Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Welcome to the first Junior Jottings blog post for the year. I write this to keep parents in touch with what is happening in the Junior School. Along with this, a blog post entitled Muritai Junior Syndicate is published once each term. The last one was published at the end of February which gave an overview of the term ahead. This is found by clicking onto the school website under our learning and classroom blogs. The Bird's Eye View is the school wide newsletter and is published each fortnight.
Swimming
We have had such lovely weather over the summer and are lucky that we have been able to take advantage of this.The children have enjoyed going to our local pool for the lessons. The programme that they undertook was a great success and it was fantastic to see how quickly the children made progress. The instructors were excellent and ensured each child moved onto their next learning step confidently and happily. It was very beneficial for the children to have them working alongside them in the water and also having an extra supervisor supporting the programme was a bonus. The children worked on water confidence activities, submerging, free style and backstroke. It is a good idea for the children to continue practising these skills throughout the year with their friends and families. Thank you for your patience over the season when some of our allotted pool times were altered by the pool staff.
The Junior School Swimming Festival held on Tuesday was a great opportunity for the children to share with their parents and friends from other classes how much more confident they were in the water. Thank you so much to everyone who supported the children in their efforts. Special thanks to those adults who also helped with the dressing of children after the events.
Grandparent's Afternoon
As part of our Inquiry for this term the children have been learning about their families and how life has changed over time. During the inquiry the children will be hosting their grandparent(s) to share how life has changed from their grandparents time at school to now. The grandparent(s) will be coming to the hall at 1.30 p.m. on Thursday April 4th and will spend the afternoon at school with their grandchild(ren). If your child does not have a grandparent who can join them could you please ask another person to be the 'grandfriend' for your child instead? This needs to be another family friend or neighbour from the same generation that their grandparent would be. This afternoon is especially for the grandparents and unfortunately not for parents and siblings. Your child will need to bring a plate of food for afternoon tea to share.
Capital E shows
On Thursday March 21st all of the children in the Junior School will be going by bus to Wellington to be in the audience of three shows as part of the Festival of the Arts. The shows that they will attend are - 'Like it or loop it,' 'Seasaw' and 'Kaput'.
These shows were booked last year and unfortunately we are unable to bring parents along on this trip as Capital E allotted the seating and there is only enough for teachers and support staff. As we will be in Wellington we will be having a quick lunch break between shows so you may like to join us for a few minutes. For this trip your child needs to wear suitable footwear as we will be walking between the venues. They also need to bring lunch, morning tea, a drink bottle of water, a sweatshirt as the weather can be changeable and their sunhat. Please ensure that your child is at school by 8.40 a.m. as we have to leave school straight away and will not be back at hometime.
Mathletics
All classes have been given their usernames and passwords and work has been set by teachers. If this is the first time you have used Mathletics with your child, they need to create a character and once this is done you then move onto the programme. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask your child's teacher.
Teacher's Union Meeting
On Wednesday March 13th teachers will be going to Wellington to attend a union meeting. Please make arrangements to collect your child from school at 12.30 p.m. Thank you for your support in this. If you are unable to collect your child for any reason, there will be a skeleton staff looking after children who will watch a movie in the hall.
Room 1
On Monday March 25th, Mrs Barbara Ryan will be starting our next New Entrant classroom as both rooms 2 and 3 are now full. Special thanks to Mrs Ryan for teaching in rooms 2 and 3 this term.
Classroom Blogs
Please have a look at the blogs from time to time so that you get a snapshot of what your child is involved in at school. Thank you to those of you, including grandparents, who have added comments. The children love to read them at school and they also use the numbers on the view counter as part of their daily mathematics discussion.
Starting School at five Parent Evening
This evening is for parents and caregivers who have a pre-school child who will be starting school over the year. These meetings are held each term. The date of the first one is Wednesday March 20th at 7 p.m. in the school staffroom and is an opportunity for parents and caregivers to ask any questions about school so that the transition from the preschool years to school is a smooth one and also to meet other adults whose child will be starting school around the same time.
Parent Interviews
You will see on the school calendar that parent interviews are to be on April 17th and 18th. Please note - These interviews do not involve the Junior School. We are having a celebration of learning in the second week of term 2.
Diary dates
Wednesday March 13th - Teacher's union meeting
Wednesday March 20th - Starting School at five' evening for parents of preschoolers
Thursday March 21st - Capital E shows
Friday March 29th - Good Friday
Monday April 1st - Easter
Tuesday April 2nd - Easter
Thursday April 4th - Grandparents and Grandfriends day
If you have any queries about your child and their learning please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher.
Kind regards
Maureen Buckley
Deputy Principal
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