Intermediate Hub Update: Feb 12

After two weeks in the intermediate hub, things are humming along nicely. Leadership groups are establishing, reading and maths groups are underway and the children are doing a great job of following hub routines.

Home Learning: Your child should have been working on the maths home learning that they were given on Tuesday. We have been so impressed with the number of children who have handed in this home learning already. Remember to encourage your child to check in with their maths teacher if there is any aspect of home learning that they are stuck on. This work is due in next Friday, Feb 19th. As this is a busy time for leadership week, we suggest they get it in by Thursday morning. Nicky’s maths class have Mathletics to complete at home as well.


Leadership Week: We are all excited about leadership week, Feb 15 - 19. Today Year 8 children brought home their second leadership camp notice, which includes a gear list. If you have not yet returned the permission form, please get this in on Monday. Year 8 food donations for camp need to be brought to school by Wednesday: baking for Coast, cereal for Mountains and a bag of fruit for Forest. Year 7s wear mufti for their leadership day on Wednesday and Year 8s wear mufti on Thursday and Friday.


Leadership Positions: On Tuesday we announced leadership positions. Our aim was to give children 30 points worth of positions. Some got more than this, and those who did not apply for many positions may have got less. Many positions are very popular, with nowhere near the number of positions as there are applicants. As you can imagine it is a tricky task, one we spent considerable time sorting.


It is the aspiration of a large number of children to be a House Captain in Year 8. As this is a high profile position, we need to ensure our House Captains have the necessary leadership skills and are very positive role models. As the children are placed in houses when they first arrive at school, the distribution of strong leaders by the time they get to Year 8, is often not spread evenly across the houses. When appointing House Captains, we look at the leadership qualities of the children who have applied. Sometimes we ask children who are strong leaders if they would like to change houses in their final year to have the opportunity to be a House Captain. This year our leaders were clustered together in a couple of houses and a number choose to move house, to take up this leadership opportunity. Throughout Year 7, potential leaders show us their worth through their personal actions and interactions with others.


Swimming Sports: This event is less than two weeks away, on Feb 25th. If your child has entered, they have been given a notice, which you should have seen by now. Please check their bag if you haven’t seen it.


Dunedin Camp; Please let your child’s home-group teacher know if you are keen to be a parent help on our Dunedin camp.

Some of our week in pictures...


Learning about the second 'habit': begin with the end in mind.


First basketball coaching session with the Rams.

Passion foodies chomp into their yummy stuffed potatoes.

Passion photographers explore take pictures using a variety of camera angles.



Can't wait for next week and all the fun and learning it will bring!

Koru Newsletter Term 1 Wk 2 2016

Welcome & Reminders

Once again, welcome to hub 10-11 at Beckenham School! Thanks (and a reminder) to please send the following every day:
* Drink bottle (named)
* Hat
* Reading Folder
* Library Folder (Fridays only)
To help your child make new friends, we encourage you to organise play dates. A Koru Friendship List with phone numbers for all our students is inside your child's reading folder.
Rowena Barker (Team Leader) will contact many of you over the next month, to share your child's Mutukaroa assessment. 

Discovery Sessions

Starting each day with 'discovery based' learning has helped the children feel welcome and settled. We love hearing their ideas and watching them work and play together! During discovery sessions, teachers focus on building friendships between students, practising clear speaking (oral language), and inquiry learning (e.g. gardening, building, open ended art).

  
  



Our School Values: Getting There Together & We Care

We have been focusing on two of our school values, 'WE CARE' and 'WE GET THERE TOGETHER'.  In hub 10-11, we have been playing lots of name games and doing various buddy activities to show we get there together (photos below). We will have our first WHARE TIME where our New Entrant students will work with older buddies from across the school and teachers, and complete various 'get to know you' activities.


Some of the children working in buddies for maths:

  
  


Ideas for maths at home http://koru.beckenham.school.nz/p/cool-maths-links.html



Some of the children working in buddies for whare time on Friday:


 
 


We have been showing 'We Care' by putting our materials and bags away, and using kind words. We are very good at looking out for and buddying up with each other in the playground too!



  
    



Literacy

We have started our writing programme, focusing on letter formation and shared writing. Room 10's story, 'Amanda in a bubble,' was very funny! We have also been practising our 'crocodile pencil grip' (photos below). Encouraging your child to write, draw and use hands at home will help them develop hand strength for writing. Construction, play-dough and lego also strengthen hand muscles. Take home reading books will be sent home Mon - Thurs.  thanks for reading and returning books each day. On Friday, the children will bring home their poetry book. Enjoy reading their weekly poem with them and please return on the following Monday.
Websites and apps to support Literacy: http://koru.beckenham.school.nz/p/super-online-literacy-games.html