The children are looking forward to our 'Education Outside the Classroom' (E.O.T.C.) week activities. They have already had a visiting artist show them how to do shading and draw in perspective and the end result of their penguins on the beach are quite stunning. This coming week they will be doing the following activities depending upon the weather.
Monday December 2nd - A bus trip to Harcourt Park, Upper Hutt
If it is fine, all children from rooms 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,and 16 will be going by bus to Harcourt Park. We will be leaving before 9.30 a.m. and returning to school by 3 p.m. so please make sure that your child is at school on time. When we arrive at the park at approximately 10.30 a.m. we will all have morning tea together and then use the playground facilities and paddling pool and do other activities around the park then have lunch and leave to return to school at 1 p.m. Parents and families are very welcome to join us there but we do not have room on the buses for you unfortunately. A group of parents could get together and ride share.
Your child needs to bring -
* suitable clothing (and a change of clothes and towel)
* a warm sweatshirt
* sensible footwear (no jandals or crocs please)
* a named sunhat,
* sunblock,
* drink of water,
* morning tea
* lunch
N.B. There will not be Muritai Munchies for our children on this day if it is fine.
If it is wet or too cold, we will not be going on the trip and instead your child will be doing a range of activities in their own classroom.
Tuesday December 3rd - Sports skills rotation with Kelly Sports
If it is fine, the children will be in teams and take part in a range of sports skills run by six coaches from Kelly Sports during the morning. In the afternoon they will be practicing songs for our upcoming Christmas concert. If it is wet, Kelly Sports will still come but they will do skills with each individual class in the hall instead throughout the day.
Your child needs -
* shoes and socks suitable for the different activities
* clothing that does not restrict their movement
* sunhat and sunblock
Wednesday December 4th - Beach, Bishop Park and Eastbourne Pool rotation
All classes will be taking part in a rotation involving making sand sculptures at the beach, activities involving a parachute at Bishop Park and using the equipment and playing a range of games at the playground along with a fun swim at the Eastbourne pool. This will only take place if the weather is fine. If it is wet, the children will be doing a range of activities at school in their classroom and singing some songs for our concert.
For the rotation your child needs to bring -
* Suitable clothing and footwear as well as a warm sweatshirt
* Swimsuit and towel (named)
* Morning tea
* Lunch
* Drink of water
* Sunhat (named)
* Sunblock (named)
* Some sand toys if they would like to
Thursday December 5th - Enrichment
The children will be teams throughout the morning. The teams are made up of a mix of children from every class around the Junior School and have the names of trees e.g. Pohutukawa, Kowhai, Karaka etc The children will take part in these activities around our playground and then have an athletics practice on the field in the afternoon. If it is wet, they will be in the hall learning some new Jumpjam routines and then they will move around each of the different classrooms in their 'tree' teams and take part in lots of different hands on experiences.
Your child needs
* Sunhat and sunblock
* Suitable clothing and footwear so that they are not restricted doing the activities
Friday December 6th - Outdoor Enrichment and Christmas Activities
The children will continue the rotation from the previous day and then return to their own classroom to do some Christmas related activities. In the afternoon they will have another Christmas concert practice. If it is wet, they will stay in their classrooms and do the Christmas activities and also practice singing.
Your child needs
* Sunhat and sunblock
* Suitable clothing and footwear to take part easily in the activities
WEEK 9
Monday December 9th - Junior School Athletics Sports Day
We will be having our Athletics day throughout the morning, if it is fine, on our school field. If it is not, the event will be postponed until the following week until Tuesday December 17th. Further details about this will come later this week.
Your child needs
* Suitable clothing and footwear for the sports activities
* Drink of water (in a named bottle that they carry to each event)
* Sunhat and sunblock
* Warm sweatshirt
Wednesday December 11th - Junior School Christmas Concert & Afternoon Tea
The Christmas concert will be held in the school hall from 1.30 p.m. and you are all invited to come along and join us. All children in the Junior School will be involved in this. There will be mats on the floor near the front of the stage for adults and preschoolers to sit on (please feel free to bring a cushion along) and there will be the usual seats further back. Following the concert we will all join together for a shared afternoon tea outside under the Junior School courtyard sunshades. If it is wet or cold we will stay in the hall for the party. If you are able to help with pouring the tea or coffee for a little while, I would appreciate it if you could email me and let me know.
Your child will need to bring with them to school that morning, a plate of food that can be shared at the Christmas party afternoon tea with the adults and children. They will put their plate on the trestle tables set up in the hall before school. Please do not send along food items containing peanuts.
Your child needs
* to wear clothing (tshirt/shorts/dress,skirt) in a specified colour (your child's teacher will let you know early next week which colour that will be)
* something Christmassy to wear e.g. santa hats, antlers etc
* bring a plate of food to be shared at the 'party'
WEEK 10
Monday December 16th - On Monday, after the roll has been called, all children from throughout the school will move to their 2014 classroom to meet with their new teacher. They will do an activity and mix with both old and new friends during this time. They will then return later to their usual classroom for the remainder of the year.
This meeting is very important and helps to settle your child so that they are not stressing over the holidays about who is in their class and which class it is going to be.
If you think back to how it was when you were at school you probably did not find out which class you were going to go into or who would be in your class until you turned up on the first day of the new term or saw it posted onto a list inside a classroom window only a few days before you had to go back to school.
We do not do this as we would rather alleviate the stress involved for both children and their parents so that they know well in advance and can prepare for the change. It is also an opportunity for parents to continue with play dates over the holiday break with children that your child is going to work alongside next year. Children going from year 2 to year 3 are usually very excited about things like the prospect of having a desk, having their own pencil case or even being in a class upstairs. Please support your child in a positive way as they make their next transition.
Tuesday December 17th will be the postponement day for our Junior School athletics.
Friday December 20th is the last day of the term. We will be having a special assembly at 11 a.m. in our school hall to farewell our Year 8 students as they leave us for high school. You are very welcome to join us for this.
Please note - School will finish at the earlier time of 1 p.m. on this day.
'CELEBRATION OF LEARNING' AFTERNOON
This Tuesday December 3rd from 3 to 6 p.m. each classroom will be open for you to have the opportunity to see what learning your child has been involved in over the past few months. Please bring your child along so that they can explain their learning to you.
REPORTING TO PARENTS
You will get your child's report this week if they are in Rooms 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. Children in Room 16 will not get a report and only the oldest children in Room 1 will get a report at this stage. All parents and caregivers are welcome to make an appointment for a parent/teacher conference this Wednesday or Thursday, (December 4th or 5th) however if you have recently had a six week conference with Mrs Ryan or Mrs Sullivan then you do not need to. Please book the appointments online.
On your child's report you will notice that there is also National Standards information. Please read this in conjunction with the comments and the placement of the ticks to get a full picture of your child's learning. Some children will get an Anniversary Report and some children will get a Progress report. The criteria that your child is assessed against inside both report forms is the same apart from the National Standards box.
The National Standard for Year 1 children, who have been at school for one year, are placed according to after one year at school so they will get an anniversary report while those in Year 2 are placed according to after two years at school and will also get an anniversary report. An anniversary report will be given to your child in Year 2 if they have been at school for three years. As children start school at different times throughout the year, the National Standard placement is based on the level they were at when they turned either six or seven.
If your child has been at school either six months, eighteen months or for thirty months they will get a progress report which is based on where they will be according to the National Standards if they continue with the same rate of current progress. Most of our children are working at or above the National Standards and those that are below are only just. e.g. in reading, when your child turns six to be 'at' the standard they need to be reading at Level 12 or more. A few of our children are at Level 11 so are just below so would get below the standard.
With the tick system to gain 'always' your child must be consistently doing that aspect. Some children will get marked in 'not yet' or 'at times' often because they are not at that stage as yet or are just beginning that stage in their learning. The report is also graded according to development. For example in mathematics the children move through each of the stages from solving problems using materials, then solving problems without materials to being able to count on or count back to solve problems. This process takes the children two years or more to work through Level 1 of the curriculum. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.
Throughout the year, each child as near to their sixth birthday as possible is tested on a range of literacy tasks called the Observational Survey. I have met with most parents throughout the year to share your child's results with you. If your child has turned six and you have not been able to meet with me can you please email me or pop into room 3 so I can arrange a suitable time with you before the end of the term?
CLASSLISTS
The enormous task of sorting out the class placements for 2014 for every one of our 465 children is currently underway. This is an extremely difficult job as you can appreciate and involves serious consideration of the individual learning needs of every single child. This coupled with trying to create each class with a balance of boys and girls containing a range of abilities, from children who are sporty or creative, to children who work well together or not to the constraints of low class numbers and enough physical classrooms to actually put the children in is huge. I consult the children's current and former teachers and spend many hours talking and observing the children, both inside and outside of their classrooms before the final list is sent home.
I try to ensure each child has some of their friends in their new class, however, sometimes this is not always possible. Children, sometimes, are split from some of their friends because their learning is being impeded while others are split as they need to branch out and make more new friends. I do listen to parent requests but the process of placing each child has to be on the learning needs of every child and how best to meet them and this may, however, at times, not be the same as the parent request. If there is information that you think is important and that I need to know please do not hesitate to contact me.
Your child will be bringing home a letter that has the name of their teacher and classroom number that they will be in next year along with the names of children who will be in the same class with your child. This letter will be coming home on Friday December 13th at 3 p.m.
Please do not ask your child's teacher for the letter before this and also do not open it in the school playground in front of everyone at 3 p.m. If your child is away on Friday you will get it on their return to school. I understand that there may be some parents who are unhappy with the decision that has been made so please email me as I will be available for appointments on Monday December 16th, not on Friday, if you wish to discuss the contents of the letter.
Looking towards 2014
Your child will need stationery items for next year and you will be getting a letter about this shortly. The process is the same - go online to make your purchases, pay for it and you will get the stationery pack delivered to your home, which your child then brings to school with them on Monday February 3rd.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to email either myself or your child's teacher.
Yours in partnership,
Maureen Buckley
Deputy Principal
Your child will need stationery items for next year and you will be getting a letter about this shortly. The process is the same - go online to make your purchases, pay for it and you will get the stationery pack delivered to your home, which your child then brings to school with them on Monday February 3rd.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to email either myself or your child's teacher.
Yours in partnership,
Maureen Buckley
Deputy Principal
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