Koru Team News, Term 4 Week 3

Kia ora e te whānau,

We have had a busy first few weeks of the term! We all had fun practising for, and then participating in, the school Athletics Day. We loved seeing the Koru children displaying our school values, 'We Love Challenge' and 'We Get There Together', as they challenged themselves, and supported their friends by cheering them on at each event.













Our Learning Through Play focus, for this fortnight, is 'Habitats', for bugs, birds, and animals. We have been talking about different types of habitats and thinking about how we can create some in our garden spaces at school. We would love to make some more bug hotels, so if you have any plastic bottles destined for your recycling bin, please send them along to school instead. 

Creating a bug hotel out of an old plant pot.

We were lucky enough to have a parent come in to help the children plant some Little Garden packs. 

We are amazed at how fast they have grown already!

This week we have been exploring a science topic called 'A Load of Rubbish'. We sorted through the contents of a recycling bin, looking at the different materials that items were made out of. We looked closely at the recycling numbers on plastics, explored the density of different plastics, and explored ways to reduce food wastage.









On Thursday, we all enjoyed our first House Games session. The house captains of each house did an amazing job of teaching us some new, and some well-loved, games. It was lots of fun, and we are already looking forward to our next house games!





We are so proud of our tamariki performing in yesterday's Celebration Assembly! They all did an amazing job, singing, and doing the actions to the songs, in their first ever assembly performance.




Reminders:
  • Your child needs a named hat at school each day.
  • When arriving and leaving school each day, we ask that you do not walk your child through the carpark area. Many thanks for your support with this.
  • Please send your child to school with sunscreen on, and we will help the children to reapply before their big playtime.
  • Next Friday, 11 November, the school will be closed for Canterbury Anniversary Day. This also means we'll be missing our library time. Children are welcome to bring their books to school and change them during lunchtime next week, if they wish.
  • The children have been enjoying using the very cool water pump in our sandpit, especially in this beautiful weather we have been having. Having a change of clothes in their bags would be useful for those days when the water is flowing!

We hope you all have a safe, happy, and relaxing weekend and we can't wait to see you all back at school on Monday!

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,

Elizabeth, Nicola, Georgia, Tracey, Stacey and Jeanette









Koru Team News Term 4 Week 1

 Kia ora, e te whānau,

What a lovely first week back at school, following the holidays! The children, as always happens after a holiday break, have loved reconnecting with teachers and friends. We warmly welcome our new children and their whānau: Ana, Asher, Ava, Aya, Charlie, Ethan, Finn, Poppy and Rome. It's wonderful to have you all at school with us, and well done to all for settling so beautifully into school life. 

A very warm welcome also to our new children, and their whānau, who joined us towards the end of last term - Finley and Freddie. It is so lovely to have these children in the hub with us as well. They too have both settled in beautifully and our 'golden oldies' have been really amazing at making everyone feel very welcome.

Nut-free lunches, please:

A reminder that in the Koru team we are nut-free. We recognise that some children may have dietary requirements which mean that nuts do need to be included in some lunchboxes, however we do ask that, as far as possible, your children's lunchboxes remain nut-free. This also includes coconut. Many thanks for your support with this.

Our school-wide 'Word of the Week':

Your children may have discussed with you that each week at Beckenham te Kura o Pūroto, throughout the school we have a 'Word of the Week', which, in the Koru team, is embraced by one and all, and guides our Learning Through Play. Our 'Word of the Week' last week was 'upstander'. An upstander is 'a person who speaks or acts in support of an individual or cause, particularly someone who intervenes on behalf of a person who may have been hurt by someone else.' An upstander is the opposite of a bystander.

Coming up, we have other such 'Words of the Week' as: honesty (which will be our focus throughout the week ahead), inclusion, respect, kindness, resilience, empathy, determination and cooperation. These concepts are so important for our wee ones, and we are always incredibly impressed with the way the children put these words into practice, as well as reflect on and discuss specific instances of their use.

Hats required:

Most children are remembering their hats each day, and are doing very well with looking after their hats when indoors. We are asking the children to keep their hats in their bags while they are inside. This way, the children should, in theory, always know where their hats are!

The week that was:

Don't you just love numbers?! Ready and awaiting their next number challenge!




On some days, the sandpit is definitely the place to be! Check out the collaborative and problem-solving skills on display in these photos.












Dolls for sale!

Practising for Athletics Day: the gumboot throw requires a fine combination of skill and style, as you will see in the photos that follow.














We look forward to seeing as many family members as possible at our Athletics Day on Wednesday. Please note that the Koru team children will be participating in their events from the start of the school day through to the morning tea break at 10:30 a.m. It's crucial that your children have sunblock applied before they arrive at school and that they have their hats and named water bottles. 

Please note that we have sunblock at school in the hubs, if, on any morning, you would like to apply more sunblock or perhaps have run out at home.

We do trust that you've all had a wonderful long weekend with your families, and we look forward to those wide smiles and sparkling eyes at school again in the morning.

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,

Elizabeth, Georgia, Nicola, Tracey and Stacey

Koru Team News: Term 3 Week 9

 Kia ora e te whānau,

We hope you are all having a lovely weekend together with your families! We have been very busy in the Koru team over the past fortnight: 

  • we've had some very exciting new outdoor equipment arrive, and the children have been having fun experimenting with its use
  • we've had two fun Learning Through Play themes: 'Puppets' and 'Shops' 
  • and the children are continuing to make great progress in their Literacy and Maths learning! Thank you so much for your support with this at home - it makes such an enormous difference. 
It has also been wonderful to see our tamariki independently unpacking their bags, putting away their lunchboxes and drink bottles, and putting their folders in the correct reading folder containers each morning. We appreciate and thank you for your continued support with this.

We would like to say a very warm welcome to Finley who started school last week. It is so lovely to have Finley in the hub with us. He has settled in beautifully, and our 'Golden Oldies' have made him feel very welcome and at home. 

Word of the Week: Throughout the year, each week we have a school-wide 'Word of the Week'. Some of our focus words this term, have included: Determination, Empathy, Resilience, Respect, and Kindness. This week we have been focusing on Co-operation. We have been discussing and reflecting on what our play and relationships will look like, sound like, and feel like when co-operation is being incorporated into what we say and do. You'll see some impressive examples of cooperation in the photos below! We encourage you to talk with your children about these values and to ask them what they believe each of these words means.

Learning Through Play: During each school day, our tamariki are involved in Learning through Play activities incorporating different social competencies, all while the children are engaged in play. This can involve:

  • improving social skills, such as turn-taking, sharing, negotiating, and ensuring that things remain fair
  • being aware of the use of our school kete values in the classroom environment
  • learning new tricks and skills, as well as being inventive, with the outdoor equipment 
  • role playing within some of the different play areas like the family corner, the puppet theatre and the shops display, and 
  • learning how to work together with others and practise the skills needed to work collaboratively and to be a team player. 

We also have different themes to help spark interest in the Learning Through Play. Throughout Term 3, our themes have included: obstacle courses, cafes, vets, puppets, and shops. These themes have provided tamariki with endless opportunities and new ideas for their play. In the photos below, you will see how creative and imaginative our tamariki are. The children have been very creative in their use of the new outdoor equipment which has arrived.

Awesome balancing on the new 'stilts'!

What a cool creation for Bounce and Skip, and what a wonderful example of cooperation!

That's a tall tower team (and more fantastic cooperation).

Showing We Love Challenge with this incredibly challenging jigsaw puzzle.

"Come with me - let's go play!"

Practising our fancy footwork before the disco.

Playing shops: "I would like this one, please."

"Thank you for shopping, and have a lovely day!"

What an awesome hut you've built - so cosy!

Trying out the Hungry Hippos game and using excellent turn-taking skills.

Woohoo! What impressive balancing!

Look at all the different little things in here.

Teamwork makes the dream work. What amazing balancing skills!

What a fantastic tower you've built out of the hexagons.

Disco: On Friday afternoon, we had our school disco. What a fun time the children all had practising their dance moves and enjoying spending time with friends and having a boogie! We loved seeing them in their amazing and beautiful disco outfits. Here are photos of some of our tamariki at the disco!











We hope you are all having a safe, happy, and relaxing long weekend and we can't wait to see you all back at school on Tuesday!

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,

Georgia, Elizabeth, Nicola, Stacey and Jeanette




Koru Team news, Term 3 Week 7

 Kia ora koutou,

We hope that this finds you at the end of a lovely weekend with your families, and we look forward to seeing your wee ones with their beautiful, wide smiles, tomorrow morning!

Our focus in this post is on Maths, and in particular on the Maths strand area of Probability. In the first week of the previous fortnight, we focused on developing the language of probability, introducing such terms as 'always', 'perhaps', 'certain', 'possible', 'impossible', 'will', 'might', 'won't', 'will', 'maybe', 'never', 'yes', 'no'. The context for this learning took the form of familiar stories such as Little Red Riding Hood, The Gingerbread Man, Cinderella and Maui Catches the Sun, and the children were asked such questions as 'Do you think Little Red Riding Hood will see a tree on the way to Grandma's house?' and 'Do you think Red Riding Hood will see a hedgehog in the forest?' 

Whatever the children's decisions, they were always asked to justify their thinking.

During the second week, we learnt more about probability by playing card games, such as Memory, using sets of animal cards (including various numbers of animals, at the most, ten cats, ten dogs, six mice and one pig). As we played the games, we thought about how likely it is for 'an event' to happen, for example, 'What are the chances of picking up two cats as opposed to picking up two dogs?' The children were asked to think about such questions as:

  • What card do you think you will turn over next? (given the cards that have already been turned over)
  • Why do you think that?
  • Which cards do you think will be last?
  • Which are the hardest pairs to find?
  • Which are the easiest pairs to find?

In this game, Feeding Greedy Cat, which cat will get the most fish, the blue cat or the red cat?

Was there a lucky colour in your game?

In this game, was it better to be in the team collecting the same cards or the team collecting the different cards?

Which card do you think you'll turn up next? And why do you think that?

Is it certain, possible or impossible for Cinderella to see a hot air balloon on her way to the palace?

Will the gingerbread man always, possibly or never see a tractor on his way to the river?

What are the chances that the first card you turn over is a dog? Why do you think that?

Which card will you choose to turn over next?

Which are the hardest pairs to find? Which are the easiest pairs to find?

Are you collecting pairs that are the same or pairs that are different? Is it better to collect pairs that are the same or pairs that are different?

Which coloured cat is going to get the most fish?

Is there a 'lucky' colour? Was the same colour 'lucky' every time you played the game?

Our Probability focus gave the children an in-depth look at uncertainty and chance, in a variety of situations. They were given the opportunity to acknowledge and anticipate possible outcomes, always justifying their thinking each step of the way. What a lot of fun we had in Maths throughout this last fortnight!

...and one final message - many thanks to you for the continuing support you are giving your children with their learning, by helping them to practise their heart words, their sound cards and their reading at home with you. The difference this makes is invaluable and we certainly appreciate it enormously.

All best for the week ahead!
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,
Elizabeth, Georgia, Nicola, Stacey and Jeanette

Koru Team News Term 3 Week 5

 Kia ora, e te whanau,

This term is whizzing by! Can you believe we are halfway through Term 3 already?

It was great fun seeing all the children and teachers dressed up for Book Character Dress Up Day on Friday of Week 4. There were some amazing costumes!

Nicola dressed as Pete the Cat with his Four Groovy Buttons.
Georgia made a beautiful Cinderella!
Elizabeth was a very Fancy Nancy!
In the Koru hub, we have been busy exploring different play provocations during our Learning Through Play. Last week we introduced our theme, for the next 2 weeks, by performing a role play of visiting the vet. The children loved the little 'show' and it gave them lots of ideas to incorporate into their play last week. They have set up a seating area for the sick animals, and their owners, where they wait for their appointment time. There are forms to fill out about the sick pets and even an x-ray machine. We have talked about how we don't need to have the exact object for our play, but can use any item, to represent something we may require by using our imaginations. 
A variety of pets receiving treatment at the vets.
The line up of patients to get through for the morning.
A happy dog, and his owner, after a vet visit to fix his leg.

Each week our kura has a 'Word of the Week', which is a focus across all teams. This week's word is 'kindness'. Throughout the week, we have lots of discussions about what the word means and how we can demonstrate the word in and out of the classroom. We love seeing how the children are displaying the word of the week throughout the day, and how they use the word to describe situations that happen during their play. It's always so neat hearing our learners use previous 'words of the week' in their explanations and discussions with teachers and peers too. Next week's 'Word of the Week' is 'resilience'.

This group demonstrated many of our past 'words of the week' in their play as they built this train set up. These included: inclusion, respect and kindness! Ka pai, team!
Showing kindness and respect for others' ideas.
Taking turns and showing inclusion, by reading together.
We loved hearing, "We are taking turns on the trolley." 
Showing off his cool ball skills with one of our new balls.

Reminders:
  • If you'd like to be included in our hub Friendship List then please email your child's Home Group teacher with your contact details, including your name, phone number and email address. The Friendship List will be coming out shortly.
  • Our amazing Calendar Art artworks have been finished, so keep an eye out for how you can view these, and order items online, in the next few weeks. You're going to love the results of the children's hard work and focus!
  • Reading folders are sent home Monday-Thursday and are to be brought back to school each day. We are really noticing the progress the children are making in their literacy when they are practising at home. Thank you for your support with this!
  • Library folders and poetry books come home on Fridays.

We hope you are all having a lovely weekend together, and we look forward to the week ahead. 

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,

Georgia, Elizabeth, Nicola, Stacey and Jeanette