of positive attitude and perseverance of the group.

 

The Smokefree Challenge.

What does it mean to be Smokefree?

We have been working on what it is to be smokefree. Now we are sharing all of the new learning that we have found. Each of us are posting onto our blog using different formats, devices and ideas. This is an example of how we have shared our learning.

Keeping Ourselves Safe - Our New Learning.

In Week One of Term Three we started our Keeping Ourselves Safe Inquiry. We have been challenged to consider the choices that we make and the choices that are made for us. There are times when it is safe for us to make our own choices and times when adults are the best to make the decision.

As we work through the Inquiry we will be adding to our google slide presentation. We are going to share our individual ones on our own blogs.

The Year 7 and 8 Keeping Ourselves Safe Brainstorms.

We have been learning about what "unsafe" means and situations when when feel uncomfortable. We shared our ideas with each other and then came together as a group and brainstormed and discussed all of the ideas we had.

Red Hill School Term Two Neon DISCO.

This evening the students at Red Hill School had a School Disco. The Friends of the School organised the dance with a Neon Theme. We all had a fantastic time dancing and singing to the music. We even had a little jump jam slot of time.

Amua Whare and the Children's Forest Planting Experience.

This morning Amua Whare took part in a Council Planting Experience. We planted a series of grasses to protect the waterway that is being formed coming down through the Papakura Children's Forest. We had a fantastic time with Zac, Matt and Robynne from the Auckland Council who helped us to plant all of our plants successfully.

Regan's Botanical Gardens Experience.

Monday 4th July

Our Trip To Botanical Gardens

On the Friday, we went to the Botanical Gardens for a school trip.When we got there, we lined up getting ready to go in. I was astonished. When we went in we had to get in our groups. I was in Matua Hemi’s group.

Our first session was when we went into the classroom. It was cool because there was a wax possum and weasel. What we did in the class was that we had to talk about a picture that represents your life.

After that we had to play this game. The game was about finding certain trees and plants. It was about biodiversity. When finished talking about biodiversity we went to planting.

It was overwhelming because we had to do two plants. One was harakeke and the other one was Kawakawa. When we finished those we had lunch. I had lunch with the boys.

I did drawing with Mrs Gupta and Gran. That was uninteresting. All we did was draw plants. We asked if we was allowed if we can play. Gran and Mrs Gupta said that we could play but not make too much noise when we were playing.

When the other groups got back we got ready to leave. I came back with Miss Castle and Cory in the car instead of on the bus.

TJ's Tactix Experience.

Seeing the Canterbury Tactix Netball Players at Red Hill School.

In the morning Amua Hub and Whanakitanga block went to go up in the hall to see the

Silver Ferns. I was excited to go and see them. Our netball team lined up in one line, and the non netball team stayed in one line.

We went up in the hall and the Silver Ferns came. They were tall. First time seeing them they asked some questions and we asked some questions too.

After asking questions the non netballers went back to class and the netball team went to do some drills with them. We did some drills. It was to easy for me. After drills we went onto a real game. I couldn't play because I didn’t have a bib for the first round.

TJ.

Gift from the Canterbury Tactix.

The students and staff at Red Hill School were lucky enough to have a visit from the Canterbury Tactix this morning. We were gifted with a signed team playing shirt and every student was given a poster. Some lucky students were able to have their poster signed.

We are very lucky students.

Canterbury Tactix Visit Red Hill School.

The Year 5-8 students were given a very special treat this morning and had a visit from three Canterbury Tactix Netball players. Bailey Mes, Jess Moulds and Anna Thompson spent the morning with us sharing some of the things that helped them to become the fabulous netballers that they are today. We were even luckier to have a training session with the three ladies. It was brilliant!

They are always welcome to visit......

Amua and Whanakitanga Visit the Botanical Gardens.

On Friday we attended the Manukau Botanical Gardens as part of our Community is Home Inquiry. We were able to work with a group of experts who showed us how to take a cutting from a plant to grow more. We all got to take a plant home too.

We had a fantastic day with brisk and clear weather. Come and see the the fabulous flyer of our photos.

Year 7 and 8 have their Final Gymnastics Lesson.

The Year 7 and 8 students have had a fantastic time at the Bruce Pulman Park Gymnasium taking part in a series of gymnastics experiences. Students have enjoyed keeping active and working together with their groups.

Amua Whare Get Firewise.

In Amua Whare we have been looking at Firewise and how to keep ourselves safe when we are in or around "fire." We have learnt how important it is to
1 - Get Down
2 - Get Low
3 - Get Out Fast.

Each of the students have created information sheets to assist others with our Firewise Message.

Here is Steven's.

Community is Home Inquiry.

We have been working on a series of Community is Home Inquiries and have decided that sometimes it is really nice to present our work traditionally on paper and not always on a Chrome.

Here is one of the inquiries that have been completed.

Gymnastics Session Three

This week the Year 7 and 8 Group focussed on balancing. It was important for us to work with a range of students from our hub so that we could help each other. There were some really tricky aspects that we had to work on and some not so tricky.

We only have one more session and so are hoping that we master as many aspects as we can.

Community is Home Inquiries

In Amua Whare students have been completing Community is Home Investigations. Students have worked hard to decide what they consider is important to our Red Hill Community. Here are a few presentations to share our thinking.

Red Hill School getting their Wigs On....

Today the students from Red Hill School took part in Wig Wednesday in support of Child Cancer. We all wore our wigs including the teachers. The wigs replaced the traditional bandana's that we have worn in the past. It is important to our school that we celebrate how well we are and make sure that we recognise the importance of supporting those that are not so well at the moment.

We have all been asking "Have you got your WIG ON?" and we have been doing a wiggle dance.

Have you got your wig on?

Pitomata and Amua Hubs Plant at Hayes Stream.

Today Amua and Pitomata Hubs went to Hayes Steam together to plant 450 plants as part of our Community is Home Inquiry. The students worked with each other and the adults available to plant.

We dug a hole, put a vitamin pellet into the hole, put the plant into the space, placed the soil back in and then did a wiggle dance and leaf tug to make sure our plant was planted carefully.

We did a super job!

 

Wig Wednesday Next Week.

Next week we are celebrating Wig Wednesday to support Child Cancer. We have shared with our hub and the other hubs within the school what we are doing and why. We decided to upload our advertisement to our blog so that other people can see what we are doing.

Gymnastics Session Two Term Two 2016

The Year 7 and 8 Students had their second Gymnastics Session at Bruce Pulman Park. We have all become very organised and settled during our session and this is making it easier for us to learn the new skills that are being taught. Gran was fantastic. She is learning how to be flexible like us.

We have two more sessions to go.

Our Chess Boys

This term we have three chess teams that are preparing for the Interschool Chess Competition that will be held early in Term 3. The aim is to practise regularly in our teams and prepare as best as we can to be the best that we can. This year our teams are all boys.