Term 2 Week 4

Our Polyfest Journey
Wow!! What an amazing journey this years Polyfest theme "Storytelling" is taking us on!  As we unravel the Maori Legend of the Takitimu we are discovering how 'stories' passed down through the generations have slight variations.  A massive thank you to our whanau for sharing your knowledge and deepening our understanding of the Takitimu legend. Keep the support coming, we appreciate your guidance!  As kaiako (teachers) it's truly heartfelt watching nga tamariki take such pride and enjoyment retelling their version with friends and family.
A strong sense of belonging & connection to our beautiful mountains is growing everyday as we share our stories.  For this reason, we are driven to share the Maori legend of the Takitimu Mountains with our whanau & local community.  How can we do this!? Christina had the best idea!! Displaying our Polyfest art entry at Ivy Russell Reserve!  We're super excited to make this happen!  Keep reading to follow our journey.

On Monday Christina took Electra, Charles, Zara & Leighton on a walk to visit our local friends who may be able to help our vision come true!

Chatting with Ethan at Mitre10 about sign making

Asking Stu about technology for our sign sound system

Meeting Greg at Lodge Electrical for MORE technology advice!

Asking local Council representative Tash about the possibility of making a sign

Revisiting another Waka - the Kindy Waka for inspiration for our sign

Seeking Creative Design advice from Amanda

Out & about again on Wednesday
Christina, Shahn, Tamiah, Jack & Conrad braved the weather and went to visit Carmel from Winton Library. We're eager to learn more about the stories & legends of the Takitimu Mountains. Carmel shared with us In The Shadow of The Takitimus.


Nga Tamariki Share Their Story
'Where do stories live?' Everywhere at Winton Kindy! Nga tamariki have been exploring storytelling through a variety of mediums.  The Takitimu waka has been having some amazing adventures according to nga tamariki.



Forest Kindy
Thanks to Linda and Kathy New Entrant and Year 1 Teachers of Limehills School for joining us at Ivy Russell Reserve on Tuesday...Disappearing Takitimu Mountains, collecting bark for Polyfest and mmmmsausages! Thanks Hayden and Jack for cooking us delicious sausages - and Jack for being so kind offering our bus driver Duncan one to enjoy too!


We love stories!!
On Thursday Carmel arrived from Winton Library to share some of her favourite stories with nga tamariki.  We loved kicking back and relaxing while discovering how our wildlife creatures made friendships and cared for each other - a great connection for nga tamariki that went to see the show Kokako's Song last week.  After sharing stories Carmel got everyone up and dancing!



'Is it a tent?  No, it's a mountain...TAKITIMU!'
On Friday we had our Limehills student volunteers working with nga tamariki to create our very own Takitimu Mountain. We loved how our tent took on it's new transformation...but we're missing one thing...SNOW!  Climbing 'into' the mountain created a relaxing space to read some of our favourite kindy books.  Our 'Mountain' was even completed with stars inside...hmm this reminds us of Matariki. Stayed tuned for more on Matariki next week... lots of celebrating to come!


See you all next week,

The Teaching Team

Term 2 Week 3

POLYFEST 2018!!!
T-Shirt Design Competition
Templates and information have been posted into the Parent Pockets this week for families to create their own unique "Storytelling" symbols...We look forward to seeing your ideas!

Polyfest Art
Our ecological lens continues through out Polyfest Arts journey this Term. With the theme "Storytelling" we want to extend on our own storytelling repertoire, using the Maori legend of the Takitimu Mountains, through a variety of "storytelling" mediums.
 On Monday, Antonia introduced us to the main character, Tamatea, who was eager to build his own Waka, named "Takitimu", to sail across the seas to Aotearoa New Zealand. Zara and Shahn retold "Part 1" of the legend using our OHP and Shadow Puppet Theatre. We wait in anticipation to find out what happens next in the story.


Forest Kindy - Mark Oster Environment Southland
At Forest Kindy we welcomed Mark- another fabulous eco-storyteller. He retold the story of "Neil the Eel" and took us on a journey through its life cycle...alas we are still to "bump" into him on our weekly visits! We also meet Ruru, Mark's pet Owl, setting to work to create nests for Ruru using what we could find on the Forest floor. Then it was off into the heart of the Forest to learn more about New Zealand pests and predators - finding possum, weasel, ferret, stoats and rats! We then learned about tracking pests using ink and paper...all in a mornings fun at Ivy Russell! I bet LOTS of stories have come home about our time with Mark!


Kokako's Song
On Tuesday afternoon we walked along to the Winton Memorial Hall to watch the Birdlife Production of 'Kokako's Song'. Storytelling through puppetry, music, interpretive dance, acting, singing, and laughter! The beauty and magic of the performance has certainly inspired our own storytelling - and we look forward to introducing a range of props to our Shadow Puppet Theatre.



Limehills Students 
On Friday we had our Limehills School students; Cameron, Brook, Caitlyn and Annalise working with nga tamariki creating props to use when retelling the legend of the Takitimu Mountains.  While we had our designers busy at work everyone shared their own thoughts of the Takitimu Mountains...'did you see the snow on the Mountains!!?'  Stay tuned next week for more!



The Teaching Team