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By Audrey Tan, Teacher, North Vista Secondary School |
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New Zealand is well known for its geographical splendour. We
were overwhelmed by the sheer size and beauty of the various
landforms. Singapore could easily fit into one of New Zealand’s
lakes. This realisation jolted students' imagination and curiosity,
and immediately set the tone for the trip.
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| Nature's
amazing effects: rock formations around Mount Maunganui. |
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The walk along the Tauranga coast helped us visualise some of
the lessons learnt back home. The sand dune was so huge that
whole settlements and entire road networks were constructed
on it. Mount Maunganui, a sacred ancient dwelling place of the
native Maori people, provided us with a complete picture of
coastal features such as tombolos, bays and headlands.
The tour of a kiwi fruit orchard and factory made us understand
how such a fruit could influence settlement patterns and contribute
substantially to the country's economy. More significantly,
it enabled us to see the inter-relationship between geography,
history, mathematics and even physics. Imagine using a spectrometer
to measure the amount of acceptable sugar content in a kiwi
fruit!
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| At
the marae: a gathering of two cultures. |
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One of the most enriching parts of this memorable learning journey
was the immersion into native Maori culture, much of which is
centred around the marae. The marae is a spiritual place where
the dead are mourned, guests are housed, weddings are held,
reunions are celebrated and important community issues are discussed.
Towards the end of the trip, students were reluctant to leave
this very conducive outdoor classroom. The trip had kindled
a strong interest in Geography as well as highlighted the links
among the various subject disciplines. One of the accompanying
teachers summed up the students' experience by saying, “We have
been given the opportunity of a lifetime.”
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| A
view from Mount Maunganui: "Wow! What a classroom!" |
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