The hall was buzzing last Wednesday night when our whānau gathered for the Matariki sharing of time and kai. Thanks to the Garden to Table students of Room 2 who have been making soups for the last couple of weeks and freezing them in preparation. The celery and some of the herbs in the other soups were harvested from our garden Afterwards we went into the library which had been decorated with sparkly stars and ‘Maui snares the sun’ artwork. Room 4 students performed two waiata, we learnt a little more about Matariki in NZ and Australia and finished with Estelle sharing ‘Daniels Matariki Feast by Rebecca Beyer and Lindley Wellington.

School Swimming Sports

On Friday 10th May all our students went to Keith Spry Pool to participate in the swimming sports.  This year we joined together with Makara and Clifton Tce Schools and there was lots of excitement and nervousness in the air about the races and events.  Our students should be very proud of the way they swam and how supportive they were to each other. A big thanks to the parents who came along to support the tamariki and an even bigger thanks to the parents who took on a job like time keeping and helped the event to run smoothly.    

Swimming Sports

The heat hit me like lightning as I walked out of the changing room in my swimming costume. The noise in the massive room was unbearable, my ears were ringing terribly. After what seemed like hours, I went off to my first race, 25-meter Backstroke…“Ready, set, THWACK” My arms swished around like windmills as the water lapped and rippled beneath me. Adrenaline coursed through my veins, as I pushed myself harder and harder and….I was at the end, AND I HAD WON!!!! “ By Eva

WZ Swimming Sports By Poppy

As we hopped off the bus, I felt a rush of excitement and nervousness at the same time. I was doing Green band for the first time! Green band is lengths in the big pool, red band is playing games in the learner pool, and yellow is a mix of both!  We walked into the reception, and the first thing I noticed was how HOT is was! We went to the changing rooms to get into our togs. Once we were changed, I put my swimming bag away and sat with Elise, Eva and Charlotte.  It seemed like hours later when Miss Thomsen called out ‘Year 6 girls freestyle, 25 meters!’ Once the starter blew the whistle, I jumped into the pool. SPLASH! Then, I heard a big bang, and the race started….

Kid’s Lit Quiz            
A team of 4 students from Room 1, Cardinal McKeefry School, have been preparing to compete in the Wellington Heat of the Kid’s Lit Quiz. Since being chosen in March Lucas, Alisha, Dominic and Jamie have been Reading….. Reading …… Reading! Then came the Wednesday practices with Estelle in the library. Finally the day for the competition arrived on Tuesday 7^th May. Unfortunately, on the day Jamie was unwell, so they would be competing as a team of 3. They excitedly entered the iCentre at Samuel Marsden School and joined the 52 other teams. Estelle discovered that there was a reserve for the Mount Cook Team and so Mananya was able to join our team. It was a win-win because she got to participate and we had a full team. Answering 10 rounds of 10 questions ranging from Topics such as Food, Hobbies, Hats, to Literary Knowledge they conferred and wrote an answer for every question. Their best round was ‘Gods and Goddesses’ with full marks. There was a sudden death with 14 other teams in that round also having 10 out of 10. Dominic was first up with his hand and answered the Quizmaster’s question correctly winning Whitcoulls vouchers for the whole team. The team were proud to score 78.5 and being placed 13^th.
Congratulations to the CMcK Lit Quiz Team for representing our school so well.  By Lucas & Dominic