Kia ora whanau, 

It is hard to believe it is already Week 5 of Term 4! We have had a very eventful couple of weeks and we love seeing the children bursting into school with big smiles, energy and enthusiasm. 

We are so proud that every child participated in the Junior Athletics Day recently. This involved competing in the sprints, the high jump, the gumboot throw and the bean bag toss. The children demonstrated eagerness, dedication and a wide variety of techniques! They were also incredibly calm and patient, as evidenced when there was an unexpected fire drill halfway through their events. 

Here, we have captured some of the action and some of those magical moments:

'Bears in the Night' and 'We're going on a Bear Hunt' have been the focus for shared reading this past week. The children have explored a range of vocabulary, including prepositions, e.g., The bears go out their window, down a tree, over a wall, under a bridge, around a lake, through the woods, and up a hill, where they are spooked by an owl. 

The children have enjoyed actively joining in with the stories and predicting what happens next. They have been practising retelling the story in their own words and then sequencing the events. 

During Learning Through Play, the focus has been obstacle courses and some children have represented parts of the bear stories and the vocabulary involved. It is wonderful to see the children taking risks with their ideas and working collaboratively on their creations. 

Over these final few weeks, the children will be introduced to their new learning spaces for 2022. We will be visiting the Kahikatea team teachers on several occasions for introductions and some little activities with the teachers.

We look forward to catching up with you all next week. 

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou, 

The Koru teachers: Elizabeth, Nicola, Tracey, Chelsea and Stacey. 

Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori:

This week the children have enjoyed listening to Māori Myths and Legends, including 'How Maui Slowed the Sun.' Children were encouraged to retell different parts of the story during whole class shared writing. They talked about how Maui and his brothers felt throughout the story and how they worked together to solve the problem of their days being too short. 

Children have created some amazing Māori art work, both collaboratively and independently. They have also been given opportunities to sing, count to 10 and say simple sentences and answer questions in te reo Māori such as, "Kei te pehea koe?" (How do you feel?), "Kei te pai ahau" (I am good). 

We have continued with our Wellbeing program and this week our focus has been 'Taha Tinana' which is our Physical Wellbeing. It is about how our body feels, moves and how we take care of it. The children have come up with many ways they can keep fit and healthy. They have participated in physical class games and yoga. 

We hope you enjoy looking at the photos of our children in action throughout the week. 

How Maui Slowed the Sun

Independent Art

We Get There Together

Children have continued with their Structured Literacy learning and it is fantastic to see their proud faces when they learn a new letter sound, complete a stage or read their book independently. We want to thank you for helping your child with their letter sounds, heart words and reading each night. It really makes a huge difference with their confidence and momentum. 

Thank you for your patience and preparing your child for the Level 2 drop off and pick up. We are very impressed with how well the children have adapted to this and have quickly eased back into school routines, with an independent skip in their step! We love sparking the children's curiosity and creativity during our learning through play. We will continue to nurture this aspect of their learning throughout the remainder of this year. 

Have a lovely and relaxing weekend together. 

Ngā mihi mahana, 

The Koru Team: Elizabeth, Tracey, Nicola, Chelsea and Stacey