Grey Lynn school has been buzzing about their new beehive and the associated learning for the children that is all about the importance of bees for us all! To support Grey Lynn School and buy the honey please get in touch on info@greylynn.school.nz or catch us at the Grey Lynn Farmers Market.
The wonderful Alicia Whata, Grey Lynn School’s Principle, got in touch with some more information on their Grey Lynn Bees and hive and what it all means for their community.
We thank Ruby and Wendell Property Management’s ongoing commitment to Grey Lynn Learners by supporting us to situate our Beehive here at school!
We are letting you know what your contribution has meant to our learning and what we are doing next.
With multiple disruptions to our world recently we have all been out of kilter with our learning momentum and managing all the pandemic has thrown at us. We finally feel we have our mojo back and our routines and commitments to how Grey Lynn School learns and thrives.
A re-connection with our Grey Lynn Bees and hive has been prioritised and our school has a regular focus each September on learning across the school in line with the National pollination month, Bee Aware alongside the Apiculture New Zealand focus.
We aim to thread the learning possibilities into bees, hive, and honey into literacy and numeracy and science and technology.
Recently our learning connections have included using the hive as a connector to learning by:
- Using reading material from school journals with a focus on reading with learners.
- Seasonal updates about what is new in our hive this month.
- Co-inside a look inside the hive when the beekeeper is in checking in on our bees with whanau class visits to the hives.
- Connection to the work of Bees to our school ways of working ‘collaboration’. These lessons model the work of bees as a team and how we value collaboration in line with our schools Grey Lynn Way (our school values).
- Visual arts – observational writing
- Mathematics – measurement and geometry and shapes – using the hexagon as a focus.
- Writing – instructions about how to care for bees and how to behave around bees.
- Science – recognising the differences between a pest and a bee, how one harms and one helps, the seasonal changes and what we would see, as well as the life cycles of a bee.
- Positive phrases using beeology words; Bee Positive, Bee the difference.
- Honey used in cooking.
What is next:
- As part of our school’s online presence; dedicating a page to our Grey Lynn Beehive with harvesting stories, learning and updates.
- Having a physical display in our atrium by our school office with a space dedicated to these updates and connected to our garden to table updates.
- Selling our honey jars at the Grey Lynn Market – your names are proudly printed on the honey labels.
We couldn’t be prouder to be supporting such an amazing institution as well as such an vital and enlightening project for our young ones. Any questions? Get in touch – info@greylynn.school.nz
