It is great for an upset tummy.
Thursday, 30 October 2014
Monday, 13 October 2014
Term 4 Newsletter
Mahuri Term 4
Newsletter
Kia ora parents,
caregivers and children,
Term 4’s looking like
our best yet: Rongoa Māori
workshops with Enviroschools Rongoa expert Arihia Latham, Athletics day, the
school fair, kids-as-experts-workshops, swimming, a student-led Amazing Race,
walks to identify local native plants for Rongoa Maori, Zoo sleepovers,
democratic classrooms, making kawakawa balm, walk to Red Rocks, hackschooling,
school picnic, percussion jams…!
U-Learn conference
Last week Shanon and Amy
A travelled to Rotorua with six other teachers from school for the U-Learn conference. We
heard some fantastic international academics and New Zealand practitioners who
gave us lots of food for thought that has inspired us to keep developing our
teaching and learning practice.
Inquiry: Rongoa Māori
Through the context of Rongoa
Māori, we
will explore the physical and chemical changes that occur to substances when
they are mixed, heated and cooled. We’ll get hands-on, identifying and
classifying local native plants, learning about their medicinal uses, and
creating our own balms and other kinds of Rongoa Māori medicine. Enviroschools Rongoa
expert Arihia Latham will come and run workshops with us in the Learning hub to
teach us about Rongoa practices. Our reading and writing programmes will
integrate with our Inquiry learning.
Our maths focus
areas this term are Number, Problem Solving, Basic Facts, Algebra, and Statistics – probability. In physical education
we will focus on athletics and swimming.
Music:
percussion
We are running a music rotation this
term – each class will spend 2 sessions with each teacher in the team, across
the term. From rakau to sāsā to Stomp beats, we’ll be drumming and exploring
different elements of rhythm, beat, and percussion.
Parent help
If you can support our
class programme with either regular or one-off parent help, we’d love to hear
from you. Spelling testing and reading with children are particularly useful
ways to help. We always welcome parents visiting to read a favourite book or
share some knowledge or expertise; even if you’ve already read to the class,
we’d love you to come back again!
Home learning
A reminder to return
home learning books to school on Mondays. Each Monday children will
bring home a new list of ten spelling words, a maths worksheet, a peom and an
updated Reading log (if needed).
Dates this term
Tuesdays M11’s
swimming day, all term
Tuesday 21 October Rongoa
Māori
workshops
Wednesday 22 October Whole School Athletics Day at Wakefield Park
Thursday 23 October postponement day for Athletics
Day
Monday 27 October Labour Day
Saturday 1 November School Fair
Tuesday 2 December Mahuri
inquiry exhibition, 9am – 10.30am
Thursday 4 December Day walk to Red Rocks
Monday 8 December Amazing
Race
Wednesday 10 December M12 & M13’s zoo sleepover
Thursday 11 December M11 & M14’s zoo sleepover
Monday 15 December Whole School picnic
Tuesday 16 December Term 4 Junior Parent Teacher Conferences
Thursday 18 December Poroporoaki, last day of
school
Thank you for your
ongoing support. As always, if there is anything you would like to discuss regarding
your child’s learning, please get in touch to make a time to talk.
Nga mihi,
Shanon, Adele, Ximena
and Amy
Thursday, 28 August 2014
Inquiry - Balloons
Daniel working with David and Cherno.
Brief: To get Mr. Lego safely to the ground from the balcony.
Tuesday, 29 July 2014
Tuesday, 22 July 2014
Term 3 Newsletter
Wednesay 23rd July
Kia ora parents, caregivers and children,
Can you believe we’re in to the second half of the year
already?!
Student agency
The teaching staff has been thinking and talking about
student agency this year. During the holidays we had an
excellent professional development day exploring this with Kath Murdoch, an
Inquiry learning expert from Melbourne. We are keen to support children’s
independence and self-determination in their learning as much as possible, and
are exploring ways to do this. This may take the form of independent
mini-inquiries or passion projects, allowing kids to pursue a particular area
of interest, and to consciously develop their independent learning skills (like
time management, researching, collaboration, communication, etc.) at the same
time. Other ways we aim to develop children’s agency are through learning
reflections, weekly learning goals and class reflections. If you have any
ideas, suggestions or feedback please let us know.
Inquiry
Building on last term’s wonderful inquiry into Changes to
the Land, we are moving on to a design and innovation inquiry this term,
exploring how we can be Kaitiaki of the Land. Children will identify a need and
create designs for protecting and taking care of the land in our local
environment. If you have, or anyone you know of has, expertise in design,
landforms, erosion, local government, or the changing environment, and would
like to share this knowledge with us, we would love to hear from you!
Our maths focus
areas this term are Number: Multiplication & Division and
Proportions & Ratios, Problem Solving, Basic Facts, Geometry, and Measurement.
In reading, we
will continue to develop comprehension
strategies through reading texts
about changes to the land, design, and other interest areas. Our writing programmes will flow from this
as we write reports, explanations, procedures, and scientific investigations,
interspersed with ongoing recounts, character writing and poetic writing.
PE
Our focus this term is striking and catching. We will
develop these skills through games and activities using small and large balls
and different strikers: hockey sticks, cricket bats, etc. Let’s hope for some
good dry weather to get outside and get active!
Parent help
If you can support our class programme with either regular
or one-off parent help, we’d love to hear from you. Spelling testing and
reading with children are particularly useful ways to help. We always welcome
parents visiting to read a favourite book or share some knowledge or expertise;
even if you’ve already read to the class, we’d love you to come back again!
Home learning
A reminder to return home learning folders to school on Mondays. Each Monday children will
bring home a new list of ten spelling words, an updated Reading log (if needed)
and a maths worksheet.
Student Teacher
M11 have been given
the opportunity to have a Student Teacher from Vistoria University. His name is Daniel Bell and he will be here
from week 4 until the end of the term.
During this time, he will have three weeks sole charge. He has already come and met the class where
he learned their names and helped us create some art.
Needs - Could each child
please purchase two new pencils and two new glue sticks for the next two terms. Buy them from the office before school,
purchase them when you are out and about or donate a gold coin to the class and
I will sort it out. We also need tissues
and ice cream containers.
Dates this term
Wednesday 30th
July: Parent Teacher Child conferences (Year 4 – 6 Only)
Thursday 31st
July: Parent Teacher Child conferences (Year 4 - 6 Only)
Friday 1st
August: Freedom Friday begins
Monday 25th August: ICT Parent meeting
Thursday 18th
September: Mahuri Celebration of Learning, 9.15am in the hall
Tuesday 23rd September: Parent Teacher
Child Conferences (Yr 1-3 for those who had a PTC in term 1).
Friday 26th
September: Last day of Term 2
To be confirmed: A school trip to the landfill
Thank you for your ongoing support. As always, if there is
anything you would like to discuss about your child’s learning, please get in
touch to make a time to talk.
Nga mihi,
Shanon, Adele, Ximena and Amy
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