Specialist Areas

It has been a hive of activity in our refurbished tech block this term. Look at the collection of photos to see some of the fantastic learning and high quality creations from our Tahuna students!

Re-Tech:

Where we Reimagine the process here at Tahuna. Creative flair everywhere as students are exploring different ways to showcase a range of products. They are using DelightEx/Tinkercad/Prusa Slicer/Lightburn/DOCS/3D Printing/Laser Cutting/LED lighting to make their creations.

'Right now Taliya and I are making a Matariki cospaces that teaches you about all the Matariki stars.' (Georgia Murray)

We are also using VR (virtual reality) with Cospaces and making a maze and planning on making 2 more scenes where we learn about Matariki more. (Taliya).

The focus is redesigning the process through prototype and trial and error. This includes evaluating along the way. Re-tech is fun and its has been great to see so many students being creative with the amazing facilities the department has to offer.

Food Technology:

Students enjoyed creating 'panipopo' during Samoan language week. Each year group is now working on their main design task for the term.

Year 8 students are using the FIFA world cup as inspiration as they select countries participating and then explore and create foods from that country. So far we have seen Portugese custard tarts, dango, ramen, shortbread, quesidillas, mini pavlovas and pineapple lump slice..just to name a few!

Year 7 students carefully designed and then completed costing for their own burger, to compare pricing with takeaway products. We rec-created an apricot and choc muesli bar slice and also learnt how to cook pasta by making macaroni cheese. Their design task this term is to plan and create a two course meal in their kitchen groups, I look forward to sharing photos of these creations at the end of the term!

Materials Technology:

Students are well through their main projects in Materials Technology, please see attached photos of a whole group's projects and some proud individual projects.

Students have worked hard to glue, sand and then protectively coat their finished product.

We hope these projects have a good use at home and encourage parents /caregivers to interact with the students about the process that was followed.

Visual Art:

Vibrant Visions: Year 7 Showcase Skills for Matariki.

Our Year 7 artists have been incredibly busy in the studio lately, channeling their creativity into stunning mixed-media pieces to celebrate Matariki. The art room has been a buzz of energy, and the resulting vibrant, high-quality artworks truly speak for themselves.

This project challenged students to push their technical boundaries, and they rose to the occasion brilliantly by blending multiple mediums and concepts:

• Mastering Value: Students demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of value, carefully mapping out light and dark areas to give their artwork depth and dramatic contrast.

• Blending Pastels: Soft pastels were used to create rich, velvety textures, with students practicing precise hand-blending techniques to transition smoothly between hues.

• Sponge-Merging Acrylics: Shifting from dry to wet media, students used sponges to seamlessly merge acrylic paints, creating atmospheric, cosmic backgrounds perfect for the Māori New Year.

  Year 8: Mastering Mixed Media

• The Year 8 art studio has been a whirlwind of innovation, and the astounding results prove that our students' creativity is at an all-time high!

  This term, students took on a complex mixed-media project that required them to balance technical precision with bold experimentation. First, they mastered the grid method to accurately scale their drawings, keeping a strict focus on showing value to give their subjects real depth. Next, they pushed their boundaries by layering different mediums—combining traditional acrylic painting with contemporary stencilling and spray painting techniques.

  The combination of disciplined drawing and vibrant, textured backgrounds has led to some truly exceptional, high-quality work. We are incredibly proud of their artistic growth!