We did it!

We have experienced  lots and lots of the amazing things that the East Coast has to offer and have met some great people along the way.  The Waituna West school "team "is something really special and we will have memories of this trip forever.
Thanks to Ali, Anna, Sav and Allen for all of your work pre and during the camp. Your enthusiasm and commitment to the kids in our school is inspiring. Enjoy some quite time over the next few weeks- you truly deserve it. We talked before the camp about how it was vital all parts of the jigsaw worked and this was achieved.
Being an adult helper on a Waituna West School camp is hard work. Your laughter, desire to be involved and development as a team set the culture for the camp. I thank every one of the parents who came on our road trip- we can't do this without you!
Finally a word about the students of our school. Our photos say it all. They laugh, they smile and sometimes when it all gets a bit too much, they know they can have a wee tear and someone else will give them a hand to get a smile back. They have had a go at some really challenging things over the past week and deserve to look back with pride on the way they have confronted these challenges. We have talked about how memories are made and the best ones are those shared with someone else.
He tangata he tangata.
I have loved every minute of it (.... and have an idea that could work for next year)
Thanks
Glen

Day 8 - homeward bound

Day 7

Potaka Marae farewell.

Day 6

A fantastic whole group photo of all the children and the adults who climbed to the top of the 700 steps to view the world from the most eastern point of New Zealand.

 

A bit of pig hunting and a touch of fishing

We've had heavy rain here at Potaka most of the night with more rain forecast throughout the day. Everyone seemed to sleep well and now we will make a plan to somehow get them all out to the Cape and back (rain, not accessible by big bus etc etc). Great camp- we are certainly getting a bit of everything!!.
Glen

Day 5

Day 4

Good morning Tolaga Bay

Ended the day with a damp bonfire🔥

We have had another great day. Although I've been at Waituna West for a while now, I am still constantly amazed at the willingness shown by everyone to have a go at new things and support each other through the "tough" times (including the wonderful parents we have on camp as well). I think I probably have the best job in the world and I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. 
Glen

Day 3

Eastwood Hill Arboretum 

What a rock slide!

Whangara- where "Whale Rider" the movie was filmed

The sunset that greeted us at Tolaga Bay tonight on our arrival.

Another big day ahead of us. We survived the 30 cm tsunami wave that landed about midnight and most of the school seemed to sleep better then they did on the first night on camp. Everything is going really well at the moment- all the pieces of camp seem to be fitting together superbly. Hendy and I are just having an early morning brew and wondering whether we should have paua for breakfast.

yuuummmmmmm!

Tsunami Warning

Due to a tsunami warning issued by the coastguard we removed our entire group away from coastal based activities for the rest of today. It is not expected to hit coast until midnight tonight. It is expected there will be unsettled tides rather than large waves. 

Day 2

Day two awakes to a well rested group and a beautiful day on Mahia Peninsula.

Mokotahi Hill climb  - Fantastic 360 degree view of Mahia.
Well done on everyone on an early morning trek to the top.
Everyone had a smile on their face when they made it!

A warm welcome from Te Mahia School Powhiri.  Our practices have proved that we understood the protocol and tikanga of a powhiri.

After a lovely morning tea at Te Mahia School - we headed to our beach activities at Coronation Park created and run by Nicky O'Brien Te Mahia School Principal and senior children.

After an early finish at Coronation Park because of a tsunami warning.  We packed up and headed to Morere Hot Pools.  What a lovely communal roman bath we had. 

We ended Day 2 with the first of the parent lead activities held in the dining hall.  

The ultimate "WORM RACES".  

Day 1

Watch out for us on our road trip!

Hyped and ready to go at 6:45am

Brunch at Waipawa - Jellicoe Park

Whole school 5 year olds --12 year olds and all the other old fellas -  Exploring caves on a Frasertown farm.  Every child made it "in and out" of those limestone caves.  

Whole entourage arrived at Mahia Peninsula (Tuahuru Marae) 7pm after 12 loooooong hours!!

A great first day followed by a good night sleep.  Catch you tomorrow - Day 2 awaits.   

The day has finally arrived- all packed and ready to go. Frasertown here we come!

Team Work

Many hands make light work ...

Bus Ready to Load

Room 3 - One Sleep to Go!

Here are a few stories from Room 3 about how excited we are about camp.

Caving
Tessa, Louie, and Tom, Molly and Bill are My Aunty and Uncle and cousins they are going in the cave.  It is going to be dark and scary and there might be stalagmites and stalactites.  We need a helmet and old caving shoes.  By Daisy.


One Sleep to Go!
I am excited to go on camp because I want to go in the dark caves and we sill see a rope that will hang down the dark cave so I will go down the hole. By Lily.

One Sleep to Go!
Tomorrow it is camp.  I can not wait until tomorrow.  First we are going to the caves.  I am so excited and on the last day of camp we are going to the hot pools.  By Izak

ROOM 1 THOUGHTS

These are some of the room 1 (middle class) students thoughts on camp 1 sleep out.

JONTY-

I am looking forward to caving because I have never been caving before and I like going down holes. I am a little anxious about driving around on the bus all of the time.

ANNABELLE G. -

I am looking forward to going down Rere Falls. I am scared about the weta's in the cave.

JESSICA W. - 

I am looking forward to seeing the lighthouse. I am a little bit anxious about driving because i get car-sick.

DANIELLE-

I am looking forward to staying at the Marae's. I am a bit scared about going down the slippery Rere Falls.

AYLA-

I am looking forward to the 700 steps to the lighthouse. I am nervous about going to the Marae's because I have never been to one before.  

 

CAMP BUDDY STORIES

These are some shorter version stories that the room 2 class have put together about their camp buddies. The last name on the title is the room 2 student.

NATASHA AND ANNABEL J.

She likes to play with me. Me and my camp buddy Tash are going to sleep together at the awesome Marae.

BROOKE AND RUBY B. 

Brooke is my big camp buddy. Brooke is fantastic because she makes me happy.

CARTER AND LEO

My big buddy is as tall as a ladder. I like Carter because he is fun.

TIANA AND EMILY

Tiana is my special camp buddy. Her eyes are blue and green. Tiana is brilliant because she is nice.   

  

ROOM 2 CAMP GOALS-

Here are some of room 2's camp goals that they came up with, with the help of their teacher, Mrs Symonds.

SAM'S CAMP GOALS

My managing self goal...

I am going to try to eat everything that is on my dinner plate every night.

TOM'S CAMP GOALS

My participating and contributing..

I am going to try and be brave and feed a stingray by myself.

AMELIA'S CAMP GOALS

My managing self goal...

I am going to try and look after all of my camp gear and pack and unpack my bag all by myself.

DAISY'S CAMP GOALS

My participating and contributing goal...

I am going to try and jump off the Tologa Bay Wharf. 

RUBY'S CAMP GOALS

My participating and contributing goal...

I am going to try to join in with all the Powhirir's and do the Hongi.

BEN'S CAMP GOALS

My managing self goal...

I am going to try and eat what is on offer for breakfast on camp.

STUARTS CAMP GOALS

My participating and contributing goal...

I am going to try and go down some of Rere Falls.

 

9am. Really busy. Stuff arriving, baking, bags, kids, Mums...

ONE more sleep to go! The bus and vans get loaded today with (fingers crossed!!) all of the really important things that are on the personal gear lists. Plus we have to make enough room to sneak in the REALLY important things like the flounder net, the fishing rods, the kontiki, the dive gear, the fish smoker, the wet suits, the boogie boards, the helmets for caving and Mr Richardsons craypot. And we have to make room for the Pork, Bacon and Ham that used to be our school pigs and the venison patties and salami and baking and.. and..
Actually, it's a bit surprising more people don't come to Waituna West School!

Only 5 sleeps to go. here are some of the students thoughts on camp:

What we are excited about-

We are exited for the Arboretum and going down Rere Falls near Gisborne. We are a little bit nervous about Stingray Feeding. The Stingray Feeding location will depend on the weather but it is most likely going to be at the oyster farm in Ohiwa or at Mahia Peninsula. Another thing we are looking forward to is going through more Powhiri's like the one we went through at Kaiwhaiki Marae earlier this term. I guess you could say that a few of the us are looking forward to the caving, although it does sound a little scary!!! But a new experience will be great. We are sure that everyone is looking forward to a nice burger and chips from McDonalds on the way home too! 

What we are nervous about-

some things we are nervous about is the way we are going to look after and help our camp buddies. Another thing is the huge, 700 step lighthouse walk! It is going to be a little hard all staying together on the lighthouse walk but we have been doing some whole school walks up the road to practice for all of the walking.

 Overall, we think that the camp is going to be an absolutely amazing experience for all ages!

Zoe (year 6), Cater (year 6) and Brooke (year 7) 

The camp is almost here (at last) We had a great parents meeting yesterday to finalise everything and now there is just food shoping and last minute bits to do.
The school is also quite famous at the moment with a really good article in the Manawatu Standard.
6 sleeps....http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/news/71830853/waituna-west-school-is-heading-east-for-an-eye-opening-experience

Here it is. The "dry weather, all going well" itinerary. Still working on the alternative one. Looking pretty good though...

Camp Itinerary

Day one 7am Departure from school Waipawa short break - brunch Lake Tutira-lunch stop 1pm Caving- Frasertown  4:30 pm Leave for  Mahia Arrive at Mahia : feed and unpack at Tuhauru Marae

Day two 7 am Breakfast 8 am Walk to lookout at Mokotahi Hill, local history of significance.?? Historians ?? 9:15 am  Te Mahia School for morning tea and powhiri. Mahia day as organised (TBC) 2:30 pm Marae for afternoon tea then Morere hot springs. 6:30 pm Dinner at the marae.

Day Three 7 am Breakfast 8 am Travel to Gisborne and onto the Arboretum 9:30 am Arboretum –orienteering / activities 11:30 am leave for Rere Falls Lunch and swimming 1:30 pm Leave falls 2:00 pm Gisborne for photo with Young Nick or Captain Cook (if still alive) 2:30 pm visit Whangara- Pa Road 3:30 pm Tologa Bay sort, unpack and feed.

Day Four –Tologa Bay 7am Breakfast Surfing school Fishing school Beach art school Hut building school Juniors to be independent with work Bonfire night Obstacle course competition Inter-house competition

Day Five 7 am breakfast 9 am Pack and leave Tologa 9:30 am Tokomaru Bay. Maybe have discussion with Maori elders. 10:30 am Morning tea 11:00 am Leave Tokomaru Bay Call in to Ruatoria for a look around. Lunch at Tikitiki then go to beach to look at old Waka from Whale Rider. 2:00 pm Leave Tikitiki for Te Araroa 2:30 pm Stop off at Te Araroa for toilet stop and break. 4:30 pm arrive Potaka 5:00 pm Powhiri Dinner

Day 6 7 am breakfast Leave as early as possible for rocky shore study and East Cape. Maybe split into junior and senior for rocky shore study: depending on suitability of rocky shore. Tides are against doing rocky shore during middle of day. All go to East Cape lighthouse and photo at the top. Arrive back at marae as time allows.

Day 7 7am Breakfast 9am Leave school Raukokori  Church for photo shoot 10am Te Kaha holiday park bay for short stretch and feed. 11:00am Oyster farm to feed stingrays. Morning tea. Arrive at Awakeri Hot Pools. Slideshow in the evening.

Day 8 7:00 am breakfast 9:30 am Leave Travel straight through to Taupo. McDonalds – Pre-order to ensure food is ready by the time the children arrive Parking near park and children can have lunch in the park. Stops as required on the return journey from Taupo 1:00 pm leave Taupo Phone tree for when we are heading back 4:00 pm back at school

Big meeting tonight with the staff and FINALLY have pretty much almost just about completely nailed the itinerary for our school "Road trip." We will get this posted tomorrow and then begin planning our alternative one for those days where the weather is horrible and a plan B (or C) is needed. Phew!

We had a wonderful night at Kaiwhaiki Marae on the Whanganui River a few weeks ago with Matua Ash and his whanau. For many of our students (and parents) it was the very first time on a Marae. The overnight stay was part of our learning in preparation for the "Road trip."

OK...here we go.
About 25 sleeps until camp. Everyone is getting excited and learning lots about all of the places we will visit along the way. Whooohoo.

Great progress is being made on the damaged road by the Waituna West bridge. We will be able to open the school tomorrow. Whoohooo!!

The beginning

This is the first post from the Waituna West School....