Children at Rookesbury Park School raised nearly £300 during their New Zealand Charity Activity Day on Friday 25th January. Nat Halliday, a Year 2 teacher has taken a Sabbatical to Skateboard across New Zealand, to raise awareness of The Lowe Syndrome Trust , a children’s genetic disorder, and CanTeen Charity, children living with cancer.
Children at the school were put into teams called ‘The South Islanders’, ‘Maoris’, ‘North Islanders’ and ‘All Blacks’. Staff and children learnt the ‘haka’, with the traditional Maori dance and chant; they made Pavlovas with Kiwi fruit, and used their artistic skills to make Maori masks; they ran round a track to measure the distance that their teacher skates each day; and they learnt about the culture and geography of the beautiful country. All this whilst dressed in red, white and blue, the colours of the New Zealand flag. The children had a ball. They were enthusiastic and every activity had a purpose.
Headmistress, Pippa Harris-Burland , said ‘This is the way to bring learning alive for our children. They were really in tune with the activities and they took so much away from the whole experience; we shall certainly be doing more of this hands-on learning. As well as raising awareness for two such worthwhile charities, we are very proud of Nat Halliday, our colleague, as we chart his progress across the country. We are in the business of achieving goals and realising our dreams at Rookesbury. We love that he is working towards his goal and realising his dream.’
Please visit www.skatenewzealand.co.uk to find out more about Nat’s challenge.
For more information about Rookesbury Park School click on www.rookesburyparkschool.co.uk or to visit the school please contact Diana Todd in the school office 01329 833 108.
Open Day Friday 7th March 10.00am - 1.00pm
