William Pike Challenge Award

Our Ski Challenge in August was a FANTASTIC trip and it would rank with one of the best times  to date that I've spent in Tongariro National Park .  Highlights for me included:  Visiting the National Army Museum Walking around Lake Rotopounamu A bluebird day up on the slopes at Whakapapa On our first morning in the National Park we made it to the base of Ruapehu where many of the students experienced their first snowfall. With the picturesque Chateau in the background, we had fun catching snow on our tongues and taking photos. Due to some not-so-favourable weather, we left the mountain to explore the National Park. Our warm welcome into the National Army Musuem was the start of a couple of hours of fun and exploration with their fantastic education team. Many of us would have been keen to stay for another hour or so, as there was so much more to see and learn! Lake Rotopounamu sparked h...

Our two days clearing land for native tree planting was a community service project that also presented some challenges . Carrying heavy and long branches up steep banks sounds like hard work, and it was! But the two days will be remembered mainly for the laughter , the banter , the funny moments , the miracle of no rain... and being the moment of our "most challenging challenge so far"! Noticing some problems with the sheep in a nearby paddock the owner of the land asked the students if they would like to help move the small flock up to the yards. The response was an enthusiastic "yes!!"  And it didn't take long for the students to guide the ram, ewes and lambs through the paddocks.  But we were very thankful the last person had shut the final gate when the flock decided that they had changed their minds, turned, and ran back the way they had come!  Now the challenge.... and I have no words to describe how difficult it was to guide these ...

Community service is all about good old-fashioned values such as  hard work, discipline , and a positive and self-sacrificing attitude .  Our two team community service days this term also made us draw upon our WPCA values: teamwork, enthusiasm ... and a determination to not give up ! Leaving the classroom behind, we drove into the rural Auckland area to help out with a native tree planting project. The project is being partially funded by  Auckland Council's Waterway Protection Fund  and the native trees were being supplied by Te Whangai , whom we worked with last term. Te Whangai are special members of our Wesley school community, and one of their tree nursery bases is on our school site. Our main role was clearing the land for planting. We developed an appreciation for the pioneers we read about in history as we carried branches of various sizes up the steep bank to build a pile for burning. We found out that so much work has to be done before th...