Hi there,
What a great start to the year we have had! Bright smiles and eager learners make my transition back teaching all the more enjoyable.
Blogging is a bit of a learning curb for me, but one I am keen for. I thought we would start easy with the class news letter, which you have probably all read but it may refresh your memory of some important points to begin our year.
Kay
Haumoana School,
Newsletter 1
Dear Parents and
Caregivers of Room 3,
Welcome to the new
school year. I hope you have all enjoyed
your holidays and are looking forward to, as I am, getting back into the happy
routine of school life. The fine weather
has been wonderful for enjoying all those outdoor activities our area is famous
for. Let’s hope it continues so we can
also make further use of time spent outdoors.
For those that don’t know me I am returning to
school after a year’s study leave, having completed my Degree in
Education. It was a special year for me
in which I immersed myself in some of my topics of interest, education for
sustainability and environmental education being one of these. My aim now is to integrate the new knowledge
I have into the classroom, which should be fun.
Haumoana School is
known for its THINKING capacity, where we embrace the skills that enable us to
be even greater thinkers, through the Habits of Mind, DeBonos Thinking Hats and
the Thinkers Keys to name a few. They
are woven throughout our programmes and work to give them greater depth. We will be reintroducing these as we work our
way through the year. The Habits of
Mind, Finding Humour and Using Past Knowledge in New Situations are our focus two
for this term.
Our School wide
theme for Term 1 is Cool Literacy Learning , where we will explore words in all areas
of learning. What a fun way to start the
year. Writers Notebooks will
be used to generate ideas and vocabulary for writing. If your child has one from last year, please
send it along. If not we will be
creating new ones. These books can
become special records of important memories or events and a place to share
photos, pictures, news cuttings or anything else they find of interest. Even interesting words or phrases that they
come across can be recorded here and used in their writing.
We will initially
be working on developing the routines of our new class. The reading books your children bring home in
the first few weeks may be easy, as we work on establishing these routines and
getting to know the children.
These are a few
notes to familiarise yourself with expectations.
Brain Food – Each day starts with a healthy snack and
milk to help activate the brain. The
snack should be fresh fruit or vegetables or a plain cracker and cheese. We also encourage a named bottle of water.
Stationary- Please forward your stationary order as
soon as possible as this enables us to get underway with our year of learning.
Sport- During the first few weeks our PE program is aquatics/swimming,
and due to the fact that we live in a country surrounded by water, our swimming
and water safety skills are extremely important. We are indeed a lucky school to have the use
of 2 beautiful blue pools which our caretaker Keith keeps looking pristine.
Togs are required at school every day.
Topic Studies- This is where my focus on the environment
will inevitably be woven. It begins with
a programme hosted by DOC (Department of Conservation) promoting guardianship
of the Native Bush and our school grounds. It is an exciting program which will run over
2 terms. It will begin in week 6 and as
only 2 schools can be accommodated on this programme per year, we are extremely
lucky to have this opportunity. There
will be more information on this as we get closer to the time but if you are
interested I am happy to share with you the overall plan. There is even a visit
to the Pan Pac Kiwi Crèche by Lake Tutira to see the kiwis being fed, to look
forward too!
Homework- This is an extension of the class learning
and should not require more than 20 minutes per night. Reading logs and books go home each night
starting on week 2. These will be taken from either a browsing box (lower
level) or from the guided teaching session (more challenging) each day. Please remember to record the date, title and
a brief comment. A couple of questions
to establish your child’s understanding is a good routine. These logs become a great record of their
years reading and a source of celebration when they receive the certificates at
each milestone. Weekly spelling will be
in the Homework book. Poem books will be sent home on Fridays to be
returned on Monday.
Basic Facts- The school wide basic fact program of
learning continues with even more emphasis than previously. It is recognised that children need to master
these basic facts to be able to apply the new strategies being taught. We work on a basic facts ladder system which
sees the skills develop as they move up the ladder. Please take the time to learn and practice
these skills which will definitely benefit your child with their numeracy
understanding.
Phew!!! That is
definitely enough to start off the year.
If there is anything you are unsure of or would like to share please
feel free to pop in and see me. I look
forward to a year of fabulous, fantastic, fanatical fun…and learning.
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