Kia Ora
Team Kāhu Families,
I hope
our students have all enjoyed a well-earned rest and are raring to go for Term
2!
It was
lovely to have many of our Kāhu students take part in the Eastbourne ANZAC
ceremonies on Thursday. They represented our school well with haka and waiata,
being a considerate group throughout the whole ceremony. Thank you to all
students who took part, especially with ANZAC day falling in the school
holidays.
We had a
busy and productive Term One. Our focus on forging positive relationships
across the syndicate and promoting learning mindsets was an excellent way to
ignite the term. Our leadership teams are active in the school, thinking
innovatively around how they can be a positive influence in their area of
responsibility.
Learning Conversations
These take
place in Week 1 and Week 2 of this term on Wednesdays. Bookings were made last
term. We look forward to sitting with you and your children around their
learning. The students will share work they are proud of and discuss their new
goals for this term. We will be able to share assessments to support your
children’s discussion around their learning. Please ensure you are on time for
your interview, unfortunately if you are late we will not be able to make up
the time on that particular day.
We will
be asking the students to reflect on their next steps from the Learning
Conversations so they can update you on their progress in Term 2 as part of the
end of term celebration! We will, of course, be available to talk with
you too should you have any questions.
Term 2 is set to be a busy one with a strong focus on the classroom
programme. Below is a run-down of what your child will be focusing on.
Inquiry
We continue with our focus on the Social Sciences of “Knowing Me
Knowing You”, and our understanding of our place in the world. Students were
given a holiday task to complete an interview with a family member or close
family friend. From this we are looking to develop a deeper understanding of
local identity and how we contribute to a community. Our aim, to identify the
essence of what it means to be connected in a community.
Through the arts we will be looking at a variety of ways to tell
what it means to be connected in our local community. We also will be looking
at the diversity we have as well.
Week 5 onwards, is all about Science! We start with a week of
wonder, exploring a variety of hands on Science activities.
Students will learn how to conduct fair tests and record
scientific investigations, including drawing accurate labelled diagrams. They
will learn to observe, make inferences, critique data and interpret scientific
representations.
Calling Community Experts!
We are on the hunt for experts! We are always keen to
connect with the wealth of expertise in our local community. If you have
a background in this field and you would be willing to come in and talk to our
students as a ‘real world expert’(especially during Week 5 the 27th-31st of
May), it would be highly appreciated. Please contact your child’s classroom
teacher.
The culmination of this learning will be a student led
investigation into an area of interest and presenting findings to an audience.
Students will branch off into a Personal Passion Project (more about
these below). Finished projects will be
on display for you to view during our ‘Celebration of Learning’ towards the end
of the term.
Writing
We will
be focusing on two main genres in Writing this term. We begin with biographies,
tied into our Knowing Me Knowing You Inquiry. We will then move into
explanation writing to support our Science inquiries. The aim of these lessons
will be to build students’ capability in nonfiction writing; planning and
organising ideas in paragraphs and following an appropriate structure. All
students will continue to build positive writing attitudes through the use of
quick writes.
Reading
Reading
will continue to be used across all areas of the curriculum. In addition,
guided reading groups will focus on developing students’ evaluation skills
(making generalisations based on the ideas and information given, and backing
up their thinking with evidence from across a text). Making the link
between Reading and Writing, students will analyse the features of,
biographies, explanatory and instructional texts to synthesise these in their
own writing. Students will actively participate
as part of reading groups exploring the ideas, features and structures of both
fiction and nonfiction texts, as well as using a range of web based reading
resources, which allow students to interact with texts online. All students
have a read theory account to support reading comprehension online.
Read
Theory https://readtheory.org/
Mathematics
Students
will continue to develop their strategies for solving problems in a range of
contexts. They will be encouraged to discuss, explore, question, clarify
and explain their thinking as they work. Students will work both individually
and in groups, with ‘workshops’ that address specific areas of need. We will be
particularly focused on developing measurement competency, with linear
measurements, area, volume and then extend student understanding of proportions
and ratios, specifically fractions, decimals and percentages.
PPP - Personal Passion Projects
This project is an opportunity for our senior
students to learn through delving into their passions! We will introduce this
to students at the end of Week 4. For homework in Week 5 your child will
be asked to develop and share a proposal for their project with you and their
teacher. This will be a plan of action that will spread throughout the next
five weeks of the term. Students will have at least one morning each week
dedicated to working on their passion project but it is expected they will also
need to use some of their own time at home to complete it.
The Arts
This term
our Art focus is heavily entwined with our Inquiry. Students will be
taking time to develop stories through a variety of art mediums. They will also
continue their visual arts focus with Eve Owen. Music and Performing Arts
continues to be incorporated in our Technicraft rotations, as do our
“Introduction to Spanish” lessons. Kapa Haka also kicks off this term in
preparation for Huttfest, formerly known as Polyfest. This will be on Monday
afternoons, initially for all students and then, from Week 4 onwards, only for
those interested in participating in the Huttfest.
Physical Education
This term
our focus is Cross Country and Gymnastics. Fitness is programmed in for every
morning (weather permitting). We will also be cross country running to build up
our fitness in preparation for the Year 3-8 School Cross Country event on
Tuesday 21st May with a postponement day of Thursday the 23rd of May. Suitable footwear for running will need to be
at school every day.
Health
This term
we start with our first lessons from the The Family Planning ‘Sexuality Road’
program. This is a sequence of 11 sessions that we will run over the
coming next three terms. During this
program students develop competencies for health and positive sexuality, build
resilience, learn to demonstrate empathy and develop skills that enhance
personal relationships. Should you wish to find out more about the
program or view the resources, please do not hesitate to get in contact.
More
information around this program will be sent out closer to the time.
Technicraft
This will
continue as last term with students rotating through; Fabric, Woodwork, Music,
Spanish and Cooking.
Other things to note...
Trips
On
Wednesday 22nd May is National Young Leaders’ Day. We will be taking the bus to
Te Rauparaha Arena in Porirua for a day of inspiring speakers and activities
aimed at developing the leadership of young people. To find out more http://www.nyldnz.org/about/
This day
is for our Year 8 students only, if we have any spare slots we will
offer them out to Year 7 on a first come basis. More information about
costs to come shortly.
Homework
Weekly
homework will be set this term. This will continue to comprise of a
reading log and maths practise (focussing on their identified knowledge goals
from in class) using a range of websites, but specifically http://ixl.co.nz.
Additional
Inquiry work will also be included throughout the term. From Week 5
onwards this will include preparation work for, or work on student’s Personal
Passion Projects. Please take it as given that there is homework EVERY
week unless you receive an email to specifically say otherwise! We are
always happy to negotiate homework with families on an individual basis.
Wet Weather
With the
winter months fast approaching, many of us start to get a bit touchy 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. It is
also important that all of our students have jackets in their bags. We do cross
the main road to get to the library, hall and buddy classes, given that we have
to be careful around the crossing this allows plenty of time for our students
to get wet if they do not have the appropriate clothing.
Phones
We
understand the need for students to have access to cellphones for after school
contact. While students are at school it is expected that all phones are turned
off and are in the student’s bag. You should not get a phone call or text from
your son or daughter throughout the day from their cellphone. Any calls
regarding sickness etc will come from the school office or your child’s
teacher.
Early Arrivers to School
As we
head into the colder and darker months of the year and whilst we love seeing
the grounds used productively, it would be appreciated if students arrived at
school at 8am at the earliest. We cannot guarantee to have teachers on the
senior site prior to this.
Learning Journeys and Celebration of Learning
At the
end of this term the classrooms will be open for the afternoon for your child
to share their learning with you from the first half of the year. Your child
will have two platforms to record and share their work with you; their
clearfile and online on Google Drive. The date for this celebration is still to
be confirmed, but further information will be sent out from the office.
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:
Chantel
(Rm 21): lyons@muritai.school.nz
Jon (Rm
22): mackie@muritai.school.nz
Ruth
(Rm22): hooke@muritai.school.nz
Stephanie
(Rm23) lamborn@muritai.school.nz
Thank you
again for your support,
Team Kāhu
Teachers
Jon,
Ruth, Chantel and Stephanie
