28th April 2010
Dear Parents and Carers
Welcome to Ngatapa term 2 2010!
With the success for term one under our belts we are diving into new learning experiences in term two. Classroom routines and programes are well established and producing some wonderful results for our learners. Our school wide vibe is very energetic and there is a buzz in the playground.
Firstly there is Art 4 Art’s Sake with a Kiwiana twist. This is our big focus this term and I am sure you will be able to contribute in more ways than one.
Of course this wouldn’t be a very informative letter without letting you know just what is happening with the curriculum in our class rooms so below we have provided an overview of each area and what is happening in that area. Also included is General Information (often taken for granted but extremely valuable to the newbie’s on the team).
Literacy
Each day your child will be involved in multiple opportunities for increasing their command of written language. We will be focusing on concepts, skills and strategies that inspire your child to be a reader. We will be looking at wide variety of writing genre in literacy with pourquoi, and poetry writing as the main focus this term.
Numeracy
In mathematics we have a term filled with challenges, mysteries and authentic real life problems all requiring solving. The main focus will be on increasing and diversifying our mathematical toolbox so that we have many rather than a few strategies and skills to call upon. Our key strategy focuses include:
Doubling Halving Bridging to 10, 100 and 1000 Addition and subtraction Seeking number patterns Instant recall of basic facts Multiplication and division
Enviro Schools
Our Envio Schools commitment sees us continuing with ‘Me in My Environment’. Me in my Environment encourages students to consider the world that they are part of and how they can make decisions to manage and improve the quality of their school’s physical and social environment. We are developing our knowledge of planting and harvesting cycles, fauna, soil conditions and the process of plant grow resulting in a refurbishment of our school gardens.
Maori
We continue our journey towards incorporating Te Reo Maori into our every day practice. Our next step is to include our mihi into our oral language programme.
History
In history we will be studying how Kiwiana is captured in ‘Art’. Our key focus will be on visual arts and their impact on modern cultural identity. We will continue to turn our attention to the historical works of New Zealand artists.
Music
In music we will be exploring percussion instruments. Singing takes on a kiwi flavour in weekly assemblies. A reminder these are held on Friday mornings at 9am. Parents, caregivers and all whanau are invited to attend.
Physical Education
P.E. is planned for Fridays as we have requested outside professional support. However fitness training will take place on a regular basis so please make sure that your child has shorts & a tee shirt every day.
Health
In Health Education we have a visit from Harold this term. He has yet to decide what he will share with us on this visit. We expect that he will be telling us all about his space adventures.
Art
The Kiwiana craze has hit Ngatapa Mate! So ‘rattle your dags’ and get on down to school to cop an eye full of the beaut’ displays and hunky dory interpretations of our heritage that your sproges have made. Nothing skodie here cuz.
Social Sciences
How Kiwiana has impacted on society.
Design and Technology
Linking into our Enviro Schools topic our children will be designing and creating our ultimate school garden.
ICT
This term our challenge is to create a power point presentation or movie about Kiwiana using information and communication technologies such as digital cameras, computers, portable tape players and the IWB (interactive white board).
Learning about our Learning.
‘Logging into Learning’ is an established routine in our school which we will continue to encourage in our self managing students.
Setting time aside to briefly share, discuss and develop our ideas about ourselves as learners has been a challenge that we have yet to be completely successful in so this will remain as a whole school target to be achieved. It is vital that our children understand that we value their learning enough to set aside time to reflect on where we are as learners. We will also have reflective time set aside weekly for goal setting/evaluating to make sure we are working towards our ‘Learning Targets’.
General Information
School Bus
Don’t forget to contact Lynley on 8639814 if your bus requirements change.
Lunches
School lunches are available on Fridays at the cost of $1.50. The varied and exciting menu will be changed as the term progresses. This will be added to your school bill. Please let school know if you do not require them as your child will automatically receive school lunches on Friday’s.
Trips & Education outside the classroom
We will be taking part in a huge array of learning experiences that are helping us gain a clear understanding of our Rich Concept. Many of these include visits in and around town. While it may feel like a lot of out of class time for some parents please feel assure that these are important opportunities to met with experts, use outside resources and be part of our local community. If you are interested in supporting us on one or all of our out of school activities this please contact Ngaire, Sonia or Teresa at school.
Our Tairawhiti Museum trips continue this term. We have already been to the Kiwiana workshop which was a real hit with our kids.
When Where What Time
29th April Ngatapa School Life Education Trust school hours
16th -18th May Rotorua The Great Kiwiana Road -
3rd June Tairawhiti Museum NZ Paint like an artist morning
17th June Eastwoodhill Photography morning
22nd June Ngatapa School 3 Way Conferences 1- 5:30
25th June Ngatapa School Disco 6:30-8:30
Please do not hesitate to contact us at school if you have any questions about any aspect of this term.
Yours sincerely
The Dream Team
Mrs. Scott & Mrs. Turnbull
P.S. We love our job!!!!!!!!
