Happy Holidays

Pasifika Christmas Tree

Sunnynook Urban Angels

 Sheng Dan Kuai Le, Meri krismas, Feliz Navidad, Merii Kurisumasu, Maligayang Pasko miilaad majiid, vesela koleda,  joyeux Noël, selamat Natal, rik reay bon Noel, selamat hari natal, meri Kirihimete, S rozhdestvom Khristovym, ia manuia le Kerisimasi, sretan Božić, and Merry Christmas!

Celebrating Diwali at Sunnynook

Our Indian cultural group showed us how to design, draw and decorate Rangoli patterns during the lunch hour. The entrance to the Junior Playground was transformed into a sea of colour. Thank you Megha, Krish, Mahi, Tanisha, Yashica, Ryan and Krisha for sharing the Hindu festival with us. We also had Ethan, Phoenix, Andrew and Faye kindly help out for the reader's theatre of the story of Diwali: Rama Rescues Sita.

Rangoli patterns are intricate geometric designs drawn for special occasions - Takapuna Grammar School students Sofia and Maia prepared these designs for us ready to use

A lotus flower leaf was used as the motif and drawn with finely-ground white powder on the ground

Bright colours were added for more effect

Dots, circles and lines were put on top of the colours and around the edges for extra detail

Mrs Pinto helped decorate the designs using a stamp and we had lots of helpers join in the fun

Diwali 2015 - The Hindu Festival of Lights

Diwali also known as Deepavali, Dipavali, Dewali, or Deepawali, or the Festival of Lights, marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year. It is celebrated on the 15th of Kartika (October/November) in the Hindu calendar. Diwali celebrations can last for about five days. This year it will start on 11th November. 

On Monday 9th November some of our students who celebrate Diwali will share with us some of the activities that Hindu love to do during this festival week such as tasting Indian sweets, designing Rangoli patterns and listening to The Story of Rama and Sita.

Diwali celebrations in Auckland on Sunday night! Did you go?

Ni hao! Celebrate NZ Chinese Language Week

This is a younger Cathy Wang wearing a traditional Chinese dress.

Green tea, native to China, is one of the world's healthiest teas.

This is the Dongfang dance group that performed at Sunnynook.

Have a go at learning Chinese language. Click on this link!

Mālō e lelei - Celebrate Tongan Language Week

At the time of the last census there were 50 000 New Zealanders who identified as Tongan. Currently, there are more Tongan people born in New Zealand than there are in Tonga, giving lea faka-Tonga (the Tonga language) and anga faka-Tonga (Tonga culture) a special place here. Tonga Language Week / Uike Kātoanga’i ‘o e lea faka-Tonga gives students of all ethnicities the chance to learn some basic lea faka-Tonga, and gives students who speak lea faka-Tonga the chance to be experts in the classroom.

So you want to count in Tongan! The basic level of counting in Tongan is easier then you think. All you have to do is learn the numbers 0-10 then you can count from 1-99. Follow these simple rules.

Counting 1-99 in Tongan

• numbers 0-9 noa, taha, ua, tolu, fā, nima, ono, fitu, valu, hiva
• the number for 10 is hongofulu (hoh-ngoh-foo-loo)
• the number for 100 is teau (teh-ah-oo)
• every other number is literally the words 0-9 combined: twenty becomes two zero – ua noa
• three exceptions to the rule 22, 55 and 99 words shortened to uo ua, nime nima, hive hiva

Online games for learning Tongan

International Peace Week

Room 1 shares their ideas on how we can promote peace

Te Wiki o Te Reo, Maori Language Week Celebration Assembly

Sunnynook Kapa Haka group perform (kapa = to form a line, haka = to dance)

R11 sing "Oma Rapeti"

R1 demonstrate Ti Rakau (Maori stick game)

Visit to the Ponsonby Masjid

Inside the mosque with the light and prayer mats facing Mecca

Our Board of Trustees member Melissa Powell and her daughter Anya wearing traditional a hijab or headscarf 

Prayer times for the Southern Hemisphere

Maori words and phrases of the day

NZ Herald website Maori words and phrases of the day

Maori Language Week July 27th to 2nd August

Māori language week

Whakanuia te wiki o te reo Māori - Celebrate Māori language week

The kaupapa for Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2015 is ‘Whāngaihia te reo Māori ki ngā mātua.’

We aim to encourage and support the language development of parents who can then whāngai the language to their children.

Never been inside a Mosque?

The Umma Trust is hosting a tour of The Ponsonby Mosque on Sunday 26th July 2-5pm. Please bring along a can of food to donate to the Auckland City Mission.

Check their website for more details.

Ramadan: Fasting New Zealand Style is a New Zealand Herald article on how some Muslims are observing one of the most important events in the Islamic calendar.

New NZ Citizens in Auckland

Read these personal stories of our latest new New Zealand citizens.

Click on the link to find out how they answered this question ....

What do you love about New Zealand?

Maori Whanau Consultation Evening

An opportunity to acknowledge the achievements of our Maori students, and discuss the future direction of Te Reo and Tikanga Maori at Sunnynook School.

Kete of KnowledgeTe kete-tuatea (basket of light), Te kete-tuauri (basket of darkness), 

Te kete-aronui (basket of pursuit)

Whaea Briar leading the karakia.

Sunnynook Primary Kapa Haka performing a waiata.

 

 A korero is always better with some kai.

Several of these students also gave a mihimihi introducing themselves and sharing their whakapapa. 

A great turn out of parents and families sharing their ideas.

Whakawhetai ki a koutou katoa.

Thank to all the parents, children and staff who participated in the evening.

Celebrate Diversity

Opportunity for English language learners to write and perform a speech

Lingo Fest!

The Theatre Festival for Language Learners.

A Multilingual Theatre Festival that will be held in two cities during International Languages Week.

Dates and Locations:

• Lingo Fest Auckland - Friday August 21st at Kings School in Remuera.
• Lingo Fest Wellington - Friday August 14th  at the Newtown Community Centre Theatre.

This event is a celebration of the diversity of languages in our community and our enthusiasm for learning different languages. This festival is open to everyone (all ages).

Quick facts:

• All ages and levels are welcome to enter a performance.
• Students perform a short play, dialogue or monologue in the language they are learning.
• Plays can be up to 15mins long, monologues up to 3mins.
• Students need to perform in costume
• No cue cards permitted.
• All performers will receive a certificate & prizes for “stand out” performances.
• Limited time available on each day so register your group asap!

  
   

  Olivia Sumich,
  Festival Director
  022 312 6351
  LingoFestNZ@gmail.com
  
  

Samoa Language Week is 24th May 2015

Did you know…?
Samoan is the third most spoken language in New Zealand, with 144,000 people identified as Samoan. It is also the second most spoken language in Auckland.
The Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs theme  this year is “Tautua nei mo sou manuia a taeao” – “Serve now for a better tomorrow”.
Here's a few Samoan phrases to have a go at saying:-Good morning – Manuia le Taeao
Have a great day – Ia manuia le aso
Have a great week – Ia manuia le vaiaso
Have a great evening – Ia manuia le afiafi
Take good care of your health – Vaai fa’alelei lou soifua

Dongfang Chinese dancers perform at ESOL Shared Lunch

Chihiro performing a piece on the recorder in her beautiful Japanese kimono

Zeemo gave a speech to our parents in her traditional Korean hanbok

Samoan siva dance at the ESOL Shared Lunch

Blu Guru

Australian music troupe Parvyn Singh and Josh Bennett showcased Bollywood music and dance at Sunnynook Primary. We were captivated and entertained by the expressive Indian storytelling and dance by Parvyn, and extraordinary musical skills of Josh on the tabla and sitar. We hope other schools enjoy their performance too. Safe travels across New Zealand. Can't wait to see them perform in The Bombay Royale on their return to Auckland in October. 🎵