Category Archives: Koru

Koru Term 1: Weeks 5 & 6

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Kia ora whanau!


Bounce and Skip
Some of you may have had the pleasure of meeting our class friends, Bounce and Skip. These two monkeys are experts at handwriting and have been teaching us how to strengthen our hands, fingers and core so that we can become neater, quicker writers. We are now experts at these exercises so please ask us to show you. The more we practice, the stronger we become! 

Writing by hand engages the brain in learning and especially activates the “reading circuits” of the brain. Using the results of modern brain imaging techniques, research suggests that writing by hand plays a substantial role in the visual recognition and learning of letters, a foundation for both reading and writing. Through studies using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to probe how the brain processes stimuli in real time, researchers have demonstrated that there is a distinct system in the human brain that is recruited during reading that is also recruited during writing. The reading network develops as a function of handwriting (printing) experience. Handwriting (printing), and not keyboarding, leads to adult-like neural processing in the visual system of the preschool child. Findings like these suggest that self-generated action, in the form of printing letters by hand, is a crucial component in setting up brain systems for reading acquisition.

One of the things Bounce and Skip has been teaching us this week is how to correctly pick up and hold a pencil. Below is a graphic we are using that we encourage to look at together at home to. Is your pencil grip up to scratch?  This way of holding the pencil is comfortable and allows children to write fast and legibly.




School Fair Art Auction Pieces

Dorinda's Home base has been enjoying creating our piece for the School Fair Art Auction - we love wondering who will be successful in buying it! Here is our writing about our butterflies.


  • My butterfly is really cool and I love the colours. It has cool wings. HETTIE
  • My butterfly is colourful. It is going to be on a canvas. How much do you want it to be? It is going to be beautiful. I love my colours of my butterflies. It even has mixed colours. FINN
  • My butterfly is a Monarch. The money is going to be $10. My Mum is going to buy it and I will make a magic potion so it can be real. QUINN
  • We painted our butterflies for the School Fair because the school wants to make money. My butterfly has black spots. He is really colourful. I like my butterfly. OLLIE
  • Our Butterflies. My butterfly is blue. It's got silver and green and black and it's pretty. ARCHIE
  • My butterfly is a rainbow colour. I like that it is really colourful. GEORGIA 
  • I love how my butterfly is coloured and I really like the colour of the canvas. I really like the book pages at the bottom. KJ
  • The butterflies like playing with their friends. JONTAI
  • I want my butterfly to fly off the page. ZEKE
  • i made this butterfly. I love my colours. They are blue, pink and silver. I love Bounce and Skip too because they are cute. CAMMIE
  • I am a butterfly and I can fly. JAKE
  • I like my butterfly and I want it to fly off the sky. KARDA
  • We painted our butterflies for the School Fair. My butterfly is black and red. I did it those colours because red is for Christmas and black is for Halloween and I love both of them. BREE
  • This is my butterfly. He is a Monarch. He has black rain drops on his wings and he is blue and red. He has a big smile. Annabelle
  • Our butterflies are awesome. I love our butterflies. They are super. STELLA
  • I made a butterfly. It has flashes on it and it has cool patterns on it. I love it. It is a Monarch. I think it is nice. It has blue around the edges. JACK
  • Do you know why I like butterflies? It is because they can fly and my butterfly's colours are black, red and blue. CORTANA
  • Our butterflies are lovely and we like the butterflies so much. We like to see them. GABRIELLA
  • I like butterflies. My butterfly has black and dark blue on the wings and black spots and red on the head. KAWA
  • We did class butterflies for our School Fair. Mine has some gold, blue and red and orange colours with black dots. I feel great about my butterfly. AYLA
  • My butterfly is like candy. She needs water to drink. Her name is Twinkerbelle. I like butterflies because they are really beautiful. IRIA-MARIA
  • I love my butterfly. it is black and golden, blue, pink, light blue and a tiny bit of white. I love the colours. CHELSEA

Kristika's home base tamariki developed their pride and sense of belonging through creating their own piece of Koru art.  These were all put together like a puzzle and 'mod podged' into place.
We discussed the meaning of what is 'koru' and how we as team Koru are the like the young koru of Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto school. 


Discovery - Play Based Learning

Koru have been inspired by our Year 7 leaders in making obstacle courses all week. Some great ideas, co-operation and leadership came out of our sessions. We also had child-led art workshops, maze drawing and lego construction Enjoy these photos. 














Koru Term 1: Week 3-4

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Team Koru 
A Note About Home Learning It Can Be Fun!!!!
At this early stage in a child’s education, it is very important that home learning is fun, that it doesn’t take a long time and that it can be completed successfully.
Reading a book with an older person is a good way for children to practise reading strategies, and to enjoy sharing what they know.
We send a reading book home in a book bag four times a week.  A library book, for you to read to your child, will also come home once a week. Please…

  • Make reading the book a fun sharing time
  • Choose a time when your child is not tired
  • Read with your child if your child is reluctant to read to you
  • Remember that some books become favourites, and may came home more than once
  • Let us know if you have any questions or concerns. 

Spelling is important, and we want even our youngest students to learn to spell ‘high frequency’ words correctly. At school your child uses a ‘spelling notebook’ to record their words and/or word family (cat, sat, hat).
In your child’s Home Learning book you will find the Essential Spelling List words. As your child learns to spell these correctly, please just give them a tick or highlight the ones s/he knows. Children can practise on a whiteboard, paper, coloured pens and spelling/saying the words out loud.
Alphabet Knowledge and Sight Words 
For some children, teachers may send home alphabet and/or sight words for your child to learn. Please support your child as they learn the letter sound, name and identify a word which begins with the letter. Sight words are learnt by sight, they are not ‘sounded out’. 

Thank you for your help – it does make a difference!
Koru Teachers

Supporting Your Child's Independence

We are thrilled to see so many of you supporting your child towards independence. Throughout the day we encourage and support our tamariki to:
  • Carry their own school
  • Keep track of their own clothing (shoes, jersey, hat)
  • Manage the unpacking and packing of their school bag.
When your child is ready we would also encourage you to:
  • Practice saying goodbye at the hub door in the morning 
  • Meet your child outside on the playground or at an agreed place-perhaps the library veranda or on the hall steps at the end of the day. 
These are fundamental and valuable skills for successful self management and as children develop confidence doing these types of tasks for themselves they are in turn able to transfer these skills into  a learning context. We encourage you to work with your child at their pace. When your child demonstrates independence it is hugely affirming for them to hear kindness and praise for their effort and successes.

Developing Communities of Inquiry in Maths (DCIM)
Massey University: DCIM
NZ Maths Website information
As mentioned in an earlier school newsletter, teachers are using a problem-based approach to Maths this year. This model requires children to work in pairs or small groups to solve Maths problems based on the key Mathematical ideas in the NZ Curriculum.
Working together allows the students to develop their mathematical reasoning, their mathematical language and to explain their thinking and strategies to others. The teacher facilitates and ensures that students have the skills they need to develop deeper understandings of  the key mathematical ideas at hand



For example, a recent launch problem was: 
'There were 6 ducks in the pond and 4 more came along. How many ducks are there in the pond now?'
Key Mathematical Ideas 
* Abstract units that can be partitioned and recombined (level 2) * Numbers can be re-arranged and added to reach the same idea (commutative property) * Subtraction is the inverse of addition * Numbers can be counted by one or counted all (Level 1) * Compensation from known facts: For example, to solve 7 + 6; 6 + 6 = 12, so 7 + 6 = 13. (level 2)
This is a great resource with lots of simple, fun dance and relaxation routines. All of these are connected to learning. Try the science category (water cycle is a great one!) or the mindfulness categories.
Library
We are so lucky to have the library back up and running in its beautiful new home. It is open at morning tea and lunchtime and students will need their library folders if  they want to issue on the day when their class is not scheduled to visit.
Each home group also has an allocated library time:
Charlotte: Thursday
Dorinda: Thursday
Kristika: Tuesday
Caitlyn: Monday
NE Year 1: please check with your child teacher(s).
Community Change Inquiry Project : would you like to help? 
We have been approached by a local engineer who will work with Charlotte and around 15 Koru students on a community inquiry project. If you would like to help students over this three day project, please contact Charlotte at charlotte.verity@beckenham.school.nz. Helpers will be required only for the afternoons of Tues 12th - Thurs 14th March (pending weather). Thank you.

Koru Term 1 Weeks 1 & 2

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Welcome Back!

Learning Conferences

It was wonderful to have such a large turnout to our Learning Conferences held earlier this Term. We appreciate your time to connect with us at school - setting our children up for a great start to the year.

Fill your Cup

We have enjoyed seeing the cups return, overflowing with some wonderful sharing. it is not too late to bring your cup - it is a great way to get to know each other.

Paint shirts 

Do you have any old, large shirts or t-shirts at home? We are hoping to have a collection of paint shirts for art. Please send in any spare old shirts that you don't need to be returned. Please don't name. Thanks.

Your Help 

Do you work or dabble in art, design or advertising?  Would you be interested in helping design our wellbeing definition? This will be central to our student wellbeing strategy this year....and beyond! Please contact me if you can help. Many thanks, Charlotte (charlotte.verity@beckenham.school.nz)

Reading 

We are excited about starting our reading programme from Wednesday next week. (New Entrant may be arrange differently). We have working through shared big books or poems to familiarise the children with our reading protocols and allow for assessment. Please enjoy reading these with your child, supporting them as they need. Your child will start bringing take-home books at their level after week 3.

Home Learning

We are in the process of a school-wide review of our Home Learning protocols. In the meantime your children will bring their reading book and Home Learning Book home every day in their reading folder. There is a tip sheet to help with the reading as well as a reading log that you can complete. 

Discovery Learning - Play Based

Our tamariki have embraced learning through discovery. They are getting to know other children in their group as well as to feel settled as they start the school year.
The following link provides some great information for parents and caregivers about our children's play-based urges (schema).  Nature Play

Would you like to come and share an aspect of your profession or an interest during Discovery Learning, e.g. yoga, art or an outdoor activity? Sessions run between 9.15 and 10.15, and we can support you with materials and resources. Please email Charlotte if you are interested. Thankyou.

Enjoy these photos of our children - doing what they do best!

We need your help!

Koru West Wing would love to start up a wood working play area. If you any tools like hammers, saws, hand held drills, nails, screws and screwdrivers - we would love to gather these in to create the area. Also any off cuts of timber and plumbing that are spare at your place. Dorinda will be collecting these donations.







































Fairness

We have had wonderfully rich talks about this picture - see what things your children notice - it's really fascinating! What 'box' does your child need to learn?

Koru 2018 Welcome Newsletter

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Koru Team Newsletter
Term 1 Week 1 2018



Kia ora koutou,
Greetings to you all and a very warm welcome to this new year. It is a pleasure to be able to meet with you and your child/children during these two days of learning conferences. We are looking forward to a full and flourishing year ahead!
Our team from left to right Kristika, Caitlyn, Elizabeth, Dorinda, Sue, Charlotte, Amber and Rowe.

The First Weeks of School
Our focus in the first weeks of school will be about building relationships and getting to know each other. This will include supporting students to become familiar with daily routines including how to use the inside and outside spaces, how to move around safely and sensibly, how we use resources and materials and learning how to work together. Becoming familiar with the sequence of and expectations within a day of learning at school is important for all our tamariki. If you have any questions or concerns please let your child’s home group teacher know.

School Routines:
  • The first bell rings at 8.30am. At our West Hub there will be a teacher to meet and greet children and families as they arrive. If your child/children arrive before 8.30am they will need to wait outside as this allows time for teachers to prepare for their teaching day.
  • We encourage you to support your child’s independence by allowing them to carry and unpack their school bag and place it into one of the green or blue cubbies (at the back of the West Hub).
  • Lunch boxes, drink bottles and reading folders will be stored inside the hub.
  • Discovery Stations will be set up in hubs at 8.30 each morning. Once your child has put away their things, he/she is welcome to choose a discovery activity or to go outside to play.
  • All children are to come to their home space at 8.55. If you arrive after this time it is very important that you report to the office to sign in.  If you need to collect your child from school during the day you will need to sign them out at the office.

Karakia to start the day
This karakia is used across our kura to start the day and for formal gatherings, celebrations and meetings.

“This is an ancient karakia that was used when you were out at sea and a storm was approaching. However, the storm is a metaphor for any life­ threatening force. It is now widely used at the start of the day or at the start of a meeting”.

Whakataka te hau ki te uru,
Whakataka te hau ki te tonga.
Kia mākinakina ki uta,
Kia mātaratara ki tai.
E hī ake ana te atākura he tio,
he huka, he hauhunga.
Haumi e! Hui e! Tāiki e!

Translation
Cease the winds from the west,
Cease the winds from the south,
Let the breeze blow over the land,
Let the breeze blow over the ocean,
Let the red ­tipped dawn come with a sharpened air,
A touch of frost, a promise of a glorious day.

Topic
Through a range of learning experiences and across a range of different curriculum areas we will be learning about the concept of Sustainability. We look forward to sharing our learning goals for this with you soon.


Home Learning
We are currently engaged in a review of our Home Learning protocols. We expect to have completed this by week 3 so we can inform whanau about the Home Learning expectations.

Parent Help
To help us settle into our learning routines and general day to day programme we would appreciate if offers of parent/whanau help are delayed until March. If you are happy to work ‘behind the scenes’ to put away reading books etc we would very appreciate that.  Please make contact with one of us and we’ll let you know how you can help.

 
Our Values Kete & Student Wellbeing
The Beckenham School values are captured by this Māori whakataukī:
Ka whakakī ngā kete mo ngā haerenga o tātou katoa
Filling the kete for the journey of us all.
During the year we will keep returning to our school values, integrating and weaving them into our programmes.   
We wish you all the best, for a very happy and successful year together!
Sue Leadbetter sue.leadbetter@beckenham.school.nz

Happy holidays 2017 / 2018

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Kia ora koutou whānau,

What a fabulous year we have had.  Thank you for all your support and the phenomenal feedback we have received.  We have appreciated both positive and constructive feedback which helps us reflect on our practise and reinforces the parts of the programme that are working well.
We are looking forward to 2018 and a full year in our learning spaces.

Te Whatu Manawa Māoritanga o Rehua
Before we visited Rehua Marae on Thursday, some of our children were treated to amazing Marae presentations that had been created by the Year 3 and 4 children in Kowhai hub.
The children used all sorts of resources and media to teach our children about what to expect when we visited the marae. 



















We had a fabulous trip to the Marae on Thursday.  A great big thank you to all the parents who came along and enjoyed the experience too.  The children were great ambassadors for Beckenham School.
Have a look at some of the photos we took over the day.














  
Discovery Time Photos from Monday Week 10


The challenge was to make a tent out of just tarpaulins and large blocks that could withstand a heavy downpour. The children were excited when it started to drizzle so they could test out it's waterproofing!




Amazing collaborative structure complete with hidden treasure and secret rooms.



A Few Holiday Ideas and Tips

  • Loose Parts Play - at Christmas time, there will be plenty to occupy your lovelies. Keep any packaging / boxes / wrapping and set these up on a table with a 'provocation' (challenge). e.g. Make a house for a mouse, make a bridge that can hold a toy, make a tent for a pet or toy, make a boat that can float a toy - you will be amazed at the creativity that will abound.
  • Screen time - Have a balance of time on a screen and time doing other activities - this will change the demands needed for young brains and help with energy levels. Find APPS that encourage creativity and learning. Here are just a few. Puppet Pals, Scribblenauts, GarageBand, Bitsboard, Memory.
  • Pinterest - when you are really stuck for ideas - use this wonderful tool to become inspired.
  • Reading - enjoy self selecting books to read for fun. We have wonderful libraries in Christchurch. Reading together or enjoying a favourite book can be a great way to spend some quiet time at any part of the day.
  • Maths - encourage children to help with cooking or measuring - helping out with any DIY jobs. Telling the time, baking, measuring, solving puzzles, taking a family vote, are all ways we can show our children how we use maths everyday.
  • 'I'm Bored' - welcome this statement with a hearty - "Fantastic! I wonder what you are going to do next!" Allowing children to create their own play is not only extremely valuable - it also takes the pressure off adults. Children can be incredibly innovative, given the right level of 'boredom' and downtime. Having a 'switch off day' where no outing or anything is planned is a great way to recharge young batteries.
  • Top Five Toys of All Time for Children

    1. Stick
    2. Box
    3. String
    4. Cardboard Tube
    5. Dirt


Useful Websites
Remember children need supervision when on the internet



Have a very, very happy, relaxing holiday.  It will be great to see everyone back in 2018 for our student conferences.
We are all looking forward to 2018 and a full year in our new spaces.

Merry Christmas.