The Army Came to Town

                                                   

Last week the children and staff at Whakamaru School were part of a fun, learning event. The NZ Army were taking part in training exercises in the Mangakino area and offered to come to the school to set up a boot-camp style activity programme for the morning. All the children from Y1 - 8 were able to take part in some or all of the activities. These ranged from boot camp physical training, riding in the trucks, running up and down hill with the very heavy flack-jackets on, tasting some of the MRE 'Meal- Ready to Eat"dehydrated food and a session on the equipment they carry in their packs. Many children went home a different colour that day - army camouflaged faces.
I was very impressed  with the way the soldiers organised the sessions, their manner with our students  and the informative talk they gave to the older students, who were very interested in the army life.
Great to hear the animated talk in the playground  and oral language discussion in the classrooms, over the following days.
EOTC is such an important part of our education programmes - particularly for those students who do not get the opportunity to be involved in experiences such as these.

Term 3 week 3, according to a child councilor I have worked with in the past, is a 'tricky week' for some students. This can be the time that negative behaviours start to rear their heads, even in students who have not had issues earlier in the year. This is the time of the 'equinox' - the change of seasons and this particular  councilor believe this has a negative affect on some students. Whether you believe this or not, I have found that this certainly a tricky time of year. It would be interesting to see if anyone has data around this 'phenomena'. We need to consider what we do to keep children on track and getting through to the end of the term in an appropriate manner. One strategy I have found useful is the child who is heading off track behaviorally goes to a buddy class as the teacher's helper. This is not seen as a punishment but more as 'distraction therapy'. Most children thrive on being given responsibility. Let's see if this will work this week.