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Amy's pāua shells

Last week Amy brought her pāua shells to show! These pāua shells are special to Amy because they are souvenirs of one of her family's visits to Te Oka Bay on Banks Peninsula. They found the pāua while exploring the rocks around the bay. Once he checked to make sure they were over the size limit (125mm), Amy's dad prised them off the rocks, shucked the meat from the shells and barbecued them up.

Pāua are actually big sea snails which can be found all over the world - but in New Zealand their shells grow bigger and brighter than anywhere else, thanks to their seaweed and kelp diet. Pāua has become a symbol of New Zealand thanks to its colourful shell being used in souvenirs, jewellery and artworks.

Thank you Amy for sharing your taonga with us!

Kenzie's koru kiwi

As part of our inquiry into Kiwiana culture, we have been bringing objects from home to share.
On Friday Kenzie brought her koru kiwi t-shirt to show! This t-shirt is special to Kenzie because it was a souvenir present during her travels in the North Island with her whānau.

Koru have special meaning in Māori art, as it shows the unfurling frond of the New Zealand fern, which represents growth and new life. This is meaningful for Kenzie because she was given this t-shirt on her birthday!

The kiwi as a symbol has been used to represent our nation, and over time it has become a term to describe the people of New Zealand too - we're known as Kiwi's!

Thank you Kenzie for sharing your taonga with us!

Isaac & Logan love rugby!

As part of our inquiry into Kiwiana culture, we have been bringing objects from home to share.

Last week Isaac and Logan both brought rugby balls! Isaac has a special World Cup 2011 rugby ball and Logan has a special Canterbury Crusaders rugby ball. Both of the boys play rugby for our local club on the weekends and they are big fans of our national team, the All Blacks!

Rugby came to New Zealand with colonists from England nearly 150 years ago. Way back in 1888 the first New Zealand Native team travelled to England to play. 99 years later New Zealand won the very first Rugby World Cup tournament!

Thank you Isaac & Logan for sharing your taonga with us!

Estelle's Literary Legend

As part of our inquiry into Kiwiana culture, we have been bringing objects from home to share.

Last week Estelle brought a brilliant book to show! This book is very special to Estelle because it was given to her as a gift! It comes with a CD and Estelle suggested we listen to 'Bubble Trouble', one of her favourites, which was fantastic.

The Word Witch is a collection of poems written by the magnificent Margaret Mahy and illustrated by David Elliot. Margaret Mahy was born in Whakatane, New Zealand and lived in Christchurch! She worked as a librarian and wrote hundreds of books for children.

Thank you Estelle for sharing your taonga with us!