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Koru News Term 4 Week 1

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 Kia ora whanau,

Welcome to the fourth term of the year, and what a busy one it looks as if it's going to be! It was such a treat to see all of those wide and happy smiles back at the school gate this week. We give an especially warm welcome to Hunter, Millie and James who all had their first day at school on Monday. What a wonderful job they're all doing of settling in beautifully at school. Mīharo, tamariki!

All children have returned to the school routines very happily, and are enthusiastically embracing their learning, including those crucial areas of learning like showing 'We Care', embracing challenge, helping each other out when the need arises and making a difference by keeping the learning spaces tidy and well-organised.

A huge thank you goes out to the parents who have created the absolutely gorgeous fairy houses for the Koru team's raised garden area. The children are loving the play in this area, and have been having some great ideas for the things that they could make or bring in from home to decorate the garden even further. Some of their ideas include:

  • little plants (flowers, little succulents and herbs)
  • tiny terracotta pots
  • little beds for the fairies to sleep in
  • decorations for the houses
  • stones, painted or plain
  • a little lake!
  • little hollows and tunnels
If you have any of the above items at home, or perhaps resources which could be put together to create any of the above, all contributions will be gratefully received. Next week, we're going to have a go at making our own little fairies out of old-fashioned wooden pegs. If you have any fabric which would be suitable for clothes or wings, any little buttons, tiny fake flowers, or any other items which you think might be useful, we'd love it if you were to send them along to school. Thank you so much, in anticipation!

Learning Through Play:
The children have jumped back into their Learning Through Play with energy and enthusiasm. They have had some special Koru time in Treemendous, and there are also several little schools in operation, both indoors and outdoors (see below).























We love the examples of our school kete values being evidenced in the children's play in the photos above. You could ask your children to describe the values they can see in action in these photos!

Structured Literacy:
Both teachers and children are loving getting back into Structured Literacy lessons! The children are showing wonderful focus and engagement, and are feeling very proud of the progress that they're making. Please ensure that your children are practising reading their heart words fluently and confidently, as well as writing them. Practising writing the heart words at home will help your child enormously with their confidence in Literacy groups at school. They can also be putting their letter cards together to form simple 2 or 3 letter words, or for those children who have been at school for a longer time, they can be putting their heart words and letter cards together to form sentences, which they can then read to you.






Great work, tamariki! What fantastic spelling and writing.

Handwashing:
We're back into the routine of washing our hands regularly at school, along with using hand sanitiser. We thought you might like to see an example of how diligent the children are when it comes to handwashing. They are experts!







Hats:
A reminder, please, to ensure that your child brings their named hat to school every day. 

We trust that you all have an absolutely wonderful long weekend, and please remember that Tuesday is a Staff Only Day, so we'll see the children back at school, bright-eyed and with wide smiles, on Wednesday next week!

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,

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



Koru team Term 3 Week 10!

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Kia ora, whānau, 

What a wonderful few weeks we have had back at school since lockdown! The children have shown greater independence and many are now happily walking in small groups or pairs from the gate to Hangere and Kōmanawa by themselves. They are also unpacking their bags independently and making sure that lunchboxes, drink bottles and reading folders end up in the right places. Mīharo, tamariki!

Structured Literacy:

We continue to see fantastic progress in literacy groups, and we would love to see some learning continue over the school holidays, where possible. It is an absolute joy to see the children's excitement when they have learnt to read and write a new letter sound, heart word, or have successfully read a new book. We love seeing the children shine with pride when they realise they have made such great progress in their learning. 

We love books!

Learning Through Play:

The children have continued to strengthen their connections with their friends, both within the classroom spaces and out in the playground. They are making impressive connections between their social and emotional behaviours and our school values. They are encouraged to reflect on their social conversations and their relationships with their classmates, and problem solve together wherever necessary. We are constantly impressed by the level of maturity and wisdom they bring to these situations. 

Showing 'We Care' towards one of our little ones on his transition to school visit.

Getting the dolls ready for bed at the end of the day ('We Care' and 'We Get There Together').

Ensuring that all's tidy and organised in the Family Corner before home time ('We Care' and 'We Get There Together').

What a scrumptious looking meal for the dollies (also 'We Care')!

This week, during our Learning Through Play, the children have also been involved in learning about how wheels have made our lives easier. They have created some amazing roads and bridges, both collaboratively and independently. They have incorporated a wide variety of vehicles, road signs and community spaces into their designs.

'We Get There Together' and 'We Love Challenge'.

Wheels galore. How interesting - abstract art! ('We Love Challenge')

An impressive set up here ('We Love Learning').

A collaborative 'community' created here by two possible future town planners ('We Get There Together').

Rocket ships ('We Get There Together').

Some children have even designed creative costumes which could be our next generation winners of the World of Wearable Arts competition.

'We Get There Together' and 'We Love Challenge'.

Dancing down the cat walk!

Wellbeing:

This week we have continued our Te Whare Tapa Wha learning, with a focus on Whenua (place, our roots and the environment). The children showed great enthusiasm for caring for our environment, when they undertook some weeding in various garden areas around our school. They actively engaged in understanding the importance of caring for our whenua. They also learnt how to plant a seed (soaking it first) and then how to care for the seedling once it has sprouted. Today they planted new little seeds and they will bring these home and take special care of them, over the holidays. They have demonstrated the 'We Make a Difference' kete value, by taking action and contributing to our community. We are proud to see some children taking this even further, by volunteering their time during play breaks, picking up rubbish, then putting it in the correct bin. 

Fairy Gardens:

Our Koru tamariki are very excited to be taking on the responsibility for one of the raised garden beds at the front of our school.  Our plan is to turn it into a fairy garden, and some of the children have begun collecting small items to help with this fun little project. One of our wonderful parents has created some beautiful fairy homes (see below) to get us started next term. Other items such as small stones, shells, gemstones, nuts and seeds, little pine cones, a little terracotta pot or two, tiny furniture and maybe a wee statue or two, would be great additions to develop the fairy garden area. If you Google 'Fairy Gardens' you will find lots of other wonderful ideas. All contributions will be greatly appreciated.

Aren't they CUTE?! Thank you so much :)

Literacy and Maths learning over the holidays:

As mentioned above, it would be really valuable if the children were to incorporate little moments of both literacy and maths practice throughout the two week holiday. Please find links below which might help support the children's learning in these areas.

  • Heggerty Phonemic Awareness videos (this is just the first of many videos which you are able to access on Youtube, and Heggerty is the Phonemic Awareness programme which we follow at Beckenham te Kura o Pūroto)
  • Ideas to help your child learn and understand the difference between 'teen' and 'ty'
  • Subitising - finding out about and having fun with this skill
  • Numbers 0 - 20
  • Maths At Our House (a link we shared with you during lockdown)
  • NZMaths Number plans (for Learning At Home, but well worth investigating again)
  • More Maths plans using offline activities (these plans can be carried out without access to computers, and include mathematical problems to solve, projects to work on and basic facts to practise, and they also include notes for parents).

We hope you have a wonderful holiday with your tamariki, and we look forward to reconnecting with you all again in Term 4.

Ngā mihi mahana,

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

 





 

Term 3 Week 1 in the Koru team

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Kia ora koutou,

We have loved catching up with the children over the course of this week, and hearing all about their holidays! It's been lovely to see all of those happy smiles, and the excitement about being back at school.

Everyone, of course, is extremely excited about our new building which many of you will have had the chance to look around on Monday at the official opening. We are loving the spaces, and feel very lucky to have such a beautiful outlook over Ōpāwaho, and through the trees with all of their birds and wonderful birdsong.

You are welcome to come into Hangere on any day after school, and have your children show you around. 

The children are showing impressive respect for the environments they're learning in, as well as the resources we're using. Their level of tidiness is to be highly commended!

Here is a guided tour for you, in photo form...


Our games and jigsaw puzzle 'shelves'

Soft toys awaiting a good book!

View beyond the al fresco dining area and into one of our breakout spaces

A closer view into the same breakout space

The small group teaching space

The wet area and kitchen

Structured Literacy Home Learning:

As of next week, we are going to be starting to add some extra Structured Literacy activities into the children's Literacy folders. These are short paper-based activities which you will be able to supervise and support your children to complete at home. Once finished, these can be returned to school and will be checked by teachers and filed for each child. These activities are purely optional, and there will be no compulsion to complete them. These activities will not be coming home every day, rather, just on occasional days.

Readathon:
Today the Readathon cards are coming home. For our learners who are within Stages 1 to 6 of our Little Learners Love Literacy programme, we would not expect independent and fluent reading of texts beyond the children's reading level. Some of our children who are not yet bringing home reading books from school, will have alphabet letter cards in their Literacy folders. Children are also able to practise their letter sounds, join letter cards together to make up words, and make up simple sentences using their heart word cards as well as their letter cards. Children might need to make extra letter cards if they find that they need more than one of some of their letters when making up little sentences.
We have left the 'Reading Target' (number of minutes per day) blank, and we ask you to fill this number in so that it is appropriate, while also being a little challenging, but at the same time, achievable, for your child.
We would love to use this opportunity for our learners to engage passionately with books and Literacy in general. This could include whanau reading library books to/with their children, children enjoying a picture book independently, and could also include a focus on the language comprehension strand of the ‘Reading Rope’ below:


Identifying, and getting excited about, new vocabulary is particularly beneficial and fun and can have a large impact on writing too. Have fun throughout the Readathon, everyone!

Cafe Theme:
We are having SO much fun with our Learning Through Play theme this week! The play the children are engaging in is absolutely delightful and clearly they have a great deal of experience in this aspect of life, given the inspiration they are bringing to their role play! The cafes have been named, menus have been concocted, there are sign in sheets, QR codes, and indoor as well as al fresco seating available. Orders can also be phoned in and the phones are running hot! Our chefs and wait staff have been kept very busy and customers have been highly appreciative. Their manners are impeccable. The queues on opening day were out the door and down the path! 
We will definitely be continuing with this theme throughout next week. 

Yum, yum!

The 'sign in' form

The al fresco dining area, with a very busy kitchen beyond

Orders being taken

Checking the baking in the oven

Queueing at the door into the cafe

The QR code ready for scanning

Opening up for business

A VERY enthusiastic team of chefs

The cafe menu, including orange juice, apple juice, blueberry muffins and strawberries


Healthy Lunches:
Please note that our school approach to children's lunches is to have a balanced and healthy range of food items. We understand that some children have particular dietary requirements. We encourage the children to eat one or two items for their morning tea, but to save the main items in their lunchbox (e.g., sandwiches, filled rolls, wraps, yogurt, pizza) until lunchtime eating. We ask the children to eat these main items before eating any of their remaining snack items.

Please note that the Canterbury District Health Board has brought back this campaign, with its key message being 'Brush teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste!' Follow the link above and this will take you through to the CDHB website.

Reminders:
  • Please ensure, when you drop off and pick your child up each day, that you are using the main school gates or the entrance from Eastern Terrace, rather than walking through one of the school carparks. At school, we ensure that the children know that the carparks are out of bounds
  • Also please continue to encourage your children to be as independent as possible at these drop off and pick up times. Your children are able to take responsibility for their own schoolbags, both carrying them as well as packing and unpacking them. This independence is encouraged even further when you say your goodbyes in the morning, outside the classroom doors, where there will most likely be a staff member waiting to greet them
  • Literacy folders need to be returned to school every day (please remind your children to unpack their folder and take it indoors each morning when they arrive at school)
  • Friday is our library day so your children need to ensure that they unpack their library folders and bring them indoors each Friday morning. Library folders will come home again each Friday after school, and can remain at home until the following Friday
  • Poetry books will also come home on Fridays, and need to be returned to school on the following Monday.
All the best for a lovely weekend, everyone, and we look forward to seeing the wee ones again, bright-eyed and with wide smiles, on Monday.

Ngā mihi mahana,
The Koru team: Elizabeth, Tracey, Nicola, Chelsea and Stacey

Term 3: welcome back!

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Kia ora, e ngā whānau,

We do hope that this finds you all at the end of a very happy, warm and 'not-too-wet' holiday.

Welcome back to school for the third term of the year. We are looking forward to a fun term, including lots of further growth and development in all areas of life and learning!

We are very excited to be looking forward to the official opening of our new building, Hangere, on Monday morning. Please remember that if your child is in either of Elizabeth's or Tracey's Home Groups, we would like you to deliver your child to Kōmanawa, where they will be able to take their bags indoors. Once inside, one of the teachers will show the children where they can leave their bags, in the meantime. Children will then be able to settle in and reconnect with teachers and friends in Kōmanawa, before the bell rings at 8:55 a.m. Once the register has been taken, teachers will then bring the children over to Hangere for the official opening.

Have a lovely weekend, koutou, and we look forward to seeing you all again on Monday.

Ngā mihi mahana,

The Koru team - Elizabeth, Nicola, Stacey, Chelsea and Tracey

Koru Team news Term 2 Week 7

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 Kia ora, whānau,

We've had a wonderful fortnight, and once again, we've been very busy and our days have been full of fun.

Nicola and Chelsea's Home Groups have 'moved' over to Kōmanawa, where they are starting and finishing each day. Inbetween times, our Structured Literacy and Maths interchanges are still taking place. The children have embraced our new arrangements with typical flexibility and willingness! Teachers have been enormously impressed with the seamless and sensible way the children have moved between spaces, following the lead of one of their teachers whenever they need to transfer. Congratulations, tamariki - we are all very proud of you.






How cute were the children on Friday, dressed in their onesies and pyjamas for our Mid-Winter Breakfast at school! Thanks you very much to all of those families who were able to contribute a can of food for donating to the City Mission.





Kinetic Letters:
The children continue to work very hard on their handwriting skills through the Skip and Bounce handwriting programme. This programme involves practice in several areas which contribute towards children being able to produce legible writing with ease and fluency, including: 
  • correct pencil and pen grip
  • finger strength and dexterity exercises
  • core strength exercises
  • tummy lying, with strong arms and straight legs, to help strengthen the shoulder girdle.
Our monkeys, Skip and Bounce, are always on the look out for those children who are putting great effort into their handwriting. Teachers are always thrilled to see children deliberately transferring their handwriting skills into their Structured Literacy lessons. 





Learning Through Play:
We are always delighted to see the different forms of play which the children engage in. Sometimes the children's play might relate to different curriculum areas (for example, Science and Technology) and sometimes the play might take the form of 'role play'. Some of the children have created a game called 'Puppy School'. This game continued throughout last week, and as the days went by, the children realised that they needed more and more resources for their game, including their own karakia and karakia kai, some toys for the puppies (bones and balls), some stickers (!), and a computer for the puppy teacher.









Structured Literacy Parent Meetings:
We hope that those of you who weren't able to attend one of these meetings held earlier in Term 1, either have (last Thursday) or are able to attend on either Tuesday (7:00 - 8:00 p.m.) or Thursday (9:00 - 10:00 a.m.) this week coming. These meetings are being run by Caroline Morritt, our Resource Teacher of Literacy. Caroline is a mine of information and is very happy to answer any questions which you might have. She is also able to refer you to specific youtube clips and websites which will be of enormous value to you, as your children are learning to read and write. Here is the link to the video of a child demonstrating the pure sounds for each of the letters of the alphabet. We have shared this before, but thought it might be of help for those parents of children who are newer to school.

Have a wonderful week to come everyone! 
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,
Jo, Stacey, Nicola, Chelsea, Tracey and Elizabeth