Thank you to those of you
who came to Orientation night on Wednesday. I appreciate that it was a school
night, and there were families who couldn't make it. Below is a summary of what
was discussed for those who were not here:
·
Our classes are
made up of Y3 and Y4 students, who work very well together.
·
Rooms 1 and 2 are
operating collaboratively. At the moment we are setting up classroom routines
and the children's books to establish high expectations. Our focus in the
morning is on key curriculum areas – reading, writing and maths. Focus in the
afternoons – Inquiry, Assemblies, PE, Art.
·
Our inquiry this
term is "Zero to Hero" - an inquiry into New Zealand heroes and
heroines. There will be a research aspect involved in this inquiry, as well as
multiple practical experiences including a trip to Rutherfords den and the
Canterbury Museum.
·
Discoverers 1 and
Discoverers 2 pods are both part of the Year 3/4 syndicate – we are working on
the same things, just in two separate pods.
·
Star Student -
each child has the chance to be our "Star Student", which involves
jobs around the classroom, leading the class when lining up, sitting up on a
chair and helping like a 'mini teacher'. The children cherish this opportunity.
·
Library day is
Wednesday. A gentle reminder to your child to remember their books for
Wednesday is very helpful!
·
Garden to Table -
Happens 3x a term for each class in the Year 3/4 syndicate. Our first Garden to
Table experience was awesome! The next date for Discoverers 1 Garden to Table
is 7th March, and then again on 28th March. Do let us know if you are able to
help out.
·
Goals setting
conferences for Year 4’s - look out for info on the blog or email about these.
·
Behaviour
management: class Dojo’s are awarded for showing our values or putting in a
great effort; we use restorative practises to resolve conflict, and ensure that
the class emphasis is being positive, firm and fair.
·
Supporting your
child’s learning at home: Homework / Home Learning – We encourage at this age
that children read for at least 20 minutes. This can be at night/before school,
or split up. Reading groups formally begin next week, and books will be sent
home with children next week. Children can also read library books if they
like.
·
Maths home
learning can be accessed through Studyladder (logins will be sent home next
week) and there is also an optional Homework Challenge grid posted on our blog
under the "Home learning Term 1" tab. Evidence can be bought in to
school by the child, and kept in the back of their Spelling book (paper) or
shown to the class / posted on the blog (digital).
·
If you would like
to discuss specific aspects about your child’s learning, please feel free to
make an appointment with class teacher/s. There are Year 3 milestone
conferences, and Year 4 goal setting conferences to discuss these too.
·
Communication –
Our blog is a great way to keep up with the learning in our pod - we endeavour
to post as often as we can, and if there is anything specific you'd like to
know about or see do drop us a line. Jenny and I are available on email 24/7,
and you can call in to the classroom before or after school for a quick chat
too.
·
Help in the
classroom – We love having parent helpers for for school trips, Art, Garden to
Table, putting reading books away, changing our class set of library books, and
for Writing on Monday - Wednesday mornings 9am - 9.50am. If you would like to
help out in the classroom or outside of the classroom let us know.
Thank you!
Kind regards,
Hayley and Jenny.
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