Term 2 Newsletter

Monday 5^th May

Kia ora parents, caregivers and children of te whanau ō Mahuri,

We hope you’ve had a happy autumnal Easter and ANZAC break. It was great to meet with you at the end of last term to talk about how your child’s learning is going and to set goals for their next learning steps. This term is shaping up to be a great term, kicking off with cross country training and swimming.

Inquiry

We are looking forward to a science-focussed inquiry this term, investigating how The Land Changes, exploring how land changes affect us and how we affect the land. We have planned lots of hands-on experiments, and are particularly focusing on developing children’s scientific skills of observing, pattern-seeking, and modelling. This will involve lots of observation of erosion in the school playground and in the community: the sea wall, the effects of the deforestation above the golf course and bike track, landslides in the area… We will explore the concept of kaitiakitanga and learn about traditional explanations for changes to landforms through legends like Ngake and Whataitai. In groups, children will create learning stories to chart their growing and changing understanding of changes to the land. If you are, or anyone you know of is, an expert in landforms, erosion, or the changing environment, and would like to share your knowledge with us, we would love to hear from you!

Our maths focus areas this term are Number: Addition & Subtraction and Multiplication & Subtraction, Problem Solving, Basic Facts, and Measurement.

In reading, we will continue to develop comprehension strategies through reading texts about changes to the land. 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.

Mathletics

This application is a great way to support your child’s maths learning. Teachers can tailor each child’s profile so that questions are aligned to their level. We plan to use this in class as well as encouraging children to use this site at home. If you haven’t yet signed up and would like to, you can contact the office – the school subscription offers you a much-discounted price of $21, rather than $100 for a yearly subscription.

PE

This term we will be swimming each Thursday – children will be assessed on the first day and grouped according to their strengths and needs. Children always need a particularly substantial lunch on swimming days! We are also focussing on gymnastics in the first 5 weeks of term on Mondays and Tuesdays; children need to wear suitable clothing on their gym day. We are also training daily in the first two weeks ready for the school cross country day on Friday 16^th May; children need to wear (or bring) suitable footwear to school.

Blogs

We’re really enjoying sharing our learning with you through our class blogs. Thank you for your support in commenting on children’s writing – it is a wonderful form of immediate feedback and a real incentive for future learning.

Parent help

If you can support your child’s class programme with either regular or one-off parent help, we’d love to hear from you. We really enjoyed hearing from those parents who came in and shared a favourite story with their child’s class last term. We always welcome parents visiting; even if you’ve already read one story, we’d love you to come back and share another!

Home learning

Children should bring home a new list of ten spelling words, an updated Reading log (if needed) and basic facts to be learned off by heart.

Dates this term

Mondays:                    Gymnastics in the school hall for M12 & M13

Wednesdays:              Gymnastics in the school hall for M11 & M14

Every Thursday:         Swimming at Kilbirnie Pool

Friday 16^th May:        Cross country at Houghton Valley School

Monday 2^nd June:      Queen’s birthday

Tuesday 1^st July:        Portfolios come home

Friday 4^th July:           Last day of Term 2

To be confirmed:        a school trip to observe landforms

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,

Adele, Amy, Shanon, and Ximena

Te Whanau ō nga Mahuri

adeleconnor-wills@islandbay.school.nz  

amyaustin@islandbay.school.nz

shanonoverly@islandbay.school.nz

ximenaaitken@islandbay.school.nz

Inquiry Share next Wednesday, 9th April

Come and join us at 2pm - 3pm on Wednesday 9th April to share in our Inquiry learning; whanau are welcome to come and see what we've been learning about this term!

Remember that next Friday (11th April) is a teachers' only day, then term finishes the following Thursday (17th April) before Good Friday.

This means that this Friday (4th April) will be the last Freedom Friday for the term.

Also this Friday we are having our Noho Marae at Pipitea Marae, from 4.30pm - Saturday at 1.30pm. Everyone's welcome - $25 for adults, $20 for children, $50 for families - forms are available at the school office.

Noho Marae at Pipitea Marae - 4th - 5th April

Kia ora parents and caregivers,

The whanau group has decided to rebook Pipitea Marae (Thorndon) to hold our annual Noho marae (sleep over) and we are inviting any interested families to come and enjoy the fun.

We will learn Marae Tikanga (protocol and etiquette) and share a fun-filled evening at an inner-city marae. The experience will be fantastic! Below is the scheduled itinerary.

Island Bay School Noho Marae: Friday 4th to Saturday 5th April (Term 1, 2014)

What’s happening: A marae sleepover
Who can come: All interested Island Bay School families
When is it?  4-4:30pm (Powhiri at 4.30), Friday 4th April to Saturday 5th April, 12:00ish

Where is it? Pipitea Marae, Thorndon
How much: $20 per child -$25 per adult (except infants), and $50 for a family to cover food and koha

Timetable (draft)

This is just a rough outline of our Friday night:
4:00 Meet at Marae. If you have not been welcomed on to Pipitea Marae before, there will be a powhiri for you. Please wait in the car park.
4:30 Powhiri
5:00 Afternoon tea
Settle-in time, unpack, sort kitchen, play.
6:30 Mihi Whakatau for any more people coming on, allowing for those joining us after work.
7:00 Shared dinner. Please bring a healthy contribution for a shared evening meal.
8:00 Maybe a visit from Luke Crawford to talk on Wellington & Marae korero/games

9:00 Supper supplied
Kids' bedtime. Adults bring guitars/ukulele and cards.

Saturday
7:00 Breakfast 

9:00 Kapa Haka / mihimihi

10:00 Morning tea

Ko te rourou maa teenaa, maa teenaa ka ora te manuhiri.

10:30 Discussion for all re IBS and Whanau Group business, IBS protocols.
11:30 Poroporoaki
12:00 Home time /clean up etc

Kai for Friday/Food

Each family is asked to bring a pre-prepared healthy food contribution for the evening meal, your preferred choice of breakfast cereal and any special foods you require. The basics will be supplied (tea, coffee, milo, milk, juice, sugar, bread, butter, spreads, biscuits and fruit).

Those with personal food requirements please BYO dinner and let Maria know.

What to bring:

·   Healthy food contribution for evening meal         

·    Your preferred choice of breakfast cereal

·    Sleeping bags or bedding

·    Pillow cases

·   Toiletries / medication

·    Torch  (if needed)

·     Earplugs

·     Change of clothes

·     Warm clothing

·     Guitar/ ukulele/ cards and slippers for inside

Please fill in the form or email the form back to mariawhiting@islandbay.school.nz . More information will come to you shortly.

No reira, thank you. Maria Whiting J

Island Bay School Pipitea Noho Marae /Sleepover: Friday 4th April 2014.

We are interested in attending: Number ____

Names:__________________________________
Adults ____

Children_____/other_______________________

Class___________________________________________________ Class___________________________________________________Class___________________________________________________

Payment: Child $20, Adult $25 and/or Family $50 (please hand into office/ or Maria asap)

Food requirements______________________________

Health needs/allergies____________________________________

Email:_________________________

Parent Meetings newsletter

Tuesday 11^th February

Kia ora Parents and Caregivers,

It’s been great to meet you over the past week. We’d like to fill you in on a few more of our classroom routines and particular focuses this year.

DIGITAL LEARNING

We are looking forward to investigating, as teachers and learners, how we can use technology in the classroom to expand our learning.

To begin with, every class will spend time talking about cyber safety, discussing how we can make good choices online. Together with you, children will have to sign a Cyber Safety agreement before we start to use the laptops and iPads allocated to our classes.

Some of the ways we’d like to use technology this year are:

• making iBooks to track our Inquiry learning
• blogging
• using the iPad apps Explain Everything, Puppet Pals, and Book Creator to record and share new learning in Inquiry, Maths, Writing, and other curriculum areas

BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT

First and foremost we encourage positive behaviour. Each class is spending time creating a class treaty to establish clear, shared expectations about how we want to learn and live together this year. We encourage children to manage their own learning and behaviour, and firstly to problem-solve themselves if issues arise. Occasionally a child may need to bring home a Thinking Sheet if they’ve needed ongoing support from a teacher to manage their behaviour. This is intended to facilitate personal reflection, and to link any consequences directly to resolving the specific issue. The link between home and school is important in supporting children’s behaviour. If you ever want to discuss an issue or need clarification of the details of a situation, please feel free to talk to or email your child’s teacher.

NGA KETE AKORANGA - LEARNER TOOLBOX

We are continuing to explore ways to support children’s metacognition - their thinking about thinking - this year. We think that the more children are able to articulate what is going on in their brain, what strategies they’re using and what skills they’re developing, the more able children are to learn effectively. To this end, we’re taking time to support children to make goals and reflect on their learner dispositions and capabilities. For example, characteristics like persistence, resilience, and risk-taking will be unpacked and practised. These will be linked to the key competencies identified in the New Zealand Curriculum: Thinking; Using language, symbols, and texts; Managing self; Relating to others; and Participating and contributing.

P4C: PHILOSOPHY FOR CHILDREN

We will use P4C to develop critical thinking. A session involves reading a book with an underlying philosophical or ethical question, and then holding a discussion where opinions can be voiced and listening, reasoning and critical thinking is encouraged and developed.

INQUIRY & LEARNING WALLS

The walls of our classrooms are spaces where we share our learning journeys and develop our thinking. Come in and have a look, and ask your child to explain their learning to you!

Please get in touch if you have any other questions or thoughts about teaching and learning in our classes.

Nga mihi,

Ximena, Shanon, Adele, Amy

Te Whanau o Nga Mahuri

Monday 3^rd February 2014

Tena koutou Parents and Caregivers;

Nga mihinui ki a koutou!  It is great to be back at school; we’re looking forward to a fantastic year together.  Te Whanau o nga Mahuri is made up of four classes this year:

M11      Y3       Shanon Overly

M12     Y4        Adele Connor-Wills

M13     Y4        Amy Austin

M14     Y4        Ximena Aiken

We will work closely together, sharing our teaching and learning.  After a great summer break, we’re raring to go.  We’ve been reading and thinking about fixed and growth mindsets about intelligence, flipping classrooms, ways to encourage kids’ persistence and resilience, developing strong learning dispositions and attitudes through risk-taking and metacognition (thinking about how we think and learn) and lots more.  Come and have a chat to us about your thoughts on education and what makes a well-rounded human being – we’re keen to hear your ideas!

Our first Inquiry is Te Whare Tapawha: how healthy are we? exploring concepts of hauora: te taha tinana – physical wellbeing, te taha hinengaro – mental and emotional wellbeing, te taha wairua – spiritual wellbeing (e.g. attitudes, mindfulness), and te taha whanau – social wellbeing.  

We will investigate the ways that the elements of hauora are interconnected, and look at choices we make to develop our own wellbeing and that of others.  In a few weeks’ time this will involve some analysis and tracking of eating, sleeping, exercise, and their impact on moods!  Later in the term we hope to take action, applying our learning in a tangible way.  We will also spend time developing our new class culture by identifying each person’s learning styles, strengths and areas they want to develop.  We invite you and your whanau to join us on Wednesday 9^th April for an inquiry exhibition afternoon from 2-3pm.

In Maths we will focus on Statistics and Number: addition and subtraction.  We will be writing about personal experience through recounts and poetry, using our observations in our writer’s journals for inspiration.  Our Physical Education focuses are volleyball, skipping, and cross country training ready for the school cross country day in Term 2. The Y4s will swim at the Kilbirnie Aquatic Centre in Term 2, and the Y3s will have their turn in Term 4.

In Y3 and 4, the main focus of Reading moves from learning to read to reading to learn.  As well as gathering facts and information, children are developing their use of comprehension strategies, e.g. asking questions, making inferences, making connections from the text to themselves/ another text/ the world.   Children will develop their independent use of these comprehension strategies through literature circles and passion projects.  Guided reading lessons may take place over a few days as we read, discuss and analyse the text.  Children will bring books home around twice a week to share with you.  On the other weekdays we encourage children to read a book from their independent book box or from the library and to track this in their home learning reading log.  It is still important that they read with you each night.  We read a poem each week that children will bring home on Fridays to share (and perhaps learn off by heart).  Please return poetry books to school on Mondays.

To kick off the year by celebrating great literature, we would like to invite parents and whanau to come in and read a favourite picture book.  Whether it’s The Lion in the Meadow or Kimi and the Watermelon, we'd love you to come and share a beautiful book (or two) with the class.

This year our home learning will consist of a fortnightly spelling list, an ongoing reading log, basic facts practice and optional writing and Inquiry activities.

Children will share personal news on Mondays and Tuesdays.  We will focus on current events on Wednesdays – children are encouraged to bring a piece of local/ national/ international news to share. On Thursdays and Fridays our oral language focus will be te reo Maori, starting with mihimihi, greetings, and feelings.

We would like to use last year’s portfolio for goal-setting this term – if you could send it in to school, we’ll have a look and return it before the end of week 3.  Thanks!

At lunchtime teachers supervise children’s eating for 10 minutes, making sure they eat the healthiest bits first.  Children stay seated until the second bell rings at 12.45pm.  We would encourage children to bring a healthy lunch (we'll be investigating these in our inquiry learning) without any plastic wrap so as to minimise waste and playground rubbish.

We would like to invite all Mahuri whanau to a community picnic in the top block on Wednesday 19^th Feb from 5-6.30pm. A chance to say hello and catch up on each others’ summers! BYO fish ‘n’ chips and rug.

Reminders

All children need to wear sunhats at break and lunchtimes this term.  To feed their brain, we encourage children to have a drink bottle in class.  If children are late for school (after the 8.55am bell), they need to go to the office to let them know they are here.  The library is open from 8.10am – 8.30am to supervise children who arrive early.  Then children can play outside until the bell rings at 8.55am.

Requests

We would welcome contributions of old shirts, newspapers and ice-cream containers for art, and a box of tissues for a class supply (if possible).  Shanon’s on the hunt for a mat/rug for her classroom floor – do you have one you could spare?

If you are able to support the classroom programme with parent help, please let us know – we so appreciate your help with reading groups or spelling testing etc.

Important dates

Thursday 6^th February: Waitangi day

Friday 7^th February: Teachers' only day

Tuesday 11^th February: parent-teacher meetings

Tuesday 18^th February: visit to Te Marae at Te Papa

Wednesday 19^th February: Mahuri community fish & chips evening – 5pm-6.30pm

Friday 28^th February: school hangi

Wednesday 2^nd April (postponement 3^rd April): Jump Rope for Heart day, 1 – 2.30pm

Friday 4^th April: noho marae at Pipitea Marae

Wednesday 9^th April: Mahuri inquiry exhibition afternoon, 2pm-3pm – parents and whanau welcome

Friday 11^th April: Teachers’ only day

Thursday 17^th April: last day of Term 1

Friday 18^th April: Good Friday

Advance notice: At the end of Term 4 we will have a sleepover at the zoo.  M12 & M13 will stay on Wednesday 10^th December, and M10 & M14 will stay on Thursday 11^th December.  This will cost $45 per child (to be paid in Term 4).  We will let you know more details closer to the date!

We're really looking forward to teaching your children this year.  If there is anything you’d like to discuss about your child’s learning, please don’t hesitate to email us to make a time for a meeting.

Noho ora mai,

            Adele, aMY, shanon & ximena