Category Archives: Kahikatea

Team Kahikatea Holiday Update March 31 2020

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Kia ora whanau, 

We hope you are all doing well in your 'bubble'. Our team wanted to let you know what we are up to and how we are all doing.
We wish you all a safe and happy bubble holiday!

From Amber: 
Hello everyone!
I'm staying home in my bubble with my daughter Lilian-Lhamo, my husband Gyaltsen, and our dog Bodhi. We have been enjoying some time in our garden, going for little walks and bike rides, baking, tidying and keeping in touch with friends and family. I am looking forward to planting my spring bulbs and gettings some jobs around the house done these holidays. 



From Lisa:
Kia ora everyone! 
I am staying at home in my 'bubble' with my husband Darren, our three kids, Jade, Jordan and Luke and our dog, Ormeau. We have some of our teddies at the front door for anyone who walks past to see. Have you seen any teddies if you have been out for a walk or bike ride?

We have been for a few bike rides and enjoyed some exercise provided by Les Mills on TV1 and TV2.  Check it out if you haven't already, at 3pm on channel 2, it's quite fun!  

We are currently working on a puzzle, which is quite tricky. I am looking forward to doing some more sorting around the house and playing games with my children these holidays. 



From Charlotte:
Kia Ora!
I've been having lots of fun with online gym classes...and creating my own funky dance routines to pop songs! I've been setting challenges for myself too...I can now cancan for 3mins and do 40 star jumps without stopping. How many can you do? GoNoodle is a great free website for fun brain breaks inside. 
I've also been phoning friends and looking out for my gorgeous cat Tuppence. It turns out a new cat in the neighbourhood, who looks just like Scarface McClaw from Hairy McClary, has been coming into MY garden and spooking MY cat. I am NOT happy about that and grateful that I'm here to help my Tupps get confident outside again. 
I've loved time in the garden and have planted bulbs and peas for Winter, and gathered seeds to save. I hope you're enjoying the holidays with your family at home :-)  Aroha, Charlotte

            



From Katie:
Kia ora, gorgeous children! 
I hope that you are all enjoying your bubbles! I have been busy doing my holiday project for the past few days - painting Toby's bedroom. One more coat of paint and I should be finished! Our dog, Buzz, has been enjoying having us around and is LOVING his many, many walks. Isla and Toby have had a great time rediscovering toys that they hadn't played with for a long time. They have also enjoyed spending more time in their PJs! We have played Battleships, Uno and Twister. I have kept in touch with my mum and dad on FaceTime. Have you been using Skype or FaceTime to keep in touch with people too? 
Arohanui, Katie




From Jules:
Kia ora I te whānau
Jessica, Leo and I are home and have a couple of extras in our Bubble - Bounce and Skip!  They are getting used to their new temporary home and are currently holding residence in our kitchen window as part of our community's Bear Hunt.  
We are lucky to be able to do our regular walks down to the beach and back but stay out of the playground.  We have challenged ourselves to do a puzzle a day, a bit of gardening each day for fresh air (even in the cold) and Jessica is working her way through a cookbook she was given for Christmas so we are eating well - maybe a bit too well.  
We have made 1 day a week a 'P' day - Pyjamas and Popcorn in front of a movie, and Leo is loving having people home with him during the day for extra cuddles and attention.  He is not so fussed on Bounce and Skip wanting to play with him though.  
We are using Facetime, Skype and Hangouts to keep in touch with our whānau and friends in between doing some catch-up jobs around the house, and Bounce told me the windows are overdue for a clean - isn't he cheeky!  I have also been challenging Jessica to daily brain teaser challenges and have put one below for you to try.  Your challenge is to draw just the house.  Kia kaha I te whānau.  











From Paul:
I'm home in my "bubble" playing a card game called Bridge (online) and spending time on this lovely treadmill. 

Kahikatea Week 6-7 Term 1 News

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Kia ora koutou,

We have centered much of our learning this week around the construction that is happening outside of our hub. It has been very exciting to see the landscape change over the past six weeks.

Maths
Children worked with their learning buddies to discuss the story, choose a strategy, and use materials to solve the problem together.

Writing


We have been writing about the playground construction site. Here are some photo's of our brainstorming...





At school there is a construction site. I can't wait until it is finished because it will be such fun to play in. The workers are doing a good job. I love it!

By Hannah





Plea for materials

One of the most popular choices during Discovery Time is 'making'. For this, we require a range of recyclable materials. At the moment we need...


  • milk bottle tops
  • cardboard boxes (small, e.g., cereal or muesli bar boxes)
  • tubes 
  • newspaper (for painting and art)
Board games provide opportunities for tamariki to practice taking turns and working together. If you have any board games or puzzles that you no longer require, we would gratefully receive these, particularly as we are heading into the cooler months.

That's all for now!
Amber, Charlotte, Jules, Lisa and Katie

Kahikatea Blog Term 1 Week 4-5, 2020

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Kia ora whanau,

Our Discovery time runs daily from 9.20 each day. We love this time, and use it to pursue our passions, such as lego or playing schools, as well as try new things. We also enjoy getting to know new friends. We are learning to: 
* make eye contact 
* invite others to join our play 
* take turns
* share ideas
* work co-operatively on puzzles, games and constructions
* reflect on and make adaptations to our creations










































Maths Time
Our students are enjoying partnered problem solving as well as independent maths time, where they can choose a variety of maths games and activities. We are working on identifying numbers and addition. We add by counting materials and by counting on from the largest number. 







Life Education & Haoura Time 
We all enjoyed time with Life Education this month. Harold the Giraffe was hilarious! We learnt about being healthy and thought about what makes us special. You might like to talk about what makes you special at home.

Kahikatea News Week 2 Term 1 2020

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Learning Conferences
What a pleasure to have had the opportunity to meet with all of you over our two days of learning conferences. Thank you for taking the time to come along. We appreciate this is a valuable time to share information and to build familiarity with you and your child/children.
If you were not able to make a time please contact your child's homegroup teacher.

Playground Development
The junior playground is currently under construction. There is an amazing team working on this and we are looking forward to seeing the final product!
Because of this our veranda area can be very congested at drop off and pick up time. You can support your child's/children's independence by waiting to meet them by the hall steps or the library veranda or by the flag pole at the end of the day. This will really help to reduce the number of people waiting near our entry and exit points.

Drop-off's and Morning Routines
As the new year starts and our tamariki are forming new relationships with their teachers and getting to know new friends we understand that your child/children may experience some difficulty saying goodbye in the morning. To support you and your child we encourage you to: 
  • Be at school between 8.30 and 8.45. This will allow time for your child to complete their morning jobs and to settle into an activity or task
  • Make contact with your child's home group teacher if you need support to farewell your child
  • Support your child to find something to do. Often doing the same thing each morning with your child (e.g. a puzzle or reading a book together) is very reassuring
  • Let your child know when you will say goodbye (e.g. in 2 minutes I am going to say goodbye, or after I have read a story, or when you've put your bag into the cubby. Sometimes a quick, positive "Have a nice day and I will see you after school" is a good way to share that presupposition and I know you will be fine.   
  • Our tamariki appreciate routine and consistency. Establishing these routines and expectations early on is super helpful for everyone! The hub is often very busy with people coming and going and we appreciate you being mindful of the extra noise so many extra people in this space can make. 


Discovery Time
In team Kahikatea we run our discovery time slightly differently to Team Koru. During the first few weeks of school, we will be exploring learning through discovery most mornings and some afternoons.

Collaboration is an important feature of our teaching and learning programs. Your child's home group will often be working collaboratively with other home groups across the day and the week. We use the hub spaces flexibly and we encourage and support our tamariki to enjoy learning across the hub.