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Global Focus

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Global Focus has begun in 4-5! This past week the 4-5 program began its annual tradition and this year the journey starts in New Zealand. Students will enjoy time in each of the four classrooms exploring topics in depth and will celebrate their learning along with the rest of Lower School during Global Focus week. Unearth those aprons because we will need plenty of volunteers to help us cook! Here is a brief snapshot of what students will experience:

 Tim - Students will explore the cultural significance of the haka. Haka is an expressive dance that showcases heritage and cultural identity of the Maori people and New Zealand as a whole. There are several haka performed for various celebrations, to welcome guests, mourn loved ones, and prepare for battle. Students will compare and contrast cultural dances from other cultures, examine specific haka, and create their own haka before launching their blokart. 

 Linda - Students will be working from the book Countries Around the World New Zealand by Mary Colson. We will review it as an excellent example of a resource book considering IPs are around the corner - having all the essential components and more. As chapters are read, pictures and graphs studied, notes of interest will be written down and shared at the end of each class - from bungee jumping to buildings built on springs to withstand earthquakes. Anzac cookies will be eaten our second class, the recipe from our reading. The Kiwi Conservation Club (KCC) website will also be accessed for culminating learning games and research. 

Nancy - Students will learn about and discuss a brief history of the native people of New Zealand, the Maori by reading First People Maori. We will explore important cultural art traditions including the cultural sacred buildings, whare, marae, and storage houses. We will look at wood, bone and jade carving traditions and the symbolism and techniques behind these art forms. Students will then craft and create our own community whare and design and make our own bone and jade necklaces. 

 Kai - The idea to change the New Zealand flag is a national conversation under debate. Through a series of classes students will build their base knowledge of New Zealand in order to participate in the development of new designs for the country’s flag. Students will begin by learning about the geography and ecology of New Zealand. They will work with a variety of resources to label and code a New Zealand map with regions, cities, and waters. They will explore online resources to learn about the flora, fauna, and ecosystems of the country. This learning, combined with their learning in classes with Nancy, Tim, and Linda, will prepare them for the culminating flag design project.

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