Term 4 2013

Term 4 Newsletter

Kia Ora everyone,

Welcome to Term 4 of 2013. It’s hard to believe we are now in the final term of the year. It is fantastic to finally see the sun after a long, wet winter.

Firstly, a massive thank-you to everyone who helped out during our very successful Wearable Art performances at the end of Term 3. It was a huge process for everyone involved, right from the initial ideas, making of outfits, dance practices through to the final performances. The children looked fantastic on stage in their creative outfits and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

As usual, Term 4 is set to be another busy one.

Below is a run down on the term. Feel free to contact your child’s classroom teacher if there is anything you wish to discuss further.

Literacy

Our writing focus for this term is poetry, where we will be exploring the connections between poetry in song lyrics while exploring a variety of figurative language. We will be looking at several current topics in the media to create a Year in Rap!

We are continuing to develop comprehension skills through our reading programme and integrated inquiry topics.

Numeracy

We start the term revising some key concepts from the year. We will be focusing particularly on fractions, decimals, place value and operational strategies. We end the term looking at Geometry then studying Statistics.  We will continue to cross group for the rest of the year.

Integrated Studies

Our major focus for Term 4 is our current Sexuality Road unit which has been specially designed for Year 7 and 8 students. Throughout this unit we will be discussing changes during puberty, reproduction, relationships, the influence of the media, peer pressure and rights and responsibilities as we get older. Thank you to everyone who came along to our information evening at the end of last term. Hopefully you went away feeling fully informed about the content of the lessons. The classroom teachers are using the classroom blogs and emails to keep you posted on what is being taught each week. We think this is a great way of keeping you in the loop, especially if you’d like to initiate any conversation with your child at home. Once again, if you have any questions regarding this unit, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Physical Education

An exciting term for PE is planned, starting off with Athletics. The children will be taking part in Long Jump, High Jump, Vortex, Shot put, Discus and Sprints. This leads in nicely to our school athletics day. We end the term with Swimming starting again down at the local pool.

EOTC

Planning is well underway for the Year 8 Abel Tasman adventure and the Year 7 EOTC week. We will be meeting with the students regularly to ensure they are fully prepared for the exciting week at the end of the term.

Important Reminders

Reporting to Parents

Teachers will very shortly start writing academic reports for each student. This is a summative assessment on the progress and achievements your child has made throughout the year. These reports will be coming home at the end of the term. Also at the end of the term, (Tuesday 3^rd December) we will also be holding another ‘Celebration of Learning’ afternoon. This is great opportunity for your child to share their learning with you from the past two terms. As always your child’s learning journey blogs are available for you to view at anytime. Please visit the classroom blogs and click on the link for your child.

Stationery Check

Many students are now missing pens, pencils, rulers, plastic pockets and calculators. These are necessary for everyday class work. Can you please ask your child if they need any items and replace them. Thank you.

Sun Hats & Drink Bottles

It’s term 4 and each child needs a hat to wear everyday outside. Thank you to those students who have remembered. Students not wearing hats have to stay in the shaded area.  It is also recommended the children have their own named drink bottle at school. As the days get warmer it’s important they are fully hydrated.

Footwear and clothing

This term we need students to wear clothing that is suitable for outdoor sport. Please ensure your child wears shoes that they can run easily in (especially on Tuesdays and Wednesday as this is our athletics day.) Jandals and boots are not appropriate.

Confectionary!

It appears that some of the students have forgotten the school rule regarding no sweets or chewing gum allowed at school. All the classes have been reminded about this and it would be great if you could reinforce this at home.

If you have any concerns or worries please contact your child’s teacher by leaving a phone message at the office or by email: teachers surname @ muritai.school.nz.

Kind Regards The Year 7 and 8 team

Term 3 Newsletter 2013

Dear Parents and Caregivers, I hope you all had a relaxing break. It sounds like the children had a great time with friends and family. Wasn’t the weather fantastic! Thank you to everyone who came along to our Learning Celebration evening at the end of last term. It was great to see the children sharing their learning and achievement with you. Remember that if you missed the evening, your child’s work is still available to be viewed on their personal blog. If you haven’t done so already, it would be great to sit down with your child at home so they can discuss their successes with you. We are now full swing into Term 3 and as usual, it's set to be a busy one. Below is a run-down of what your child will be focusing on.

  Literacy.

 Our major writing focus for the term is studying characterization, using Superheroes for inspiration. We will be looking at writing detailed descriptions of characters, qualities of superheroes/supervillains and what makes them good or evil by their appearance. We will be creating our own superheroes and villains to describe. There is a buzz in the air already about this unit!

  Inquiry & Wearable Arts.

 There is a big focus on Art this term with our bi-annual Wearable Arts Performance in week 8. This involves every child designing and creating a wearable piece of art and then presenting this during performance week. Each child has been given a planning booklet which outlines our expectations for the children and how you can assist at home. This booklet will be used to guide the students through the process at home and school. By the end of this week all children will have decided on a category to enter and have started their initial designs. Week 4 will be dedicated to ‘Making Week’. We would really appreciate some parent help on Monday and Tuesday of this week (19th & 20th of August) to come along and help out with the construction. Sewing machines and operators will be in hot demand! If you are keen to help out please let your child’s classroom teacher know. We will be using the Wearable Arts theme of ‘Lost Civilisations’ as inspiration for our Inquiry studies this term. Each class will be learning about different aspects of the ancient Mayan, Greek and Roman civilisations along with the mysteries of Atlantis!

  Mathematics.

 We are continuing with cross grouping this term. We start the term with a Number unit; looking on fractions, decimals and percentages. Later in the term we will be focusing on Geometry and Measurement with an emphasis on area and angles. The 'Mathletics' programme is proving a success throughout the school. Each child now has their login details and their maths teacher is regularly assigning them tasks to complete each week. The tasks that are set by the teachers relate to work that is happening in the classroom so it provides you with a useful platform for seeing what your child is studying in class. Physical Education. The start of the term is focusing on Gymnastics. Our hall time for gymnastics is on Mondays so please remind your child to wear appropriate clothing on these days. Later in the term we will be focusing on games involving large balls. Our sport rotation programme will continue on Wednesday afternoons.

  Other things to note...

  Homework: The majority of this term's homework is focused on the Wearable Arts booklet. The children have deadlines to meet each week but will need to get into the habit of bringing their booklets to school everyday. This booklet will be submitted to their classroom teacher at the end of the term for marking. We are still expecting each student to be reading and completing mathletics homework. Some students will also have spelling activities to complete each week.

  Abel Tasman: The planning for this end of year adventure is well under way. All Year 8 students received their first newsletter which asks for expressions of interest from parents who wish to assist for the week. Thanks to all that have replied. We have received a large amount of responses and we are currently in the process of making our selection. There will be further notices throughout the term giving you more information regarding the trip. We should be confirming the exact cost of this trip soon but expect an approximate cost of $400. We realise this is a lot of money at the end of the year so we urge you to take the opportunity to start paying small amounts now at the office. Thank you also to the families who have offered to donate money to purchase new tents! We have been overwhelmed with the response. We are in the process of getting quotes together now but there is still time to donate.
Wet Weather: Although the weather has been kind to us lately, we are still stuck in the winter months, many of us start to get a bit hairy being stuck indoors all day! Wet lunchtimes can often be difficult so we welcome students bringing to school indoor games, such as board games or cards.

Student Teachers

We are lucky enough to host two student teachers from Victoria University this term. We have one student in Room 22 and the other in Room 24. They will be starting their placement in Week 3 and will be with us until the end of the term.

 Finally if you have any concerns or questions regarding our classroom programme or your child's learning, please don't hesitate to make contact with us. Feel free to pop in before or after school or the easiest way to touch base with us is email:

Melissa: coton@muritai.school.nz 
Lisa: allen@muritai.school.nz
Stu: devenport@muritai.school.nz

 Thank you again for your support,

 Stu Devenport Associate Principal

Term 2 2013

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

 I hope you all had a relaxing Easter break and managed to get out and enjoy the fantastic weather Mother Nature provided. It's hard to believe that Term 1 has come and gone and we are now full swing into Term 2!

 All the teachers in the Senior School were extremely pleased with the start of 2013. We have also been very impressed with the attitude of the students in Year 7/8, particularly throughout our leadership selection process. It was excellent to see so many individuals step up to the challenge of a leadership role, their positive attitude and strong work ethic is a credit to them!

 Thanks to all of you who came to meet us during the final week of Term 1 to discuss your child’s progress and learning goals. It was great that so many students attended these meetings and were able to articulate to you their strengths and weaknesses. It was really great to celebrate the hard work the students put in to producing their outstanding newspapers. All this is helpful in creating a positive, safe learning environment for your child to thrive in.

As mentioned in last terms newsletter, Year 7/8 students are now creating their portfolio of work samples online in a blog format. This has been a challenging task for many as it has required learning a range of I.T skills. Towards the middle of the term, these blogs will be ready to be viewed by you! We will let you know when they go live. In the meantime, your child will continue adding samples of work to their learning log as they complete them throughout this term.

Term 2 is set to be a busy one with a heavy classroom programme planned. Below is a run down of what your child will be focusing on.

 Inquiry.

 We have a science focus for this term where we will be looking at The Living World. Our Big Ideas are:

• Living things depend on one another and on the non-living environment in which they live. 
• Changes in any element of the living or non-living environment may affect the relationship between living things and lessen or improve chances of some species surviving. 

This unit will focus on a variety of eco-systems and identify the consequences of a particular species becoming extinct within it. There will be a lot of hands-on tasks through this scientific investigation.

 Writing. 

 Our major writing focus will be explanation writing where we will be learning to explain in detail how or why things happen. This genre integrates nicely into our Inquiry unit. Our other writing focus is speech writing. Students will be required to research, prepare and deliver an oral presentation to their class during Week 6. Their speech must be 3-5 minutes long. We have already started looking at speeches in class but the majority of the preparation will be completed at homework through our homework programme. Your child will be guided through the preparation process each week and given specific deadlines to ensure they are ready to present during week 6.

 Mathematics. 

 We are continuing with cross grouping this term which occurs four days a week. On Fridays students will be working in their own class focusing on problem solving. We start the term with an Algebra unit; focusing on patterns, finding rules and using graphs and tables to describe linear relationships found in number and spatial patterns. Later in the term we move into Number, focusing on the four operations. The 'Mathletics' programme is proving a success throughout the school. Each child should have their login details in their homework books and their maths teacher is regularly assigning them tasks to complete each week. The tasks that are set by the teachers relate to work that is happening in the classroom so it provides you with a useful platform for seeing what your child is working on in the class.

The Arts.

In the first week of this term we have concentrated on visual arts, where we have been focusing on observational drawing and learning how to draw objects three dimensionally.

 Last term we started our first Arts Rotation where the students had five weeks specializing in either Visual Arts, Drama, Movie Making or Kapa Haka. There are some outstanding pieces of work produced through this programme and they will soon be available to view on your child’s blog. Our second cycle will commence in Week 6.

 Physical Education.

 The start of the term is focusing on training for our annual school cross country which is scheduled for Tuesday the 21st of May at Williams Park. Training for this event is happening every morning so please ensure your child comes to school with appropriate clothing and footwear. Our top runners will be selected to represent Muritai at the annual HRSA Cross Country later in the term. Later in the term we will be focusing on games involving large balls. Our sport rotation programme will continue on Wednesday afternoons from week 3.

 Other things to note... 

Homework:

 Due to the amount of work that will be required from the students for their speech, this will be the major focus for homework this term. They will have several deadlines to meet throughout the term which they will be regularly reminded of. They will still need to read for at least 15 minutes every night plus complete their mathletics tasks set by their maths teacher. We understand that our students lead very busy lives so please let us know if your child is unable to complete their homework for the week.

 Wet Weather:

With the winter months fast approaching, many of us start to get a bit hairy being stuck indoors all day! Wet lunchtimes can often be difficult so we welcome students bringing to school indoor games, such as board games or cards.

Raffle Draw:

This term we have re-introduced our raffle draw to the Senior School. Students receive raffle tickets if they have shown positive behaviour or outstanding effort throughout the school day. Each fortnight during our Team Assembly we draw 16 names out of the hat and reward them with prizes. These prizes include free time vouchers, a week off homework, lunch passes to the village and chocolate bars. This is a great way of reinforcing positive behaviour, celebrating hard work and improving motivation!

Cell Phones:

We understand students may require the use of cell phones before or after school, so they are permitted at school, but they are not to be used during school time. If students bring their valuables to school they are responsible for them and need to keep them in their bags. Our advice is to keep them at home. 

Finally if you have any concerns or questions regarding our classroom programme or your child's learning, please don't hesitate to make contact with us. Feel free to pop in before or after school or the easiest way to touch base with us is via email:

Melissa: coton@muritai.school.nz 
Lisa: allen@muritai.school.nz
Stu: devenport@muritai.school.nz

 Thank you again for your support,

 Stu Devenport
Associate Principal

Term 1 2013 Newsletter

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

 Welcome back to school for 2013! Hopefully everyone had a very relaxing and enjoyable holiday. Melissa, Lisa, Ruth and myself are really excited to be back and looking forward to the year ahead. The students in the Senior School will be working within one of the three classes but our intention is to create a strong team culture. There will be many opportunities throughout an average week for students to work and interact with others in the different classes. This of course means your child will also be working with other teachers within the team. Below is a run down of the structure of each class:
 • Room 22: Melissa Coton.
 • Room 23: Stu Devenport is covered every Friday by Ruth Hooke for management release.
• Room 24: Lisa Allen works 4 days a week with Ruth Hooke teaching every Wednesday.

 We also have the lovely Sue Steele who will be teaching in all three classes for teacher classroom release.

 We have an exciting term planned. Here is an overview of how it will unfold.

  Integrated Studies / Inquiry: 

Our Inquiry big idea for this term is: “Trick or Treaty”

 To start this unit we will look to the past and focus specifically on the significance of the Treaty of Waitangi. We went to Te Papa in week 2 to learn more about its history, particularly the reasons for having a treaty in the first place. Later in the term we will look at different opinions people have about the treaty and the reasons why there is so much grievance around it. There are several strong individuals from this time who portrayed essential values for quality leadership. While studying these leaders we will endeavour to make connections with how we can act in order to be an inspiration to others at Muritai School. This of course ties in nicely with us choosing our school leaders for 2013. Students will be asked to apply in writing for these positions in the first couple of weeks of school. This unit is also set up to create a positive environment where children understand, appreciate and support one another.

  Literacy: 

The focus for Term 1 is looking at newspapers. During this unit we will be learning about the features of the newspaper, reading and classifying a variety of articles and learning how a newspaper article is structured so we can effectively write our own. Our goal is to establish a school newspaper which is created by the students… watch this space!! We will also be studying a variety of novels throughout the year, either in small groups or as a whole class.

 Maths:

 We will continue to cross group for maths throughout the three classes based on ability. This will commence in the middle of the term once testing is done and the swimming programme finishes. We start the year looking at Number, looking at place value and addition and subtraction then moving into Algebra. Muritai School is continuing to use online maths maintenance programme www.mathletics.co.nz. This will be used in class but predominantly used for homework and will support the work being done at school. We found this programme extremely worthwhile last year. Many students achieved excellent results from the regular maintenance and it is a great way for parents to see what learning is happening in the classroom.

 Swimming:

 Swimming is well underway. Weeks 3 & 4 all classes will be swimming everyday. These sessions will be run by Hutt City swimming instructors. Our annual swimming sports scheduled for 15th February have unfortunately been cancelled.

 Art and Sports Rotations:

 Our Sports rotation will continue weekly on Wednesday afternoons starting in week 3. We also plan on running an Arts rotation on Thursday afternoons for 5 weeks in every term. This term we have scheduled it to start in week 5.

 Things to note:

 • Technicraft: This programme starts on the 13th of February. This year we have 5 groups. 3 groups will travel to Wainuiomata Intermediate by bus for either Food, Fabric or Wood Technology. The two groups remaining at school will either be taking part in music with Ruth Hooke or Spanish with Melissa Coton.

 • Cell Phones: We understand students may require the use of cell phones before or after school, so they are permitted at school, but they are not to be used during school time. If students bring their valuables to school they are responsible for them. Our advice is to keep them at home.

 • Croquet: This opportunity was quickly snapped up by 12 enthusiastic students who go their money in quickly. For those who missed out there will another opportunity starting in week 6 of this term.

 • Blogs:

As always, we will continue to share our learning with you using the blogging platform. You are welcome to visit the class blogs anytime and we would love to hear your feedback.
 Room 22: www.misscoton.blogspot.co.nz
 Room 24: www.muritaiallen.blogspot.co.nz
 Room 23: www.mrdevenports.blogspot.co.nz

We also plan to have every student set up with their own blog so they can share their work with you on a regular basis. For this to happen, every student has been set up with a school email account and will be able to administer their blog. If you have any concerns regarding this programme please contact your child’s classroom teacher.

 * Edmodo: We also intend on trialing Edmodo.com as a platform to share homework and create online discussion with the students this year. It will also be an excellent opportunity to reinforce cyber safety and etiquette. More information will be sent home regarding this website later in the term.

 If you need to contact your child’s classroom teacher please feel free to drop by the classroom before or after school. The easiest way to touch base with us is email:
 Melissa: coton@muritai.school.nz
Lisa: allen@muritai.school.nz
Stu: devenport@muritai.school.nz


Thank you again for your support,

 Stu Devenport
Associate Principal