Kia Ora Miss Welch

It has been a fun first couple of weeks teaching at Ranui Primary School. Everyday is a new adventure full of things such as. . .  

• little girls calling me pretty
• boys asking if I can speak American
• students giving me appalled looks when I try to copy their NZ accents (telling me to please not try that again)
• Mrs. Tararo being VERY strict with the kids but then one of the sweetest people to me
• students asking me if I've ever met someone famous or if I have been to New York
• girls trying to take my camera to take pictures of themselves and their friends (I have come to find out that NZ kids LOVE having their picture taken and LOVE taking pictures...I've also learned to hide my camera from now on)
• students spelling the word pizza out loud as, P-I-Zed-Zed-A because the letter "Z" here is pronounced as Zed (so yes, I am in the land of N-Zed)
• boys saying they are "tired as", "hot as", or that was "cool as"
• a full day of swim sports where all the year 5/6's competed in a swim competition against their school mates
• wearing Mrs. Tararo's Rugby hat everyday I am outside because it is a school rule to wear hats outside as the sun is so HARSH here in NZ
• getting called out by one of the teachers at swim sports day that, "even THE American has to wear a hat"
• singing Maori songs everyday in class
• learning 26 Polynesian kids names in my class and pronouncing them correctly
• playing the game knuckle bones with the kids before school starts (I stink at it and all the kids laugh at me because I can't do it and they are all pros)
• getting asked if I am going to swim with all the kids because I am the only teacher wearing togs (a swimsuit) on swim sports day
• Mrs. Tararo reading the roll in Maori, Tonga, Samoa, and the Cook Islands everyday
• walking around during breaks and having kids I have never seen before come up to me smiling saying "Kia Ora Mandy" 

• coming to school each morning and having the kids yell in their cute accents, "Kia Ora Miss Welch" and then leaving school everyday having the kids yell, "Good Afternoon Miss Welch"

Here is the Maori song that we practiced in my class everyday last week. We performed it for the school assembly and all the kids got way shy, but they did it really well in my video here.
I love how musical Mrs. Tararo is, we are constantly singing songs and dancing :)!

I LOVE TEACHING THESE NZ KIDS!! :)

My year 5/6 class

Mrs. Tararo and my class

During lunch students are able to learn the Haka. When we first walked in
to watch, this Maori instructor came over and had us great him with the
Hongi. I was so confused at first what he was wanting me to do when
he kept pointing to his head and nose, but then I figured it out...and
hit my head sort of hard on his!

In the Maori culture many of the men have these tattoos (painting) that
cover their entire body.

A little P.E. time

One of my favorite things about teaching school here is what is called: Morning Tea.

Morning tea means like break time or recess. At 10:30 every day, for a half hour, the school has morning tea where students go and eat a treat in silence outside for 10 mins. After the 10 mins are up, and their morning tea snack is finished, they get to go play until 11. During their play time, the teachers get to go into the faculty lounge and drink tea, coffee, water, milk, or milo. It's nice for us teachers to get a little break in the morning to drink something, snack on a quick treat, rest and talk for a bit, and then get ready to teach again until lunch. I LOVE MORNING TEA. It is such a nice break.
America should definitely have it!

Morning tea

Ranui

Playing t-ball as a class. They are pretty good athletes.

Performing Haere Hika for the school assembly

Swim Sport Day (swimming competition)

All the years 5/6 students cheering their mates on

This was a funny race where they had to RUN in the water

Some of the cute boys from my class. (PJ, Kenny, Terry, Aku, Ryan,
and Amon--all the names I CAN pronounce haha).

Dancing around and having some fun after the swimming competition
was over.

I love NZ kids!

Quvana always wanting to take pictures on my
camera.

Aroha (in the back) always follows me around, she is such a sweety.

'Ilasaane

They LOVE getting their picture taken....they also love jumping in front
of each other to be in the front.

Kia Ora from NZed