1 February 2017
Dear Families
Kia Ora and welcome to a new school year! I am looking forward to working with you this year to make your child’s first year at school a productive and memorable one.
The children are all settling in well, and we are getting to know each other and learn the new rules and routines of the classroom. We have got a lovely little class full of inquiring minds and enthusiastic learners, so they will keep me on my toes!
Religious Education
This term our major focus is learning about God and we will also cover Prayer, Lent, Holy Week and Easter. This week we are learning about the founders of our school, the Sisters of Mercy.
Inquiry
The Inquiry topic this term has the theme of “Just Water - Climate Change in the Pacific” and it is a Caritas unit of work which looks at preparing for Lent, with a particular focus on the experiences and challenges of people living in the Pacific Islands. (Caritas is a Catholic agency for justice, peace and development).
Art
We are focusing on drawing this term, and will incorporate this into our Inquiry topic. We will cover techniques such as observation, shape, shading, and proportion.
Library
Our library day is Friday, and the children are allowed two new books each week. Please try and return library books and folders by Friday.
Homework – Beginning Next Week
Alphabet
Some children are working on learning the letters and sounds of the alphabet. Please spend a few minutes each night going over the letter/sound, and completing the worksheet.
High Frequency Words
Other children have moved on to learning their Sight Words. It is important that these are learnt as quickly as possible to help accelerate their literacy learning, so please spend a few minutes each night going through the flashcards, or playing a game of memory. Colour in the words as they learn them on their sheet.
Spelling
Once children have completed the Sight Words, they will move on to spelling. Children will learn the Essential Words - these are the most commonly used words in the English language.
Maths Task Books
The Maths Task Books will be kept in the children’s reading folders and are designed for you to see what Maths Knowledge your child is currently working on and for you to help with the next step at home. Along with these, there will be a game for your child to play at home that will match with the current activity. Once your child has mastered an item you have been working on at home, please date it in the Maths
Task Book, and it can be left on my desk for me to check and update. When your child is ready, I will also send home a basic facts folder to work on, beginning with addition and subtraction facts up to 5.
Task Book, and it can be left on my desk for me to check and update. When your child is ready, I will also send home a basic facts folder to work on, beginning with addition and subtraction facts up to 5.
Students move through these sheets/books at their own pace so it is really important to give me the book/card once they have finished the current piece of learning so I can get them onto the next one.
Reading Homework
Children will bring home a new reading book Mon-Thurs. Please try and take a few minutes to read it with your child each day. They have already read this book at school with the teacher, so it shouldn’t be too difficult. The aim for re-reading these books at home is for your child to read them at a good pace with lots of expression. If they are stuck on a word, the first thing to do is to ask them to re-read back to the start of the sentence and make the first sound of the unknown word, and think what would make sense? If they still can’t read it, just tell them and move on. This time should be enjoyable and relaxing, so no pressure – if the book is too difficult, read it together. Reading notebooks are kept in your child’s reading folder for you to record the book for that day, and sign it to say your child has read it. Please make any notes or comments on how your child found their book if you wish. It is really important to return these reading books to school the next day, as children will only be given a new book once they have returned the old one.
Religious Education
The children will be bringing home activity sheets in their RE clear-file folders. These activities are usually completed at school, but some are designed to be carried out at home working with the family. Please take some time to talk about these sheets with your child to find out what they have been learning about and return folders to school the next day.
Anniversary Reporting
Once your child has been at school for approximately four weeks, I will meet with you to set goals and discuss initial assessment data. Your child will also have an interim report after 6 months of school and after one year at school which will indicate how they are progressing towards the national standards.
If you have any questions about anything, please email me at susanne.stack@olv.school.nz, or make a time to come and see me.
Don’t forget to check out the Room 10 classroom blog on the olv school website and sign up to the Seesaw Learning Journal app to see your child’s latest work. You will receive an email about how to do this once your child has saved their first piece of work onto Seesaw.
Susanne Stack
Classroom Teacher
