Welcome 2018

7 February 2018

Dear Families

Kia Ora and welcome to a new school year! I am really looking forward to working with you this year to make your child’s 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! We have got 12 children returning from Room 11 and two new children to welcome - Connor and Maya.

Religious Education: We will be learning about Jesus and we look into where Jesus lived, what life was like for him as a child and that Jesus is like an elder brother and he invites us to be his friend. In the week before Easter we will dress up in clothes like Jesus would have worn and share a meal of food like Jesus would have eaten. We will also learn about Prayer, Lent, Holy Week and Easter. This week we are learning about the founders of our school, the Sisters of Mercy. Our value this term is social justice.

Literacy: This term the focus is on becoming more independent with our reading and writing, and learning to use simple de-coding strategies to work out unknown words. The skill your child will be focusing on will be outlined in their yellow reading notebook by the end of the week.

Maths: Our focus is on building knowledge up to 20 - this means reading, writing, saying numbers, putting them in order, saying them backwards, saying the number before and after. We will be using this knowledge to work out addition and subtraction problems using materials. We will be introducing simple fractions and looking at volume and mass.

Inquiry

This term we are integrating Social Studies into our RE programme using the Caraitas lessons. (Caritas is a Catholic agency for justice, peace and development). The theme is “Let Us Go Together - Journeying to Peace and Hope in Timor-Leste”. We will  learn about life in Timor-Leste through the life of Jeriminu, a six year old boy. We will be able to make connections with Jeriminu’s simple life and the life of Jesus. We will also talk about how his life is different than ours. Check out some of the Videos we will be watching: Caritas Video's.

The Arts: We are focusing on drawing this term, and will cover techniques such as observation, shape, shading, and proportion. For music we will be singing and playing percussion instruments. We will be learning some drama techniques and this will lead us into Holy Week plays.

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.

PE: We are learning small ball skills for the first 5 weeks, then we start six weeks of gymnastics lessons at the Christchurch School of Gymnastics 18 Watts Road every Tuesday. We finish the term training for the school cross country run early in Term 2

Homework

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 colour in the letters as they are learnt.

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.

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: These books 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. There is also a game/activity for your child to play at home that matches with the skill in the book. Once your child has mastered an item you have been working on at home, please date it in the Maths Task Book.

Students move through these sheets/books at their own pace so it is really important to leave the book/card on my desk once they have finished the current skill so I can get them onto the next one. Please keep all homework in the reading folder.

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. 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 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 Homework: The children will be bringing home activity sheets in their RE scrapbook. 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 to school the next day.

Thank you to those families who have already signed up to the Seesaw Learning Journal. Along with your child’s amazing learning videos, it will also be used to send you notices and reminders, so it is really important to sign up if you haven’t already. Please make lots of comments on your child’s work or ‘like’ their posts - this encourages them to produce their best work for you and lets them know their work is valued.

Important Dates:

• Room 10 leading Values Assembly Fri 12th Feb 9.00am
• Family Fun Night: Feb 16th - see details in school newsletter
• Ash Wednesday Feb14th
• Room 10 leading assembly Fri 19th March 9.00am

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.

Susanne Stack