Activities
We have a range of activities available to our mokopuna throughout the school year.
Children are able to take part in various cultural, artistic and sporting opportunities.
Music
Specialist Music Kaiako Sean O’Connor is full time at our school, steering the school band, orchestra, choir and songwriters.
We offer children hands-on practical music-making and singing across our kura. This will be interwoven meaningfully with our school curriculum and strengthens our explicit cultural identity as a multicultural diverse school, something that we are very proud of.
We will have whole class music, choirs and orchestras, as follows:
WHOLE CLASS MUSIC:
Classes make music together. (Tūī as a whole hapū and the other three hapū are split in half due to numbers.) This
gives mokopuna a chance to try different instruments, build their class’s social web through music and grow their ability
to contribute to school singing and music. Specialist instrument learners can try other instruments, lead learning and teaching on their main instrument and support others. Instruments for whole class music are keyboards, guitars,
ukuleles, barred instruments (marimbas, glockenspiels, metallophones), unpitched percussion and recorders.
CHOIR & ORCHESTRA
TEINA (Junior) CHOIR (Years 1 to 4):In choir we refine how we sing together, we learn to sing rounds/rāngi inaki, call and answer songs and some part songs. Part songs means we practice singing in harmony, in 2 or more parts. The choir will use teacher instrumental accompaniment and some children may add to this, but the focus is on singing.
TUAKANA (Senior) CHOIR (Years 5 to 8):At this level we explore layers and more complex rounds, harmonies, solos/duos/trios/groups within more complexarrangements.
COMBINED CHOIR:Choirs will be able to combine for some songs.
TEINA (Junior) ORCHESTRA:School instruments students can choose from are marimbas, glockenspiels, percussion, guitars, ukuleles (if available), recorders or keyboards. They may play other instruments if they are learning them privately.
TUAKANA (Senior) ORCHESTRA:
Students may play school instruments including band instruments (electric guitar, bass, drums), and can add specialist
orchestral instruments according to what children have and are learning.
COMBINED ORCHESTRA:
Teina and Tuakana will be able to combine for some songs.
COMBINED ORCHESTRAS AND CHOIRS:
All will combine for some songs.
BAND:
The band will play some “school repertoire” songs for community and assembly singing, and focus also on composition
and songwriting.
SINGING ASSEMBLY:
Once a fortnight the school sings together, accompanied by various instrument players.
A major goal of our school music programme is to enable mokopuna to accompany songs we sing in school
assemblies, celebrations and events.
GOODTIME MUSIC ACADEMY
In addition our school music programmes, we have guitar, ukulele, keyboard and drum music lessons available with Goodtime Music Academy.
If you are unsure what instrument to take, you can take a course where you try all four instruments before you focus on one. They teach up to Level 8, university level. There will be a whole school performance at least once a year
and we will be seeking opportunities to perform more often.
For now we have secured spaces for almost 100 students
to learn a musical instrument. These will happen during school time, however the first block of the day is protected
literacy and numeracy time.
Sports squad
The Sports Squad is a group of about 12 senior children selected because they have an interest in and some talent for sport. Selection for the squad is made through teacher nomination, parent nomination, peer nomination and personal application.
Children selected to be in the squad meet once a week and are exposed to a range of sporting experiences throughout the year. They are expected to keep up with all classroom work, maintaining a high standard, and to show leadership and a willingness to contribute to the school.
Envirogroup
Enthusiastic, environmentally-minded students from Y5 - Y8 can apply to join the Thorndon School Enviro Group. This has operated for many years, working alongside Enviroschools and The Sustainability Trust on projects such as tree-planting, installing solar panels on the roof of our hall, enhancing the school environment, and sharing ideas through assemblies and presentations.
Students are active in recycling and composting, spreading the message to our community that we need to care for our new buildings and school environment by disposing of our waste thoughtfully.
Chess
Mark van der Hoorn is an experienced chess tutor and accomplished player. He has had an association with Thorndon School for many years.
Mark offers after school chess lessons at Thorndon School. He caters his lessons for three groups. A beginner's group, intermediate group and senior group.
Chess lessons are after school in the library.