Author Archives: Anna Reid

Kōwhai News Term 2 Week 1

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Kia ora whānau,

Welcome back to Term 2! We have had a cracking start to the term, getting stuck into our learning and doing lots of exciting new activities.

Discovery

In Discovery, we have introduced some new options, including creating Stop Motion animations on the iPads and developing our dancing skills with Quynh.













Inquiry

This term we are exploring the topic of Sustaining Our Cultures which will involve researching a chosen culture and finding out about certain aspects of it. This may be a culture that the children associate themselves with or just one they are interested in. 

We started this week with some fun introductory activities. One of the activities involved tasting 5 different foods from different countries around the world and the children had to guess what they were and where they came from. The children were totally engaged with this activity and some of the foods were quite tricky to guess! Has anyone ever tasted sun-dried jackfruit from Vietnam before?




Science

Over the next couple of weeks, we will be doing some science experiments in the afternoon. One of the experiments we tried this week was called Cucumber Chemistry which involved predicting what would happen to the slices of cucumber when we put sugar and salt on them. Can you predict what would happen? 

Help Needed

We have been working hard on developing our garden behind the hub and every Monday, Charlotte works with a team of children during Discovery to keep the garden tidy and free of weeds. We are, however, finding it difficult to keep up with the weeds and were wondering if there was a keen parent who could come in and help with this and even prune the apple trees. If you could spare half an hour here or there, we would be truly grateful. Please email your child's homegroup teacher and we will take it from there.

Thank you again for your ongoing support.

From the Kōwhai team


Kōwhai News Term 1 Week 9

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We are nearing the end of term now and we have a wonderful trip to the ponds coming up where we will be learning to be Park Detectives! We will be finding out about bugs, birds and trees in our local area which will be very exciting. Thank you to all the parents who have offered to help on these trips. We couldn't do this without you.



Discovery

During Discovery over the last couple of weeks, the children have been exploring their passions and pursuing their ideas which has led to some amazing creations. Some children have been making popsicle stick puppets and then they decided to make different clothes for their puppets and even opened up a shop selling caps, pants, tops and so one. They showed great initiative!



Writing

For writing, some children have been focusing on debating and they have come up with some amazing arguments. Which is better, TV or books? What do you think? Why?





Maths

During maths, we are doing lots of basic facts practice and we have been working hard on our problem solving, working on open-ended questions which could have various different answers. Tricky! Take a look at one of the problems. How would you solve it. How many different ways could you solve it?


We also love our Move 'n' Prove problems when we have to decide which answer out of 4 different answers is the right one and we also give a reasons for our thinking. Is a, b, c or d the right answer? Why do you think that?



Sustaining Relationships

In the afternoons, we have been continuing with our co-operative activites such as drawing a scene or a world in a group and doing a Lego challenge, building something (e.g., a robot) in 10 minutes together as a group. We have also tried doing picture postcards when the children had to work in groups to create a soundless scene like a supermarket or a playground and everyone else had to guess what was happening. It has been lots of fun as well as a great opportunity for the children to work with different peers, learning how to share their ideas and negotiate their way to succeeding in any given task.






Wellbeing

This week for wellbeing learning, we've talked about problem-solving strategies. We've shared some of the problems we've encountered, such as not being able to find a playmate or being worried about something. We also listened to a story about problem solving or getting over setbacks: What to do with a problem.

We talked about strategies we could use, and made a personal brainstorm of these strategies. Ideas included: 
* Talk to a friend or adult 
* Take some time out to relax (worries)
* Make a different choice or choose to focus on something else

Kete Certificates

This week's kete certificate recipients are Dylan, Seb, Mietta, Bryn, Billy, Max, Pippa, Amelia and Banuja. Congratulations on being role models and showing the school values!

Diversity Day

Next Friday, is Diversity Day when the children can come to school in the Diversity Flag colours or any colours they associate with their country of origin (gold coin donation). Our Student Council representatives (Matthew, Ruvi and Tom) and some dedicated helpers have been working hard this week on creating some posters for this event. Each team has created part of a whole message, advertising the day. Below are the parts that Kòwhai were given to paint. What do you think the whole message is? Find out next week!




Kōwhai News Term 1 Week 7

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Wow! Where is the term disappearing? It's amazing to think that we are now in Week 7. As always, we have been a busy hub. Here is an outline of what we have been up to over the past 2 weeks.

Discovery

The children continue to explore their ideas through Discovery, having a choice of activities both inside and outside the hub.

Outside, we have been playing cricket, creating ball games and obstacle courses, digging and engineering in the sandpit, and Charlotte is also running the Gardening Club once a week. 








Indoors, we are creating marble runs and bridges with wooden blocks, learning the art of origami and we are doing lots of construction, making houses out of boxes and dolls out of popsicle sticks and wool. Some of us have even been conducting experiments using magnets. Also, Nick is running a Coding Club which involves the children learning to code a maths game. 












Reading / Writing / Spelling

Next week, we are sending home spelling cards and spelling workbooks for your children to be able to practise their spelling words (both reading and writing them) according to their reading stage. Please click on this link for instructions on how to use them. You will also receive a hard copy of these instructions with your spelling pack next week. Remember, this is an optional extra if you want to practise at home. We will also practise these words at school every week.

Art

We have finally finished our collage art and here are some of the finished results!



Sustaining Relationships

Instead of sustainable art, we have now moved on to sustaining our relationships by playing co-operative games and undertaking co-operative challenges. We have been doing back to back drawing, lego challenges, trust games, building the tallest tower challenges and many, many more. The children have been learning a lot about building and sustaining relationships with one another and co-operating in order to achieve their goals.


Experiments

Some of us have had the opportunity to do some experiments with our wonderful teaching assistant, Elizabeth. Take a look at the volcano experiment they conducted. Exciting stuff!









Wellbeing

Every Friday, we spend time on our wellbeing / hauora and for the first weeks of term, we have been learning about Te Whare Tapa Whā. It is a model of wellbeing, which comprises four key areas, and is widely used in NZ. We've looked at keeping ourselves well by making time for: 
  • Physical health: exercise, sleep, eating healthily
  • Mental and emotional health: self-talk, calming strategies, communicating through challenges
  • Social health: time with family and friends
  • Spiritual health: this includes making time for our passions, and/or things that give us a deeper sense of meaning
There are some fantastic parent guides here to help you support children in areas of need, including sleep and anxiety: https://www.allright.org.nz/tools/parenting-guides



Reminders and Requests

  • We would love some more boxes and cardboard containers for our construction station in Discovery. Please do bring some to school if you have any spares. Thank you!
  • A reminder for your child to bring a named drink bottle to school every day. It is so important that they keep themselves hydrated and ready to learn.
  • Also, a reminder to bring a named mask to school every day too. Everyone is doing so well with wearing them when they are in the hub and we want to continue with this. 
  • Can you please have a chat with your child about the importance of handwashing before and after eating and also after going to the toilet. We are talking to them about it at school but we would love your support with this too. Thank you so much!

Kete Certificates

Congratulations to this week's certificate recipients!


Elizabeth

And finally, a shout out to Elizabeth, our wonderful teaching assistant, who is moving on to start a course in floristry. Thank you, Elizabeth, for all your hard work in our hub! The children will miss you but we wish you all the best in the future and we hope you will come back and visit.



Have a wonderful weekend!

From the Kōwhai Team,

Anna, Laura, Charlotte, Quynh, Nick and Rowe


Kōwhai News Term 1 Week 5

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Kia ora whānau,

What a busy couple of weeks we have had! Everyone is fully ensconced in their learning now and working really hard.

Discovery

For Discovery, we have had the opportunity to do gardening with Charlotte, working in the garden behind our hub, weeding and picking all the juicy, ripe apples. Some of the children have put their heads together alongside Charlotte and Sonya and they have come up with some wonderful ideas for creating more outside play options in the garden. Charlotte would love donations of:

  • Old trucks and cars, large and small  
  • Old bowls 
  • Old trowels and sand pit toys 
  • Old bowls, pots, muffin trays and so on
Also, if you have any old boxes or tubes etc. at home, we would love some donations for our construction station. Thank you!





Here they are brainstorming ideas for the garden.



We have also been busy creating new games with chalk, hoops, balls and cones and we also put together some amazing obstacle courses!



Just look at this tower too!



Sonya, our wonderful teacher aide, has been busy in the kitchen with some of our tamariki, baking cupcakes and icing them. As you can see, they were extremely focused on brushing up their icing skills!








The other week, we had a special visit from Mitchell's mum. She brought in some newborn chicks for us to meet. Mitchell did a great job of introducing them to us and he is also doing a great job of looking after them at home. 

Maths

For maths, we are just finishing off our focus on geometry and here are a few more geometric creations that the children really wanted to share with you.




Reading

Just a heads up that we have started sending reading books home with some children at the end of each week, depending on their reading level so it would be great if you could read with your child at home and then remember to bring the books back again. If your child is in a higher group (Stage 7 and above), they may not be given take a book home. In this case, we would encourage them to read a book of their own choice. Thank you so much for your support with this!

Writing

We are just launching into a new focus for writing, creating slideshows on various topics. The children are really excited about it!

Art

For art, we are still working hard on our self-portrait collages and we are nearing completion. Here are some examples of our creations so far.






Kete Certificates

Congratulations to this week's Kete certificate recipients!


Learning @ Home

Finally, a reminder that if you are needing to access the Learning @ Home site, it is on the school website and there is a link on the left hand side under the photograph. Alternatively, here is a link straight to the Kōwhai site. You will find a wide choice of activities in all curriculum areas. Some are online activites but there is also a range of activities that can be done offline.

Have a great weekend! 

Kōwhai News Term 1 Week 3

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Kia ora whānau,

We are now well settled into the school routine again and we are so impressed by the way everyone has been wearing their masks. Ka pai, everyone!

Over the last 2 weeks, we have gradually started getting into our regular learning, delving into geometry for maths, focussing particularly on 2D and 3D shapes, and introducing free writing and reading groups. 

Have a look at some of the shape patterns some of the children have been making in maths:






For art, we are creating collage self-portraits and to begin with, we have been practising drawing ourselves. We are going to be using scrap material, magazines, patterned paper, ribbons, crepe paper straws and many more materials to create these masterpieces which we are calling, "Sustainable Me!" Here is an example from one of our practice sessions:


Every Friday this term, the children will be going to Kapa Haka with Whaea Cath and they will get the opportunity to learn a special karakia and the Kōwhai haka. At the end of Term 1, they will then have the option of continuing in the Kapa Haka group for the rest of the year if they want to. We have been going in our homegroups for 20 minutes at a time and while a homegroup is at Kapa Haka, the remainder of us have been focussing on circle time and wellbeing. We are currently looking at Te Whare Tapa Whā and getting the children to think about how they, for example, look after their physical wellbeing, their spiritual wellbeing and their emotional wellbeing.



As we are unable to have full school assemblies, we have decided to have a weekly team hui in the hall instead. At these hui, we are celebrating birthdays, learning clapping songs and handing out Kete Certificates. This gives the children a chance to get together and celebrate in a setting where there's plenty of room to space out! This week's Kete Certificate recipients were Lilly, Levi, Jaxon, Ben, Paige, Tom B, Julia, Adele, Nelly and Arlo. Congratulations!


Yesterday, during Discovery, we were lucky to be given a concert by Erina on her cello. She had quite a captivated audience. Thank you for your beautiful playing, Erina!




We have also been having a bit of a tower building competition during Discovery. Here are a couple of

photos of a wooden block tower versus a plastic cup tower.




Our apple trees behind Tahaki have been thriving this year and producing a lot of apples so some of the

children had the privilege of stewing some apples with Sonya, out wonderful teacher aide. You can see

that they were delighted with the experience!



We would like to give a big shout out to these three rubbish collectors. Look how much rubbish they found! Thank you so much for showing that you care and how you can get there together.



Finally, just a few reminders:

  • Could you please make sure your child brings a polar fleece to school every day as it can be quite cold at times. Thank you!
  • Home group library days are as follows: 
    • Monday = Nick and Rowe
    • Tuesday = Anna
    • Wednesday = Charlotte and Quynh
  • Laura is in for Rowe every Friday so if you have something you need to share on this day then please communicate directly with Laura.
Thank you all for your continuing support. We look forward to sharing more of your children's learning in our blog in two weeks' time.

From the Kōwhai team

Anna, Nick, Quynh, Charlotte, Rowe, Sonya and Elizabeth