Camp Day and Rotorua

Kia ora everyone! The past two weeks have been eventful!

At school we had a camp day last week, which involved all year four students, their teachers and some of their parents. The students started off their day learning to put up a tent, followed by five activities: cooking damper (bread/pancake/bisquit made with flour and water) on hobo stoves, learning about navigation using robots, swim safety in the pool, building bivouac shelter using sticks, tarps and nearby play structures and trees, and of course playing with the big parachute. The students had a blast! I mainly helped out with the hobo stoves, keeping them lit, helping the students mix their dough and cook their damper. It was a great day, spent in the sun and I have a big tan line/burn line to show for it!

Learning to put up a tent

Hobo stoves, making damper

Robot navigation

Bivouac building

Surviving in water with just a plastic bag

Parachute!

Last weekend I went out with a friend who is a first year teacher at Frimley, named Sophie. We had a good time down at the loading ramp drinking some beer from the Monteith Brewing Company. It has been very nice having Sophie show me around town a little bit and I even got to see one of her netball tournaments this past week, which was pretty neat!

Sophie and I, Happy St. Patty's Day!

 I have now had two observations from my supervisor and I am happy to say they have both gone very well! I have received valuable feedback from her and my cooperating teacher, so I'm very thankful for that! This past week I have been doing my full control teacher, teaching my class full time! Monday was a bit challenging with all of us adjusting to the new arrangement but since then things have gone much smoother. My students are all so lovely and I will truly miss them, when I leave Frimley in four weeks... It's going by so fast!

I spent this past weekend in Rotorua with Kate and her parents who are here visiting for a couple of weeks! Rotorua is known for it's hot springs, mud baths, hot pools, hot water beaches, Maori culture performances, and for smelling like sulfur. Although the smell wasn't great, we still had a wonderful time. We drove to Lake Tarawera (known as the most beautiful lake in New Zealand) and took a boat across to a hot spring pool and a hot water beach. I never would have guessed the water would be so hot!! If your feet went to deep into the sand or you didn't mix the hot water on top of the lake with the cold water below, you were sure to get burned. However, once we got the hang of it, sitting int he water was amazingly peaceful and such a unique opportunity.

They weren't kidding!

Hot hot sand

Black swans

Hot pools!

That evening we went to a Mitai Maori Village and learned about how the Maori lived many years ago. It was really neat to see how the younger generation appreciate their native culture and still practice some of what their ancestors did years ago. We saw the Maori Warriors paddle in unison into the village on a waka (a Maori canoe) looking fierce with intimidating faces and tongues stuck out. We later learned during the Maori performance that the warriors bulge out their eyes and stick out their tongues to look intimidating and to let us know (or challenger) we are going to be a tasty meal... luckily Maori people no longer take part in cannibalism :) The performance was outstanding. The Maori tribe performed about 5 different dances and chants and the history and story (legend) of each was told throughout. Before any of this fun could be had, however, our chief (Guy from Whales, picked at random) had to take the piece offering from the Maori chief and give a little speech. He did amazing, considering he was picked randomly. We saw how the Maori chief would approach the unknown person, offer something and then react depending on if the chief from the other tribe accepted the offering or not. My favorite dance was the Haka, which my students do at school in the Kapahaka club.

Hungi

Boiling mud

Maori Performance 

Waka

After the performance we ate the Hungi that was prepared in the ground. There was lamb, chicken, potatoes, kumara (sweet potato), stuffing, a variety of salad, bread and dessert. The food was pretty good and it was really neat to see where it had been cooked, buried in a pit with hot stones. After dinner we went for a walk and saw glow worms! Rotorua is a great place with lots to do! I will maybe have to head back before I come home (in only five weeks)!

Yum!

A few last things! This week a Monarch butterfly hatched in our classroom! We all "quietly" huddled around to watch it crawl from it's cocoon, it was really cool to see!

A butterfly hatched in room 15!

Also, I went to dinner at my supervisor's house and her and her husband took Kate and I up to a lookout nearby. This is where I learned that New Zealand has a huge logging industry! (Mandy I hope you're reading and checking out how all those logs are just hanging out... :)

Logging, a huge industry here in NZ

Happy Birthday last week to my mom and sister!!  I hope David is having fun in Germany and my dad and stepmom are having fun in Hawaii! Missing you all!