Room 32

During our computer sessions we learnt what islands are a part of the Polynesian triangle with the help of Google Earth.  We used directional language to describe where an island was in relation to another 

for eg.  NZ is southwest of Hawaii.

  

The early Polynesians observed their world and used constellations, the sun, the ocean currents, birds and wind to help navigate their way.

We decided to look a little closer at wind.  
To explain what wind was we made predictions about what caused a spiral to spin with a lit candle beneath.

 Here are some of our before ideas.

Inquiry groups	Our collective ideas.
A	Our ideas is that the spinner will move around because the candle will make the metal hot.
B	If you light a candle and put the spinner above it it would move because the smoke rises and makes air that's what causes it to move.  It's actually an action question.
C	It might spin, it might create air.  We are not sure what that will happen.
D	It will cause wind because the candle will go higher and it will move a little bit.  When you light the candles and put the spinner above the candle not too close this creates a little bit of air that makes the spinner move.  These are action and reasoning questions.
E	It will start to jiggle side to side because fire causes a little wind.  This is an action and problem-posing question.
F	Nothing will happen to the spinner the candle will just melt.because nothing would happen the candle will just melt.
G	We think it will spin because in a hot air balloon the fire is underneath the balloon so the air causes it to spin.  We think we are answering action questions.

We learnt about the lines of latitude and lines of longitude and made predictions about where the winds might blow around the earth.

I think the wind goes to the southern part because when I built my wind vane It kept on pointing to the south but sometimes it points to the East.   Annie

We think the wind blows from the east because when we took the spiral off the heat it blew east. By Clara, Ana and Poto

We think the wind moves East to West because it comes from North and it goes out.    Dianne and Hope

We think that the wind comes from the east because in our weekday experiments about which side the wind come from, most of the days the wind came from the east .  The wind comes from the east of the equator because the hot air goes out and the cold air rushes inside. Elisa and Ina

Hot air rises up in the north east and cold air replaces it.   Ethan and Elijah K

We think that after the wind rises when it heats up it swoops back down and blows in the Southern hemisphere.                      By Gabrielle and Lilian

I think that the wind is coming from East

 and West because North and South is the  coldest place in Earth  By Losa and Jennifer.

I think it blows EAST because when I am outside I am walking when I turn it quickly changes to blow from my right side. Mele.

I think it blows form east because when I go out to the back yard it blows from the same direction like yesterday.Elijah

I think  it blows East because when  I stand I  can feel the wind blowing from East.  Vicki.

Our parent voices...

Read the stories of the journeys of our own families.  

Why did you come to New Zealand?  What were some of the challenges or successes?

My mum came to NZ in 1987. It was her first time on a plane. She was excited and sad to be leaving Samoa to go to NZ, but she came because she wanted a good future for her family.

My mum was only 18 years of age when she arrived. When she arrived she got a job and saved lots of money for her parents’ flight.

She was so happy to work and make new best friends. Finally she paid off her parents’ tickets and her siblings.

                                                                                                                                

By: Anastasia.

The challenges we had in Samoa was a hard life. Life is hard in Samoa because we don’t get enough money where we work, and the weather. It is very hot over there and in the olden days people didn’t wear tops they would just wear lava lavas.

The things that were easy was the house, we didn’t need to pay for it and finding our own food because we could just go fishing.

Since we lived in New Zealand it is different to Samoa because in New Zealand you have to pay for the rent and in Samoa it is a very little Island. E mamalu le pulega nuu afioga.

There’s one thing I know that we have in common. It is the people. The Polynesian family and all of the different cultures.

By Diana

My Grandfather moved here to New Zealand permanently with my grandmother in 2007.  He was 49 years old then he didn’t want to move here but he only agreed to come because of me and my siblings, their grandchildren.                                                                                    

The challenges that he faced was the constant change in weather, having to find a job, and having to pay for the rent. Back in American Samoa, he owned the house and land that he resided on.

The successes of living here? Besides being here close to us grandkids he gets to if he was to choose between living here and Samoa he would pick Samoa.  His whole family is back there and the life and culture is stronger there too. Fa’afetai lava Soieli. 

By Elijah James

My grandma comes from a village in Apia Samoa she is 72 years old. Years ago when she was living in Samoa she worked at the legislative department. One of the reasons that she moved here was because she didn’t get a high pay and couldn’t get enough money for all of her brothers and sisters.

In her family there are 11 brothers and sisters so it was really hard for her to get the money. At that time she was the only one working since she was the eldest out of her and her brothers and sisters. Each day she had to somehow get enough money for her and her family because she didn’t have a good pay she moved here for work.

Over here it was way better than back home.  She had a good life here the only thing that she missed was the food. She saw all of these mini foods everywhere until she saw McDonalds. 

She is thinking about going back to build an another house.       

                                                                                                By Elisa

My Dad’s Family’s journey

The reason why my dad’s family came to New Zealand was because my grandpa wanted his family to have a good education, good pay, a good environment and mostly the living in New Zealand.

      The challenges they went through were trying to understand the palagi language and their way of life.

      Another challenge they faced was trying to find their way around Auckland because it was so big compared to what they were used to in Samoa.

      Their last challenge they went through was to find a home for them to stay in.

That’s why our family came to New Zealand.                                     By: ETHAN

             

My Dad’s Journey

When I first found out that I was coming to New Zealand I was very happy. I couldn’t sleep, I told all my friends and I couldn’t wait to get on the plane. When we got to the airport there were heaps of people. I couldn’t wait to get on the plane. I was crying when I said goodbye to my family and friends.

When I arrived in the New Zealand airport, it was way bigger than the Samoan airport. I saw many different people from many different countries. The life here in New Zealand is very different from Samoan life.  Here in New Zealand you have to work hard to support your family, to pay the rent, paying bills, buy food you don’t rely on other people it’s a hard life in New Zealand compared to Samoan life where you don’t have to pay the rent.  Every family owns their own land, grows their own food. Families help other families everyone gets along.  There is no stress and everybody is happy. The Samoan life is a lot better than life in New Zealand.                                                       

 By Vicki

This is my dad’s journey.  Interviewed 7^th March 1999.

        I left Samoa in the year 1956 and came to NZ with the planning in my mind that I would be able work and get some money so I could look after my parents and a big family of sisters and brothers.  We were very ordinary people and very low, many people a lot better off than us.  So although it’s very hard for us to part, I came to NZ with hope.

            I was coming in the right time, in the right country.  I was in NZ for about two weeks, then I start to work.  And the work I was doing was tunneling which is so new to me.   I didn’t know anything about it.   I was scared that I have to go inside the mountain.  I have to take it and I accepted this in the beginning of why I came to NZ.  I earned 10 pounds a week.  Big money to me!  And I was able to do what I came here for.  I saved a little bit of money, sent the rest back home.

            From 1956 to 59 I was able to bring my parents to NZ.  They passed away here.

            Some people have the hope to get further education but I tried my best to get a little bit more but I was working so hard during the day that when I go to the night school I am too tired to concentrate.

            ...

            It’s not easy to keep our culture alive but if you know where you’re from, you know that being Samoan is God’s gift to you.  That feeling is very strong in us, that we want our people to come together, to come to us and share whatever it is.  We believe that it’s a gift for all people, to be together and share their feelings and share their problems.  That’s why our culture is so much in our feeling.  I even try to make people outside our family do the same.  If you want your children to be what you want them to be, they’ve got to know they are Samoan and have Samoan things in them.  That will make them feel proud.  That will make people know they’re Samoan.  It doesn’t matter what colour you are, to speak your language tells you where you’re from.

            Right from the beginning we speak to the children in Samoan.  Once they go to school they’re not forgetting the words they’ve learned from us, but it’s easy for them to speak English because then it becomes their everyday language.  They’ve got more time at school.  Speaking Samoan is something that has to come to you from home.  When the children talk to us in English we keep talking to them in Samoan.  We don’t mind.  But when they grow up they never forget what we taught them.

            And they begin to realise, “Oh I’m Samoan, I can speak Samoan.”  They have to feel proud to be Samoan and want to be known as Samoan.  Our children when they go overseas, they write to us in Samoan.  Although it is not excellent Samoan, it’s a joy to us to know that when they’re away they contact us in our own language.

            Don’t feel uncertain when the children go to school. Parents speaking to the children in English can harm the children.  If we don’t speak or write proper English we don’t want the children to pick that up.  Let the school teach the right language.  You teach them in your language.

            You need to be able to talk with Samoans and understand them.  Also you need to be able to help new people from Samoa and you can’t do that if you speak only English.  

...        

I am happy that I came to NZ and brought up my family in NZ because I don’t think my family could be what they are here, back in Samoa.  They had the chance to go and look for their own life and that is the joy in my heart.  They have choice.  Some people say, “Oh, those people back home they’re doing better than us in NZ.”  But I am happy that I have my family in NZ.

My dad Malagaaupu passed away last August.  I am very blessed to have this account (abridged).  He was right, wherever in the world we his children have worked our sense of who we are, where we’ve come from, the lessons he taught never left us.

 Mrs Kissel