Summer 2016

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

A warm welcome to the first Junior Jottings for this year and a special welcome to the new families who have joined our Muritai Junior School. The purpose of this newsletter is to keep you informed of what is happening in the Junior School in conjunction with the school-wide 'Bird's Eye View.' If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact either your child's teacher or myself.  

It is hard to believe that this week coming will already be March. The year is certainly flying by. The children have settled very well into their new classes and the daily routines are firmly established in spite of the interruptions of swimming lessons and the continuous hot weather. Please ensure that your child has a drink bottle and named sunhat at school every day. 

The Junior School is growing and we have just started our fifth class with another two classes projected to start throughout the year. We welcomed Mrs Liz Knowles to our teaching team and Mrs Suzanna Anderson, Mrs Michelle Fisher and Mrs Carolyn Littlefair to our teacher aide team.

It is Seaweek February 27th - March 6th - this is New Zealand's national week about the sea - the theme this year is 'Toiora te Moana - Toiora te Tangata - Healthy Seas, Healthy People.  The junior classes will be joined by their buddy classes and they will be going to the beach as part of this. 

Thank you very much to those people who supported the dress up day for the cyclone in Fiji. The Junior School raised over $150 for this worthy cause.  

Junior School Swimming Festival - Eastbourne Pool

The children have been enjoying their swimming lessons with the qualified instructors as well as with their class. Next Monday morning - March 7th, we will be having our swimming festival and this is an opportunity for the children to show their parents, families and friends how confident that they are in the water. Each child will take part in the same four activities where the focus is on fun and participation and not on competition. 

The festival will go class by class and in the following order - room 6 at 9.30 a.m., room 5 at 10.00 a.m., room 1 at 10.30 a.m., room 4 at 11.00 a.m. and room 3 at 11.30 a.m.  

Please note - As we are unsure how long each class will take due to differing numbers of children please ensure you are at the pool before your child's scheduled class time so that you are in plenty of time and don't miss seeing your child in the water. We roll through from class to class so we could be earlier than the times stated above. 

If you are joining us please stand back from the pool's edge so that everyone can see and ensure you praise the efforts of every child. The Eastbourne Pool closes on Sunday March 6th but they are very kindly opening up on the Monday morning especially for us. If it is wet or cold, there will not be a postponement date. 

Please ensure your child has a named swimsuit, towel, sunhat, sun block, and a warm sweatshirt with them on Monday.

Homework

Homework is designed to support your child's learning that is occurring at school. All children bring home a reading book to share with you from Monday to Thursday and a poem on Friday. We know that the reading book that they bring home is easy as it is designed to be one or two levels lower than what they can independently read. The focus for homework is on daily practice and enjoyment of books and to practice strategies when meeting unknown words as well as reading orally so that they are fluent and expressive. We do not want them laboriously sounding out every word, losing meaning to what they are reading or reading in monotone. It is extremely important that home reading is a positive experience for both you and your child. Your job is to be the cheer leader and support their efforts. It is also very important that adults continue to read aloud to their child on a daily basis as this is where they hear and enjoy models of good reading. It is also beneficial that they see you and other adults gaining enjoyment from reading articles, newspapers, and other reading material. 

At the beginning of the school year, your child has been retested in a range of curriculum areas including reading, spelling and mathematics. You may find that they have slipped back for example some levels in reading as they may not have had daily practice of their skills throughout the holiday break but they generally pick up quickly again once they are back in the daily routine. Please contact your child's teacher if you have concerns.

Children in Year 2 have begun their spelling rocket system and you may have noticed that your child has also slipped back with this and are redoing levels that they did last year. There is only one way to spell words correctly and they need to practice words that they have forgotten. They need to be able to spell these words not only in the weekly test but more importantly transfer them correctly into their daily writing. Children in Year 1 will also begin their reading rockets when they have attained a certain level in reading. 

'School at Five Information Evening - Wednesday March 16th 7 p.m.

This evening, held in room 3 is an opportunity for parents of preschool children who are going to start school this year to have their questions answered. Come along and meet the staff and find out what the school day of a five year old encompasses. If you have neighbours with preschool children please let them know about the meeting especially if their child/ren attend preschool or day care outside of the Eastbourne area. 

Pre School Visits for Four Year Olds and their parents

Visits for children who are about to begin school are held in room 3 on Thursday mornings from 8.40 a.m. to 11 a.m. Two or three visits before your child starts school are usually sufficient but extra visits can be arranged if necessary. If your child turns five this year could you please phone our school office 04 562 8409 with the following details - your name, your child's name, their date of birth and a contact phone number and I will contact you nearer to the time of your child's birthday to arrange school visits? 

Mathletics

Each child is enrolled in the Mathletics programme as soon as they enter our school. You should have received a letter about this and also your child's password. If not, please ask your child's teacher. Mathletics is paid for as part of your child's activity fee. Teachers may set work that your child needs to complete first before exploring other aspects of the programme. There are two parts to the programme - interactive curriculum activities and live maths. The children collect points over a week (Monday to Sunday) in either or both sections and if they score 1000 or more in that time they earn a certificate, which you can print out at home if you wish. If they do this consistently over twenty two weeks they earn the gold certificate. You can track your child's progress by receiving a weekly email. To do this visit you need to register - go to www.mathletics.com/parent and it is free to do so. More aps are being released by Apple for those who use Ipads for this. 

Reading Eggs 

If you wish your child to have a subscription to this programme to support their learning in literacy can you please send along $22 (this is the school price - subscriptions from home are $80) to the school office? The subscription finishes at the end of February 2017. Some people may have forgotten to get their money in last week so please do so before Wednesday of this week. If you have any queries regarding this then please do not hesitate to ask me.

Reporting to Parents - Parent and Teacher Conferences 

Conferences will be held on Monday April 11th and Tuesday April 12th where teachers will outline your child's progress to date and what their current learning steps are and how you can support them at home. You will be notified closer to the time with a code and of when to go online and make an appointment. If you have concerns about your child's learning, please do not hesitate to make an appointment earlier with your child's teacher than wait for these scheduled dates. 

Six Year Observation Survey 

Throughout the year as close to your child's sixth birthday as possible they undertake a range of literacy tasks with me. These tasks act as an opportunity to measure their progress in literacy through standardised tests after the completion of one year at school and also as a net to catch anyone who may need placement on our Reading Recovery programme. If your child has turned six already this year please do not hesitate to email me so I can arrange an appointment for you to see the results of your child. 

School Photos

You will have received information regarding school photos. All children will be in the class photo and if you wish to order the class photo as well as have individual and/or sibling photos done please return the envelope and money to the school office by March 11th. Please note that room 3 will not be having class photographs at this time. They along with the next two classes will have theirs in term 4.

Full School Assemblies

These are held in the school hall every two weeks on a Friday afternoon at the later starting time of 2 p.m. this year with the next one scheduled for March 11th. There will also be an assembly on the Thursday before Good Friday. Parents and caregivers are very welcome to attend these assemblies. 

Hooked on Books Programme

This valuable programme starts in term 2. If you or any other adults or grandparents in the community are interested in listening to children from the Junior School read during the afternoon from 1.30 p.m. for about an hour can you please let me know which day would suit you and I will organise the roster and a meeting to show you what to do?

P.M.P. - Perceptual Motor Programme

Some of our Year 1 children are taking part in this programme each day. They are involved in a range of physical activities designed to enhance both their large and fine motor movements as well as widening their vocabulary. 

Absences 

If your child is going to be absent from school could you please phone the school office (04 562 8409) and leave a message - your chlld's name, room number and the reason for their absence. This is much appreciated as it saves Jo and Carole a lot of time trying to track down children. It would also be good if you emailed your child's teacher to inform them too. We have to account for the whereabouts of every child. If you intend taking your child out of school during the year and it is not in school holiday time please write a letter or send an email to our principal Mr Andrew Bird asking for permission to do so. 

Bell times

School starts at 8.40 a.m. and all Junior School children should be in their class at this time ready for the day's learning. The home-time bell is at 2.55 p.m. to allow children time to get to the bus if necessary. The Year 1 children in rooms 1, 3 and 4 will be handed over to their parent or another adult that you have given permission to pick them up whereas the Year 2 children in rooms 5 and 6 will be dismissed out to under the Junior School sunshade. If your child is in rooms 4, 5 or 6 there is only one exit door to the verandah so please do not wait there as it becomes very congested. Please do not drop your child at school before 8.15 a.m. Road Patrol is on Muritai Road only and is from 8.30 a.m. to 8.50 a.m. daily. 

Scooters and bikes

Children can ride their scooters and bikes to and from school but they are unable to use them during the school day. Before and after school they need to walk them through the school grounds as we have too many people especially young children in the playground and we don't want anyone to get hurt. Children riding bikes need to wear helmets and should be riding on the road accompanied by an adult especially if aged under seven years.  

Lost Property

We already have a lot of lost property and it is growing daily. If your child is missing some items please send them to the lost property area under the first stairwell opposite room 7 in the two storey block. Feel free to have a look there yourself. e.g. we have many goggles hanging on the hooks there unclaimed. If items are named they are easily returned to their owner.

Communication between home and school

If you have any queries about your child's learning or school please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher or myself. If you wish to make an appointment please email the person concerned or phone the school office. 

The Bird's Eye View is the school wide newsletter and is an overview of what is happening around the school as a whole. There is lots of information on our school website www.muritai.school.nz 

Classroom teachers place items onto their classroom blogs to provide you with a snapshot of some of the learning that your child is involved in.  Please feel free to leave a comment on the blogs about their learning. The children love to read what is written about their work. 

Email is a good way to contact staff. The following are for our Junior School staff

Room 1   Mrs Barbara Ryan ryan@muritai.school.nz 

Room 3   Mrs Maureen Buckley   buckley@muritai.school.nz 

              Mrs Liz Sullivan   sullivan@muritai.school.nz

Room 4   Mrs Liz Knowles   knowles@muritai.school.nz

Room 5   Mrs Janelle McKay  jmckay@muritai.school.nz

              Mrs Sue Steele    jamie.steele@xtra.co.nz

Room 6   Miss Morag Roberts   roberts@muritai.school.nz

              Mrs Jo Salisbury     salisburyjo@gmail.com

Reading Recovery  Mrs Gabrielle Heath   heath@muritai.school.nz

Office -   Mrs Jo Bentley  bentley@muritai.school.nz

             Mrs Carole Lowe   lowe@muritai.school.nz

             Mr Andrew Bird    bird@muritai.school.nz

We also have eight teacher aides working in our Junior School supporting the classroom programmes. 

Diary Dates

February
27th - March 6th - Seaweek
March
7th - Junior School Swimming Festival
11th - Full School Assembly
14th - 18th - School photos
16th - Starting School at Five Information Evening
24th - School Assembly
25th - 29th - Easter break
April
11th and 12th - Parent and teacher conferences
15th - Full School Assembly 
15th - Last day of term 1
May
2nd - Term 2 begins

Yours in partnership

on behalf of the Junior School team 

Maureen Buckley 

Deputy Principal