Yendarra School's Special Events

Numeracy Open Morning

2011-09-16T11:04:00.000+12:00

On Thursday the 15^th of September 2011 Yendarra School had a special Numeracy Open morning. We invited our parents to come and learn maths with us and find out about games and activities they can play with us at home. It made us feel happy, excited and proud to have our whanau come and visit our classroom! We showed our families how we use the computers and smartboard to help us be the best we can in maths. We like to play maths games with our family, it is lots of fun! Thank you to our whanau for coming to spend time with us in our classroom, please come back soon!

Room 3

Literacy Open Morning a Great Success

2011-09-01T12:15:00.000+12:00

We celebarated the first day of Spring with a Literacy Open morning at Yendarra. There were so many of our whanau that turned up there wasn't much room in our class to move.

In our class we planned the open morning with our teacher and lots of children had special roles. It was really good and we were so happy to show off what we can do!

Room 3 children

Keeping Safe in a Car

2011-08-31T10:07:00.001+12:00

Yesterday Officer Painter came to our class to tell us about why we need to make our seat belts click every time we get into a car. We all had a go at getting into her police car and making our seat belts click. We were all very good at doing it.

You have to make your seat belt click otherwise if you're in an accident you might get badly hurt.

Thank you Officer Painter for showing us how to be safe in a car. We promise we won't wait for our Mum or Dad to tell us to put our seat belt on we will just do it!

Room 3

Otara Neighbourhood Policing Team

2011-05-25T14:01:00.003+12:00

We have some new friends at Yendarra and they're from the Neighbourhood Policing Team in Otara.

They come to Yendarra to play sports with us, they're visiting classes to hear about the good choices we're making and sometimes, if any of us have a problem coming to school, they help sort it because they know that if we're not at school we're not going to learn.

Today we had six police officers come to play touch and rugby. We loved playing with the officers and we think that we are the better players but they still looked like they enjoyed the run around the field just as much as we did.

We're looking forward to more visits, to next months game and to having lots more fun on the field.

Blogged by Helen R 21
Student Advisory Group member

Fia Fia Day 2011

2011-04-15T14:01:00.002+12:00

On Thursday the 14 April Yendarra School had a Fia Fia day to farewell our special, amazing teacher Mrs Manuel who has been teaching at Yendarra for about 30 years.
At our Fia Fia day we had different cultural groups performing. The performances were beautiful and Mrs Manuel enjoyed every minute of her special day.

The Fia Fia performance is something we all look forward to every second year.

Personally, as a Tongan I really enjoyed performing two dances from my culture. I also liked watching the dances from the other cultures because of the different dance movements and music.

Blogged by Moana R19
Student Advisory Group member

Round the Bays 2011

2011-03-14T12:17:00.000+13:00

The weather was perfect, clear blue skies and the sun shining, maybe a little too hot, for the cracking pace set and maintained the whole way by our flag holder. We all felt and looked great in our new school tshirts as many staff took part in yesterdays Round the Bays.

Yendarra got a mention from Mayor Len Brown as we crossed the start line, with the school flag held high, so that was good – didn’t see too many other schools there so good on us!

Some of the madder amongst us finished our morning climbing the tallest slide ever and yes the screams as we came down were probably heard all the way out to South Auckland but never mind.

We had a lovely picnic lunch on the bank at St Heliers beach to end our morning of fitness and fun.

Student Leaders Day Out and About

2010-12-14T11:16:00.000+13:00

To recognise a job well done, yesterday our student leaders were out and about around Auckland.

After School Numeracy Workshop for Parents

2010-10-20T17:13:00.002+13:00

After school this week parents were invited to join with teachers to learn more about how they can help their children with maths learning at home.

Parents learnt a bit more about each stage of the numeracy project and what sorts of activities and games they could play with their children at home to help encourage their numeracy learning and development.

Some of these ideas and activities were:

Stage 1 and 2 – Recognising and counting numbers 1-20 on letterboxes, number plates, items around the house

Stage 3 – Singing, counting and clapping in 2’s, 5’s and 10’s

Stage 4 – Recalling doubles and halves to 20 eg: 6 + 6 = 12 or half of 18 is 9. Rolling 2 dice and adding or subtracting the numbers

Stage 5 – Learning the 2, 5 and 10 times tables and how to reverse these to answer division problems eg: 5 x 5 = 25 so I know that 25/5 = 5

Stage 6 – Using real estate agent or sales magazines to read, order and say numbers up to 1 million. Choosing a budget and finding what you could buy from the sales flyers for that amount.

It was wonderful to see so many parents at our numeracy afternoon and we can’t wait to hear about all the great maths learning our children will be doing at home.

Children whose parents were in the workshop joined some of our other teachers and had lots of fun playing games and drawing.

Jump Rope for Heart Day 2010

2010-10-20T17:03:00.002+13:00

On Wednesday the 11th October 2010 Yendarra School celebrated Jump off day. All the students had to dress up in red to represent the red heart foundation.

It was an exciting day for us and our supportive parents were here to watch us perform our skipping skills. Everything went well students, parents and teachers had fun until...... the end during class challenge time it started to pour with rain which meant we had to go back to class.

We were all sad but know the final class challenge would be postponed for another day. A special thanks to Mrs Mahoney, Mrs Greig and all the teachers for a well organised Jump off event.

By Etiano and Toe

Book Week

2010-10-19T09:52:00.004+13:00

Last Friday children arrived at school to find that the Principal and Deputy Principals had disappeared and their teachers had been replaced!

Even worse with no Principal, Deputy Principals or teachers in sight THING 1 and THING 2 arrived and were very naughty getting up to lots of mischief in classes.

THING 1 and THING 2 obviously didn't know Yendarra's expectations for behaviour and that at Yendarra we have to be the best we can!

THING 1 and THING 2 you are not welcome back at Yendarra unless you promise to behave and to be the best you can.

Spectacular Children

2010-10-18T11:05:00.001+13:00

Children in our Learning Adademy have been busy once again this time sanding and painting to produce some spectacular children made from wood which are to go up in our playground.

Marvellous Mosaic Makers

2010-10-13T08:25:00.001+13:00

Children in our Learning Academy are incredibly proud of their finished mosaic pictures. They will look beautiful displayed around our school.

We used tile adhesive to attach the tiles to hardboard. Lastly we tiled the background of our picture.
We used nippers to shape the tiles and to break up large pieces.

We used a sand-stone to smooth the rough edges and shape the tiles.

We attached our individual tiles on a piece of hard-board to make one large picture.

We were really excited when we had completed attaching all the tiles as our mosaic pictures were ready to be grouted.

We used spatulas and a spreader to spread the grout over all the tiles. We had to make sure that we pushed the grout down to fill up the gaps between the tiles.

We used damp rags to gently wash off the surplus grout that was hiding the bright tiles and we used our fingers to flick off the adhesive that was sticking to the tops of the tiles.

After the grout was fully dried we used soft rags to clean and polish our mosaic pictures.

We washed our equipment outside so we wouldn’t block our drains and pollute the water supply with grout and adhesive.

Principal for a Day

2010-09-02T16:23:00.000+12:00

On Wednesday the 1st September, Ms Dunlop had a break from her principal duties. Alistair Wilkinson, a TV3 news presenter had heard how amazing the students at Yendarra School are and he wanted to give the principal's job a try!
The senior hapu welcomed Mr Wilkinson with a haka powhiri in the whare hui. He showed us a powerpoint presentation all about his job reporting the news. We had to help him to decide on the colour tie he is going to wear on Saturdays news programme, we chose green! We can’t wait to watch him and see his lovely tie. He will look so handsome! Miss Tipelu helped us to sing a beautiful Samoan hymn. Mr Wilkinson seemed very impressed!

Mr Wilkinson visited our classrooms and gave away gold medals to students who had done something kind for someone. We enjoyed spending time with him and hearing him speak. He was such a kind and happy principal!

A group of reporters joined Mr Wilkinson to create a report all about our school. A few lucky children had lunch with Mr Wilkinson. We loved having him at our school and we hope that he comes back to visit but it is great to have Ms Dunlop back in the black leather principals chair!

Room 19
Year 4/5/6

Mathletics Week

2010-08-31T15:30:00.000+12:00

Playing Tower of Terror using the
outdoor hundreds board

From the 23rd to the 27th of August, Yendarra School celebrated Maths Week. We had a lot of fun and learnt a lot of exciting new things! Each day the Yendarra School DJ’s would announce a school wide maths warm up for the classes to investigate. We had a lot of fun finding out how many teacups of water it would take to fill the bucket on Monday. On Wednesday we had to guess how long it would take Miss Venturi to run around the perimeter of the school, some classes guessed it would take her half an hour but she actually ran it in 3.50 minutes. A huge well done to Room 23 who won two of the daily maths challenges!

Lisa, Matthias and Miracle showing their maths game
“Rugby League Times Tables”

On Thursday morning we welcomed our families into our classroom so they could join us in our maths learning. It was great fun to have our parents, grandparents and aunties and uncles playing maths games and learning with us. Some of our parents even had a turn on the smartboard!
Throughout the week our teachers planned exciting challenges and activities for us. We created new maths games and when it wasn’t raining outside, we used chalk to draw big hundreds boards on the concrete. While we were doing our maths work, the mathematics super sleuths snuck into our classrooms and gave away prizes to students who were engaged in their maths learning.

What a wonderful maths week!

We are counting down the weeks till Maths Week 2011!

Iron Brion Visit

2010-08-26T15:01:00.002+12:00

Doing the IRON BRION dance

Last week we had a fabulous visit from Iron Brion who told us about making healthy food choices and why we need to select food from the four food groups. Then we all had burgers which were very yummy!
We think that Iron Brion may not have wanted to leave our wonderful school though as his van got stuck in the mud and we didn't think we could get it out!

The Day Iron Brion’s Van Got Stuck

Stuck in the mud!

Yesterday at lunchtime Iron Brion’s van was stuck so Mrs Sharma went and told Mrs Farmer and then Mrs Farmer told Mrs Dunlop that Iron Brion's van was stuck. Mrs Dunlop phoned the police and the police said “Sorry but we can’t help you”. So Mrs Dunlop phoned the Fire Department and the fire officer said "Yes we can help you". So Iron Brion went to have some lunch. Miss Holt heard that Iron Brion’s van was stuck. Miss Holt said, “I have an idea! I a big van I can help you”. So Miss Holt came with her big van and she pulled Iron Brion’s van out of the mud. The fire services came too but they were too late as Miss Holt had saved the day!

Thankyou Miss Holt you saved the day!

By Jerry R5

Storylines Festival

2010-08-19T15:38:00.000+12:00

Yendarra was successful in its application to be part of the Storylines Story Tour this year and this week the entire troupe of Storyline authors came for lunch. Lucky us! Tracy Duncan and Tessa Duder then stayed on to talk about their writing and to share stories with us.

What a wonderful day it was; another celebration for us all to enjoy!

Hearty the Hearts Birthday

2010-08-05T15:32:00.002+12:00

Birthdays at Yendarra School are very special so when we were asked if we wanted to share Hearty the Hearts birthday we were very excited.

Children from every class who had made good choices this term were invited and Hearty the Heart arrived just before lunch time to share his special day with them.

You could hear Happy Birthday being sung by Hearty's guests everywhere in the school and then the children who had been practicing just for Hearty's special day performed a skipping routine especially for Hearty. It was a great celebration with balloons and Hearty the Heart was even given a present from Yendarra School to help the Heart foundation with all the great work they do.

ONSS Soccer Tournament

2010-06-30T12:40:00.002+12:00

Soccer

On Friday the 11th of June, the boys and girls teams attended the ONSS Soccer tournament at Action Indoors in Manukau. Both teams showed excellent ability in playing the game. Both teams showed stunning soccer skills and awesome teamwork. Our Yendarra boys team made it into the finals competing against Sir Edmond Hillary. The girls team came 7th.

Toe and Frank R14

Picasso Alive at Yendarra

2010-06-30T12:27:00.001+12:00

Picasso

Yes Picasso is alive! Well you might think that if you had a look in our classrooms. This term we learnt about Picasso and his art works before doing our own Picasso portraits. We’re pretty sure some of us could make as much money as he has!

Dictionary Gift

2010-06-30T12:15:00.002+12:00

A Special Surprise for our Year 4 children

Last week each of our year 4 children received a lovely illustrated dictionary to use at school before taking home from the Howick Sommerville Rotary Club. Lucky year 4s and a big thank you to the Howick Sommerville Rotary club.

Kai Pai Kitone

2010-06-30T12:07:00.002+12:00

Ka Pai Award

At a special assembly last week we congratulated Kitione Lavemai who was presented with a Ka Pai Award by Constable Elette Painter. This award is given to a few children only each year to recognise extra efforts and or commitment above what would normally be expected. Supported by Mainfreight and Duffy Books in Homes, Kitone received a lovely encyclopedia valued at $120.

Kai Pai Kitone!

Kidsline

2010-06-17T13:42:00.000+12:00

This term we've been looking at how we can keep ourselves safe and so our year 4, 5 and 6 classes had Kidsline come in to visit them.

They learnt about how it helps to talk to someone they can trust.

Mrs Farmer received an email after Kidsline's visit.

"Our presenters had a great time with all five classes and were really impressed with the engagement of all the kids and their excellent questions. I’ve visited a number of schools this year and the kids at Yendarra were the better of any I’ve visited in Auckland - a real credit to the work of your teaching team!"

Kids line have a website at http://www.kidsline.org.nz/

Kids for Kids Concert

2010-06-17T13:21:00.000+12:00

Last night we performed at Telstra Clear Centre in Maukau with Suzanne Prentice in a World Vision Kids for Kids Concert. We received the 'Best Dressed School' award, you can see why if you have a look at some of our photos. We also received lots of wonderful comments from people about our performance and Mrs Farmer received an email this morning which really says it all.

"It was my pleasure to be at the Kids for Kids Concert last night. A large part of that pleasure was from seeing the students of Yendarra School. The students stood out because of their talent and enthusiasm; and also their ability to remain focused and demonstrate self management skills. Congratulations to all the students and staff involved in nurturing and developing these children."

Learning Academy

2010-06-16T13:57:00.002+12:00

This term, after children in our Learning Academy looked at art work by well known artist Mokai Rangatira they produced their own art in the same style and media as Rangatira.

Swimming

2010-04-01T11:54:00.002+13:00

The year 3s, and 4 and 5s as well this year, have been going in a bus to swimming lessons every Tuesday this term at the Papatoetoe pools. We have had three instructors teaching us to swim so we can be confident in the water and be happy swimmers.

I think the best part about swimming was the last day when we got to wear life jackets and swum on our backs and floated around the pool.

Official Yendarra School Reporter: Naomi Uisa

ScareCrows

2010-04-01T11:31:00.001+13:00

As part of our Learning Pathways this term we've all been making scarecrows. Big ones, small ones, 3 D ones all different shapes and sized ones! They have turned out fabulous!

When we first started it wasn't as easy as it looks as we had to follow a lot of steps but we did it and they look great.

If you have a garden one of our scarecrows could come in handy.

Official Yendarra School Reporter: Temura Shelley

Garden to Puku

2010-04-01T11:24:00.002+13:00

Yendarra students have been learning about the plants we eat this term and how they get to our pukus. We have made our own questions up to investigate like 'What are the benefits of plants?' We used the computer for websites and the library and we have also asked people as we investigate our questions to find the answers. Learning how to find answers is an important thing for us to learn to do in our lives.
We gathered all our information, put it all into our own words and then classes made different things to show people why we need plants and why they're good for us.

We all went on a 'walkabout'yesterday around classes to have a look at what classes had done. There's been some really great art work done also and we had a look at this too as we walked around our classes.

We do have our own vege garden at Yendarra but some classes grew plants during this learning pathway to find out just how plants grow and how to take good care of plants.

All classes made scarecrows for the garden they were really awesome.

Official Yendarra School Reporter: Angel Faumuina

EOTC

2009-12-02T12:40:00.003+13:00

HONK

Forty children who have made consistently good choices through this year went to HONK at Auckland Girls Grammar last week. HONK is based on the story "The Ugly Duckling" It was a great musical which we all really enjoyed. We agreed we especially liked HONK and the cat. The two who played these parts were really good. When we got back to school we talked about the lesson we learnt from HONK and we all agreed that its whats on the inside that counts not what you look like. We were proud that HONK was true to himself and even though he got teased for his looks he was still happy being himself. In the end it worked out well for him and HONK had a happy ending.

The teachers who took us thought our behaviour was superb and Mrs Farmer said she was especially proud to be part of Yendarra School as so many teachers and parents from other schools had said to her how awesome we were and Mrs Farmer had to agree!

EOTC

2009-11-19T12:54:00.003+13:00

Kelly Tarltons - thankyou NIWA :-)

Children who have had outstanding attendance this year went to Kelly Tarltons this week. Everyone had a wonderful time and really enjoyed the trip. It was a really exciting learning opportunity. The trip was made possible by NIWA who also provided a fantastic lunch for the children.

The children have written letters of thanks to John Morgan the CEO of NIWA and his PA Meryl Baker. We would like to say a big thankyou publically for the fantastic opportunity you gave us and we hope you enjoy the letters you will receive shortly.

The children had many exciting and interesting stories to tell about their day upon their return to school and in many homes that night. It was indeed a very special treat for those children who had made a big effort all year to achieve perfect or pretty close to perfect attendance.

Learning Pathways

2009-11-02T12:34:00.032+13:00

Germinators

How do we get sick? What are germs?

What can we do to keep well?

Children investigated these and many more questions as part of their Learning Pathway's focus 'Germinators' in term 3.

They also had a wonderful time using their imaginations to create their own 'Germ'. Each Germ was given a name and children wrote a story about their Germs life. At the end of the term children enjoyed visiting each others classrooms to view all the marvellous Germs.

Daffodil Day

2009-11-02T09:32:00.012+13:00

Daffodil Day at Yendarra

Daffodil Day is the Cancer Society of New Zealand's annual flagship event and at Yendarra School we made sure that we raised the flag to highlight the awareness of cancer and its impact in society.

The daffodil is one of the first flowers of spring, whose bright yellow blooms remind us of the joys the new season will bring. It represents the hope there is for the 1 in 3 New Zealanders affected by cancer. In 2007 the Yendarra School staff observed that many of their children had been affected by deaths linked to cancer. As a result of this they decided to celebrate Daffodil Day, and have done so ever since.

Planning for this year’s event involved the Leadership team, Health & PE teacher and students – many of whom promoted the day through posters and invitation flyers to parents through the school newsletter and classroom notice boards. The schools all boys’ class led the organisation and administration of the event, and ensured everything ran smoothly on the day.

This year, as well as providing an opportunity to raise awareness of cancer, Yendarra used the day to celebrate both physical activity and life. With a full-hearted commitment to ensuring a fun commemorative event, the entire school got involved in Jump Jam aerobics led by the student health team, who also sold daffodils to raise money to donate to the Cancer Society.

There was a good crowd of parents that attended, with most of the school dressed in yellow to celebrate the daffodil theme.

Teacher Jazmin Mautairi was very pleased with the event: “It was a great occasion where the whole school community got involved, from students to staff, and even some of our parents. Some of our families have had to deal with the impact of cancer and to acknowledge it and learn about it was very important. There were some things the children learnt in regards to lifestyle choices to help minimise the risk of some cancers too.”

The money raised will support the Cancer Society to promote awareness and continue their research for a cure – something Yendarra is only too happy to support.

2009-10-14T11:05:00.001+13:00

Gone Potty!

As part of our Learning Academy different children, each term, attend extension art classes with Mrs Mahoney. The term 2 group have recently completed designing and painting HUGE terecotta pots which look absolutely fabulous. They will shortly be planted and placed in our school grounds to help make our school environment an even nicer looking place to come and learn in.

2009-09-24T10:06:00.001+12:00

Otara Clean-Up
In term 3 teachers from Yendarra spent a Saturday morning helping to clean up the Otara Creek Reserve. They picked up lots of litter that had just been left lying around the park. When their bags were full they went to help clear out an old building.

It was full of junk and had been vandalised. There was broken glass everywhere so it was qute a dangerous job. The teachers met some fantastic people who all wanted to help them be tidy kiwis.

Together they filled a whole skip with rubbish! They were dirty and very smelly when they were finished but they felt really good that they had helped make a little place in New Zealand called Otara more beautiful.

Library Week

2009-09-11T16:44:00.012+12:00

Once Upon
a time. . .

at a wonderful school in Otara called Yendarra, special undercover agents visited. The undercover agents names were '226 Bairds Road' and they would creep into rooms and ofices to investigate who was reading and each person they spied reading were awarded with a special book mark to celebrate library week.

Library week is always a magical time at Yendarra. We all go to many magical places where anything can happen and usually does. There were lots of well known and loved characters that came alive during the week Puss N Boots, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, the Gingerbread Man and Little Red riding Hood just to name a few.

At Yendarra we love to read. Reading is so much fun as it helps us learn to make good choices.

Education Outside the Class

2009-08-19T15:59:00.010+12:00

Get Down! Stay Low! Get Out!

Yendarra's year 1 and 2 children had a visit from the local fire department this week. Children viewed a video about what to do if the place they're in is on fire and then they practised getting down, staying low and getting out of the whare before going to see the fire engine parked in the school carpark. Because the firefighters were so impressed with the children's behaviour they were all allowed to climb in and go through the fire truck cab.

2009-07-02T10:56:00.002+12:00

Lucky Yendarra School!

After nearly a year of tearing down and then rebuilding in term 2 Yendarra opened a lovely new building. The building was blessed in a very special ceremony by a minister who lives just across the road from school and as a boy went to Yendarra.

The library is now very central and is opened at lunch times for our children to use. They can come and read a book or have a story read to them.
Our library is a very special place as reading at Yendarra is very important and is a school wide priority for us. We do lots of reading!

The Deputy Principal's are very fortunate too as they now each have a lovely new office. There is a fabulous meeting room that has already been used for lots of meetings.

Children can nowbuy their lunches and stationery from this new block as well.

We know Yendarra is very lucky to have this lovely new facility for everyone to use and learn in and we are taking good care of our new building.

Education Outside the Class

2009-06-04T14:16:00.004+12:00

Ronald McDonald Visit

It was a real surprise for the junior and middle school children to have Ronald McDonald turn up. They thoroughly enjoyed listening to his story and learning about road safety. Ronald kept us interested by asking questions and acting out the story line. He also had a teacher and student acting out parts with him.

Ronald taught us about how important it is to buckle up in the car, walking on the house side of the footpath and crossing roads and driveways carefully.

Education Outside the Class

2009-05-30T14:01:00.007+12:00

Zoo Trip

Our Enviro Group went on an educational visit to Auckland Zoo to enrich the learning that they have been doing in our Learning Academy with Ms Mahoney on animal adaptation and the effects humans have on the environments in which animals live.

We had a fantastic teaching session in the Education Centre with one of the Zoo Educators, Tali, who talked to us about different types of animal adaptations. She also shared with us some specific animal adaptations visible on animals present at Auckland Zoo.

It was a very enjoyable learning experience for all and the day was made even more special by the children’s impeccable behaviour and grateful attitude for being able to go on such a wonderful trip.

Education Outside the Class

2009-05-21T14:26:00.012+12:00

Surf to School

Surf to School visited Yendarra on Wednesday 20th May 2009. Our year 5 and 6 children learnt about water safety skills so they can keep safe especially when visiting the beach. Both visiting lifeguards were members of the Piha surf club and presented sun-smart and water safe information really well giving children resources to take home to share with their family.

Education Outside the Class

2009-04-09T14:48:00.004+12:00

Free Swimming Lessons

Free swimming lessons including transport to and from the Otara Leisure Centre were once again given to our lucky year 3 children as part of the ‘Field of Dreams’ programme. The focus was on water confidence and safety and you could definately see our children gain in confidence over the term.

Professional Development Opportunity

2009-03-20T15:15:00.022+13:00

Samoa

Recently six of our team, Mrs Dunlop, Mrs Farmer, Miss Holt, Miss Mautairi, Mrs Fuli and Miss Venturi arrived back from Samoa after visiting three Samoan schools.

The schools we visited were:

• St Josephs Primary School, Leauva’a

• Savaia Primary School, Lefaga

• Tanugamanono Primary School, Vaimauga

Other than Mrs Rosa Fuli, it was our first trip to Samoa and we all found it to be an amazing experience! The hospitality and warmth of the Samoan people, the beautiful beaches, palm trees and gardens we were all captivated with.

While in Samoa, we were lucky enough to be taken around the island of Upolu by Mrs Fuli and her husband. We attended church on Sunday in Apia and thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful singing. One of our highlights was being invited to To’ona’i with Mrs Fuli’s family in the village of Salamumu.

We learnt a lot during our school visits and returned to Yendarra feeling very privileged with the resources and opportunities we are able to provide for Yendarra children. There were very few books in the schools and we thought how lucky we are at Yendarra to have computers, small class numbers and so many books for our children to read.

We thought of many of our children and parent community while we were in Samoa connecting the places we visited with the villages many of them come from.

The biggest highlight has been the special connection we have made with many of our Samoan children and parents. Parents have been very grateful that we made the visit to their homeland and the dialogue with our children has been amazing. We all agreed that this had to be the best ever professional development opportunity for us all. Fa’afetai tele lava to our wonderful staff that stayed behind looking after the school in our absence.