Seedlings For Native Revamp!

Today Hanna and Sean, Green Team leaders from Room 10, visited with Jack Elphick to look at the plants he has propagated and now offered to the school.

Jack who lives locally has been very active in environmental issues, both in New Zealand and overseas. He has worked in South America and was involved at Muraroa, protesting against nuclear testing in the Pacific. More recently Jack was doing volunteer work for DOC propagating native plants on Mana Island.

Jack, who has been very busy has offered us wineberry, ake ake, cabbage trees and kanuka seedlings for our revamping of the school's native area. The Green team plan to pick these up early next term, and put them into an area near the compost heaps to grow on until we are ready to plant them out. A huge thank you to Jack for his wonderful offer.

Cauliflower Soup for Room 7

Today Room 7 created and consumed curried cauliflower soup! At morning tea, Olivia, Dan, Sam, Kahu and Ngaire , chopped onions, cauliflower(harvested from Friday), and saute'd it all in butter and curry powder. Next they added chicken stock, water and the soup cooked until everything was soft. The staff room smelt devine, and many of the staff passing through stared longingly into the cooking pot, hoping for a try of the left overs! But it was not to be.

The mixture was then whizzed up, milk and flour added ( to thicken slightly), and served up at lunch time.

All but two members of the class were keen to try the soup, and second and third helpings were soon being served up! The pot was soon empty!

Well done Room 7. What great risk takers! Lovely new flavours to try at home.

Catch Up

Today we were busy with a bit of a clean and tidy up of some of the gardens in front of the senior classrooms. The Green team members of Rooms 10 and 11 weeded the beds outside their rooms, while Room 9 members weeded some of the vegetable garden and put fresh compost in the beds outside Room 4. The Juniors are planning to plant up their beds over the winter!

After lunch Mrs Douglas and her lovely Room 7 Juniors came out to weed more of the vegetable garden. Hannah and Sean from Room 10 demonstrated how the compost collection system turned food scraps into wonderful growing material.

Room 7 harvested cauliflowers, cabbages, tomatoes, beans, and the odd strawberry!

I think there will be a wee feast had early next week.!!

Art Attack 2011 'The Addington Market'

This year we got together with the First Language Group to create 'The Addington Market'. We hope you enjoy our creation.

2011 Starts with a Bean Feast!!!

Another year, and the new Green team for 2011 kicked off with a bean harvest and feast! Our beans had grown well over the holidays thanks to Emily Rose, Hazel and their Mum who kindly kept up the watering. Everything is looking great!

Last Friday some of the senior school Green teamers, picked and then cooked up the beans for a feast at lunch time. We compared the taste of raw and cooked beans, and there were fans of both!

Green Team membership in the Senior school has rocketed to 64!!!! The Junior school has yet to sign up, however numbers are expected to be just as high. That would mean over half the school is now part of the Green Team! Fantastic!

So... this will mean a new way of managing our projects, and will probably involve each class taking turns to help out in particular areas, and on certain projects. This is going to be a wonderful year with so many children involved.

Room 1 Update

Children from Room 1 with their rapidly growing plants.

These pots of bean and sunflower seedlings will go home with them this week.

Seed Sowing Frenzy in Room 1

Room 1 have been learning all about the 'ee' sound and last Friday morning as part of this learning, the children sowed some sunflower and bean seeds in containers. Each child had to fill their container with the special soil mix and make 6 holes for their seeds. The seeds were popped into the holes, watered, and in the last week all the children have been watching with great interest as the seeds germinate and begin to grow. Very exciting!! The children plan to plant some of the sunflowers around the school, and take the beans to grow at home.