Parents

April 2015

Kia ora Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome back to Term 2. I hope you have all had a happy Easter and an enjoyable break from the usual term time routines. This year term 2 is a longer term. Usually it is not as interrupted with extra curricula events as the beginning of the year so it gives a great opportunity for focused teaching and learning. Here is an outline of what to expect this term.

R.E. Last week our focus has been on Easter and the resurrection, as well as traditional prayer. We are covering the Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be and the Sign of the Cross as treasures that have been handed down to us as Catholics over hundreds of years. Our next strand is the Holy Spirit and then God in the second part of the term.

Reading: The children are grouped for teaching but these can change depending on children’s needs. We will also be working on a variety of comprehension strategies such as using prior knowledge, checking that the reading makes sense and looks right, predicting and making connections to our own experiences or knowledge.

Expect reading books home Monday through Thursday and a poem and library book on Fridays.

Writing and Spelling: we will be covering a variety of genre such as retelling, letter writing, poetry and narratives. We also will be continuing to work on the writing process, deeper features such as vocabulary choice, ideas, adding details and surface features such as punctuation, presentation and spelling.

The spelling programme spelling programme seems to be working well with children having success in their weekly tests and learning some patterns as well as words from their own writing that they need to know. It has also been great to see spelling books coming to and from school consistently. Please be aware that in the back of the spelling books is a log for recording the reading that you have done with them at home.

Maths: In term 2 we will continue to focus on number knowledge and strategy.   Confident recall of basic addition and subtraction facts are important building blocks for further maths concepts such as telling the time, measurement and multiplication. To support this we are having a basic facts  home learning challenge for the term. I will be sending home some basic facts card sheets for the children to practise four or five times a week for a maximum of 10 minutes.  To ensure that this stays fun maybe the children can challenge you, other family members or friends. 

 In addition to this we will be investigating measurement and weight.  You can help them with this with everyday experiences  in the kitchen,  at the supermarket, at  work  or when out in the car.

Please contact me if you have any questions. lucyb@holyfamilywanaka.school.nz  Lucy Benson

Topic: Last week we were learning about Anzac day and in particular the Anzacs at Gallipoli 100 years ago. This week we will complete our topic from last term on grape growing and wine-making.The main focus then will be a Caritas topic on the Philippines which we lead into natural disasters and how they impact on people in our wider community.

P.E.: Large ball skills and gymnastics are the focus for the term. Our P.E. days are Tuesdays and also Fridays this term. The children need to bring their sports shorts and appropriate shoes on those days.

The Arts: In visual art we will be weaving using a variety of medium. In the coming weeks the children will be asked to bring to school something that they can use to create a woven art work such as an old bicycle wheel, an oven tray, a rack from a fridge, (or anything that can provide a structure for weaving through). More details on this to come.

Mrs Kirsten Moore will be covering music and the Te Reo programme during my release times.

We are very fortunate to now have four brand new ipads and five chrome books in our classroom to support learning. They will be used in a variety of ways and it is great to have some experts already in the classroom.

Best wishes for the week,

Anne Fauth

Dear Parents and Caregivers of Barker,

Welcome back to school for 2015. I have already had the opportunity to meet many of you at school but if I haven’t already made your acquaintance, I look forward to doing so.

Barker is currently made up of 19 year 2 and 3 children and together we are working to make it a happy place where lots of learning can occur in an atmosphere of fun, respect, and care. I would like to welcome in particular, Alexi Sheehan and her family who have come to us from Dunedin, and Isabell Haas and her family, from Turkey.

Below, I have given some details below of what to expect through the term and across the curriculum.

Teaching and Learning:

Below is the timetable that we generally follow through the week.  Please be aware that at times it can vary depending on other activities that we are involved in, but generally it follows the same routine.

WEEKLY TIMETABLE –TERM 1 2014                    Mt Maude
TIME	MONDAY	TUESDAY		WEDNESDAY		THURSDAY		FRIDAY
9.00	School Prayer R.E. Writing Daily Fitness/Brain Break Maths (Mrs Benson)	Prayer R.E. Writing Daily Fitness/Brain Break Maths (Mrs Benson)		Prayer R.E. Writing Daily Fitness/Brain Break Maths (Mrs Benson)		Prayer R.E. Writing Daily Fitness/Brain Break Maths (Mrs Benson)		Prayer R.E. Writing Daily Fitness/Brain Break Maths (Mrs Benson)
11.00-11:30 Interval
11.30	Language Block including shared, independent, group reading, handwriting, spelling and related activities.		Language Block including shared, independent, group reading, handwriting, spelling and related activities.		Language Block including shared, independent, group reading, handwriting, spelling and related activities.		Language Block including shared, independent, group reading, handwriting, spelling and related activities.		Language Block including shared, independent, group reading, handwriting, spelling and related activities.
1:00-1:45 Lunch                         Grace Before Meals
	P.E., Integrated Curriculum, Music, Maori, the Arts. Assembly

The first weeks of the new school year always involve assessing needs, strengths and gaining a picture of each child’s stage in their learning.  Over the first few weeks of school, I will continue to gather information about the children and this will direct the teaching and learning that will take place this term.  The children will be grouped according to need for literacy and maths, and the groups may change according to differences in individuals needs. 

R.E.:

In the first week of school we have re-visited the Holy Family School’s Charism, focusing on Created by God. Our current focus is on Prayer and next week it will be Ash Wednesday and Lent.  We will also be covering the Jesus Strand of the R.E. programme this term and concluding with Holy Week.

We begin and end each day with prayers, and you are welcome to join us for this time. 

Maths:

Mrs Lucy Benson is planning and delivering the Numeracy and Maths programme this year as I am taking on the role of Reading Recovery teacher. This term the focus will be on number knowledge and addition and subtraction and the strand component is statistics.

Literacy:

Reading will take place daily and will encompass shared reading, independent reading and group instruction.  Children will be grouped according to their level or particular needs and this grouping may change at times.  Please refer to the “homework section for further explanation.

Writing is also a daily activity. The children will at times be writing about an assigned topic or task directed by the teacher, but they will also have opportunities to write about ideas of their own choice. Being aware that daily writing occurs and thinking and talking about an idea to write about at home can be really helpful for children. Any published work will be in the children’s poetry books for their and your enjoyment!

PE and Health: 

Swimming began this week (a big thank you to the helpers). Also this term we will be focusing on Small Ball Skills in hockey, cricket and tennis. In Health we are learning about ourselves, working together, classroom expectations and in particular, manners. Our P.E day is Tuesday and children need to bring their P.E shorts and suitable footwear that day. In week 5 Kirsty Barr and Constable Phil Vinck will be running a cycle safety programme and bus safety programme. The Life Education Bus is visiting in week 8.

Integrated Curriculum:

We have currently been learning about ourselves and our classmates. This year we have a school-wide theme of “Stewardship” related to Catholic Social Teaching. Our focus this term is using our resources and in the junior school we will be looking at wine-making as a local land use.

Homework:

Homework should reinforce what is learned at school.  It is not supposed to cause stress and conflict at home!  Having had three of my own children with varying attitudes to homework (one would never start, one would never stop, and the other was somewhere in between), I understand both the value of it in terms of keeping a finger on the pulse of my child’s learning, and the pressure it can add to family life. 

I expect that reading, maths and spelling will form the basis of their homework. A poem will come home on Mondays and reading books Tuesdays to Fridays.  The book will be one that has been read at school or from their “browsing box” and your child should be able to read it easily and have it sound “like talking” without too much problem solving having to occur.  The purpose is to provide “reading miles” and enjoyment.  So much of learning is practice and so the more “reading miles” they get the faster they will acquire those all-important reading skills.  Enjoying it is important too, so if reading is becoming a chore or a cause for daily battle, please let me know so that I can help.  Similarly, there will be some children who are happily able to select reading material for themselves and will read independently for hours on end.  If this is the case with your child, reading aloud to an adult on a daily basis is not as important, but it is great if you can take time to share a book or a chapter together.

Mrs Benson and I will also be using the Skoolbo and Studyladder websites to provide additional homework practice in Maths and English. More details about how to access these sites to follow.

Spelling is a school wide target in 2015 and there will be extra emphasis on it this year. We are currently reviewing and revising our approach to teaching and learning of spelling and of course there will be a homework component as part of this. More information will follow.

As we settle into classroom routines and incorporate swimming into our daily routine this week, please do not expect reading books home and homework until next week.

Sunhats:

It’s great to see the children wearing their hats on these sunny days.  We have had a class wide sunhat check and I have written the children’s names on the tops of their hats so it is immediately obvious if they are not wearing their own! They are compulsory this term and we will be wearing them whenever we are outside.  A good slathering of sunblock on children before they leave home in the morning is also a great idea.  Children will keep their sunhats in their tote trays at school for ready access.

Brainfood and Drink Bottles:

The children are advised to have a named drink bottle with them at school every day and they have access to them at all times. I don’t allow children to use the drinking fountain during class time so it is important for them to have a drink bottle for the classroom.

We also have a brain break every day at around 10.00 and some fruit or a vegetable snack is good to have to munch on at this time.  The children are bringing their brain break food into the classroom at the beginning of the day and keeping it in their tote trays for easy access. Please be aware of the newly introduced “no nuts policy” when preparing lunch boxes.

Final notes:

All children will have a turn at being the Prayer Leader/Class Manager for a day. There is an agreed list of responsibilities and privileges that go with the title and the children really enjoy their day in the sun.

Communication:

Communication is essential to our partnership between home and school and so please feel free to contact me with any questions, queries or issues.  I am contactable before or after school on the school number or email me on annef@holyfamilywanaka.school.nz or drop in to see me.

We will also have a classroom blog, to which I will try to make regular posts, however, being a new class this year, our blog has not yet been created. Watch this space……

Kind Regards,

Anne Fauth

P.S. Barker is presenting prayers on Monday morning. The children will be bringing some lines or prayers home to practice tonight. Of course, you are welcome to join us in the Church at 9:05 on Monday.