Parent volunteers are the backbone
Y3/4 trip
Parent Volunteers are the backbone of Maungatapere School extra curriculum programmes or (EOTC) Education Outside the Classroom. On Tuesday the 19 th the Y3/4 classes travelled in cars to Taiharuru for an Experiencing Marine Reserve day. It wasn’t a marine reserve, but was the most
appropriate location given the weather conditions. 68 students attended, 37 parents (the backbone)
were parent volunteers who had specific roles supporting the children.
Sadly, I didn’t get to go. Therefore, I asked some students to visit my office and tell me all about it.
We went snorkelling. I enjoyed it, because it was a fun experience for me. I had only done it once
before. I also saw heaps of seaweed, since I brought my own snorkel and wetsuit. My wetsuit was
only up to my knees and elbows. So the seaweed spiked my legs and hurt, but I got over it.
Kaden Duff R1
I saw a snapper flipping a kina and eating it. We made a big sandcastle with all of my friends and it
had tunnels. At the end of the day it was broken.
Jackson Fidler R3
It was hard for the baby snappers, because they can’t eat the kina because their mouths are too
small to flip the kina to eat them. The kina eats the seaweed, so the fish will not have a home.
Corbin Fergusson R2
I saw an octopus on the sand when I was snorkelling. I saw a goat fish. I know it was a goatfish
because it has whiskers on it. Pippa told us. We made a sandcastle and it was a really fun day.
Ava Sole R2
We did these activities, we had a hoop and put it on the sand. We had to name all of the things that
were inside the hoop. Some of the things we found were, seaweed, driftwood, shells, wood and the
popping seaweed. Each classroom created a room number out of sand and decorated it. Avery Morgan R1
We made sandcastles and when we were digging the sand up, there was lots sand hoppers. They
jumped really high and they looked like sand because they were camouflaged. We decorated the
sandcastles. Amelia Kelly R3
As part of our EOTC review both deputy principals attended the day. Whaea Rachael was in the role of a teacher, with Mrs Goodison standing back as overall life guard. The extensive review is not just
about new documents and ticking boxes, it is about doing the careful thinking and planning to
eliminate/reduce risk at these events. Both deputy principals will be feeding back to staff their
observations from the day to improve practice and help all staff plan safe events moving forward.
Again, a huge thankyou to the parent volunteers worked with the children to give them a positive
learning experience.
Maunga Mahem 2.0 – this weekend – Saturday 23rd March
Parent volunteers are the backbone
Today, I am finishing off the newsletter a day later than normal. All week the busy Maunga Mayhem
team have been ramping up the hours, at school, at each other’s houses and behind the scenes.
There will be time to thank everyone later. There is a lot of excitement about the new venue. The
planning team will be going over their planning, going through multiple checklists and coordinating
this epic event. I wish them well and look forward to the day and seeing everyone enjoying
themselves. Spare a thought on the day, for this group of organisers, and how much they have done
to both raise money for your children and support the school. At the end of the day there will be
some incredibly tired organisers, who have really burnt the candle at both ends.
