Last week each whare had a day to construct an EPro8 challenge. We had to work in teams of 4 with a low amount of equipment. Mrs Stephenson gave us EPro8 challenge cards that we had to read really, really carefully. We had 3 challenges to achieve which were:

1. Learning how to use the equipment

2. Waterproof and tornado proof hut, And last but not least was a dump truck with a bed that could tip shredded paper from the top. We had to follow the criteria and couldn't move on to the next criteria until the first was complete, and once we thought we had achieved that criteria we had to put our hands up to signal Mrs Stephenson.

On Friday morning we found out which teams were in the whare competition and surprisingly my team R.2.D.2 (Honore’s Team) and the T.I.S Warriors (Tika’s team) and a few others such as the Purple Snurples (Pono’s Team) and even the Dream Team (Manaaki’s Team) and a couple more from each whare made it. In the whare competition we had 3 challenges that we could choose from which were: 1. A Dunk tank 2. A water well and 3. A certificate vending machine. R.2.D.2 made the water well which made them come 1st, and the rest of the teams made a Dunk Tank. At the end of the day we had a little prize giving and the teams that tied for 2nd were the T.I.S Warriors and the Purple Snurples which then meant we were going to Taupo for the Waikato Interschools quarter finals.

Last night (17th of May) at Hilltop School, Taupo, The 3 teams who were chosen got to compete in the Waikato quarter finals against many different schools. We travelled to Taupo after school and when we arrived we got ready at our assigned stations for the competition to start. There was so much more equipment than we had started with so before we could start building we got a demonstration of how the new equipment worked. We had 1 minute to choose from 4 different challenges which were: 1. ACar wash 2. A Grandfather clock 3. A Rat wheel, and the last challenge we could choose from was 4. The Thunderstorm. The most common Challenge chosen was the Grandfather clock, However some of the teams (there were 12 teams in the competition) made the car wash. We had 2 and a half hours to complete our challenge, But there was a twist. At any time we could pull apart our construction and start making another one of the challenges. We could also get bonus points for keeping our assigned area tidy. Something we learned that night was the Importance of reading. Another thing we learned was how to use the new equipment, such as the electronic sets and the extremely hot rope cutter. In the end R.2.D.2 came 2nd to last because the team was not getting along very well, the T.I.S Warriors managed to come in 5th and then there were the purple snurples who came in 2nd equal with another school. So that means they get to go to Rotorua on the 24th of May (next Wednesday) for the Waikato and Bay of plenty Semi finals. If they manage to come 1st, 2nd or 3rd, they will be going to the Finals on Thursday the 25th of May (next Thursday). We finished off the night at Burgerfuel where we all got a free kids meal all thanks to Mrs Mariasoucce and Mrs Stephenson. It was delicious and we had a brilliant evening.

Special thanks to Mrs Stephenson for running the EPro8 and being an awesome teacher for the students, also a really huge thanks to Mrs Mariassouce for taking over 1 of the teams and shouting us Burgerfuel afterwards. We had a great time, Thank you.

Written By, Rylee Groen-Taylor-Rm 19 and Leah Luatua-Rm 5

Fresh produce from our own gardens is now available. We are now running a garden to table programme at our school. Ms Livingstone enjoys taking her Huarahi students out to collect the veggies. This is an enriching experience for our students to see where the food comes from.

This week students enjoyed a delicious healthy vegetable soup and flat bread, prepared to perfection by themselves. I rated this soup a 10/10 and better than any burger in town. Students enjoyed the soup so much that they even wanted to take some home.

Thanks to Mrs Stephenson for leading a team of teachers and students to get our gardens established.

(Mr Olls, Huarahi Teacher)