We are lucky to have two new spaces for our outdoor learning at Ashley School!
Sunday, 4 October 2020
Planning our spring gardens with the help of a nutritionist!
Dr Meika Foster, a nutritionist ,who is Milan in Harakeke’s mum came and talked to children from Kowhai and the Enviro group about some wonderful healthier ideas for foods that we could create from the vegetables we grow in the school gardens. We are now going to keep these in mind as we plan ahead for planting our school garden in Spring. We also had a spring garden competition in which children could design a garden and a health menu from this.
Renaming our School Ashley Rakahuri
This term year we have been privileged to have our Mana Whenua Education Facilitator, Diane Robinson, in school to work with both staff and students in our senior school as we go through the process of renaming both our school and spaces.
We are very honoured that Ngai Tahu have gifted the name “Rakahuri” to us and we are now in the process of formalising this with the Ministry of Education and developing our school logo/ signage to reflect the dual name of Ashley Rakahuri.
Students in Totara, our Year 7 & 8 learning space are now working on developing a school naming narrative. This tells the story of the school related to our environment. Di spoke with children and staff about the importance of naming buildings correctly and that these should reflect our local environment. This meant that we had 4 buildings around the school that needed naming...the hall, the administration area, the library and Korimako. Korimako needed to be renamed as we learnt from Di that birds are moving creatures and so buildings (that are stationary) need to be named after objects that are equally well fixed to the ground, such as trees. To find suitable names, Totara students have taken on an inquiry into a specific tree, selected from a list researched by the Manu Whenua and representative of the plants in our area. They will present their findings to the rest of the school so that we can then decide on the best name for specific buildings. It has been so exciting to have the children involved so actively in this process where they have not only had the opportunity to learn about the trees, teach others what they have learned and gain a deeper understanding of our environment, but also to actively contribute to our school narrative through the naming of spaces. We have very much appreciated the support from Ngai Tahu as part of this process. 
We are very honoured that Ngai Tahu have gifted the name “Rakahuri” to us and we are now in the process of formalising this with the Ministry of Education and developing our school logo/ signage to reflect the dual name of Ashley Rakahuri.
Students in Totara, our Year 7 & 8 learning space are now working on developing a school naming narrative. This tells the story of the school related to our environment. Di spoke with children and staff about the importance of naming buildings correctly and that these should reflect our local environment. This meant that we had 4 buildings around the school that needed naming...the hall, the administration area, the library and Korimako. Korimako needed to be renamed as we learnt from Di that birds are moving creatures and so buildings (that are stationary) need to be named after objects that are equally well fixed to the ground, such as trees. To find suitable names, Totara students have taken on an inquiry into a specific tree, selected from a list researched by the Manu Whenua and representative of the plants in our area. They will present their findings to the rest of the school so that we can then decide on the best name for specific buildings. It has been so exciting to have the children involved so actively in this process where they have not only had the opportunity to learn about the trees, teach others what they have learned and gain a deeper understanding of our environment, but also to actively contribute to our school narrative through the naming of spaces. We have very much appreciated the support from Ngai Tahu as part of this process.
Adding a touch of colour!
A keen group of Year 5 &6 children made the space in front of Kowhai look a little more vibrant though painting some rocks to look like colourful flowers.
Recycling Rules have changed...How can we make sure we are doing the right thing?
Justin from Eco Educate came and talked to us all about Recycling. He showed what can and can’t be recycled and how we can look for the triangle with the numbers 1,2 or 5 in it for plastics. We now know lids of any sort can not be recycled and if they end up in our recycling this could mean all of it gets rejected and set to landfill !
We did a great job of sorting the rubbish and recycling for Justin and now know where each of the items should go ! It is now our job to help educate others ! Thank you Jason for your help.
Bees...Why are they so important to our world?
A huge thank you to Ryan, one of our Year 8’s, and his Mum who brought in one of his beehives for the children to see.
Ryan, and his Mum, run quite a few hives, and Ryan came to share a presentation on all things bee related. It is impressive to listen to Ryan as he has such an in-depth
knowledge about bees and beekeeping, and he was very engaging with the children and adults alike. Ryan is so well regarded that he has even been asked by local community groups to share his wonderful knowledge on the importance of bees.
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