Thank you and Merry Christmas!

To my class - Room 11, 2008,

Thank you all for the wonderful year you have given me. I am happy that each of you were in my class - you all brought something different that made our class special. Good luck and keep up the good work for next year, be kind to each other and always do the right thing.
I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas with your whanau and a safe and Happy New Year.

See you bright and cheery in 2009,

Lots of love, Koka Manny xo

Home time

On Friday we left to come home. All of us were different - we had changed. We had been fortunate enough to share these experiences together and everyone seemed to be closer. It was great - the conversations in the Red Van on the way back had changed too. Everyone was talking about things we had done on the trip and about how they couldn't wait to give their gifts to their whanau. As tiring as it was for us as staff, Koka Ritihia and I both agreed that it was awesome to see the joy on the kids faces and the feeling of togetherness. I wouldn't hesitate to put my hand up to go on another school trip, wherever it may be. It may not be next year but whenever it is, I'm keen!

Swimming

We went to the pools after catching the train from Wellington to Porirua. There was a wave pool there. After a siren went off and lights from the lighthouse, a wave started at one end of the pool. Lifesavers watched carefully to make sure the kids were safe and if anyone looked as though they were getting into trouble, they had a long, soft rod that they put into the water for the person to hold onto and they would pull them over to the side or to the ladder. There were spa pools there too and a hydroslide.

Check out the photos

Te Papa

We went to Te Papa twice on Thursday - once in the morning and back again after dinner. In the morning we went on the interactive rides. Everyone like the High Ride - we sat in seats that moved around and watched a film. You felt like you were in the film and you changed from one thing to another , you might be a netball, or a rugby player, or bungy jumper (Scary!) or skateboarder or riding a motorbike (which was the favourite!) In the evening we split into our groups and went around and saw the different exhibitions. The Discovery learning centres had activities and puzzles for kids. We saw lots amd learned a lot too. A great place that I will be sure to take my own family to .

Dinner and a movie

All the climbing and shopping gave our kids a really big appetite so dinner and a movie was the perfect way to finish the night. We went to Reading's food court and cinema. There were so many different types of food there - from curries to chinese to burgers. There was also Wendy's who make a fabulous frozen yoghurt! After dinner we went up the stairs to watch High School Musical 3. Some girls had dressed up as cheerleaders to go and watch the movies so we made sure to have a photo taken with them. Everyone loved the movies and the vans were buzzing as we headed back to the marae.

Rock Climbing

Rock climbing was really neat and I was surprised at how quickly some of you could scoot up those walls! I was impressed by all of your determination and so pleased that you all had a go. Well done!!!

Cable Cars

The Cable Cars were not as bad as what I had imagined them to be. It was neat going through the tunnels and seeing the museum at the top. The views of the city were beautiful and it was a lovely clear day as well.

The Wellington Zoo

The zoo was a neat place and all of the children were amazed at the animals. The chimpanzees were a particular favourite - they were really funny and were putting on a bit of a show for all of us - dancing and making noises, swinging and playing. There was a baby chimp called Beni. We saw him playing and swinging around. It was really cute. We also got up close to the giraffes. The baboons were funny too and they loved to eat raw onions! Have a look at some of the photos from our day.

The Wahine disaster

Koka Ritihia told us a story of the storm that happened that caused the Wahine disaster. She was growing up in Wellington at the time that it happened. We went to see the place where it ran aground. The kids had a photo sitting on the actual anchor that belonged to the Wahine. There is a playground there too, which is fitting because there were children that died there too. After a play on the playground, we headed off for the Zoo.

Capital E On TV

This place was cool. All the children had their part in creating a news type programme. They worked the cameras, the wardrobe and makeup, the control room. They learned how to present the weather and conducted interviews. It was a lot of fun and we laughed .... a lot! They learned that everyone needed to work together as a team in order for the show to be a success - a lesson that could be applied to a lot of things in life as well. The costumes were hilarious and everyone enjoyed themselves.

We are looking at making copies of their news programme available for sale.

Capital E Soundhouse

After waking up, having breakfast and doing jobs we headed off for Capital E. We had a fair idea of what we were going to be doing but did not realise it would be so cool. In the morning, we went to Capital E Soundhouse. The children got into pairs and created their own sounds using Sony AcidPro, a music editing programme. You can listen to the awesome sounds they have created at this website. http://soundhouse.capitale.org.nz/schools/albums/2008/December/Waikirikiri%20School%20(011208)/

Arrival at Wellington

We arrived in Wellington at approximately 7.00pm and was welcomed by Matua-Kore Manuel, the caretaker of the marae. We stayed nice and close to the city centre - not close enough to walk but it did not take long to get to most of the places we were going to. Everyone was tired and hungry too so after making our beds and diary time some of us went out to get dinner. A long day of travelling and excitement about the next day's events resulted in a late night for some.

Day 1 - Palmy

In Palmy, we went to the Square and then went to have a look around. My group was Jason, Fin and Te Wairua. We went into an arcade and the boys discovered escalators. After about their 7th ride going up and down, the security guard came out and was watching us. I took one last photo and then we left. We were amazed at the amount of sculptures there are in other cities.

Our Wellington trip - Day 1 Sunday 30th November

We left on Sunday - all cheery and ready for the adventure that lay before us. I was in the Red Van with Gerry, Capri, Jahnesta, Joseph, Manaaki, Guy, West and our driver Matua Jason. We travelled without a hitch to Wairoa and then to Napier. In Napier we visited the National Aquarium, an amazing place. The kids could not believe it and were running around looking at all of the wonderful creatures. We were also lucky enough to make it to feeding time for the crocodile. We thought it was fake until it started swimming! I told the kids not to yell when it jumped up to get the kai and ended up screaming myself! It was soooo funny. We also saw sharks, a giant turtle, huge crayfish, big goldfish, seahorses and stingrays, water dragons and so many other things. There was a diver in the tank too. The kids beat him in a game of paper, scissors, rock. A conveyor belt took us through a tank and we were surrounded by the beauty of the underwater world. It had definitely changed from the time I had last been there as a child. We left the aquarium and had lunch at a nearby park and hit the road again - next stop Palmerston North