Comparing our Class Treaty or agreement to the Treaty of Waitangi

In Room 15 the students studied the Treaty of Waitangi and they talked about the agreements which were made between the Maori people and the British people who represented the Queen at that time.
After  reading the books "The Tree Hut Treaty" and the " Marble Patch" during their shared reading time, the children have a better understanding of how a team of people can work well together in a partnership, (if they make a promise and keep their promise to do what they have promised to do). They also know that whenever a problem arises within the class they can always go back to the class treaty chart, which they have co-constructed as a group, to find solutions for their daily problems with support from teachers .
"The Class Treaty is a living document'" said their teacher, Mrs S. Naidoo.
"What does that mean, Mrs Naidoo?" asked Maedana.
"It means that whenever someone breaks the class agreement/promise, for example, if someone says something that upsets one of  their classmate ( a putdown) then we have to follow a process called a restorative chat, to bring back or restore justice to that situation- so that it becomes fair and we all feel safe and happy in our class. Even those who are responsible for causing a problem will  know how to resolve a tricky situation without disrupting learning time.

During inquiry time the students worked in groups to find out- What is a treaty? and

 What are the 3 articles in the Treaty of Waitangi about?

"The Queen of England promised that she would offer protection for the maori people against their enemies" said Teavali.

Elenor said "The English promised to respect and preserve the Maori way of life and their traditions."

Daina found out that "The Queen and the British people promised to protect the Maori the treasures of the sea (kaimoana) and  maori land from new settlers."

Make your Mark

During Art-time the children were learning how to make their Mark for 2014. They chose things that represented 'Who I am?' - in their family, their culture and what kind of sports they were interested in playing at school. Cortez and Delta is sketching their objects of interest.

Some created symbols with  lines,dots, and curves, others drew pictures of flowers, fruit and seafood. The Island children drew their fale and coconut palms. Maori students drew the wharenui and ferns.

The Indian kids drew a temple and cricket to represent themselves.

 Pilimilose is creating his symbol with lines.

Thereafter they had to select any 2 of their sketches as their Mark and then draw them in their book.
Finally they had to choose just one that they felt really represented them the most and that became their Mark for 2014. Here Maedana is creating his symbol with a combination of lines, curves and dots.

The Tree Hut treaty-What makes a strong Partnership?

On the first day of term 1 we read a book called `The Tree Hut Treaty about how the children in the neighbourhood learnt how to "make their mark" by finding out "What makes a strong Partnership?" The neighbour girls, Tia and Crystal persuaded their stubborn brothers Manaia and Jack to come to an agreement so that `The Tree Hut` which they built together, could be used by them, by taking turns to share the tree hut without having too much trouble. So they decided to "make a promise" and "keep their promise" to work well together as a group. So that whenever problems should arise in the future, which they may not be able to solve by themselves then they would ask their parents to step in to help them find a solution. An example of this process can be seen in our class treaty which was co-constructed by the students and teacher.

 Duffy, the King of Books made a grand entrance from the back of Sylvia Park hall, wearing a cloak of all the books he had read so far in life. "Wow! that's a awful lot of books for Duffy to have read," exclaimed JoArnia, in disbelief.

Now who can this be, causing quite a stir in the hall?  Yep! It is none other than Uncle Bingo, turning heads this time.

Uncle Bingo with his super-ego personality is a favourite among the kids in SPS.

 "I like his moves" giggled Keleni.

Meanwhile Duffy sings his favourite Duffy Song while Rosie pirouettes like a ballerina. All the children join in for a sing- a- long. "I 'm a Duffy Kid and I'm so proud of it...."

Somewhere high up in the air on a plane to Sydney, Uncle Bingo speaks to Lady Gaga. "Sorry all cellphones need to be put away. It is time for the take off," announced the air hostess. "What? What am I going to do for 3 hours?" asked Uncle Bingo in surprise.

 "Ah? READ a book -like all the others on the plane." she answered in disbelief. 

"Oh I am so so very bored!" cried Uncle Bingo in frustration. 

Then he did the most  weird thing- Yes, he talked to his hands, arms and legs.

 I wonder what the other passengers on the plane might have thought of him. Not that Uncle Bingo would give  a -oot what others think of him. That's Uncle Bingo !

"How was your sports trip to Sydney? asked Rosie. "Don't ask," said Uncle, grumpily.

"Guess what Uncle? We have made you a special book that would hook you?"  

"I told you I don't read!" cried Uncle Bingo.

"But this is a special book we have made just for you Uncle Bingo." said Duffy.

 "Yes and we all helped too," cried the kids together.

 "Well if you all worked hard to make a book for me- then I guess its time for me to `Read around the World`-so I would not get bored while flying on my sports trips.