Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all
As the term races on it's time to catch up on what we've been up to in Pōhutukawa, and also let you know some information about a couple of upcoming events. Please read on!
Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all
Kia ora, e te whānau,
Welcome to this fortnight's blog post! We are so impressed with the tamariki - they have been making amazing progress in their learning since starting school. This, of course, includes their academic learning, as well as their emotional learning and their social learning.
Our blog post today contains information about:
He Waka Eke Noa:
We are all in this waka together! |
As a team, we have discussed the meaning of this whakataukī and also the meaning of the word 'contract'. The tamariki together came up with some guidelines which we've all agreed to follow:
Other routines, which the children have embraced, include:
We thank you all for your continued support with the start and end of day routines!
A typical Day in the Koru team:
We also fit into our days: interoception (short little activities with a focus on breathing and noticing how our bodies are feeling), music and movement, and of course aspects of both Literacy and Maths are incorporated into Learning Through Play.
A fun focus during Learning Through Play at the moment is the theme of 'Shops and Shopping'. The original shop set up included a children's library beside the shop as well as roles such as the delivery person, two shopkeepers and visitors to the shop and the library. Elizabeth was included in the play (the Mum) as well as Katie (the Dad). Other children have been involved making signs, labels, money and purses/bags.
The children have been learning new songs and actions at our Music and Movement times, and they agreed that they would like two of these shared with you so that they can teach you at home. We know you'll love them! The expressions and actions that we see while the children are singing are absolutely adorable. See if your children will sing to you now (a great opportunity for 'the child to be the teacher').
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Wow, what a wonderfully creative model! |
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...and a bird's eye view. |
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Creating a 4 element pattern with the penguins. |
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Five friends working together with the Mobilo. |
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Showing 'We Care' to ensure that the Mobilo is fairly shared. |
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"Here you are. You're welcome to use these pieces of Mobilo in your construction." |
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Collaborating on a Lego construction. |
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Putting in best effort and focus to produce top quality work. |
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Counting large numbers using the abacus. |
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"How many beads have been pushed across and how many are left?" |
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Collaborating to solve a problem using the abacus. |
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Working with a big buddy to count the beads on the abacus. |
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Showing 'We Care' by sweeping up small bits of rubbish with the brush and shovel. |
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Also showing 'We Care' by looking after our learning spaces. Thank you!! |
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What a kind thing to do for everyone, including our cleaner. |
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How many different ways can we make the number 5? |
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Working together to play the 'Shops' game. |
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Ensuring that the Children's Library, situated beside the shop, has enough chairs and books for visitors. |
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"Here you are, Batty... a book for you." |
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"Is everyone who is visiting the library feeling happy and comfortable?" |
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"Yes, thank you. It's lovely here!" |
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Beautiful dance moves... |
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...getting some practice in before the next disco? |
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So much energy and so many fabulous moves! |
Team Kauri have had a busy couple of weeks since we got back from camp. We have held our swimming sports at Wharenui pool and selected students then participated in the South Zones on Thursday March 13th. Our students represented our school amazingly. A special shoutout to our sportsmanlike conduct at the pool.
We have also hosted a number of speakers this week who have spoken to us about Leadership. On Tuesday, we had the pleasure of hosting: Gen Macky (Olympic ambassador), Cameron Snell (Coach and Kickboxer) and Adam Whitelock (former NZ rugby player) who shared their stories and the challenges they have had to overcome. This has given the students in Team Kauri valuable insight into what qualities we need to be leaders, role-models and high performing individuals.
Students are settling into the routines of the Kauri space and loving especially our Passion friday activities. Cooking is an absolute favourite and for those who haven't had the opportunity to cook or make something ourselves have been enjoying the delicious aroma's wafting from the kitchen.
The next couple of weeks will see students completing more outcomes for their Passion projects and preparing inquiry presentations focusing on how we can be effective leaders in our school.
Eighty percent of tamariki in New Zealand aged 8-17 have played games online. Games can have many benefits: entertainment, social opportunities, coordination development, problem-solving and multitasking skills. But, most of all, gaming is popular because it’s fun.
But games can be tough for parents and whānau to navigate. How much gaming is too much? How do I make sure my tamariki aren’t seeing inappropriate content or chatting in-game with strangers?
Today we’re sharing Netsafe’s Online Gaming Whānau Toolkit so you have all the resources you need to keep your kids safe.
YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/rPN_ev1RSDQ
Kia ora e te Whānau,
Welcome to the Week 7 Kōwhai blog.
This term, our inquiry focuses on science, specifically understanding chemical and physical changes. Students have been exploring this concept through hands-on experiments. So far, they have investigated the reaction between Mentos and Coke, and some classes have done a fruity-sweet colour-mixing experiment. Throughout this inquiry process, students will be developing their scientific thinking by forming hypotheses, making observations, recording results, and reflecting on their findings. We look forward to continuing to explore this topic.
Eighty percent of tamariki in New Zealand aged 8-17 have played games online. Games can have many benefits: entertainment, social opportunities, coordination development, problem-solving and multitasking skills. But, most of all, gaming is popular because it’s fun.
But games can be tough for parents and whānau to navigate. How much gaming is too much? How do I make sure my tamariki aren’t seeing inappropriate content or chatting in-game with strangers?
Today we’re sharing Netsafe’s Online Gaming Whānau Toolkit so you have all the resources you need to keep your kids safe.
YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/rPN_ev1RSDQ
We have had some wonderful learning happening over the past two weeks. The tamariki are really engaged and motivated in all areas of the curriculum. We are seeing a lot of progress already, which is amazing. Students' are now familiar with our routines, and the hub is humming along nicely.
Mathematics:
In Math this week we have been looking at measurement and have been using the context of the story of The Gingerbread Man for ordering and comparing length and height. Below are some pictures of some wonderful learning happening.
How you can help at home:
Ask your child to make comparisons with toys; e.g., can they line up all of their soft toys in order from shortest to tallest?
Or sort dinosaurs or plastic animals? Can you line your family members up in height order?
Can you learn the Te Reo words for tallest, taller, shortest, and shorter?
Students could draw pictures to bring back to class to share next week!
Literacy:
We are currently assessing, adjusting, and reworking our groups. We are thrilled with the amount of progress students have made in such a short time.
Reminders:
It is school photos next week on Wednesday, 19th March. please ensure students are in the correct school uniform for this.
A reminder to please keep toys at home, unless you have an arrangement with your child's teacher. They can be a big distraction for others during learning time and can often get lost or become damaged.
We have House Games on Tuesday afternoon, children are encouraged to wear their house colour tee-shirts.