A warm welcome is extended to those children and their families who have joined our Junior School recently. We hope that you are all settled and are already getting to know lots of other people.
What a busy term 2 we have had so far.
In Week 1, we held the pou ceremony. We are very pleased to see the pou standing once again proud and tall overlooking our school and playground. This event was very special and culminates lots of hard work that has been done over the past twelve years. This event will be remembered by all the children in the years to come and will be recounted many times when they return for reunions in the future. Thank you to those parents who also joined us.
In Week 2, we had our 'Celebration of Learning' afternoon. We were thrilled that so many parents, grandparents and caregivers made the effort to join us for this. The children did a fantastic job of sharing their learning with the adults and it was lovely to see them so proud of what they have achieved so far this year and articulating their learning steps so well. The adults were fantastic in their praise and we hope that you could see the progress that is being made. As we have not done this before, we would welcome any feedback you may have so please do not hesitate to email me.
In Week 3, we celebrated Primary Science week and what a fun week it was with a myriad of experiments being undertaken right across the school each day. Over the week, the children did different experiments in their classes ranging from invisible writing with lemon juice, using magnets, understanding how the earth revolves, mixing solids and liquids, making predictions plus many more including experiments with their buddy classes. The whole school also went outside for the big bang on Friday where they saw fountains of coke rising into the air. Please ask your child what they did over the week, ask them to explain what happened and why that happened.
Football
Last week we also had two professional football players who gave up their time to join us. They took each class for a session on activities to improve their ball skills, which was thoroughly enjoyed by the children.
'Hooked on Books' Programme
Thank you so much to those adults who are working on this valuable programme. Already in the short time the children involved are making progress, which is lovely to see.
Slippers
Thank you for supplying your child with slippers. The children are kept cosy and warm and are carpets are also kept free of mud.
Trip to Carter Observatory
On Tuesday morning, (May 28th)
the Year 0 and 1 children from rooms 1, 2, 3 and 5 will be going by bus to
Wellington to visit the Planetarium and undertake the education programme
about Space. On
Thursday morning, (May 30th) the Year 2 children from rooms 4, 5,
and 6 will do the same thing. The cost of admission to both the programme and transport have been taken from the Activity fee that you have paid.
Please
make sure that your child is not late to school on these days as the bus will
be leaving straight away at 9 a.m.and we do not want them to miss out. Please also wrap up a small amount of food
for them to take with them for their morning tea and place it in a named sealed
plastic bag. Make sure that the food you provide does not contain peanuts or
fish due to the allergic reactions of some of our children. All children also
need to wear suitable footwear and a jacket. We are sorry but we are unable to
take parents on this trip due to the fire regulations at the Planetarium. The
children will be back at school in time for their lunch. This trip is part of our current inquiry about the solar system.
Parent Curriculum Information Evenings
Thank
you to those parents and grandparents who have attended the sessions over the
past two weeks on reading, writing, spelling and handwriting. I hope you have a
better knowledge of what your child is learning and some ways you can support
them in this. The last session will be this Thursday May 30th in room 3 at 7.30 p.m. and
will be about mathematics in the first two years at school. If you were unable to attend the evenings and would like the hand outs please let me know and I will send them home with your child.
Teacher Only Day and Queen’s Birthday
Holiday
This is
a reminder that our school will be closed for children on this Friday May 31st
and Monday June 3rd.
LOOKING AHEAD
Junior School Cross Country - June 5th
We will
have our annual Cross Country at Bishop Park on Wednesday June 5th. We will leave school at 9 a.m. to walk to the
park and warm up ready for the events. The combined events will not take very long so to avoid
any disappointment and miss your child running the course please meet us at the
park at 9 a.m. Please make sure your child wears footwear that is suitable to run in. If the weather is too cold, too wet or just too muddy we will
reschedule the event to Term 4.
Brain Week - June 10th to 14th
The children will be involved in a range of activities throughout the week. They will be looking at
- How our brains work
- Keeping our brains healthy and safe
- The plasticity of the brain - how our learning habits can grow our brains!
A Visiting Show - June 13th
On Thursday June 13th, we have a show entitled 'And the winner is" coming to school. All children from throughout the school will be watching this and the cost will be taken from the activity fee that you have paid.
'Starting School at Five' Information Evening - June 19th
Parents and caregivers of preschool children are invited to an information evening about the happy transition to school from the preschool years for both parent and child on Wednesday June 19th at 7 p.m. in the school staffroom. This is an opportunity for you to find out about what happens at school for a five year old. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Parent/Caregiver and Teacher Conferences - July 10th and 11th
Conferences will be held on Wednesday July 10th and Thursday July 11th at school between 3 and 7 p.m. At the conferences you will discuss your child's report and their progress and their next learning steps with your child's teacher. As part of this process parents of children in rooms 1, 2 and 3 will receive a learning journey folder but children in rooms 4, 5 and 6 will not. Our youngest children in room 1 and any new children in year 1 and 2 who have arrived in our Junior School this term will not receive a written report on July 10 or 11th but will still have a conference to discuss your child's progress.
Blogs
Please visit your child's class blog and make a comment about the learning that you see happening there. It is also a good idea to have a look at some of the other classes to see what children around the rest of the school are learning.
Go to our school website click on 'Our Learning' and then click on 'classroom blogs' on the drop down menu and then click on the person's face. There are other blogs on this drop down menu that you may also like to have a look at.
DIARY DATES
May 28th - Year 0 and 1 to Carter Observatory
May 30th - Year 2 to Carter Observatory
May 30th - 'Back to School' Parent night in room 3, 7.30 p.m. - Mathematics
May 31st - Teacher only day - School closed
June 3rd - Queen's Birthday Holiday - School closed
June 5th - Junior School Cross Country
June 10th - 14th - School wide Brain Week
June 13th - Visiting show
June 19th - 'Starting school at five' Information evening
July 10th - Parent/Teacher conferences
July 11th - Parent/Teacher conferences
July 12th - Last day of term 2.
July 29th - First day of term 3.
If you have any questions or feedback regarding your child's learning please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher.
Kind regards
Maureen Buckley
Deputy Principal
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