Welcome Back!

Welcome to our 2019 school year! I hope your child woke up this morning all excited to come to school, and
that they returned home the same way.  Your child will benefit and grow from your interest, encouragement and support to set home/school partnership routines. Below are a few housekeeping routines and information to guide us as we begin this year.

Attendance

It is so, so important for your child to be at school. High absences put their learning behind. Please do
NOT let them stay away unless they are really sick. If your child cannot make it in, it is really important that you phone the school office.

Homework

See the letter pasted into your child’s homework book.

Swimming

In Term 1, we are swimming every Tuesday for an hour. Your child will need the following:

·       swimming togs and towel  (we get changed at the pool)

·       $1 per student for each swim or you can pay $9 at the office for the term

·       no swimming with infectious sores, wounds, etc.

School/Home Communication

·     If you have any concerns or questions, please pop in to see me, leave a message with the Office,
send me a text on 0211789637,  or email me at lanag@kcs.school.co.nz. Alternatively, contact
Head of Primary, David Prickett on davidp@kcs.school.nz

If your child is a Year 6 they have their own digital portfolio that you can comment on.
 Look for their name on the right side of this blog The purpose of the digital portfolio is to have
families more involved in what their children are doing and learning. Please leave positive comments.
Year 5 students will have their blogs set up later this term.

Camp

On Monday, March 25th, we go to Coopers Beach Christian Centre for camp returning
Wednesday 27th March. All outstanding fees need to be paid at the Office as soon as possible.
If you are a new student, then you are most welcome. An information pack including a health form,
cost and itinerary can also be picked up from the school office.

We have begun planting what Room 6 began as seeds at the end of last year - tomatoes and capsicum.
In our clean up of the garden, we harvested some beautiful potatoes. I hope they were added to your
family meal!

Last Post of the Year

I can't believe the school year is coming to an end tomorrow! Time flys when you are having fun.
There are too many achievements, events and occasions to celebrate so I have decided to just share the last few week's highlights in video form. I will try put a link into the end of this post for anyone who wants to see individual photos rather than moving ones.

Well done to all the students who have worked extra hard this year. You will be acknowledged tomorrow at prize giving. Know that the character, work habits and attitudes we are celebrating are not only about the year passed, but will help you in the year to come.

Take care everyone and have a safe and happy Christmas holiday.

Athletics Day

Getting Technical in Room 6

Wow, what a week! We have all been challenged to learn new skills and solve problems as we sought to express what we have been learning in a digital way. Our next post will include examples of student creations.

Here is a video that explains what we have been doing. Thank you Mahina and Davalamayne for being in charge of the voiceover. You both did a fabulous job!

Let's Feast!

To celebrate Te Wiki or te Reo Maori, we had a class hakari. This was a great opportunity to put into action what students had been learning for Te Reo Maori this term.

All instructions were learned and given by the students. As a class they needed to give instructions to each other in Te Reo Maori sentences to line up nga tepu, get the nga  turu, put the papa-kai ki runga i nga tepu me te pereti, naihi, poka.

Students learned to ask for the food they wanted, how to say what drink and ice-cream flavor they wanted. Below are a few clips of the day.

Why did some teams take so long to get the nutrients?

Science in Nature

In class we have had an intensive two days on our Science topic, The Living World. We had the Roadshow Science day on Friday and today we all went to Puketi Forest for hands on learning around the classification of plants.

This week students will work on sharing what they have learned around plant classification. They should have their DLO (digital learning objects) on their blog by early next week. Make sure you read about what they have learned!

The Science Roadshow had a variety of tasks and challenges that the students embraced. One of the workshop explored what is common with all living things.

The way to remember it is by MRS GREEN

All living things:

Move

Respire (breath

Sense 

Grow

Reporduce

E?

N ?

Comment below your suggestions and improvements on my MRS GREN!

Take a look at some of the great photos from the past week!

Portia Woodman Comes To Inspire!  Work towards the dream you have now, don't give up when faced with challenges. Refocus your dreams and continue to aim for excellence.

What's Happening in Term 3?

It is great to be back into the swing of things after the holiday period. I encourage whanau to make an effort to ensure their child has regular attendance.  Missed days here and there are really disruptive to the flow of learning and can lead to patchy understanding of concepts being taught and the quality of work created.

Few things to take note of....

• Friday 10th is the Science Roadshow. We are really excited to take part in this hands on science, mathematics and technology program!
• Monday 13th class trip to Puketi Forest to learn about identifying and classifying plants
• Wednesday 22nd August is cross country day in Ohaewai. We started training last term and continue to train two days a week. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Encourage your child to up their training by doing extra running some evenings if possible. The course is a tough one and often leaves children feeling not fit enough!
• Soon we will begin class fundraising for the sailing trip next term.

One thing we are focusing on this week is learning mathematical language. Often children are struggling with 'unpacking' the word problems they need to solve in PRIME mathematics. This is a gap that assessment data shows.

After going over the different language used for the four operations I set the challenge to students to create a game that will help them and others to learn the new vocabulary and a chance to practise solving word problems. I am thrilled with the creativity and teamwork that has gone into the preparation. Soon these games will come home and will be posted to blogs.

Here are some photos of a few students creating their game.

Neil and Mahina creating their 'Race to the Place' game


Fern, Kataraina, Jada and Atlanta creating their 'Loopy' game.



Tiffany creating a board game that is still to be named.

Ahi and Hunia planning their masterpiece...

Hilda-Jean writing the rules for the game her, Ocian, Davalamayne and Kuini are creating Sarn with his cards for the Operation Memory that he and Ivana are making