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



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)

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.

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.

Kia ora whanau,
Parent helpers, please meet Jules and Amber in the Kahikatea theatre at 10.30am on Monday 16th December to go over the Safety Action Plan.

We are nearing the end of term and it is a busy time for us all! Here are the upcoming events for the rest of the term:

• Tuesday 10th December - Helpers' Thank-you Coffee and Croissants 8:30am
• Wednesday 11th December - Sherrilee's Farewell Assembly 9.30-10:30am
• Friday 13th December - Final Assembly 9:15-10:30am
• Friday 13th December - Kahikatea end of year Performance 2:15-2:45pm
• Monday 16th December - Kahikatea Waltham Park and Pool Day 11am-3pm
• Tuesday 17th December - House Games and School Picnic 12pm (Beckenham Park)
• Thursday 19th December - School finishes for the year 12:30pm