Kia ora whānau

Welcome back to Term 2! We have had a lovely first week back, hearing all about the holiday break and reconnecting with our tamariki. The Kahikatea kids have coped really well with being inside all day due to the wet and wild weather.

Welcome Nicky!

A big welcome to Nicky Dunlop who joins our team as our release cover teacher. Nicky has worked at Beckenham te Kura for a long time, mostly in the Y7 and 8 team. She is very excited to be joining the Kahikatea crew. Nicky will cover Sarah's team leader release all day on Tuesdays and she will cover Amber and Talia's release alternating Thursdays. Nicky is super creative and loves arts and crafts and is keen to implement a visual art afternoon once a week for our kids!

 Phew! We cannot believe how quickly the first term has flown by. You should be super proud of your wee ones, they have worked hard and our recent assessment shows they are all progressing in leaps and bounds.

Amber, Talia, Lisa, Nicola and myself have all really enjoyed getting to know you more this term, thanks for all of your amazing, ongoing support with our tamariki.

Here are a few pics from our Learning through Play sessions this week: We are always astounded by the creativity, problem solving, caring, energy and delighful conversation that occurs during these sessions.

A few things to keep on your radar for next term:

-School reports will go out mid term

-Whānau learning conferences will be scheduled for later in the term

-No sunhats required next term! (these should have arrived home today).

-We have Cross Country happening in the first few weeks of school and will need some parent helpers to mark out the course and marshall. More info to come.

-Next term both Talia and Amber's homegroups will participate in Kapa Haka sessions. Sarah's class will join back in, in Term 3.

-Our overall theme for Inquiry this year is change. This term we have had a Health and P.E/Art focus. Next term the focus will be Technology. We will be looking at Toys through time-how they have changed and how we could adapt/create a fabulous new toy.

-Please collect cardboard boxes over the break. We will be needing these as part of our Technology sessions next term.

-We have planned a trip to Ferrymead Heritage Park in the third week of term. I will be requesting parent helpers for this via a google form over the holidays so keep an eye out.

Please have a safe, happy and relaxing break! We will see you all rearing to go in a couple of weeks.

 Kia ora whānau,

A lot of exciting learning to share in this week's blogpost. We cannot believe we are nearly at the end of the term. The kids have been working so hard and they are also very tired.

Literacy:

A reminder that book and reading folders will go home on Monday and need to be brought back on Mondays so that books can be changed over.

Picasso Art:

We have been learning about abstract art and looking at the work of Picasso. The children have learned about his use of shape and how the emotions he was feeling influenced his colour choices. They have been so engaged and excited by these sessions, and we are creating some cool art! Watch this space!

 We have had some wonderful learning happening over the past two weeks. The tamariki are really engaged and motivated in all areas of the curriculum. We are seeing a lot of progress already, which is amazing. Students' are now familiar with our routines, and the hub is humming along nicely.

Mathematics:

In Math this week we have been looking at measurement and have been using the context of the story of The Gingerbread Man for ordering and comparing length and height. Below are some pictures of some wonderful learning happening.

How you can help at home:

Ask your child to make comparisons with toys; e.g., can they line up all of their soft toys in order from shortest to tallest?

Or sort dinosaurs or plastic animals? Can you line your family members up in height order?

Can you learn the Te Reo words for tallest, taller, shortest, and shorter?

Students could draw pictures to bring back to class to share next week!

Literacy:

We are currently assessing, adjusting, and reworking our groups. We are thrilled with the amount of progress students have made in such a short time.

Reminders:

It is school photos next week on Wednesday, 19th March. please ensure students are in the correct school uniform for this.

A reminder to please keep toys at home, unless you have an arrangement with your child's teacher. They can be a big distraction for others during learning time and can often get lost or become damaged.

We have House Games on Tuesday afternoon, children are encouraged to wear their house colour tee-shirts.

• Welcome back!
• Drop offs
• Library times
• Kapa Haka
• Garden Club
• Literacy
• Cyber Safety

Drop Offs:

Kapa Haka:

Literacy:

We are moving into Literacy groups next week on Monday. There will be a chart up in the hub above the reading folder buckets which says which teacher students are working with for Literacy. The hub will have a hui and line students up and send them off with their teachers for the first few days to ensure everyone gets to the right place.

Students' will start to bring home letter cards, heart word cards, and books over the next few weeks.

Cyber Safety:

All You Need to Know About TikTok

Tiktok is one of the fastest-growing social media apps. It’s a platform for creating, sharing and discovering short videos—and many young people love it! From new dance crazes to funny clips to animal videos, Tiktok can inspire creativity and bring joy.

But it’s important that parents and whānau help their tamariki navigate Tiktok safely. Today we’re sharing the Netsafe Tiktok Family Safety Toolkit so you can help guide your whānau to a fun and safe digital experience.