Hi everyone,
We will be sending home student stationery tomorrow in your child's home learning folder. Please take the time to look in this folder as we will also be returning any unused stationery and most of this items will be able to be used in 2019. Make sure you keep them in a safe place so you know what to order in 2019!
If your child's folder is currently at home, can you please send it to school tomorrow (Friday 14th December) so we have a place for the stationery to go.
Thank you so much!
Kōwhai Teaching Team
Author Archives: Paulette Newton
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Kōwhai News Week 1 Term 4
Welcome to the final term of the year! We hope you had a great two-week break. This term we have two new students in the Kōwhai Team, Levi Currey and Temaera Ripia. We would like to extend a very warm welcome to their whānau.
This term will be a busy one, so keep an eye out on the newsletters to keep up to date with events.
Firewise
Each year the New Zealand Fire Service attends 5,000 house fires. Around a quarter of the housefires start in the kitchen from unattended cooking. Once a fire has started in a room, people have 3 minutes to get out of the room before they breathe in poisonous smoke and die.
The Great New Zealand Shake Out
Our school has signed up for the Great NZ Shakeout School Challenge. Each person that completes the 8 challenges with their families will be in to get some cool prizes.
Some of the challenges include...
Athletics
Athletics training has started this week and it is very encouraging to see the students improve in many of the athletics disciplines.
This year the Year 4s have been given the opportunity to compete in the Year 4-8 Athletics Day which is in week 3, Thursday 1st November. This is completely optional and we will send out an email to let you know if your child has chosen to participate on this day.
The Year 1-4 Athletics Day will be held on Wednesday 21st November from 11-12.40pm. You are most welcome to come and support your child on this day.
For your diary:
Oct 22: Labour Day (school closed)
Oct 25: Botanic Gardens/Museum Trip
Oct 26: Botanic Gardens/Museum Trip
Nov 1: School Athletic Sports Y4-8
Nov 16: Show Day (School closed)
Nov 26: Staff Only Day
Dec 20: Final day for the year. School closes at 12:30pm.
That's all for now.
From the Kōwhai Team
This term will be a busy one, so keep an eye out on the newsletters to keep up to date with events.
Firewise
Over the next couple of weeks, we are working on a ‘Firewise’ unit as part of our Literacy programme. This unit will help the children to learn facts about how to keep fire safe.
There are three things that you can do to get out quickly and safely if a fire occurs on your home:
- Install working smoke alarms in lounges and family living areas, halls and bedrooms to alert you to the fire. If you are asleep, you can’t smell smoke.
- Have an escape plan so that every family member knows two ways to get out of every room and knows where to go to a safe meeting place.
- Practise getting out of every room FAST when the smoke alarm goes off or if someone shouts FIRE, FIRE, FIRE.
During this unit, your child or children will also bring home a Firewise Booklet. We highly encourage you to read the story in the booklet with your child or children and watch the DVDs using this link. These videos will help you have discussions on how to make your home fire safe. We also encourage you to practise what to do if a fire starts anywhere in your house.
In this unit, there is a lesson about how to keep safe with matches and how matches and lighters are tools NOT toys. The Fire Service recommends that children feel safe with matches so each child will be given the opportunity to light a match under the careful supervision of a teacher. We are in no way promoting children playing with matches.
So far the children are really enjoying learning about fire safety and are making very thoughtful contributions during our sessions.
Gardens Trip Next 25th and 26th October
Next week, on Thursday 25th October (Mike and Paulette and half of Susan's home group) and Friday 26th October (Anna and Rebekah and half of Susan's home group) will be going to the Christchurch Botanical Gardens. On this day, the children will have a session in the Gardens, completing a Park Detective lesson and spending time in the Museum learning about birds and also in the Discovery Centre.
On these days, the buses depart school at 9:05 and will return to school by 3pm. Please make sure your child has a packed lunch and a jacket and drink bottle on this day. Thank you to all the parents who have kindly given their time to support this trip.
The Great New Zealand Shake Out
Our school has signed up for the Great NZ Shakeout School Challenge. Each person that completes the 8 challenges with their families will be in to get some cool prizes.
Some of the challenges include...
- Show someone how to drop cover and hold – inside and outside.
- Check your tsunami zone and plan where to go.
- Store water for three days or more.
- Identify which key household objects need to be secured or made safer through Fix. Fasten. Don’t Forget.
- Find out which natural hazards could affect your family.
- Work out what to pack in a getaway bag for your family.
- Make a plan which includes who will pick up the kids if the adults can’t get to school.
- Make a list of who can help in an emergency
Athletics
Athletics training has started this week and it is very encouraging to see the students improve in many of the athletics disciplines.
This year the Year 4s have been given the opportunity to compete in the Year 4-8 Athletics Day which is in week 3, Thursday 1st November. This is completely optional and we will send out an email to let you know if your child has chosen to participate on this day.
The Year 1-4 Athletics Day will be held on Wednesday 21st November from 11-12.40pm. You are most welcome to come and support your child on this day.
For your diary:
Oct 22: Labour Day (school closed)
Oct 25: Botanic Gardens/Museum Trip
Oct 26: Botanic Gardens/Museum Trip
Nov 1: School Athletic Sports Y4-8
Nov 16: Show Day (School closed)
Nov 26: Staff Only Day
Dec 20: Final day for the year. School closes at 12:30pm.
That's all for now.
From the Kōwhai Team
Kōwhai News Week 9 Term 4
Hi everyone,
Well, it's hard to believe that we are nearly at the end of the term with only one week to go! Here is the important info for the week ahead.
School of Gymnastics
He will let you know what group your child is in and what time you will be needed. Each group session will be 2hrs in duration.
Talent Quest
We are having the school talent quest finals on Friday from 1.30pm-3pm. If your child is in the final, you are most welcome to attend.
Discovery Items Wanted
We are wanting some donations to support our Discovery learning in the morning.
We would LOVE any donations of:
* WOODWORK TOOLS- small hammers, nails, screwdrivers, wood etc.
* CROCKERY- cups, saucers, plates, cutlery etc.
* PEGS- crocodile style
* TOYS- any old or broken toys that the children can dismantle and make into new toys
* PIPES- any pipes, spouting etc.
Stationery
Many children need to replenish some of their stationery items. Please ask your child if they need to replenish any items, especially pens/pencils, whiteboard markers or glue sticks.
That's about all for now.
Have a wonderful weekend ahead.
Kōwhai News Wk7 T3
Hi everyone,
We have had a busy couple of weeks with some fantastic learning happening across the hub.
Yesterday saw us having the auditions for the school talent quest which is being held in the last week of the term. We were so impressed with how many children expressed an interest in participating in this event.
The finalists have now been chosen for the school talent quest and they are:
Congratulations to all those who took part, displaying our school values, 'We love challenge', 'We make a difference' and 'We get there together'.
Discovery
Each morning we begin with our Discovery programme. This time provides the children with the opportunity to explore wonderings and curiosities. This week, there have been many children challenging themselves with new learning, from learning how to braid, creating 3D shapes with cardboard, drawing, building intricate models with Lego and even completing engineering challenges.
This time allows the children to problem solve, work alongside each other and to acquire new skills in the process. Here are some of the children in action:
Gymnastics
This week we have begun our gymnastics unit. Each Monday afternoon, the children participate in a variety of gymnastics activities. We are wanting the children to develop their balance, coordination, rotation and the ability to perform a sequence of movements with control.
Literacy / Inquiry
As part of our Inquiry learning into sustainability, the children in Paulette and Anna's literacy group are going to be creating tracking tunnels as a way of identifying some of the animals that are inhabiting our school grounds. We would love to have any plastic bottles (milk/soft drink), plastic card, heavy cardboard, plastic sheeting (plastic drop cloths, PVC sheets), sponges, peanut butter, wood, cardboard boxes that could be used to construct a tracking tunnel.
The children will analyse the data they collect and use this to make any changes to ensure our school environment is sustainable for all wildlife.
Conservation Week
Next week is Keep NZ beautiful week. As a school, we are having a focus on the school surroundings and have been given an area to keep clean for the week. In our team, we are also going to be looking at our waste production and our goal is to reduce the amount of waste that we create each week. We are going to see if having smaller rubbish bins will help us to make less waste. You might like to take this time to see if there are any small changes that you might be able to make as a family. It has been great to see so many children using the wax wraps that are being sold by the PTA.
Pioneer Miniball
At this stage, we will only be able to enter in 2 teams to the Pioneer Miniball competition which is held after school on Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you are keen/able to coach, please let Paulette know ASAP so we know the number of teams that we can enter. Later this coming week, an email will be sent out with all the information about how to enter your child.
Parent Help - Reading
We would still love the help of another 2 parents to listen to children read each week. If you are able to help out, then we would LOVE to hear from you. This only needs to be for 1/2 an hour and it can be at any time of the day! Please email or see your home group teacher if you can help out.
Well, that's all for this week.
Kowhai Teaching Team
We have had a busy couple of weeks with some fantastic learning happening across the hub.
Yesterday saw us having the auditions for the school talent quest which is being held in the last week of the term. We were so impressed with how many children expressed an interest in participating in this event.
The finalists have now been chosen for the school talent quest and they are:
- George, Will, Harvey, Quinn, Fergus and Tahere performing the Duck Song
- Emma Vaile, Lilian and Alyssa performing a gymnastics routine
- Xanthe, Ella Thomas, Keira Ryder, Isla Chapman, Layla McCallum, Bailee Green and Briar performing "Hall of Fame" through dance and singing
Congratulations to all those who took part, displaying our school values, 'We love challenge', 'We make a difference' and 'We get there together'.
Discovery
Each morning we begin with our Discovery programme. This time provides the children with the opportunity to explore wonderings and curiosities. This week, there have been many children challenging themselves with new learning, from learning how to braid, creating 3D shapes with cardboard, drawing, building intricate models with Lego and even completing engineering challenges.
This time allows the children to problem solve, work alongside each other and to acquire new skills in the process. Here are some of the children in action:
Gymnastics
This week we have begun our gymnastics unit. Each Monday afternoon, the children participate in a variety of gymnastics activities. We are wanting the children to develop their balance, coordination, rotation and the ability to perform a sequence of movements with control.
Literacy / Inquiry
As part of our Inquiry learning into sustainability, the children in Paulette and Anna's literacy group are going to be creating tracking tunnels as a way of identifying some of the animals that are inhabiting our school grounds. We would love to have any plastic bottles (milk/soft drink), plastic card, heavy cardboard, plastic sheeting (plastic drop cloths, PVC sheets), sponges, peanut butter, wood, cardboard boxes that could be used to construct a tracking tunnel.
The children will analyse the data they collect and use this to make any changes to ensure our school environment is sustainable for all wildlife.
Conservation Week
Next week is Keep NZ beautiful week. As a school, we are having a focus on the school surroundings and have been given an area to keep clean for the week. In our team, we are also going to be looking at our waste production and our goal is to reduce the amount of waste that we create each week. We are going to see if having smaller rubbish bins will help us to make less waste. You might like to take this time to see if there are any small changes that you might be able to make as a family. It has been great to see so many children using the wax wraps that are being sold by the PTA.
Pioneer Miniball
At this stage, we will only be able to enter in 2 teams to the Pioneer Miniball competition which is held after school on Wednesdays and Thursdays. If you are keen/able to coach, please let Paulette know ASAP so we know the number of teams that we can enter. Later this coming week, an email will be sent out with all the information about how to enter your child.
Parent Help - Reading
We would still love the help of another 2 parents to listen to children read each week. If you are able to help out, then we would LOVE to hear from you. This only needs to be for 1/2 an hour and it can be at any time of the day! Please email or see your home group teacher if you can help out.
Donations
We would love to have some donations of cups, saucers, plates, blankets, sheets, pegs or old toys ( they can be broken) for use at discovery time.
We will have a box in the hub and one in the office for you to put them in. The children will love using these for their learning.
We will have a box in the hub and one in the office for you to put them in. The children will love using these for their learning.
Well, that's all for this week.
Kowhai Teaching Team
Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 4/5
Here is the latest news from Kōwhai Team!
Parent Help Reading
We would LOVE the help of 1-2 parents each day to listen to children read. At the moment there are a few children that require some extra support. Having some parents to come in and listen to children read would greatly help their fluency and give the children some much-needed reading milage. If you are keen to help us please send us an email or pop in and see your point of contact teacher. This would only be for 20-30minutes and can happen at any time during the day! We look forward to hearing from you!
Readathon
Readathon cards have been sent home and hopefully your child is all ready to go! The goal is for every child to read for 14 days consecutively. Each child has decided on a length of time that suits their ability and committments at home.
All the money raised will go towards our outdoor spaces. We thank the PTA very much for having this focus and for organising events like this that will eventually provide fantastic outdoor areas in which our tamariki will be able to play and learn.
Miniball
We would love to offer the children in our team the opportunity to participate in mini ball at Pioneer next term. For this to happen, we would need the assistance of parents who would be able to coach the team (teams of 8-9- they are 5 aside games). In the past, we have been able to enter 3 teams into the competition.
Miniball games are held on Wednesday (A and B Grade) and Thursday (C Grade). If you are keen to help, please contact Paulette
Writing
At the moment we have been having a focus on persuasive writing during our literacy time. It has been great seeing the children creating sophisticated pieces of text to help persuade the reader to change their opinion on a topic. Here is one example of what the children have been writing:
Why dogs are the best pets!
Why cats are bad!
My first reason is that cats are actually PESTS. Did you know that over 25 million native birds are killed each year by these carnivores and we wonder why are native birds are so hard to spot?
Second, cats are hard to train and if you give up your lifestyle could get ruined by a cat scratching up furniture and knocking over valuable and important objects.
You may think cats are cute and cuddly but the first time you do a job for them they think of you as there servant and they don't even give you a reward for it.
Now for the dogs!
Dogs really do deserve their title of, ‘mans best friend’ their loyal, intelligent, devoted and affectionate. Dogs are always wanting a good old pat and love to play games.
Another reason is dogs are really helpful towards humans e.g., they can be guard dogs ,sniffer dogs, guide dogs and search and rescue. How helpful is that?
If you are getting a new pet don't even consider getting a cat, get a DOG!
Persuasive Writing about Rubbish in the Ocean:
In Susan's literacy group we have been writing persuasive speeches about plastic in the ocean.
If you want to find out more about this here is a link:
Stop littering! It is bad for the environment and animals. They eat it and die. Did you know that a plastic bag looks like a jellyfish? That is why they are bad for the turtles.
Plastic is destroying habitats and scenery. If we all work together we can fix it by using boxes instead of plastic bags, or picking up rubbish whenever you can. Also, if you litter and you love animals, stop! I would love to see the ocean with no rubbish in it.
By Annabel Grantham
Stop killing sea animals and stop putting
Rubbish in the sea! If you throw away plastic bags turtles will think they are jellyfish and eat them. How would you like it? It destroys the scenery and every day more animals are dying.
We need to use reusable bags and honey wraps. Don't use gladwrap! If you throw away plastic it ends up in the sea! We need to do stuff about this! You should see the rubbish island in the ocean. Make the world a better place and stop using plastic.
By Violet Morel
Next week we will use these persuasive pieces as part of our Kowhai Speech Competition. It will be wonderful to see the children working on their speeches and developing the skills to effectively talk in front of others. We are planning to watch the Kauri team on Monday afternoon to help us know what to aspire to.
We have been having a great time learning about fractions at the moment. The children have really impressed us with their deep levels of thinking as they are solving problems. This term we have been working on solving problems with fractions. Here are two example of what the children have been working on:
Kowhai children went on a class trip to the Botanic Gardens. They searched the river for waterlife. 1/4 of what they found were eels. 1/3 of them were trout and they spotted 40 tadpoles. How many trout and eels did they see?Problem 2
Inquiry- Birds
As part of our Sustainability inquiry, we have been exploring the newly created Treemendous area and how we can make this more sustainable for birds and wildlife. Over the past few weeks, we have spent time in the Treemendous area, investigating the plants and birds that currently reside there. The children have been rotating around the teachers in the hub, participating in bird lessons. Here is a sample of what we have been doing...
Bird Beaks- Paulette's lessons have seen the children investigating bird beaks and their design. The children participated in a variety of experiments where they tried eating a variety of food using a tool (beak). This helped the children to determine why birds have a particularly shaped beak and how the beak enables them to eat a particular food in their habitat.
Bird Feet- Anna's lessons have been all about the different types if birds' feet and how they are suited to different environments. For example, herons are wading birds and so they have long, thin toes which stop them from sinking in the sand and ducks have webbed feet which help them swim more efficiently through the water. We are now working on making posters which tell us all about birds' feet, what they look like and why.
Bird Identification- Susan
Bird Habitats- Rebekah's lessons have seen the children looking at the different habitats of birds. The children have demonstrated a lot of thought showing how the food available to birds vary, because of their habitat. We have also looked at how pests and predators effect our native bird numbers. We are excited to discover more ways we can get our native bird Hockey
Over the past five weeks, we have been lucky enough to have had Canterbury Hockey taking the children for hockey lessons. The children have learnt some basic hockey skills. This week, they were, 'put to the test' as they played in a mini hockey tournament. Here they are in action!
M.A.D. Time (Passions)
This term, the children have each chosen a passion topic to participate in on a Friday. The children were given the choices of Choir (Anna), Art (Mike), Drama (Paulette), Languages (Susan) and Dance (Rebekah). Each Friday the children have 45 minutes participating in these passion groups. It has been great to see the children so enthusiastic about driving their own learning and interests.
That's all for now.
Have a great week ahead!
Kowhai Teaching Team