EOTC (Education Outside the Classroom) is a key part of the New Zealand curriculum. It offers children the opportunity to take part in off-site activities that give them practical life experience of the topics that they are learning in the classroom.
Ficino School has an especially rich and diverse EOTC programme that runs throughout the year. Not only is it important for children to get hands-on learning, but they also grow their essential skills in personal development, resilience and teamwork.
This term our EOTC programme has seen children from Years 3 – 8 engage in a variety of activities from an overnight camp for Year 5 & 6 students out at Hunua ranges, to sailing, windsurfing and paddle-boarding for Year 7 & 8 at the Orakei Basin. Last week, Year 3 students visited Auld’s Farm in Kumeu where they enjoyed the amazing work the Auld family has put into their lifestyle block. Not only were they building their environmental awareness, but they got to enjoy seeing the model train weave through the landscape and make friendship bracelets from alpaca fleece they collected. A dive through the black sand at Bethell’s Beach followed by a refreshing swim made it a day to remember.
Year 4 students experienced New Zealand’s colonial past when they visited the Howick Historical Village, dressed appropriately in attire from the 1840’s. They were interested to see both how similar and how different our lives are from those of the early settlers, deciding that we have it much better with today’s bathroom facilities in our houses. The most exciting part was making their own butter by hand! They sang a butter making song while taking turns to churn the butter. This lengthy process had a delicious ending when the children got to eat the butter they had churned on a cracker with a sprinkle of salt.
Take a look at the School Calendar to get an idea of the programme we currently have booked for the rest of the term. We look forward to hearing about the adventures the Year 2 students have coming up with their trip to MOTAT next week! Don’t forget, the My Family Hand app and emails from the office will keep you up to date on future events and dates.
