Kia ora whanau, 

It is hard to believe it is already Week 5 of Term 4! We have had a very eventful couple of weeks and we love seeing the children bursting into school with big smiles, energy and enthusiasm. 

We are so proud that every child participated in the Junior Athletics Day recently. This involved competing in the sprints, the high jump, the gumboot throw and the bean bag toss. The children demonstrated eagerness, dedication and a wide variety of techniques! They were also incredibly calm and patient, as evidenced when there was an unexpected fire drill halfway through their events. 

Here, we have captured some of the action and some of those magical moments:

'Bears in the Night' and 'We're going on a Bear Hunt' have been the focus for shared reading this past week. The children have explored a range of vocabulary, including prepositions, e.g., The bears go out their window, down a tree, over a wall, under a bridge, around a lake, through the woods, and up a hill, where they are spooked by an owl. 

The children have enjoyed actively joining in with the stories and predicting what happens next. They have been practising retelling the story in their own words and then sequencing the events. 

During Learning Through Play, the focus has been obstacle courses and some children have represented parts of the bear stories and the vocabulary involved. It is wonderful to see the children taking risks with their ideas and working collaboratively on their creations. 

Over these final few weeks, the children will be introduced to their new learning spaces for 2022. We will be visiting the Kahikatea team teachers on several occasions for introductions and some little activities with the teachers.

We look forward to catching up with you all next week. 

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou, 

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

Kia ora whanau,

This week we started practising for our athletics day coming up next Thursday, 11th November. The children have been learning the techniques involved in competing in high jump, sprints, the gumboot throw and the bean bag toss. The children have been really enjoying trying something new. At this stage, because we are still at Level 2, unfortunately parents are unable to attend the event. We will endeavour to take lots of photos of your gorgeous children embracing 'We Love Challenge' to share with you following the event.

This week our shared reading focus has been 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'. Children have joined in reading parts of the story, retold the story and thought of different words to describe how the caterpillar was feeling. They have made many beautiful caterpillar and butterfly crafts. They have also been involved in class role plays and hot-seating in order to spark their thinking beyond the story.  Hot-seating is a drama strategy in which a character or characters, played by the teacher or a child, are interviewed by the rest of the group. It invites children to recount a specific event, explore motivation and multiple perspectives/experiences related to a theme, topic, event, or an idea within a story.

We have also been busy exploring numbers in our play this week.

Reminders:

School Photos - Chelsea and Tracey's home groups will be having their class and individual photos taken on Wednesday morning.

Athletics Day - Thursday, 11th November. Children can wear their house tops if they wish. Sorry, no spectators allowed for this event.

Hats - In Terms 1 & 4 hats are compulsory for outdoor play. Please ensure your child has a named plain red or black hat to bring to school each day.

Sunscreen - As the days get warmer we will be reapplying sunscreen before lunch playtime each day.

Calendar Art - Have you checked out your child's gorgeous colourful artwork yet online. Their artwork can be made into calendars, mousepads, cards, notebooks or more. These make perfect Christmas gifts! Orders close 9 a.m. on Monday, 8th November.

PTA Salami fundraiser - Hopefully these order forms have made it home! You can drop your order form and money to the collectors before or after school outside the Sandwich Rd entrance every day. Online orders and payments can also be made to the PTA. Orders close 11 November. Salamis will be ready for collection on the 9th and 10th December (after school or evening options), just in time for the holiday season or Christmas presents.

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,

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

 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

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').

'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

Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori:

This week the children have enjoyed listening to Māori Myths and Legends, including 'How Maui Slowed the Sun.' Children were encouraged to retell different parts of the story during whole class shared writing. They talked about how Maui and his brothers felt throughout the story and how they worked together to solve the problem of their days being too short. 

Children have created some amazing Māori art work, both collaboratively and independently. They have also been given opportunities to sing, count to 10 and say simple sentences and answer questions in te reo Māori such as, "Kei te pehea koe?" (How do you feel?), "Kei te pai ahau" (I am good). 

We have continued with our Wellbeing program and this week our focus has been 'Taha Tinana' which is our Physical Wellbeing. It is about how our body feels, moves and how we take care of it. The children have come up with many ways they can keep fit and healthy. They have participated in physical class games and yoga. 

We hope you enjoy looking at the photos of our children in action throughout the week. 

How Maui Slowed the Sun

Independent Art

We Get There Together

Children have continued with their Structured Literacy learning and it is fantastic to see their proud faces when they learn a new letter sound, complete a stage or read their book independently. We want to thank you for helping your child with their letter sounds, heart words and reading each night. It really makes a huge difference with their confidence and momentum. 

Thank you for your patience and preparing your child for the Level 2 drop off and pick up. We are very impressed with how well the children have adapted to this and have quickly eased back into school routines, with an independent skip in their step! We love sparking the children's curiosity and creativity during our learning through play. We will continue to nurture this aspect of their learning throughout the remainder of this year. 

Have a lovely and relaxing weekend together. 

Ngā mihi mahana, 

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