LZ1 Matariki Assembly

 This week LZ1 I inquired about Matariki. Each class presented their learning at Assembly.

We began the week making and sharing Harvest Soup....a traditional way to celebrate Matariki.

At assembly, Mrs Jefferson's class shared a collaborative report about Matariki.

Matariki Report LZ1PJ

Matariki is a cluster of stars that are found in the New Zealand sky from June 19th to July 11th this year. These dates change annually and next year, for the first time, New Zealand has a public holiday on June 24th.

There are nine stars that we know of in the Matariki cluster.

Their names are Matariki, Waiti, Waita, Waipunarangi, Tupuanuku, Tupuarangi, Ururangi, Pohutukawa and Hiwa-i-te Rangi. There are millions of stars in the Matariki cluster but only nine are visible to the human eye.

 

The stars of Matariki have their own meanings. Matariki means the health and wellbeing of people. Pohutukawa is the star associated with those that have passed on. Waiti means food from fresh water. Waita means the ocean and the food that we get from it. Waipunarangi is associated with weather and the rain. Tupuanuku means the things that grow underground. Tupuarangi means the things that grow and live in the trees. Ururangi means the fresh wind that refreshes you. Hiwai-te-rangi represents wishes and aspirations.

You can see the Matariki stars in the eastern  sky. They appear around 6:30am and disappear when the sky turns orange. You can see the Matariki stars just left of where the sun rises. They can be seen in every part of the world but at different times depending on where you are. In English, it is called the Pleiades (its ancient Greek name) or the Seven Sisters. The Hawaiian name is Makali'i, or 'eyes of royalty', and in Japan it is Subaru, meaning 'gathered together'. So as you can see Matariki stars can be recognised around the world.

There are many different legends about Matariki. One of the most popular legends is the Seven Kites, a story about the seven kites that flew into the gloomy night sky. The Seven sisters handmade each kite and they were all different in their own ways. The kites had an element each. which created Matariki. The elements were the things that live in the trees, kai, weather, seawater, freshwater, relationships, and last but not least, Matariki which represented health and wellbeing. There are many legends of Matariki, and this is one variation.

Matariki is celebrated today by spending time with friends and whanau. During Matariki people feast on kai that maybe was grown in the springtime. Another feast people do is called a Hangi which is like cooking things underground. Lanterns are made to put outside for crafts and also to recycle pumpkin scraps from the feast. You can look at the stars and spot Matariki at 6:30am when they come out in the early morning sky.

These are some of the ways to celebrate Matariki.

So as you can see, Matariki is a special time to spend with whanau and friends, celebrating what is known as the Maori New Year.

Miss Huntingford's class read Matariki poems and shared their art.

Mrs Forlong's class shared their Matariki weaving and baking.

Mr Grice's class shared their learning about how Matariki can be celebrated flying manu tukutuku.

LZ1KH Assembly Sharing

Today in assembly we shared some of our learning we have done about Matariki this past week. 

Stars and Values - Week 5 & 6

 

The Blood Moon - by Janae Ma

      The blood moon

Today, the 26th of  May, 2021, is the blood moon. We don’t usually look forward to seeing it. Today I will be explaining why the moon appears to be red on that particular day. It involves history, our earth's eclipse and has something to do with the sunrise and sunset.

In the olden days, the ancient Mayans feared the reason why the moon is turning red is because a monster is eating it so that's why it’s turning red. So, they would usually scream and shout up to the moon. Because it only lasted a few hours, they were convinced it had worked. 

When you look up at a full moon, you will see sunlight tht has reflected off the lunar surface, so if something were to block that sunlight, say, the earth, then in theory, the moon should disappear from view but during a total lunar eclipse when the moon passes through the earth’s shadow, we get a red moon, not a disappearing one. Why?  During a total lunar eclipse there is a red ring around our planet. Everywhere the ring is, it’s either a sunset or a sunrise. 

The earth’s atmosphere is bending the red wave lengths of light around  the planet. So that redness you see during a blood moon eclipse is a combination of every sunrise and sunset on earth, all happening at once. So the moon appears red for the same reason that sunrises and sunsets on earth are red because  of a phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering, named after the British physicist John William Strutt, also known as lord Rayleigh, who discovered it in the late 19 century.  

It describes how different colors of sunlight interact with the earth's atmosphere. For example, the daytime is blue because the earth’s atmosphere scatters blue light more easily than red, but during sunrise and sunset, the light travels through more of earth’s atmosphere before reaching your eye

                              

which has two consequences. First, it means more overall sunlight is scattered, making the sun appear dimmer. So that's why  you can easily gaze upon the sun at sunset. Compared to a high noon. And secondly more scattering means more blue light is scattered away, leaving the redder wavelengths behind. Similarly, the ring around the earth during a total lunar eclipse is red, because the sunlight travels through a long stretch of earth's atmosphere, from one end of the planet to the other. So rather than fearing the blood moon like the Mayans did, why not think of it as a special moment? Remember, the blood moon has something to do with our earth's eclipse, and has something to do with the sunrise and sunset.

Janae Ma

Year 6

10 word stories

 We had a little fun in writing on Thursday.  

We chose a fairytale and wrote about it in ten (or just under) words.  When we were finished we shared them and everyone had to guess which fairytale they described. We have posted a few below for you to guess.  Enjoy.

When lying, nose grows.  Made out of wood.

Little girl ate porridge.  Too hot, too cold, just right.

Black bob cut, dwarfs, apple, animals and singing. Hi ho!

Cage, witch, forest, gingerbread house, greedy kids, sweet tooth.

3 goats walk on bridge. Troll threatens to eat them.

Little boy comes to life, runs away.

Glass slipper. Bullied by step sister. Fairy godmother.

Blue gown, glass slipper.  Midnight magic.

Museum Exhibition Opening

 A small group of students were lucky enough to be invited to the opening of a new exhibition at the Museum. The exhibition is called Te Whiwhinga The Imaginarium. It is a place for hands on experience with museum artifacts, story telling and learning.

We were VIPs, met by a dinosaur, served lunch, entertained by Orakei School Kapa Haka and we listened to speeches from important people and two Year 8 students from Northcross! A great experience.

Stars and Values - Week 3 and 4