This term has really flown by so fast that it is hard to believe that at the end of next week it is the holidays. What a busy term it has been with the children involved in a very wide array of activities despite all the changeable weather. Highlights have included enjoyable swimming lessons with the support of the in-pool instructors. We hope you were very proud and could see their progress at the swimming sports. The butterfly garden has been a great success and the children have loved every minute observing the butterfly life cycle firsthand. They are very proud of their colourful gardens and tend them carefully. We will also be planting some bulbs in these gardens that we hope will bloom later in the year so that they can see the process of the seasons. The children have been entertained with top performances by 'Strike' and 'Andy Jones, Electric Music Show'. All children have had music with Mrs Heath each Thursday, Kapahaka with Mr Chadwick on Tuesdays as well as Year 1's doing performing arts with Mrs Hooke. Term 2 is well planned. Further details of what is coming up will be in the first newsletter of next term.
Sunhats and Slippers
We will be taking sunhats home on Thursday and then next term children need to bring slippers to school to wear inside. Some families have a pair that stay at school and another pair for home. Hotdogs
The Home and School run a fundraiser every Wednesday throughout Terms 2 and 3. If you would like to order a hotdog for your child please send the money along in an envelope before school to your child's teacher. Please write the order on the outside of the envelope and whether your child would like sauce or not.
"Hooked on Books" Programme
I am looking for adults who would be prepared to give up an hour a week or alternate weeks throughout the term to listen to some of our young children read. This programme is amazing and is very valuable as it supports the children's learning and is also very rewarding for the adults as they see how much progress the children make with their help. The programme runs during the mornings every day of the week depending upon the number of adults we have. If you are interested in doing this please contact me either in person or by email. I will meet everyone for a quick meeting on the first Thursday afternoon (26 April) at 3 p.m in room 3 to explain what is involved. The programme will start in week 2 of next term.
Parent Conferences
I have had conferences for the children in room 3 and also with parents of children who have just turned six to share the results of the six year old observational survey. We hope these have been very worthwhile and provided you with some ways to support your child in their learning.
'Starting School Information Evening'
There was another great turn out to the information evening. It was lovely to meet all the new parents and caregivers and hope that they had all questions answered.
Mathletics
Thank you to all those adults who are spending time with their children on the Mathletics Programme. The children are loving it so far and are very animated at school telling us what they have been doing. Already we are seeing achievement levels rising and children developing very good attitudes to mathematics. Each teacher is setting homework on the Mathletics programme for each child to do over the week. It does not matter how many times your child does the set task as the problems change in each set of ten but the concept involved remains constant. The children can then explore other areas of Mathletics or return to their favourite parts after completing the set homework. We realise that adults need to be with their child for the greater part at this stage as many younger children are unable to read and follow the instructions. We also know that with other siblings also trying to do Mathletics that parents will have to devise a system, for example - one on the computer while the other is doing reading or spelling homework and then swapping over or have set times for each child so that everyone gets the opportunity to use the programme. We are trialling Mathletics and welcome your feedback.
Reading
The reading levels of the children have increased so far this year and we want this to continue. Please carry on reading every day over the holidays with your child and encourage them to also read daily as regular practice makes a huge difference. Lots of our children have a large supply of books already in their home but the local library also has a wealth of books suited to all interests and holiday programmes running so please take advantage of this. If you would like some extra reading material for the holiday break please ask your child's teacher on Monday. Some people will no doubt be going away on holiday so not only pack some books to take with you but get a supply of CD's with matching books for the journey.
Some suggestions for you when you are reading to your child or they are reading to you
- talk about each of the pictures
- ask them to name the characters and describe them
- ask them to describe the setting of the story e.g. jungle, beach etc
- get them to predict what will happen next, how do they think the story will end
- ask them to retell you what the story was about
- pick out some interesting words and talk about what they mean
- get the younger children to find words they recognise in the text and around your home
- get the younger children to find the words with a particular sound e.g. all those starting with 'b'
- ask the children to rhyme the words
As soon as children master the letter sounds of the alphabet their progress in reading, writing and spelling increases dramatically so any practice of the sounds would be extremely beneficial.
Writing and Spelling
Daily practice of writing is also good to do during the holidays. They could make Easter cards, thank you cards or write to a family member or friend on paper or by email. Our children love whiteboards and find it easier to write as the whiteboard pens are fatter than pencils. They could practice writing all the words they know, write shopping lists or write words that rhyme. Remind them to pinch their pen so that they hold it with the correct grip. They also may need reminding that letters start from the top. If anyone would like a copy of the correct way to form the alphabet letters please contact me and I will send one home to you. Spelling is a written skill so get them to practice writing the words instead of calling out the letters that make up the word to you. They are then more able to transfer the correct spelling of words when writing their stories. We know that the children learn their weekly spelling lists in year 2 and get them correct in the test but they often do not transfer these words accurately to their writing so you may find that they are repeating words in their spelling lists each week for this reason.
Mathematics
If you are going away for a holiday your child can practice their counting both forwards and backwards. Our Year 2's especially can also do skip counting, which is counting in two's, fives and tens both forwards and backwards. All children can work on the instant recall of the number that comes before or after and for older children they can practice the number that is 10 below or 10 above a number. On the trip your child could read numbers along the way on registration plates or road signs for example. If you are out shopping they could work out how much money they need for a purchase and what change they might get.
The above are just some suggestions to help your child. There will be parent information evenings early next term in which you will be invited to attend to see how the children learn to read, write and do mathematics and practical ways you can help at home. Further details of dates for these will be given in week 1 next term.
Drama
Classes are held across the road in the senior school and are run by Jan Avison. If you would like further information about this please contact her on 021 446 600 or www.seasidespeechanddrama.co.nz We also have enrolment forms at the office for this.
Party Invitations
Throughout the year if your child has a birthday and they would like to invite some children at school to their party could you please give out the invitations directly to the child's parent before or after school or pop it into their letterbox. If you do not come to school please give the invitations to your child's teacher in one large envelope so they can discretely put them into the relevant book bags. If you give out invitations at school to some children and not others we have to deal with the distressed child/ren who are not invited.
Have a lovely holiday break with your family. Don't forget to alter your clocks as daylight saving ends this weekend and it is also 'Earth Hour' at 8.30 p.m. on Saturday night.
Thank you very much to all of you who have supported your child's learning and also given up your precious time to work in classrooms this term. Your efforts are greatly appreciated and make such a difference.
Kind regards
Maureen Buckley
Deputy Principal
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