Saturday 24 November 2018

SUMMER Writing School for Year 8s

Summer writing school in Chch

A whole week of writing and learning and laughing!
Each summer, young writers from across the country gather at Hagley College in Christchurch to work alongside award-winning writers in pen-to-page workshops.
You get to select four day-long workshops to follow your passion or add to your writing repertoire. On day five you benefit from 1:1 mentor time to redraft your pieces and share in a celebration of a community of writers.

Workshop options include: Song Lyrics, Comedy Writing, poetry forms and skills including Rising Voices, Flash Fiction, OuLiPo, Writing Suspense and Scares, and Kickstart your (Fantasy) Novel.

Our tutors are all award-winning writers and performers: James Norcliffe, Frankie McMillan, Lisa Tui Jonathan, Gail Ingram, Jeff Clark, Heather McQuillan, Melanie Dixon and Jess Fiebig.

Please note this is not a residential course. Participants must organise their own accommodation and food.

Saturday 3 November 2018

Bake Sale on Thursday

The Tournament of Minds team who represented Raroa and NZ at the International Competition in Darwin are fundraising towards the expenses of the trip.
A BAKE SALE is being held this Thursday at lunchtime in the quad for the Raroa students. We'd love your support for this fundraising and would appreciate it if your child could bring some money to spend. All items for sale will cost $1 or $2. Thanks in anticipation.

WOW...just WOW!

A new set of intricate fruit and veggie carvings from Japanese chef Takehiro Kishimoto. 
That avocado! That broccoli! That video of the apple!

NZ Playhouse coming to Raroa

Back Again By Popular Demand ...
NZ Playhouse is making a return visit to Raroa  with the hilarious interactive show, "Shakespeare: As You Write It".
Thursday 22 November 11am in the School Hall
During the show, the actors collaborate with the students to create a new Shakepearean play using film, music and buzz word references suggested by the audience.
This show was hugely popular at Raroa two years ago and we are so excited to have them back again. The show is for ages 11-18 years so some Onslow College students are also joining us. The cost will be $5.
Please watch out for a notice next week so you can get a ticket for your child!

The Beauty of Science

Check out this collection of videos from Beauty in Science
Here's a snapshot of the 63 videos...
Metal Displacement

Elemental Burning

Friday 26 October 2018

Walt Hamer to be republished

In the last three years, Toitoi Magazine has published over 1000 young writers and artists - one of our students, Walt Hamer, had his illustrations published. 

From Toitoi magazine to Walt:

To celebrate your courage, curiosity and creativity, we have created The Jillion — a collection of some of the most amazing writing and artwork from Toitoi.

The Jillion will be a beautiful, hardcover book that will be enjoyed by readers all over New Zealand and even the world. I am delighted to tell you that your incredible illustrations for 'Make Our Voices Count' from Toitoi 10 will be published in The Jillion. Congratulations!

PAT Assessments this week

All students will be sitting the PAT Maths and Reading Comprehension assessments this week.  This is a great opportunity for the students to see their progress across the year as they compare these achievements with those from Term 1.
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A short but busy week behind us...

Here's an update on the groups Mrs Dunn works with:

Mathletes from Teams 3-4 have begun exploring Game Theory.  This is mathematical study of social interactions in games that have payoffs for the players. Team 2 will begin this learning this coming week. Team 1& 5 Mathletes are continuing development of their algebraic thinking and how it can be used to solve problems, before the Game Theory unit.

Ext(reme) Writers have a wealth of learning experiences ahead of them this term.  After much exploration of Shakespeare's language and themes, the students are creating their own script Shakespeare-style of part of a known oral, written or written text, such as a movie of book scene, a nursery rhyme, etc.
In addition, they are preparing to present their Slam poems to family and friends (date to be confirmed), as well as reflecting on the year's achievements.

A small group of Manawanui Originals got together this week - the Smiling Mind app was explored some more and positive feedback came from the students who are using this themselves now.  The discussions revolved around knowing what things we have control over and accepting there are some things that we don't have any "control" over but that we can choose how we respond to them.

Tournament of Minds International Team planned fundraising events for this term and have submitted them to Mrs Brown.  They have also been invited to the Board of Trustees Meeting on 5 November to make a presentation about their representing Raroa and NZ in Darwin.

Our Chess Teams Trijal, Daniel, Adam, Mitchell, Sarthak, Alex V, Richie and Chloe joined the Hutt Intermediate Exchange team from Raroa on Thursday.  Normally, a sporting exchange, it was GREAT to see our Chess Teams competing this year.  We await the results....

Mrs Dunn was lucky enough to be invited to the Raroa Wargaming Club this week - the group meets on every Wednesday at lunch - we are in the process of getting support from Games Workshop who has a School ALliance Programme on offer.

Otago Maths Finalists

Finalists in Otago Maths Problem Solving Competition

Over the course of the year, some students were invited to participate in the Otago Problem Solving Competition.  This involved 5 challenges across Terms 1-3.

Due to their results, these students were selected to sit the New Zealand Finals Paper in Week 2 of this term:
Alex Hay, Tuhina Sambhus, Sarthak Singh, Aidan Wheeler, Nathan Adamson, Scarlett Stallworthy, Trijal Pednekar, Michael Ling, Tom Jacobsen, Richie Man and Lara Haslam

Congratulations on this achievement - all the best when the results are announced.

Sunday 21 October 2018

Term 4 GATE Timetable has been updated

Check it out.......
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ICAS English Results Announced!

Congratulations to the 94 students who took part in the ICAS English Competition in July!
The students were assessed on their ability to locate, identify, sequence, explain, interpret, analyse and infer information. A variety of types of texts were used including extracts from picture books, short stories, novels, poems, play scripts, transcripts of interviews, letters, diary entries, advertisements, webpages, feature articles, opinion pieces and comic strips.
The outstanding results showed that:
  • just over 6% of the Raroan students who sat ICAS English this year, were in the top 1% of NZ participants.
  • 13% of the Raroan students who sat ICAS English this year, were in the next 2 -11% of NZ participants
  • 30% of the Raroan students who sat ICAS English this year, were in the next 25% of NZ participants
Special congratulations go to these students who gained a High Distinction Award (in the top 1% of NZ participants in their year level): Aidan Wheeler, Izzi Anderson, Avin Chen, James Lee-Guard, Tuhina Sambhus and Arabella Tries
Special congratulations go to these students who gained a Distinction Award (in the top 2-11% of NZ participants in their year level): Cole Baker, Amy Cable, Jessica Kinsella, Trijal Pednekar, Savannah Pittaway, Tom Robinson, Nathan Stacey, Charlie Wragg, Tait Keller, Flynn Cursons, Lily Harward Jones, Jan Munro and David Zhu.
And to the following students for gaining a Credit Award (in the next 25% of NZ participants in their year level): Ben Adamson, Adya Bhargava, Brian Deng, Max Doherty, Matthew Douche, Georgia Goldsmith, William Gong, Josh Harford, Tom Jacobsen, Michael Ling, Orla O'Meara, Daniel Soh, Sophia Xu, Taylor Adamson, Sophia Boulieris, Alex Brown, Nicole Clemente, Guy Curry Stanton, Ellen Hammond, Dmitry Joffe-Devoy, Shannon McCormick, Ken Milne, Richie Moon, Sarthak Singh, Samuel Smith, Elizabeth Tam, Alex Vannucci, Alice Verkade and Janelle Woolley
All students who participated have received a certificate and an individual report detailing their own results in each skill area. Congratulations to everyone!

Epro8 Engineering Challenge

Well done to the squad of 16 which competed in this engineering challenge. For most, it was the first time ever, being in the noisy, hectic environment, mainly competing against the formidable Tawa Intermediate teams in the Western Zone Heats on Wednesday night.
It takes significant teamwork and experience in understanding and following the judging requirements when tired and under pressure using equipment that you have never seen before. 
 As the competition goes through to year 10 (Onslow College support it) there will be plenty of opportunities for keen participants in the years to come. 
One team managed to gain a creditable 4th (they almost won - but didn't quite follow judging criteria in the last few seconds) which puts this team into the semi’s in several weeks time starting off on equal footing again. 
Well done to everyone, in particular to  Izzy Rm 1 & Jesse & Trijal Rm 11 and Tuhina Rm 22 and thanks to Mr Devine for training the teams.

Team members:
Izzi Anderson Rm 1 
Warner Nash Rm 2
Daniel MacInroe Rm 2
Arjun Chandram Rm 2 
Gabby Davy Rm 5 
Alex Vannucci Rm 7 
Ben Neville Rm 11
Cameron Jaine Rm11
Trijal Pednekar  Rm 11 
Jesse Free Rm11 
Alif kusuma Rm12 

Sarthak Singh Rm 15

Thomas Neville Rm 16
Danny Gordon Rm16 


Tournament of Minds: Internationals

Our amazingly successful Tournament of Minds team is back from competing at the International Tournament in Darwin, Australia. Being one of only 6 teams to represent NZ was a real honour.

Huge thanks to our staff, Rachel Johnson and Jimmy Steele, for accompanying the team, and a huge thanks to the parents for getting the students organised with only 4 weeks notice! This allowed little time for fundraising due to the school holidays, so you'll be seeing a few fundraisers coming up this term that you might like to support.
Here's a summary of the event:
On the last Wednesday of the holidays, Izzi, Daniel, Tuhina, Matthew, Louis, Richie and Alex survived 11 hours of travel time Wellington - Darwin; a very tired bunch arrived at their accomodation at 1.45am! A rest day followed...exploring Darwin with the highlights being the man made lagoon (free from jellyfish, sharks and crocs!) and a visit to the WW2 Oil Storage Tunnels beneath the city that were used during the Darwin bombings.The following blog posts by Jimmy Steele sum up the following days ...
Friday: Ceremony, Crocs and Collaboration 
Today was the first taste of the ToM international competition for everybody. We met in the hotel lobby with hoards of other teams from all of the Aussie states, Hong Kong and Thailand, often hearing “OMG they’re from New Zealand” from other excited teams. Students quickly started receiving requests to swap tournament badges - something they would receive frequently throughout the day.
A quick bus ride took us to the Darwin Convention Centre for the Opening Ceremony. A quick welcome was made outside before all participants took part in a ‘Smoking Ceremony’ in which they walked through clouds of smoke to wash away negative energies. Inside the Convention Centre, the 500 students and their facilitators were welcomed again, this time in traditional Aboriginal style and the ceremony got started. The ceremony represented the different seasons present in Darwin and how these are characterised throughout the year. We are currently experiencing the ‘Build Up’ season, characterised by extreme humidity and high temperatures until the rainy season in November. Each of the 7 seasons was explained through audience participation, dance, musical performances by local schools and speeches. It was an interesting, creative and educational opening ceremony.
Morning tea was followed by the first official activity where our students took part in the ‘Thinking Carnival’ - a thinking session with Lee Watanabe-Crockett. This session surrounded problem solving and ideas the teams would need to embody to be successful in their lockdown challenge. They brainstormed ideas, collaborated with other teams and were given lots of great information from Lee. Lee’s ideas linked really well to the Design Thinking Process and Wabisabi learning which the kids could relate to from their work at school.
The first session led to a quick lunch then another bus trip, this time to Crocosaurus Cove! This was an awesome experience with HUGE crocs seen up close and lots of reptiles too. The kids were able to hold baby crocs and an albino carpet python. There was plenty of excitement around and a feeding show which showed the power behind a crocodile bite. Luckily the crocs that some of the kids fed were much smaller!
The kids were keen for bed as they knew they had a big day ahead of them. It would be an early start and a long day but the team is ready for their big challenge.
Saturday: The Main Event
7:30am - bags are packed and they’re ready to go! An early checkout and straight onto the bus to Charles Darwin University. The general consensus from the students was that they were ready for the day and no nerves were tugging yet.
The students were taken to their preparation room at 8:30am. We eagerly anticipated their reaction when they were released and hoped that their challenges were everything they hoped for. It was 12:20pm before we saw them again.
We saw smiles on their faces and they said they felt confident in what had been accomplished. As their facilitators, we had no idea what their challenge had been and they were forbidden to discuss this until after their presentation. So after lunch in the shade we filed back into the presentation hall and wished them all luck. Raroa was the final team to present. As they moved onto stage, we received some confident thumbs-ups and some nervous smiles and we began to be amazed at the costumes they had created during their prep time.
They really made us proud and we could imagine Lynne there with a beaming smile and thunderous applause.
When the presentations were complete we were bussed to Nakara Primary School for dinner, festivities and excitement before the Award Ceremony and Closing of the Tournament. We found out that Raroa was not placed in the top 3 teams.
It’s now 10pm and the bus is about to pick us up for the start of our journey home. Bring on the 1am flight to Melbourne!

Wednesday 10 October 2018

Tournament of Minds Team has left for Darwin!

We wish our Tournament of Minds Team all the best as they represent Raroa and New Zealand at the International Tournament in Darwin, Australia.  

Feel free to follow them on their blog https://herewecomedarwin.blogspot.com/

We wish you all the very best!

Friday 21 September 2018

Smiling Mind App

We've been taking a look at the 'Smiling Mind' free app.  It is a non-for-profit web and app-based meditation program developed by psychologists and educators to help bring mindfulness into student's life.  Click here to find out more!

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Mindfulness is a tool that can help you to:

  • Reduce worries, anxiety and distress
  • Enjoy more energy
  • Create a sense of calm
  • Learn how to relax and regulate emotions
  • Enhance awareness and creativity
  • Improve concentration and increase productivity
  • Develop a sense of empathy and connectedness
  • Enjoy better health and sleep

Tournament of Minds photos








Team off to Internationals!

Tournament of Minds: Two Teams Came second at Nationals and one is off to Darwin for the Internationals in 3 weeks!

Recently, 21 students represented Raroa at the Wellington Regional 'Tournament of Minds'. The three teams were given a complex challenge to solve over the 6 weeks before the Tournament, and they had to present their solutions to the judges and an audience on Tournament Day in a dramatic form.  In addition, they were given a Spontaneous Challenge on the day to solve on the spot in 5 minutes.  All of this had to be done WITHOUT any advice, feedback or direction from parents, teachers, friends, etc.  More details about the programme are below.

We are so proud of all these students, as each team demonstrated outstanding teamwork, problem-solving, risk-taking and creative & critical thinking. Special mention goes to the Language Literature Team and the STEM Team who won their sections and went on to compete at the National Tournament last weekend.  Both the STEM and Language Literature team came second in their divisions!

The Language Literature team is now off to represent NZ at the Internationals in Darwin, Australia, 11-14 October 2018.

This is an outstanding achievement as only four Year 5-8 teams from New Zealand are selected to attend.  We wish them all the very best. We know they will do Raroa, Wellington and New Zealand proud.  Kia kaha Matthew, Louis, Izzi, Tuhina, Daniel, Richie and Alex!

Tournament of Minds is a very dynamic, exciting programme with many challenges for the students, including:
  • Unpacking a very complex challenge and criteria, creating a variety of solutions, and taking one of them to presentation level 
  • Working in a team of 7 (even adults can find this challenging!)
  • No advice, feedback or assistance in the 6 week prep period from any adults or other students (including teachers!)
  • A limited list of allowable, recyclable materials for sets, props and costumes
  • A virtual budget limit
  • Production of a script 
  • the identification of 2 presentation skills for additional consideration by judges
And all in 6 weeks... for the Regionals
And all in 3 hours... for the Nationals

Congratulations to all students involved:


Louis Oliver, Matthew Wallis, Richie Man, Izzi Anderson, James Lee-Guard, Daniel Soh, Tom Jacobsen, Guy Curry Stanton, Cameron Pryde, Sebastian Pratt, Tait Keller, Alex Hay, Nathan Stacey, Daniel Astwood, Tom Robinson, Milly Mathews, Simon Burrows, John Hyatt, Sophie Buick, Tuhina Sambhus and Ben Adamson.

Draft plan released by government

Subject: Disability and Learning Support Action Plan draft released

Dear All,
I am pleased to inform you that the Hon Tracey Martin, Acting Minister of Education has released today the draft Disability and Learning Support Action Plan.

This plan has great news for the gifted education community as it formally includes our gifted learners as a group of learners who often need a different pathway to reach meaningful success.

You can find Minister Martin’s press release here:

The draft plan is also available as a PDF at the link above.

The draft plan covers four priority areas:
·         improving the way children and young people are assessed for additional learning needs
·         strengthening the range of supports for children and young people with disabilities and additional learning needs
·         improving the way the education system responds to neurodiverse learners and gifted learners, and
·         ensuring that learning support is resourced for increased support and delivery.
Consultation on the draft Action Plan begins next week, and will run until 31 October.

Please download the pdf and feel free to email us back any questions you may like to have answered.

We will be in touch when a more formal channel of feedback is requested.

Kind regards
Deb Walker
Project Leader
Gifted Aotearoa

Thursday 13 September 2018

Extra Science Fair Photos




Tournament of Minds - Sunday 2 September

What a day it was for 3 teams from Raroa 
at the Wellington Regional Tournament of Minds day.  

After 6 weeks for preparation, the teams presented their solution to a complex challenge - all without any adult or peer help, advice or guidance.  This programme was a real life opportunity to put the ASPIRE values into action!

In addition, they completed a Spontaneous Challenge that could not be prepared for.  Scores from both challenges were totally for overall points.

Congrats to all students who participated:
Louis Oliver, Matthew Wallis, Richie Man, Izzi Anderson, James Lee-Guard, Daniel Soh, Tom Jacobsen, Guy Curry Stanton, Cameron Pryde, Sebastian Pratt, Tait Keller, Alex Hay, Nathan Stacey, Daniel Astwood, Tom Robinson, Milly Mathews, Simon Burrows, John Hyatt, Sophie Buick, Tuhina Sambhus and Ben Adamson.


Special congratulations to the Language and Literature Team who came first in their section and the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths team who also came first in their sectionBoth of those teams have been invited to take part in the National Tournament to be held in Wellington on 16 September. 
All the best!





Friday 7 September 2018

NIWA Science & Tech Fair: Prize-Giving

Prizegiving takes place on Tuesday 11th September 2018 at the Te Toki a Rata, Lecture Theatre 1, Victoria University of Wellington, Kelburn CampusAll prizewinners, families, friends, teachers and exhibitors are welcome to attend. Prizewinners should be there at 6.30pm and will be seated in designated seats to facilitate the proceedings. Attendance is optional for Highly Commended exhibitors. The Prizegiving will run from 7-8pm.

NIWA Science & Technology Fair - Project List

The many and varied projects from Raroa students at the NIWA Science & Tech Fair


Birds produce preening oil to aid buoyancy. Can the buoyancy effect of preening oil be replicated using materials with similar qualities?
The 'perfect face', has been determined by some, by using the Golden Ratio. This project uses maths to challenge this theory by analysing the faces of NZ models compared to non-models.
Is there a correlation between the job of a teacher and a personality type? Using NERIS type explorer, teachers and non-teachers are analysed to determine if there is a personality type that teachers are more likely to have and comparing that to non-teachers.
To find out if the type of acid used in casein glue production affects its strength. A variety of non-toxic casein glues were produced using various household acids and then strength tested and compared to the strength of PVA glue.
Manuka honey is believed to have anti-fungal qualities when topically applied. This project tests if the UMF rating of the honey affects the potency effectiveness of the anti-fungal properties.
Do rabbits have an innate response to predators that they have not been exposed before?
This project investigates whether used coffee grinds are actually good for plant growth or if it is just another faked ‘life-hack’. Tests are done with various ratios of coffee/garden mix to discover any correlation with plant growth.
Is it possible to recreate the ability of Wily Coyote, in the "Road Runner' cartoon, to remain airborne without falling? Using physics, maths and engineering we investigate the possibility of a human being able to hover for 4 seconds.
The smoking point of various cooking oils is investigated to reduce the risks of cancer development. This is because at smoking point, carcinogens are released and these are known to mutate cells which can lead cancer.
To investigate the development of edible gluten-free cutlery to reduce plastic waste and for the good of those with gluten intolerances.
To find out what natural alternatives there are to using commercial toothpaste to remove plaque from human teeth. And also, to test the effectiveness of these alternatives.
When and where might the next tornado occur in New Zealand? Using the data of past tornadoes, this project makes a prediction of the most likely scenario for the next tornado.
Testing to see what effect common everyday drinks have on the enamel of human teeth. This has been explored through the use of simulated teeth (boiled eggs) to educate the masses.
To see if cardboard tubes amplify sounds and if the length of the tube is a contributing factor. This knowledge can then be used where no electricity is available.

Raroa @ NIWA Wellington Science & Technology Fair

Raroa would love to acknowledge the following students for representing the school so admirably at the NIWA Wellington Science and Technology Fair: 

Izzi Anderson, James Lee-Guard, Michael Ling, Eva Ablett-Hampson, Daniel Soh, Jan Munro, Guy Curry Stanton, Sebastion Pratt, Alex Vannucci, Nathan Stacey, Trijal Pednekar, Arabella Tries, Ellen Hammond, Hayley Chung, Nathan Adamson and Tuhina Sambhus. 

The school entered 14 projects into the Year 7 and Year 8 competitions, 
which had a total of 233 entries this year. 

Huge congratulations to the following Raroa students who won prizes 
in a very competitive competition:

The Doreen Gates Memorial Prize for a project displaying enthusiasm and innovation: Tuhina Sambhus

NZ Institute of Food Science and Technology Prize for a project which relates to food: Tuhina Sambhus 

Highly Commended: Hayley Chung

The Cancer Society of NZ(Wellington Division) Prize for a project which relates to prevention of cancer: Sebastian Pratt

Third for Year 7s: Trijal Pednekar

Measurement Standards Laboratory, Callaghan Innovation Prize for the application of measurement: Trijal Pednekar

More photos to come: