Kia ora,
Welcome back to a fun-filled and jam-packed term that is sure to fly by! We have been enjoying getting outside in the stunning weather in the lead-up to Athletics Day last Friday. Thanks to everyone for your support in ensuring your child has their sunhat every day.
A reminder that we will begin our swimming lessons in week 5, beginning Monday 9th November. We encourage you to work with your children on being able to dress and undress independently. It is a great idea to start labelling items of clothing also.
We were so impressed with the attitude, positive sportsmanship, and encouragement our tamariki gave each other during our Junior Athletics Day last Friday. Here are some action shots:
Handwriting (Transcription)
As a school, we use the Kinetic Letters handwriting programme. In Kahikatea, we aim to develop pupils’ accurate and consistent letter and number formation, focusing on shape and size before progressing to slope. Through regular, structured practice, pupils develop greater automaticity in their handwriting, allowing letter formation to become more fluent and less effortful. As handwriting becomes more automatic, it places less demand on working memory, freeing up cognitive capacity for pupils to focus on the content, organisation and quality of their writing. Our aim is for handwriting to become a natural, fluent process that supports pupils to express their ideas with greater confidence and independence. We write on our stomachs in the lizard position, which engages our core and gives us a strong frame.
We are all working on capital letters now, which is very exciting! If you would like to help with numeral formation at home, ask your child to write the digits 0-9. Many tend to write some (usually 2, 3, 5, 7, and 9) backwards; model the correct way and ask them to repeat.
Recorder:
As a team, we are developing our musical skills through learning to play the recorder. We have learnt to recognise and play the notes A and B, focusing on correct fingering, breath control and producing a clear sound. We are now building our understanding of beat patterns, learning to recognise and maintain a steady beat and play rhythms accurately. Through regular practice, we are developing our confidence, coordination and ability to play music together.
I have added some pictures of beat patterns below; ask your child to sound them out for you.
Kapa Haka:
We have begun our Kapa Haka sessions with Cath again this term. The students are really enjoying learning about the tikanga and use of the poi.
Art with Nicky:
We love having Nicky Dunlop, our resident art specialist, working in our team! She creates the most incredible visual art with our tamariki and gives them some amazing experiences. Here are some of the robots using pastel and dye that she has been working on with Sarah J's class.
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