Roots of Empathy 2019

Baby Celebration at Pinehill School

Wednesday 4th December. 

This afternoon, Rangi, Kane and Miss Peters drove to the North Shore to attend the baby celebration. All three of us had prepared speeches to share with the group. It was lovely to see Ally, Mrs Doherty, Eve and Noah again. Noah is definitely not a baby who is going to sit down and stay still any more. He was off and exploring the whole time. 

#9 

Baby Noah's last visit and our final celebration   - Week Four, Term Four 

Today's session was bitter sweet - It was Noah's last visit and we are so sad about that but it was also terrific to see him and.... we were totally spoilt by Ally who bought us loads of treats and the most delicious chocolate cake. 

Colin and Brian - Roots of Empathy was amazing and fun. The most enjoyable moment was when Noah could roll over. Messages Ally said to us were “ Never and I mean NEVER shake a baby.”  “Never leave a baby unsupervised.” “Never put a baby on it’s belly.” Thank you to Ally and Mrs Doherty and Noah for Roots of Empathy for 2019. Noah we wish you a good life and a good education.

George and Esila: The thing we enjoyed was when Noah first rolled over and how we all went "Awwwww’’. Ally Fulcher's stories are so amazing. George and I still remember her telling us the story about her and her daughter's teddy and how she still has it. Then there came the party with all the drinks and the chips and the beautiful Roots of Empathy cake. Noah was lonely and the girls were singing a lonely song and I felt sad for him so I went to sit next to him and he was soooo cute. Thank you Mrs Doherty for giving up your time to bring Noah to Roots of Empathy. 

Vai and Kane The best sessions were when Noah came in and we got to experience him and how he went from lying on his back like he was dead and then in a flash he was zooming around on his legs and hands. I will always remember Noah's baby blue eyes. From our first session to our last he grew more in height and in weight he also grew more hair and athleticism. Noah moved more and more each session. He brought joy and laughter every time he came in. I felt like every time Ally told us a story about her life which related to our sessions I felt like I could relate to our sessions better. I hope for Noah to have a good healthy and well educated life. I can now relate more to others and  know people's feelings better.  

Ocean and Zantye- I liked how Ally taught us how not to shake a baby and she taught us aboutthe  things that are bad for babies. We learnt a lot about baby Noah’s food and what he eats. I enjoyed it when baby Noah rolled over and crawled over to his mum to get a warm cuddle. I think the important message is no baby is bad because when a baby is crying he needs something. Sometimes when Ally comes to visit she teaches us about our rights and sometimes sign language. Through the sessions we had with Ally and baby Noah and his mum I would like to say thank you to Miss Doherty for bringing in Noah and thanks to Ally for teaching us about the rights and wrongs with babies.

Sosene & Bryce: Noah we wish for you to have a good life with your mum at home. We learned that he is able to see little thing around him but the most important thing around him is his family. We always love Noah and Ally. Thank you for the love you gave us and the best thing was the celebration you gave us. Thanks to Noah, Ally and Mrs Doherty for the future you've given us.

Abigail and Mikaylah- The Roots of Empathy programme is what we did with Ally Fulcher, Mrs Doherty and her cute and charming son Noah. Our favourite part of this programme was when Noah gave everyone a great big smile and laughed which caused all of us to laugh. When we started  Roots of Empathy, Noah did nothing but lay there. But as he visited more often, he became more aware of the people around him(us). The soft spot in the middle of his head had disappeared as he visited us. Ally taught us about the fontanelle, the soft spot on the baby's head. If you hurt the baby's fontanelle, it could damage the baby's brain. We also learned never to shake a baby because it will damage the baby's brain which could kill the baby. Some people do this because they think that the baby is bad but the thing these people don’t understand is that there is no such thing as a bad baby. Our hopes for Noah is that he will grow up to be a educated child and earn a lot of money to give to his parents. Roots of Empathy has been a great adventure and has taught us a lot about babies and their safety. Thank you Ally, Mrs Doherty and Noah a.k.a cutie pie.

Darrel and Jemiah: My favorite thing about Roots of Empathy was playing with baby Noah and having fun with him. We learnt a lot about how to keep babies safe and how to take care of them. We learnt that babies don't know how to be naughty yet, they’re just trying to tell you something. We also learnt to not shake a baby because it could damage their brain. The last time we saw baby Noah, we celebrated by having soft drinks and even chocolate cake. Whenever we bring out the green sheet Noah would look for the tiniest gaps and try to escape. I'm going to miss making Noah laugh and seeing him smile. 

Ezrah and Jahzay-Roots of Empathy was a fun interesting year with Ally, baby Noah and Mrs Doherty. Ally told us so many things about babies like never leave a baby unattended by him/herself. She also said qdon’t put a baby on his/her stomach when they are sleeping because they will not be able to breath. On the last day of ROE we ended with a party. Thank you Ally. 

Laurel and Merceius: We enjoyed seeing baby Noah happy and smiling as always. I think all these sessions with Noah and Ally have been amazing and Ally has been showing us what to do with a baby and explaining what Roots of Empathy is all about. We will always remember when baby Noah came in with a big cheesy smile on his face. Before we didn't know much about safety but now we know how to take care of babies and how to know their emotions. We have seen a lot of change in baby Noah. When he first came he couldn’t carry things, he couldn’t crawl, he couldn’t stand but when we last saw him he could crawl, he could carry things and he could stand. Thank you Ally, Noah and Miss Doherty for being amazing and coming in and teaching us about babies. We had a lot of fun with baby Noah.  

Demitri, James & Gafatasi: The thing we enjoyed the most was when baby Noah first stood up and made us feel happy. When baby Noah cried Mrs Doherty always made him feel calm, peaceful and joyful. We learnt so much from  Noah like never ever shake a baby because a baby’s  brain will be damaged. We  would all like to say thank you Ally.

Nanasi: In Roots of Empathy we had lots of fun. We learned about what's in diapers. We shouldn't shake a baby because their heads are like little eggs. We learned that babies are not bad because babies don’t know anything about being bad. We met a lovely little baby named Noah and he’s like a little baby brother to us. When Mrs Doherty came again she told us that she saw Noah roll over and than baby Noah rolled over with all of us cheering for him. What we enjoyed the most was when baby Noah is trying to speak and when he tried to go in a little tiny space between the children and failed because he couldn't fit in the small space and some of us were stopping him from going out of the little circle. The first time I saw baby Noah laugh he was happy and sometimes  we had to sing a lullaby to him. Ally told us all about babies and all about Roots of Empathy. Baby Noah is the first baby that we learned about. The things that I will remember about Roots of Empathy is to never shake a baby and baby’s are not bad. I enjoyed making things for Noah and signing my signature in Noah's nursery rhyme book.

Helaina and Rangi: Roots Of Empathy was very cool. We learnt about babies and what not to do to babies.  For example NEVER shake baby.  We were so lucky we even got a baby named Noah and his mum, Mrs Doherty, to come into our class. We watched Noah grow up into a little man. Just seeing his smile could brighten anyone's day. It is a pleasure to have Ally Fulcher as our baby instructor. We learnt many new things and read many new books like the book about all the kids. Our most favourite part of it all was when Baby Noah ate the pineapple. We all started to laugh. In my own opinion Roots of Empathy will be really helpful when we grow up, and have kids of our own.

Henry and Allando: The thing we liked the most about Roots of Empathy was when baby Noah kept crawling to us with a big smile. It was so cool when he first crawled and we said ”Awwwwww.” The thing we learnt that was really important is that babies do not know how to be bad and that every single kid has rights. On the last session we celebrated with baby Noah. We had ice-blocks, Coke and chips. This year has been really great time. Thank you Ally, Mrs Doherty and Noah for everything.

April and Evalonie: In Roots Of Empathy our favourite part was when Noah was starting to crawl and talk for the first time. We learnt that the important thing is to not do is don’t shake a baby because their brain is like a little egg and that a mum can harm a baby by smoking. What I’ll remember about is when we had our last day in Roots Of Empathy because we had a big feast with food but we were very sad because it was the last day to see baby Noah and we will miss him. Things had changed with Noah like his hair has been growing a lot and he’s getting steps and standing up. We are very proud of Noah and we always will be. We felt so happy in each session we get so excited every time he comes. We felt so sad when Ally told us that she lost her daughter once and her neighbours had to help Ally to look for her daughter and after they had been looking for a while they found her. That was so sad. Our hopes for Noah are for him to get a job and a good education and get lots of money to take care of his mum. For my future I would look after my sisters and get a job to get money to take care of my beautiful mum.       

Peter: I really enjoyed the last week when we had the AWESOME party. We had a cake and coke cola (NO sugar) and some chips. I will remember to never shake a baby. Fom the first session when Noah just lay there then he started to crawl and now he can stand up during the sessions. 

#8

Baby Noah's Eighth Visit - Week One, Term Four 

Esila: Noah was fun and funny today.. and a little bit chubbier. 

Vai: Noah was way more active and he made everyone laugh. 

Kane: He could crawl much faster. 

Peter: He can almost stand by himself. 

Rangi: It was so cute when he kept going back to his mum for cuddles. 

James: Noah was chubbier and he can move fast. 

Allando: He is much more active and a little bit fast. 

Jahzay: He's much more clever than before. He was looking for gaps to get out and he found one. 

Bryce: He ate some pineapple but he didn't eat it all because the middle was too hard. 

Destiny: His mum said he is starting to eat vegetables and she said that he really likes them. 

Merceius: Noah is cute and he loved avocado and cucumber. He threw me a big hug. 

Ocean: He is learning how to stand up. 

Colin: Noah scratched my eye when we were singing the goodbye song. I think he was trying to hug me or reach out to me. 

Ezrah: He ate some avocado and he liked it but it was messy. 

Da-Rrell: His mum said he doesn't like meat. 

Gafatasi: He always likes to get hugs from his mum. 

Demitriji: He is speaking a lot more and he has grown a tooth. 

George: He was doing weird faces and he was laughing.

Nanasi: He knows how to hold two balls in his hands. 

#7

Baby Noah's Seventh Visit - Week Seven, Term Three

Brian: Baby Noah was much more playful this visit. He started laughing when we sang twinkle twinkle little star. He was far more energetic, moving around and he kept crawling to George. It was like George had baby magnets. 

Zantye: Baby Noah was funny when he was going to George. I liked it when he crawled. 

George: Baby Noah kept coming to me. It made me feel happy. We saw him standing and crawling and laughing.

Esila: It was funny because baby Noah acted weird when he kept going over to George and tried to climb up on him.

Abi: Baby Noah was interested in George but we didn't know why. He was drooling a lot. Mrs Doherty said it was because he is teething. 

April: We saw that baby Noah could crawl and he crawled around the whole time he was here. He was more playful with the toys. When we sang a song to him he went quiet. Maybe he was listening to us. 

Helaina: Baby Noah had more grip which meant he could hold the balls and toys. He was talking more, especially to his toys. We didn't know what he was saying but it made us laugh. 

Vai: I liked how he made everyone laugh when he was crawling around the circle. It was cool to see him progress from just sitting to crawling around everywhere. 

Mikaylah: Baby Noah is now very adventurous and is crawling around everywhere. He made everyone smile and laugh and he loved it when we imitated his noises. It was really nice to see him reach another milestone. 

#6

Baby Noah's Sixth Visit - Week Three, Term Three

Shiah and Nanasi

" Yesterday, we noticed a change in Noah. He was more alert and noticing things around him. He was active and moving constantly. We had heard about baby Noah's new trick and we were eager to see him in action. In the previous weeks Noah had learnt many new things, he could grip and turn over. It was astounding. We had two weeks without  Noah and in those days he had started to get up on his knees and crawl around . We loved it and everyone went crazy for it. This would have to be one of the best weeks with baby Noah."

Henry and Da-Rrell

"This term baby Noah has grown humongous. He has achieved a great milestone too, he has finally learnt how to crawl. He is very chubby too. Having baby Noah crawling has been hard because we’ve had to up our careful game. It has been great having Ally Fulcher teaching us fascinating things about babies and how to get through life."

Sosene , Ezrah and James

"Over the past few weeks baby Noah has grown gigantic. He has finally learnt how to crawl and is trying to lift his legs. We all wanted baby Noah to crawl and finally he can. For the first time he can hold two balls, and is getting better grip. He is also trying to hold three but he is getting there. He is getting more active every day. He is talking and trying to get to know everybody. He loves to play with the toys that Ally gives him, and every time Ally moved the toy he would either crawl to the toy or cry for it."

#5

Baby Noah's Fifth Visit - Week Ten, Term Two 

What a wriggle monster he is now. He can roll over whenever he wants to. We measured him and he is now 73 cms long and 7.1 kg in weight. He has grown almost 15cm in three months. 

#4

Baby Noah's Fourth Visit - Week Seven Term Two 

Merceius "Noah has grown bigger."

Demitrji "Noah is starting to move more."

Peter "Noah is noticing that he has hands and feet and that he can use his hands to hold things. The soft spot on his head is gone."

James "Noah can now roll over."

Michael "Noah is getting used to real food like pears and apples."

Esila "He has more hair."

Vai "Everything he put in his hand, he then put in his mouth and he is dribbling a lot more." 

Laurel "He got angry when his mum took away his food."

Helaina" He likes sucking his toes. He is talking a lot more." 

Mikaylah "Noah was smiling a lot."

Miss Peters "We still have to be careful about germs, especially at this time of the year with so many people having colds. For this reason we do not touch his hands or his face."

Kane "Mrs Doherty said that he is now sleeping his cot in his own room."

#3

Baby Noah's Third Visit - Week Two Term Two 

We could definitely see some changes in Noah. He was more alert, more wriggly and aware of everyone around him. 

Just this week he had started to roll over so we waited with baited breath for him to do it. We were laughing because everytime Ally thought it wasn't going to happen, she would start talking and he would try but then he would stop. She would go to talk and he would try again. This happened over and over again. When he finally did it, we all cheered but we were a bit too excited and he got a fright. Mum picked him up and we sang to him. Thankfully that calmed him down right away. We certainly didn't mean to make him cry. 

#2

Baby Noah's Second Visit - Week Ten Term One

We could definitely see some differences in Noah from his first visit. He was more alert and looking around more. We sang some of the songs we had recorded for him. He seemed to love the music. He was very interested in what was going on as his mum walked him around the circle at the beginning and the end of the session. 

#1  

 Baby Noah's First Visit

Room 11 is very lucky to be part of the Roots of Empathy programme. Today we met baby Noah.

Helaina "Today I saw baby Noah being held to get weighed because he couldn't stand on the scale himself."

Colin "At the start we all sang a song to him to welcome him to Room 11."

Kane "Today we learnt that baby Noah couldn't see that much when he was first born. We learned that on Wednesday the 13th of March, Noah will be exactly three months old."

Peter "I learned that baby Noah can't really use his hands to hold things yet."

Shiah "Today we learned that babies favour black and white more than colour when they are first born because they can't see that well. Noah doesn't have much control of his hands and arms."

April "Kane asked about Noah's fontanelle and Mrs Doherty said that he still had a small one but it is hard to find."

Mikey "I learned that baby Noah doesn't really know he has hands yet. Baby Noah didn't like going on his stomach because he face-planted into the green mat because he can't lift his head very high yet"

Demitrji "I saw baby Noah got more active and moved more when he was happy."

Destiny "Mrs Doherty told us that Noah is learning to hold his head up. He has good hearing"

Esila "Today I saw baby Noah's little feet. It was a little bit sweaty but very soft"

Merceius "Today we saw baby Noah for the first time. He was super cute."

Henry "Today we saw baby Noah's feet. He had different patterns on his feet."

Ocean "Room 11 learned that we can't touch baby Noah's head, face or hands because he is very delicate and sensitive to germs."

Zantye" Baby Noah dribbles... a lot."

Evalonie "Baby Noah was quite chubby."



Thank you to Ally, Mrs Doherty and Noah. We are so looking forward to seeing you more.