Room 5 and Room 7 Arahura Marae Camp
On the 1st of May, Week 1, Term 2 ruma rima ma(and)
whitu set off to the Arahura Marae with parent helpers,
teachers and ( when we got to the Arahura marae )
the marae staff. In my car group was Phaedra
( my Mum - the driver ), Joe, Noah, Ayah, Mylah and I.
The reason we were going to the Arahura marae was
because we were learning about marae and wanted to
check out our local marae.
Looking For Pounamu
We were very lucky to be able to go down to the Arahura awa(river)
to look for pounamu. The awa is about two minutes away from
the Arahura marae. Jerry (on of the marae staff) and his cousin Tangi
came down to the awa with us to help us know if we had
found pounamu or not. For about ten minutes I could not find
any pounamu. When I found a green rock I went to Jerry and asked him
if my ‘ greenstone’ was actually pounamu. I had to wait for a few
minutes because poor Jerry was being swarmed by tamariki asking if
their stones, that they had found, were pounamu or not. When it was
my turn to ask him he said mine was definitely not pounamu.
Suddenly Alaska called out to me, “I think I found a piece of pounamu.”
We both ran along the beach to Jerry. He said that he would have to
double check so we walked away and kept looking. When the teachers
called all the tamariki to start the sculpture challenge Jerry said to
Alaska that her stone was pounamu. Unfortunately she had to give it
away as it was her first piece of pounamu that she found. I was very
grateful because Alaska gave it to me. I said lots and lots of thank yous
to her.
to look for pounamu. The awa is about two minutes away from
the Arahura marae. Jerry (on of the marae staff) and his cousin Tangi
came down to the awa with us to help us know if we had
found pounamu or not. For about ten minutes I could not find
any pounamu. When I found a green rock I went to Jerry and asked him
if my ‘ greenstone’ was actually pounamu. I had to wait for a few
minutes because poor Jerry was being swarmed by tamariki asking if
their stones, that they had found, were pounamu or not. When it was
my turn to ask him he said mine was definitely not pounamu.
Suddenly Alaska called out to me, “I think I found a piece of pounamu.”
We both ran along the beach to Jerry. He said that he would have to
double check so we walked away and kept looking. When the teachers
called all the tamariki to start the sculpture challenge Jerry said to
Alaska that her stone was pounamu. Unfortunately she had to give it
away as it was her first piece of pounamu that she found. I was very
grateful because Alaska gave it to me. I said lots and lots of thank yous
to her.
When we did the sculpture challenge my group - Noah, Kayden, Alaska
and I - tried to make a waka. We drew the outline and and then dug
some sand out so it sought of looked like a waka. We didn’t have enough
time to decorate the outside and it looked a bit plain. We didn’t come
\first, though I was very happy with our creation. The winning two teams
were Emma’s ( from ruma rima not ruma whitu ) group and Casey’s group.
We went back to the marae at 4 o’clock.
and I - tried to make a waka. We drew the outline and and then dug
some sand out so it sought of looked like a waka. We didn’t have enough
time to decorate the outside and it looked a bit plain. We didn’t come
\first, though I was very happy with our creation. The winning two teams
were Emma’s ( from ruma rima not ruma whitu ) group and Casey’s group.
We went back to the marae at 4 o’clock.
The Evening Rotation
At 7:00 pm we started the evening rotation. Each rotation went
for an hour. My first rotation was with Miss Ireland doing a
technology challenge. It was really funny because only ruma whitu
tamariki were in the group. We did the technology challenge in the
wharekai. When we got there, we got into teams. My team was an all
girls team. In my team I had Alaska, Mylah, Billie and myself. First she
handed out some newspaper and next she handed out some sellotape.
Our thing we had to make was a taniwha. Alaska, Mylah, Billie and I
made Waitaiki because we did not know that we had to make a taniwha.
Waitaiki is a beautiful maiden in a local legend and Poutini the pounamu
taniwha stole her away and turned her into pounamu. Mylah was our
model for our project. First I made a layered skirt. I cut the strips
almost to the end of the piece of newspaper and then kept doing that.
I repeated that process on two more pieces of newspaper. Jack, Sam’s
dad kindly helped us put our top together because we were having
trouble sticking it all together.
for an hour. My first rotation was with Miss Ireland doing a
technology challenge. It was really funny because only ruma whitu
tamariki were in the group. We did the technology challenge in the
wharekai. When we got there, we got into teams. My team was an all
girls team. In my team I had Alaska, Mylah, Billie and myself. First she
handed out some newspaper and next she handed out some sellotape.
Our thing we had to make was a taniwha. Alaska, Mylah, Billie and I
made Waitaiki because we did not know that we had to make a taniwha.
Waitaiki is a beautiful maiden in a local legend and Poutini the pounamu
taniwha stole her away and turned her into pounamu. Mylah was our
model for our project. First I made a layered skirt. I cut the strips
almost to the end of the piece of newspaper and then kept doing that.
I repeated that process on two more pieces of newspaper. Jack, Sam’s
dad kindly helped us put our top together because we were having
trouble sticking it all together.
When time was up we had a really good Waitiki model.
Miss Ireland judged my team first. She thought it was really good and
gave it a 5/5. The next two teams were all boys. First she judged
Kade’s team which was a pet Taniwha which sought of looked liked a dog.
I can’t remember what score she gave them but it wasn’t a 5/5.
The next team which was James team and they got a 5/5.
My team was very hōhā because we thought we were going to win.
We cleaned up the wharekai and then we were off to our last rotation.
Miss Ireland judged my team first. She thought it was really good and
gave it a 5/5. The next two teams were all boys. First she judged
Kade’s team which was a pet Taniwha which sought of looked liked a dog.
I can’t remember what score she gave them but it wasn’t a 5/5.
The next team which was James team and they got a 5/5.
My team was very hōhā because we thought we were going to win.
We cleaned up the wharekai and then we were off to our last rotation.
My last rotation was with my mum ( Phaedra ) and Jacks dad, Adrian.
It was in the conference room. We did lots of fun games.
The first game we played was called rats and rabbits.
We each had a partner and we all sat facing our partner
with our feet touching. When Phaedra called out rats we would
try to run to our side of the room without getting tagged.
It was the same thing with the rabbits. I lost by heaps.
The second game was where you put a ping pong ball in the middle
of the room and wack it with a roll of newspaper. We had two teams and
an opposition to play against. My number was three. When Phaedra
called out three me and my partner would run up to the ball and wack
it towards our goal but it went one way and then the other way so it
was quite hard. Then we played a very similar game. The ping pong ball
stayed in the middle and instead of newspaper rolls we had fans.
The fans could not touch the ping pong ball and we had to blow down
to our end. It was really fun and I really enjoyed watching it. The final
game was where we split into teams and we stood at one end of the room
on a towel and someone was holding the hoola hoop. The aim of the game
was getting to the other end of the room without going out of the hoola
hoop and going off the towel so basically you couldn’t touch the ground
unless you were in the hoola hoop. My team one the first round and then
lost the second round. That game was my favourite.
It was in the conference room. We did lots of fun games.
The first game we played was called rats and rabbits.
We each had a partner and we all sat facing our partner
with our feet touching. When Phaedra called out rats we would
try to run to our side of the room without getting tagged.
It was the same thing with the rabbits. I lost by heaps.
The second game was where you put a ping pong ball in the middle
of the room and wack it with a roll of newspaper. We had two teams and
an opposition to play against. My number was three. When Phaedra
called out three me and my partner would run up to the ball and wack
it towards our goal but it went one way and then the other way so it
was quite hard. Then we played a very similar game. The ping pong ball
stayed in the middle and instead of newspaper rolls we had fans.
The fans could not touch the ping pong ball and we had to blow down
to our end. It was really fun and I really enjoyed watching it. The final
game was where we split into teams and we stood at one end of the room
on a towel and someone was holding the hoola hoop. The aim of the game
was getting to the other end of the room without going out of the hoola
hoop and going off the towel so basically you couldn’t touch the ground
unless you were in the hoola hoop. My team one the first round and then
lost the second round. That game was my favourite.
The Mananui Tramline Walkway
The next day we went on a walk to the Mananui Tramline Walk.
When we got to the start of the walkway we got into groups of
two or three for a finding tree and answering questions sheet.
My group was Emma N, Ilish and I. We were very lucky because
Emma knows a lot about trees. We all set off on the trail and
straight away found a lot of trees. After about ten minutes we had
found all but one tree… Bush Lawyer! We kept searching for it and
suddenly Emma found it on the way back in the bush. When we got to
the morning tea spot Miss Ireland reminded us about the story and why
Hokitika was called Hokitika. Hoki means return and tika means straight.
For morning tea we had either an apple or a banana and a muesli bar. A
few minutes after we had finished eating, marshmallows got handed out.
We had two each. When we started walking back about ten minutes in I
found a peer of sunglasses, everybody said they were Sam’s. We gave
them to Miss Ireland to give to its owners. When we got back to the
start of the walk we all sat down and talked about the sheet. When we
hopped in the car I felt like going to sleep.
When we got to the start of the walkway we got into groups of
two or three for a finding tree and answering questions sheet.
My group was Emma N, Ilish and I. We were very lucky because
Emma knows a lot about trees. We all set off on the trail and
straight away found a lot of trees. After about ten minutes we had
found all but one tree… Bush Lawyer! We kept searching for it and
suddenly Emma found it on the way back in the bush. When we got to
the morning tea spot Miss Ireland reminded us about the story and why
Hokitika was called Hokitika. Hoki means return and tika means straight.
For morning tea we had either an apple or a banana and a muesli bar. A
few minutes after we had finished eating, marshmallows got handed out.
We had two each. When we started walking back about ten minutes in I
found a peer of sunglasses, everybody said they were Sam’s. We gave
them to Miss Ireland to give to its owners. When we got back to the
start of the walk we all sat down and talked about the sheet. When we
hopped in the car I felt like going to sleep.
When we first went to the Marae I was very nervous but I had a very
good experience. I really hope I go to the Marae again. I am very
thankful for the parents, the teachers, the Marae staff and everybody
who made this happen.
good experience. I really hope I go to the Marae again. I am very
thankful for the parents, the teachers, the Marae staff and everybody
who made this happen.
