Welcome back to school everyone! A special welcome to all those whose children have started in Te Kakano this year. We are looking forward to a fantastic fun-filled year of learning. I hope you all had a lovely holiday with your families and feel positive about the coming year. Thank you to all parents who have already come in and caught up with me. I look forward to getting to know you and hope you will let me know of any special interests/needs/quirks your child has which may have an impact on their settling in and/or learning. It has been lovely to meet new parents and also see some familiar faces.
Te Kakano currently consists of 12 Year 1 students (8 boys and 5 girls). We are very fortunate to have an amazing Teacher Aide assisting in our classroom every morning until 12:00. Shaye Petricevich (whaea Shaye) is invaluable for the many and varied tasks she does to support the children in their learning.
Mrs. June Paton will also be teaching in Te Kakano once a fortnight on Tuesdays. Please pop by and meet her if you haven’t already done so.
Reminders for parents
Please name all of your child’s clothing, togs, towels including any other items in their school bag.
Please encourage your child to get enough sleep. They are very busy at school and need to be prepared for the learning that
takes place each day.
Please ensure your child has their book bag and contents at school everyday.
KIWI SPORT - Monday mornings with Mr Larkin (Papa Jim). The focus will be on swimming until the weather gets cooler.
FITNESS/JUMP JAM – will take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Please make sure your child is wearing appropriate clothing for these sessions.
P.E – Small games – Thursdays with Mr John Pirini who has joined our teaching team at Paparore for Thursdays and Fridays and will be supporting us with his expertise in music and physical/education.
SWIMMING – Will begin week 2 until weather gets too cold. Our swimming time is 1:40pm Mon-Wed. Junior lunch time swim is on Tues and Thurs. On Fridays Mr Pirini will take the children for swimming at 10am. Please ensure your child has their swimming gear at school each day. Swimming is part of the NZ curriculum and it is expected each child takes part in the lessons. Please send them to school with a separate bag for their swimming gear so that their school bag does not get wet.
MUSIC – Thursday 10-10:30 with Mr Pirini.
TOPIC –Me, my family, my friends – This will be the first inquiry topic of the year and is the beginning of our whole school focus on Globalisation. In the junior school the big question driving this learning throughout the year is “How can I be a positive citizen of the world?” As in all of the curriculum areas we will continue not only to increase our knowledge but also develop our thinking, communicating, self-management and social skills. Our five school values Hiranga/Excellence, Rereketanga/Diversity, Ngakau/Tapatahi/Integrity, Porihanga/Community and Partnership, and, Kaitiakitanga/Caring for our Environment will be specifically taught and be an integral part of our learning.
MATHEMATICS – the focus is number knowledge (reading and writing numbers, counting forwards and backwards, before/ after, 1 less/1more, and between numbers, ordering numbers), and strategies(addition/subtraction). The additional emphasis for maths this term is Statistics, highlighting the skills and language used in making and interpreting simple graphs.
SHARED LEARNING – Wed. afternoon – creative activities (mixed year groups rotation) with Te Pihi and Te Putake.
HOME LEARNING – Please ensure your child reads every day (weekends too) and has their reading log signed by someone who has heard them read. On most Fridays your child’s poem book will come home to read as well as a reading book of their choice. As a suggestion you could read poems together one night, the reader the following day and a book from home the next. This way the 100 Nights sheet will be quickly filled, a love of reading encouraged and reading skills improved. Practise counting strategies on a daily basis.
Thank you to those of you who support school learning by encouraging home learning with daily reading, basic words and number practice. It has an obvious effect on your child’s learning achievement. J
A ‘Home learning Rewards’ afternoon is planned each month for those pupils who regularly complete requirements.
In Te Kakano emphasis is placed on saying something so that others understand it. Being able to clearly say what we are thinking (oral language) helps us relate to others and is also the basis for developing ideas in writing. Please take an interest in our topic and ask your child about their learning. We would value any information, pictures, books etc. that you are able to send along to school for your child to share with the class.
The first few minutes of every school day are a very important settling time especially for New Entrants who are taking that next big step in their lives. It is important that children are on time each day before the school bell at 8:30am so that they have plenty of time to prepare for the school day, meet their friends and settle in peacefully to the learning environment. Children coming in late not only disrupt early morning roll call and notices but also start the day off on a back foot, as they have not had time to relax and prepare themselves.
We are privileged to have the Moko health team visit our school three days a week. In collaboration with ‘Kids Can’ they have supplied each class with tissues and sanitizer for which we are really grateful. Also, Kids Can, Sanitarium and Fonterra support Paparore School with a supply of food so on days when for whatever reason your child misses breakfast or forgets their lunch, food is available.
Upcoming events this term are:
Meet the Teacher Evening Wed 4th Feb
Waitangi Day – Friday 6th Feb
Far North World Wetlands Day Event – 17th Feb (to be confirmed)
Life Education Caravan Friday 6th – Tues 11th March
Term 1 finishes – Wed 1st April
Teacher Only Day – Thurs 2nd April
If you have any queries or concerns please let me know.
Kind regards, and many thanks for your support,
Robyn Dane
Class Newsletter T1 2015 - PDF Document
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