Welcome to our blog!
Please check out the Orientation Video and Pod Newsletter below ..
Dear Parents/Caregivers
We are very excited to be working as a team this year and teaching your fabulous children. We have really enjoyed the beginning of 2019 and look forward to what the rest of the year will have in store for us as a Pod.
Home Learning:
As part of our Home Learning programme we encourage all students to have a go at completing at least one area (Arts, Whanau, Sports, Community and Academic) per term. The Home Learning tasks are displayed in both classrooms and have been shared digitally with students via their school gmail account. It would be wonderful if you could support your child in thinking about one area they might be interested in completing this term.
Inquiry:
Our Inquiry looks at 'Our place in an Economic Community'. We are using Banqer as our platform to explore income, careers, the economy, financial literacy and much more! All students now have their own Banqer login and have been encouraged to take the quick quiz at home as part of their introduction to Banqer.
Maths Buddy:
This year, we are trialling Maths Buddy as a syndicate, instead of running Mathletics. Maths Buddy is a programme similar to Mathletics, but provides tutorial videos on concepts the students can watch when they get stuck. Students will have maths tasks uploaded to their accounts, so they will constantly have work to do. All students have their own login and are encouraged to keep up to date with their tasks, both at school and home.
Reading:
During Term 1 we will be participating in Chapter Chat, getting to collaborate with schools across NZ who will all be reading the novel 'Wonder' by R.J Palacio. Each week we will have comprehension activities to complete about the book and some creative and collaborative projects to take part in related to the book. These activities have been shared with the students, so they can access their work at school and home.
Writing:
This year for writing we have developed a programme focusing on creativity. Students will have the opportunity to free write during the week, where they can continue writing large stories or can try their hand at poetry. Each week, students are introduced to two prompts; picture and written. Students decide which prompt they will use for inspiration, and write descriptive stories throughout the week. At the end of each week, students edit and proofread their stories then finish with a self and buddy reflection; this way each student is aware of what they need to develop in their next piece of writing. Each term there will be a specialised writing concept, we are currently writing CVs for the classroom jobs.
Hui:
We meet as a Pod each morning to start the day. This time allows us to share notices and news together, and sets us up well to transition into writing. We also begin the day with a whakatauki, creating a presence of unity and positivity. We have Hui leaders who plan out each Hui session, communicating with the teachers and who run the morning Hui.
Extras:
Students have been encouraged to write a short speech (1-5 minutes) about any topic of their choice. We would like them to prepare and give a speech at least once a term as this will be great practise for our Speeches in Term 3. We are also encouraging all our students to prepare and teach a short lesson (10 minutes) with the whole class around a personal interest, strength or hobby. This will also be done once each term.
Please check out our blog as we will regularly update it with important information and it’s a great way to keep up with the things we are doing at school.
If you have any further questions, please send us an email.
Many thanks,
Katelyn Hill and Susie Keenan
