Showing her appreciation for her granparents. This is Genevieve's letter expressing her grattitude for her grandparents.

Dear Mrs Baker,

Have you ever had someone who you loved you, took care of you, fed you and put a shelter on top of your head. Well that’s the job my grandpa and nana have done for me ever since I was a little girl. These two amazing people raised, cared and nourished my mother. My mum and dad have full time jobs so my nana and grandpa are like my heroes.

My nana had two marriages. She had 5 kids before she met my grandpa. Then when she met my grandpa my mum came along. Even though my grandpa is not related by blood to my nanas 5 older children he still cares for them as if he is their father.

At home sitting in her own little room is my great grandma who is 89. This lady has Parkinsons disease. This mean she needs help to do everyday stuff like eating, having a shower, going to the toilet and sometimes even walking. That when my nana comes in. She cooks, does the laundry and makes the best Lu sipi (lamb wrapped in taro leaves) I have ever tasted. My nana is just 70 and has problems with her right arm but she still cares so much about her mum that nothing will get in the way when she needs help.

My grandpa may not be special to you but he is to me. This man has been in the hospital several times because of his heart. The year before last year on Christmas my grandpa was rushed to the hospital because he stopped breathing. At that moment I thought I was going to lose my role model, my rock and my hero.

Yours Sincerely

Genevieve

Are We Ready?

The extension classes at Tamaki Intermediate made this movie "Are We Ready?" which is all about student voice. We had a lot of fun making this movie. Ideas for the movie were researched and also generated from the "ULearn Teachers' Conference' held recently at Christchurch. We acknowledge all presenters at the conference who presented teachers with ideas to teach digital learners of the 21st Century. Manaiakalani is all about this. We are putting into practice what we are learning. Enjoy watching the movie.

Kitione expressing his love of Music and Dance

Music and Dance

Dance and Music has changed over time
It sometimes comes on Prime
Music is a sound
You can hear it all round
It sounds sweet
Like when birds tweet.

I like to listen to music
When it doesn’t sound like a broken record
Music is nice to listen to
Dancing is great to do
Michael Jackson is the best
He is better than the rest
And he has finally been laid to rest.

By Kitione Tamale

Hi everyone here is Eparama's explanation writing on cooking methods and utensils

Cooking utensils are used to cook food. People still use old fashion cooking utensils today. However, some appliances such as the egg beater were not electric until the 1885.

Ovens are also cooking utensils however ovens in the past was not so flash. Some cultures used the earth to make food. Just like my culture we call it the LOVO.

Some people are returning to the appliances and utensils of years ago. These had been accumulated for use and decorative purposes. But some collectors now are actually using them instead of those they can acquire in modern stores.

These might date from 10 or 20 years ago, or they could go back to the mid-1950s or earlier. Those collected for decorative effect often were used even earlier than that.

Through the years cooking utensils had been modified for improvement.