What's been happening in the Junior School in Term 1
Seaweek
The children loved exploring our local beach and using the magnifying glasses to get a closer look at the objects they found on the sand. They were learning how to use magnifying glasses correctly and how to care for the birds and sea life in our seashore areas.
Pataka Museum and Art Gallery
The visit to the museum and gallery was great. The children were extremely engrossed in all of the different activities. In the museum, they were fascinated in how items have changed over time and were allowed to touch many different objects. They learnt how hard life was for families and children more than sixty years ago. They tried using a slate pencil to write with, ironing with a hot heavy cast iron from the coal range, washing using a wash board, washing dolly, wringer and mangle, as well as matching old items with the newer versions and dressing up in old clothing. They found it very hard work and began to realize how lucky they are to have electricity, machines that work at the touch of a button and that they have more than one set of clothes and shoes to wear. In the gallery, they learnt about the different works that were on display. They acted out a story using masks and then observed a range of animals. They, then very carefully drew what they saw and later on moved into another room to make these animals in 3D. It is well worth taking your family on a visit to Porirua to see this yourself.
Swimming Festival
What a fantastic day we had. It was very pleasing to see how much progress that the children have made both in their confidence and their skills in water. The Swimsafe instructors were invaluable and pinpointed the areas the children needed to practice and we could see dramatic improvements in everyone's swimming ability. On the Festival day the children had fun, the weather was very kind to us and we also appreciated the support of some of our Year 7 and 8 students. Thank you so much to the wonderful turnout of parents and other family members too, who supported all the children. The children were certainly very happy and proud.
Capital E Festival of the Arts
Going into Wellington and being in the audience of three shows in one day was exciting. The shows were very well received by the children and some of them are still talking about them. The shows catered for the differing interests in the children who were amazed at the acrobatic talents of the people in the first show, the rather large 'marble run' type sculpture in the second one and the big eye in particular in the last show along with the opportunity for dancing along to their music.
Junior School Assembly
Thank you very much to rooms 6 and 4 for hosting our Junior School Assemblies this term. You did a marvelous job and shared some exceptional work! Next term rooms 5 and 1 will have a turn and parents of the children in those classes will be invited to come along for this. There will be a Full School Assembly this coming Friday March 27th at 1.30 p.m. where all parents are very welcome to attend.
Parent and Teacher Conferences
Thank you to all those parents and caregivers who came along to school this week to meet with us to discuss your child's learning. We do hope you have a clearer picture of what they have already achieved and are currently working on and that you have some ways that you can support them in their learning at home. Teachers will be reporting on the progress that your child has made on these current goals in your child's written report at the end of next term.
Junior School Butterfly Gardens
The changes in the life cycle of the Monarch butterfly continues to captivate the children on a daily basis. The children are always animated about the process that they are observing and are able to explain in quite a lot of detail what is happening. So far over sixty of our butterflies have been tagged in March alone and recorded for the Butterfly Trust. Thank you so much to Mrs Ryan for her tireless efforts in maintaining the enthusiasm in the children and ensuring each class cares for their plants and gardens.
Mathletics and Reading Eggs
Each child has a login and password for Mathletics. If you have any problems with Mathletics please ask your child's teacher. Many parents have also subscribed to reading eggs for their children. If you are experiencing any issues with this please contact me. If you didn't take out a subscription and would like to now do so please send along $22 to the school office and I will organise it.
Next week
Although it is the last week of the term there is still a lot happening -
Tuesday March 31st - Cross Country
The students have been practicing their running and are looking forward to the annual Cross Country run next week. At 9 o'clock, all the Junior School will be walking down to the Rec together to get ready for the events. The event order is (Rooms 1 and 4 ) Year 1 girls, Year 1 boys, (Rooms 5 and 6) Year 2 girls, Year 2 boys. Year 1 do one lap and Year 2 do two laps. They all chase a 'rabbit' around the course.
The first event begins after warming up at 9.15 a.m. and all events should be finished around 10 o'clock. The children will then all return to school together and the Year 3 to 8 children will then come and do their events.
Parents and families are very welcome to come along and watch and cheer all the children in their efforts. Please make sure that you stand well back from the start/finish line and ensure your pre-schoolers are not on the running track. The children are able to dress up in their 'House' colours on Tuesday. If you are unsure as to which house your child is in or what colour they can wear please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher. Please make sure that your child wears suitable shoes for running in and that they bring their drink bottle to school.
Wednesday April 1st - Grandparent/Grandfriend's afternoon - 1.30 p.m. - 3 p.m.
The children are looking forward to hosting their special guests next week. The programme for the afternoon will involve the Grandparents and grandfriends going first to the hall where the children will sing a couple of songs and show some of their work before they take their visitors to the Junior classrooms. The children will be showing their Inquiry work, including the grab bags to their visitors and the adults will share their items. Once this has happened they will join together outside under the sunshade area for afternoon tea together.
Please remind the adults that they need to bring an item to share with their grandchild. The children also need to bring a plate of food to share for afternoon tea. They need to bring this to the hall and put it on the tables outside the hall kitchen before school. If there is anyone available who could help make the teas and coffees for the afternoon tea could you please email me and let me know?
Thursday April 2nd - Easter Egg Hunt
We end the term with a fun Easter Egg Hunt for the Junior School students. The children will be searching the playground areas for their named cardboard egg and then exchange it for an Easter Egg to eat. Can you please let me know by this Friday if your child is not allowed to have the egg or is allergic?
Speech and Language Support
Do you have any concerns regarding the speech and/or language development of your child/children? If so, we are very fortunate to have a private Speech and Language Therapist willing to come to school to do assessments and followup therapy if necessary. If a few parents would like to take advantage of this her traveling costs would be shared. If you want more information or are interested in this please let me know as soon as possible so that I can confirm the days and times.
Easter and holiday break
School closes on Thursday April 2nd at the usual time of 2.55 p.m. and will re-open on Monday April 20th.
Term 2
We have already planned next term and I will be sending out a newsletter at the beginning of the term giving you more details about this. Some advance information for you is that we will be focusing on ANZAC day during the first week and we will also have lots of Science experiments in week 3 as it is Science week. Our Inquiry focus for the rest of the term will revolve around the areas of Science, Technology and Enviroschool activities. The children will have a trip to the Planetarium as part of this and they will also attend a show in our school hall.
Hooked on Books programme
I am looking for adult volunteers who would be interested in listening to some of our Junior School students read. The adults can be parents of children at our school or other adults from our community. If you would like to do this on a weekly or alternate weekly basis for approximately an hour could you please let me know? Teachers would prefer 1.40 to 2.40 p.m. which would give you time to collect your child from school but if you can spare time in the morning only then please let me know so I can create a suitable roster.
Slippers and Sunhats
Your child will be bringing home their sunhat next week and will need to bring slippers to school for terms 2 and 3. Some parents find it easier to have two pairs so that one set can stay at school. Please name them and send them along on the first day of next term.
Curriculum Information afternoons and evenings
Next term I will be running sessions like last year on how we teach reading, writing and mathematics in our Junior School to your children and how you can support them in their learning. More details of these will be given early next term.
Thank you all for your continued support of your child in their learning and of our Junior school staff and programmes. If you have any feedback or questions please do not hesitate to email me.
On behalf of the Junior School team
Kindest regards
Maureen Buckley
Deputy Principal
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