Notices to Parents

Week 10, Term 4. 2014

Well here we are, the final week of 2014, can you believe it?  This will  be my final notice for the year and will quickly outline the happenings for the last three and a half days of school.  But before I get to that, I just want to say a huge thank you to you all for being such a super group of parents this year.  It it always such a pleasure getting to know new families as well as reconnecting with old friends and this year I have been blessed with a great bunch of adults.   I am feeling a little sad as I write this last notice because I have had such an amazing year and I can honestly say your kids have been a pleasure to teach. I will miss each one of them when they move on to continue their journey in their big Year 2 class.    Hopefully I will see some of you again in the future with younger siblings and I know we will catch up out in the playground from time to time.  I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holiday.  Thank you once again for a wicked year. xxxxxx

*Monday - Nativity Play at 12 followed by a shared lunch.
Classroom visits at 2:15 where children get to meet their new teacher and check our their new room

*Tuesday - Fun Day at school from 9am.  All parents and family welcome, please bring togs, towel, sun block, and wear mufti.  We will not have a shared lunch on this day but will sit under the trees to eat together.

*Wednesday - Prize giving - all kids should have received a pink slip with their report if they are receiving a prize,
Mass - all children in uniform to meet on the field at 5pm.

*Thursday - Year 6 farewell at 11am followed by closing of the school at 12.

Have a great week
Annie

Week 9, Term 4, 2014

What!  Week 9!  Here we go....

Obviously the  Production is the big thing for this week.  The children will  all be involved in the Cinderella show so this week will  be a touch messy. We will be in and out of the hall for practices and the children are ALL expected to attend both shows, Wednesday and Thursday nights.
Room 13 will have a dress rehearsal on Friday for our Nativity play.  Please ensure your child's costume is at school by Friday.  If you are having trouble with this, let me know as I have a variety of Jesus type costumes here.
We are on Assembly in Friday so if you would like to attend, it will be at 2:05pm in the hall.
Next week on Tuesday is our annual Junior Picnic.  We will have this fun day at school.  Please come and join us for all or part of the day.  We will have a shared lunch under the trees outside on this day.
I have completed all testing and reports are written.  If your child is to receive an award in the final prize giving, you will receive a note home.  Out of 20 children, only 5 awards are given - two for academic excellence, 2 for consistent effort all year and one for walking in the foot steps of Christ.  It is such a hard job choosing just 5 kids from a class of amazing 6 and 7 year olds, I think they are all awesome.
We are swimming every day this week.
Thank you to the parents who accompanied us to Playtopia last week.  The kids had an awesome time.  Special thanks to Andrea who organised for us to use St Michael's rugby club for our lunch.  Super!
Next week we will be winding down. packing up our classroom and bringing books etc home.   If your child has any books un used from this year, hold on to them, they will probably be able to use them next year.
I will add to the blog during the week if anything else comes up.
Have a great week
Annie

 

Week 8, Term 4, 2014

Hi everyone and welcome back to another busy week in Room 13.  This week we have our fireplace up in the classroom and we are getting ready for Christmas.  The children will, over the next wee while be talking about Advent and the coming of Jesus, as well as practising our Nativity.

The date for the Nativity is the 15th December at 12pm.  Following that, the children will have a shared lunch that you are most welcome to stay for.

They have been practising hard, have learned all their lines and some of the costumes are now starting to arrive at school. If you are having trouble with your childs costume, let me know.  We have a lot of "Jesus" type clothes at school.  Please send the costume to school in a named plastic bag before Friday the 12th.

We have discussed the outing to celebrate the end of the year and the kids have decided on Playtopia.  We will go this Friday. A note will be sent home today.  Any parents who would like to accompany us are very welcome.  We will walk there.

This week we will continue as much as possible with the classroom program.  It is important to keep the momentum going as progress can still be made over the next couple of weeks.  Please continue to read with your child and to have them at school on time.  It is getting harder and harder to get up in the morning and to motivate the children but there is still plenty of learning to be had

We will spend some time over the next two weeks completing assessment tasks for the Portfolio's which will come home for the last time next Friday.  They are a lovely record of your child's learning and a lot of work goes into them.  I hope you will keep them for many years and when the kids are older, they can look back and remember their year in Room 13 and what they could do when they were 6.  

Have a great week
Annie

 

Week 7, Term 4, 2014 

 Hi everyone, sorry my notice is late this week.  For some reason, when I write it at home it will not save.  Instead it goes to drafts and I forgot yesterday to save it.   Anywho, here we go...

This week there will be singing for the production every morning at 8:40.  Please have your children to school on time so they are not embarassed walking into the hall on their own.  There are still a couple of kids late every day.  I know mornings can be hectic, but it is really important that you show them how important school is by getting them here on time.  Thank you.

We have finished our ERO review.  We will not know exactly what they have found until we get their full report in 2015.  The reviewer that visited Room 13 did mention how well the children commmented on their learning when she questioned them.  They were just awesome!

The year is zooming away very quickly and there is a lot on.  I try as much as possible to keep consistency in the classroom so that the kids stay focused and on task right up to the end.  There are a few Room 13 kids who still need to work really hard to consolidate some skills and knowledge so we will be keeping up our classroom program to help them reach their targets.  Thank you for your support.

The Movies:  I had planned a trip to the movies on Friday, unfortunately, they got back to me yesterday to say they couldn't put a movie on for us unless we were happy to watch an M or R16 rated movie.  BOO!  We can however go next week on Thursday but the movie is rated PG.  I will send a note home today to let you know the title so you can check out the trailer yourselves and we can make a group decisision.  If we cannot manage the movies, we will try for Playtopia instead.  It is an easy walk down the road and the kids would have a blast.  

Reading: Please keep up the home reading.  A lot of our kids are reading very well now and can read anything we put in front of them.  Please encourage them to do this.  It helps build vocabulary and purpose in reading.  If they read one of their own books, just note that down in the reading log.  If your child needs a new reading log, they know where they are and what to do.
Writing: This week we are writing about Mary and doing some Mary art to put up on our wall.  I decided we would write a report about her and use facts we have learned during our study on Mary.
Some of the children are having some trouble recording middle vowel sounds.  Please practice these at home with your child by practising some simple words like cat, sit, off.
Mathematics: We will continue with our basic facts practice this week.  The kids loved the competitive nature of our tests last week and recording their scores.  The idea is to improve each day on what they managed the day before.  Practising these at home is also helpful.  They must be able to instantly recall facts to 5, facts to 10 and facts to 20 eg if I have 2,how many more to make 5? or 2+3= ?  It is great if you can give them a bit of practice each night.  They don't need to write them, saying them in the car or the bath or for 5 minutes before bed is great.
RE: We have finished our unit on Mary and next we will work on Advent and Christmas.  I don't want to start Christmas too early so we will be focusing on the other curriculum areas during this week.t

Independence:  Next year your kids will be in Year 2.   Becoming a Year 2 student can be a big jump for some of our kids.  Most of the Room 13 children are very independent and can manage themselves beautifully.  Please help me set your child up for success next year by insisting they take responsibility for some things in their lives.  eg packing their school bags, knowing when they need their togs, organising themselves for the day when they get to school etc.  If we help them to be in control and in charge, they will do famously next year when they step up to the next level in their learning journey.

There is a lot going on at school. If you are confused about anything, just ask and if I don't know (which is highly likely),  I will do my best to find out for you.
Have a super week, not long to go now
Annie

Week 6, Term 4, 2014

Hello everyone, welcome back to Week 6 (Lord) of our very busy fourth term.  I am at my computer at 10:30 writing this because my husband thought that fencing the farm was more important than me getting my school work done!  Needless to say, he is in bed fast asleep and I am not.  However, we have a big week ahead and this is what is on....

*Incase you had not heard, ERO will be in our school this week.  What this means is that they will be investigating our awesome school to ensure that we are infact doing what we say we are doing, giving your kids a great education, in a beautiful environment with dedicated teachers.  Obviously it is a bit more technical than that but there should be very little disruption for the kids and I am convinced Room 13 will show them that we are the most amazing class in the school.  I have to say that even Mrs Young agrees with me on that one.  So, we will all carry on as usual and they will visit Room 13 on Tuesday.
*Reading - I have completed the reading testing - it took a really long time, some kids moving up two or three levels since the end of term 3.  I was so impressed.  Every single child is at or above in Room 13 so hip hip hooray for all of them.  Please continue with the home reading and if you notice your child having trouble with anything and you don't know what to do to help, give me a bell and we will figure it out together.
*Writing - Tomorrow we are writing letters to Santa. This seems slightly premature but if we don't get them in the post pretty soon, we won't receive a letter back before the end of the term.  We will go on a walk after play to post them to the North Pole.  Exciting stuff.  On Tuesday we will begin writing character profiles on Jack, his Mum, the giant and the old man.  This is to complete our study on Jack and the Beanstalk.  We could not perform our puppet shows on Friday, too much on with Grandparents day, so we will be performing them tomorrow.  We did practice on Thursday and your children were absoutely hilarious.  I enjoyed watching them so much!   On the subject of performing, if anyone is having any trouble sourcing a costume for your child for the nativity play, please let me know, I have lots of "Jesus style" costumes in my cupboard.
*Mathematics - this week we are doing a big push on basic facts.  Each day we will start maths with a basic facts timed test.  The idea is to build on the score from the day before so that at the end of the week, we have improved.  Following that, we will be focusing on using our exisiting knowledge to solve problems in maths and helping each other to see that there are many ways of solving the same problem.
*RE: we did not get our assessment task completed last week so we will do that tomorrow.  Following that, we will be talking about Advent and Jesus.
Thank you to everyone who sent the $2.50 along for a new RE book.  I think we nearly have them all now.  And thank you to my lovely pasters who come each week to help me keep my classroom in order.  I don't know what I would do without you Olga, Rosie and Nadia. XXXXX
*As a treat for the children for their amazingly hard work and great behaviour during the year, I would like to take them to the movies.  We would walk down to the theatre together, watch the movie then walk back.  I would like to make it Friday next week.  Once I have confirmed the price we will discuss it and make a decision.  It is so great to have the best class in the school - it must be celebrated!
Have a great week everyone
Annie

 

Week 5, Term 4, 2014

Hi, I hope you all enjoyed the lovely weather over the weekend, we certainly did.  It was our third daughter Lilly's 13th birthday so we have had a great weekend of festivities.  Back to it now though, here is what is on in week 5...
*Grandparents Mass - Friday at 9am followed by some entertainment and morning tea in the hall.
*No assembly this week
*Golden Time - because we have no assembly, we have a little extra time for Golden Time this week.  We are going to be making marionette puppets.  Should be interesting and lots of fun.
*ERO - the Education Review office visit is not far away.  We are all busy making sure our classrooms look vibrant and have lots of learning displayed.  The children may be questioned about what they are learning and why.  Hopefully, the cool kids in Room 13 are pretty confident where this is concerned.  You may like to ask them what they are learning and why they are learning it and see what you think.
*Singing - the production is full steam ahead.  Every morning between now and the show, we will have singing in the hall.  The bell will ring at 8:40 so please have your children at school by 8:30 so there is no rushing or embarassment when they have to walk into a packed hall by themselves.  It is best if they are at school by 8:30 every morning as it gives them a chance to settle, prepare themselvse for the day and spend some time catching up with their friends.  The only kids from Room 13 involved in the production (other than singing) are Savannah and Josh.  They will be mice.
*Reading - the reading testing is taking longer than anticipated simply because so many children have moved up a level or two and I am having to do two or three tests on each of them.  So far, everyone is doing famously so thank you for your continued support with their reading at home.  Many of them can read anything they pick up now which is impressive.  There are variations in readers within levels so if your child brings home a book which is tricky, these tips will help you...
-read it to them first or do a walk through where you go  through the pages, point out any tricky words and discuss the overall meaning of the story.
-identify names and words you know they will not be able to chunk or sound.
-read a page each and support them by asking "does that make sense?", "did that sound right to you?", "why don't you have another go at that line".  All of these comments allow them to find the error themselves and hear what sounds right - a really important part of their reading.
*Writing - this week we will finish the Jack and the Beanstalk retells from last week and then we will be turning them into puppet shows.  Small groups of children will be performing the puppet shows on Friday morning.  I will try to record them and upload them onto the blog for you.  Our focus for writing is Narrative.
*Mathematics - we had a great week last week looking at Probability.  I have identified a few gaps in the maths knowledge and strategy while testing over the last couple of weeks.  During the rest of the term, we will be working on the bits we haven't quite grasped yet so that each child is well and truly ready for Year 2.  They are all at or above standard in Mathematics which is really great.
*RE - we have just about finished our unit on Mary.  This week we will wrap it up and have our assessment then we will be looking at Advent and Christmas - Can you believe it?

Quite a few kids still do not have their new RE books.   Please send $2.50 to school so that I can purchase these and get the Mary worksheets pasted in.  Thank you to those who have already sent their books in.

Any further notices will be added to the blog as they come to hand.  The next few weeks are very busy ones so please check the blog regularly and remember, we would love to hear from you so feel free to comment on our postings.
Have a great week,
Annie

 

Week 4, Term 4, 2014

Hi everyone, welcome back to another exciting week of learning in Room 13.  Here is what's on...
*Reading - I will be testing this week (started last week) to ensure I have all children on the appropriate level before I write the reports.  Please encourage your children to read even if they bring a book home they have seen before.  They will be choosing from their rocket boxes this week. Some of the more able readers might like to choose a book from home or even read an article on the internet or from the paper.
*Writing - we will be retelling Jack and the Beanstalk this week as part of our learning on Narrative.   On Friday we will make puppets and next week put on puppet shows using our retell.
*RE - we had a lovely liturgy to celebrate All Saints and All Souls day today.  The children were extremely well behaved in the Church.  We will complete a follow up activity and will continue with our focus on Mary for the rest of this week and next week.  All children in Room 13 need a new RE scrapbook.  Thank you to those parents who have sent money in or purchased one already.  I have lots of work to paste in so please could the remaining parents send $2.50 in to school this week so that I can get the new books started.
*Maths - this week we will be doing a unit on Probability - the chance of something occuring.  Our unit is around maths language and making decisions about chance.  The language includes might, will, won't, definitely, possibly, maybe etc.
*Our topic on Concept will include puppet making on Friday as well as the puppet shows next week.  I will do my best to record them and upload them onto the blog.
*Our Christmas Nativity play is going very well.  Most of the children have learnt their lines already and the singing is gorgeous.  Thank you for your support with this.  The date for the play has yet to be confirmed but it will be in the last week of Term.
Have a super week, Annie

 

Week 3, Term 4, 2014

Hi Parents, week 3 already.. We have had such a great start to the Term, lots of fun and learning, it is great to be back together.  This week Mr Macmillan has not put the notices on so I may need to add some extras on during the week.  Please have a quick check during the week so we don't miss anything.  This week....
*Mathematics: We will continue with counting on and back to solve maths problems, skip counting in 5's and adding 2 digit numbers with reworking.
Writing: We will begin writing ME poems this week. In the beginning of the year, we wrote about ourselves and painted self portraits.  This week we will be having another go to see how much better we have got at both art and writing.  The poems and paintings will be hung in the hall foyer.
Reading: Keep up the great reading.  We are currently all on target to meet the standard for the end of the year.  I am so pleased.  Lots of reading mileage will help with fluency and different text styles will help the kids build vocabulary and understand text, keep reading, reading, reading!!
*Nativity: We are all practising our lines and songs and the kids are doing really well.  Some of the children did not have their homework book at school when I pasted their words in.  If the books are at school tomorrow, I will make sure all the words are in.  The play is going to be spectacular!
*Swimming every day this week, unless it is really cold.  I will make a decision on a day to day basis while the weather is uncertain.
*RE: we will continue with our Strand on Mary during this week. The kids have such a nice way about them when engaged in RE lessons and during Prayer sessions.  Please chat with them about what they are learning in class.  It will help consolidate the learning that is happening at school and you will be really suprised at how much they know.
* Golden Time this week will be pet rocks.  If you have any decent sized river stones at home that would make a cool pet rock, please drag them along to school.

Have a super week everyone.
Annie

 

Week 2, Term 4

Hi everyone, here we are in Week 2.  Thank you for a great start to the new term with just about all of us in our correct Summer uniform with hats and togs! Awesome.  This week we will not have too many interruptions so we can get stuck into some great learning...
*Maths - we will continue with counting back from any teen number, skip counting in 2's and using the skill to problem solve and adding 2 digit numbers by splitting teens into tens and ones.  Phew!
*Writing - we are writing Spring Poems in the first part of the week and then doing our writing assessment on Recount on Thursday.  We will go for a Spring walk then plan, write and edit a story telling our readers all about it.
*Reading - guided reading and our circuit will continue as usual.  We will also have buddy reading for extra mileage and shared reading with the big book.  The focus for the big book is Narrative.
*RE - we started our Strand Mary, Communion of Saints yesterday.  This will continue for the next 5-6 weeks and be followed by Advent then Christmas with some special stuff in between.

All the children have finished their RE scrap books.  Because we still have a lot to cover, I am asking that parents either purchase a new Clever Kiwi scrap book or send $2.50 to school.  

*PE - we are learning how to play team games like t.ball, cricket etc during PE on our non swimming weeks.  The kids are getting really good.
*The school Production has been pushed out to Week 9 due to Moira's broken ankle.  We will taihoa on the singing in the mornings for the time being but will still be practising for our Nativity Play.  Words and songs will come home this week.
Golden Time - PIZZA(again)

Have a great week
Annie

 

 

Term 4, 2014 - WOW!

Hi eveyone and welcome back to the last term of 2014.  Term 4 is always jam packed with so much going on, here is where we will start in Room 13.....

*Reading - all our kids are at or above standard in reading and we would like it to stay that way.   Please keep up the home reading and encourage your child to read different types of stories including articles from the paper (when appropriate) fiction and non fiction, poetry etc.  Also, please discuss their stories with them.  This is the best way to find out if they understand what they are reading.  The Reading Club has finished now and we had some amazing results.   Lets keep pushing them forward.

*Writing - this term writing is around Narrative which includes poetry, fairtytales, myths and legends and any made up stories.  We will be covering all of these during the term in our writing.  The children should all be using full stops and capital letters properly now so please encourage this when they are writing at home.  They will all have a home journal for practising writing this term.  More information will come home with the journal.

*Mathematics - Term 4 is often about revising and filling the gaps so that the children are ready for Year 2.  We will be focusing heavily on maths this term and each week there will be homework practie activities for the children in whatever their focus is.  It is really important to practice the knowledge aspect of maths at home with them because repetition is what will ensure they have it.

*RE - we will focus on Mary  and the Rosary first this term, then on Communion of Saints.   Lastly we will look at Advent and Christmas.
*PE - This term we will swim in odd weeks, 1,3,5,7,9.  I will make a decision on the day regarding the temperature and if swimming is in their best interest but please do bring their togs this week.

*Christmas Nativity - This term our Concept is Theatre and Production.  The whole school production of Cinderella will involve everyone but we will also put on our own play about the Christmas Story.  We will begin learning songs and lines straight away. These will be in the children's homework books so they can practice at home.  The children have indicated to me the part they would like in the play so hopefully, everyone will  be happy.

*Oral Language will be around the Play and reciting a poem and karakia.  We are learning 3 karakia this term.They will also be in the homework book so that the children can practice at home.

*This week we have:
-Sports on Tuesday between 11-11:30 please bring PE gear
-Rosary on Thursday at 8:45
*Ronald McDonald on Thursday at 10am
*Swimming every day this week - temperature permitting

Have a great week everyone
Annie

 

 

Week 10!!!!!!!

Last week of school, can you believe it?  What a fantastic term we have had with some amazing learning and progress made by your brilliant children.  In Room 13, all our readers and writers are at or above standard.  This is no easy feat in a class of 20 very different individuals so thank you all for your hard work and continued support.  Didn't I tell you that Room 13 is the best class in the school.  I am so proud of them all.
A special mention has to go to Byron Dixon this week. He has just rocketed ahead in Literacy this term, moving up around 7 levels in reading, increasing his spelling words from 32 to 101 and writing beautiful, well thought out stories.  Congratulations Byron, everyone in Room 13 is so proud of you.

This week there is nothing extra on that I need to remind you of.  We will complete our Portfolio testing, catch up on a few bits that sick kids missed last week, wind up the Reading Club and have some fun to celebrate a Term of very hard work.
On Friday we will once again attempt to go to McDonalds for our Globalisation Visit.  Perhaps if everyone agrees, we could turn it into a wee reward for great behaviour and work this term by staying on for a happy meal.  I think they are about $5 so let me know what you think.
Jump Jam will continue for the rest of this week then we will be into swimming in Term 4.
Miss Lovegrove had a wonderful 6 weeks with us in Room 13.  She got quite tearful when she said goodbye to the kids on Friday.  She will come back in Term 4 and help with the Nativity Play so we will all get to see her again.  She wrote a card to the children and here are her words:

Dear Room 13,
Thank you for welcoming me into your class.  I have really enjoyed learning with you over the last 6 weeks.  We have had fun together and learnt lots.  You have helped me learn how to be a teacher and hopefully one day I will be an awesome teacher just like Mrs Russell.  I will always treasure the time I have spent in your class.  You are a bunch of super cool kids and I could not have asked for a better class to work with.  I will miss yoyu, but I promise to come back and visit.  You are all super star students.  Thank you for everything,
Love Miss Lovegrove.

What a lovely testament to your gorgeous children, they really are super stars.
Have a great week everyone,
Annie 

 

Week 9, Term 3, 2014

Can you believe there are only two weeks to go?  Wow!

There is not a lot of extra "stuff" on this week which is super because in Room 13 we are having assessment week.  Please do you best to have your children at school every day as it is very hard to go back and catch up on missed assessments.

This week we will be assessing:

*The last of the Term 3 running records.  Everyone in Room 13 is at or above in reading so far.  Yipee.
*Globalisation - we will be assessing the kids knowledge of where food comes from around the world, how it gets to NZ, why we import food and how it helps people from other cultures keep their beliefs and customs alive.
*Printing - how well the children can identify what they need to work on and the tools they need to improve.
*Writing - Procedure - how to make a pizza.
*Mathematics - Knowledge testing as well as assessments on Strand maths, measurement.
*Religious Education - God
*Science - carrying out an experiment including making a hypothesis(guess), experimenting and commenting on results.  (liquid, solid, gas).

We will be doing some learning in between all of this but your children may bring home a book that has either not been see or has been chosen by them.  Please support them in their reading if you think it is a bit hard.

*Trip - on Friday we will be walking to McDonalds on Fenton St.  The purpose of our trip is to find out where the McDonalds food comes from, how it gets to the restaurants and what they do to it once it gets there.  We will also be investigating how the McDonalds name has become popular in New Zealand and how it has become part of our culture.  A note will come home tonight.

Have a super week,
Annie

 

 

Week 8, Term 3, 2014

 What a great weekend!  Doesn't it make you feel like getting outside and cleaning up after Winter.  We headed to Bunnings and began the clean up with lawns, vege garden and windows.  We also had our oldest daughter home for the weekend which was super.  I hope all the Dads had a special day on Sunday.
This week Miss Lovegrove is on full control in the classroom.  I will be supporting her and observing her teaching over the week as well as catching up on some testing etc with the children.  Please continue to support her as she continues her learning.
Things to remember this week are:
*Cake stall Wednesday
*Mass Friday at 9am
*Malteser races for Golden Time

*Mathematics: Miss Lovegrove will continue her unit on measurement with volume.  Strand maths at this level is about maths language, making comparisons and checking estimates.  The children are having a great time.
*Writing: The children will be focusing on Procedural Writing which includes instructions.  On Friday we made ice cream for Golden Time and this will be the topic for writing on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  The children will be thinking about ingredients, what they did, what the outcome was as well as publishing and  illustrating their writing.
*Reading: Guided reading will continue as usual this week.  I will still be taking out the Reading Club from Monday-Thursday and Miss Lovegrove will continue with the rest of the programme.  The Reading Club visisted the Library today and we talked about how we can make sure the books we choose are at our level.  Mrs O'Leary came up with a great little resource to help us.  A laminated copy of this will be in the children's book bags.
*RE: We will continue our unit on God for the next three weeks. We have been talking about God's creations and the things people make, how we can look after the things God has given us, how each thing including ourselves are special and unique and how God shows us he loves us by giving us the gift of life and the world.
*Science: We have been looking at changes of states including freezing, cooling, melting, heating and have a few fun experiments planned.  Have a talk to your child about changes in matter and see if they understand solids, liquids and gases.  Such fun with Science.
*Jump Jam will continue for the rest of the Term on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and next term we will once again be swimming.  It seems crazy to think of taking the kids to the pool now but it warms up really quickly after the October holidays.
*Globalisation:  Next week we have a trip to McDonalds planned.  The idea is that the children will use their knowledge of Globalisation to formulate some questions to ask the staff about where the food comes from, why, how it gets there and what they need to do to it before we get it on our plate. We will walk to McDonalds, go out the back and have a look at the storing, cooking and packaging side of the restaurant, ask some questions around Globalisation and finish with a burger and a play.  Parents are more than welcome to accompany us on the trip.  As soon as the time is confirmed with McDonalds, I will let you know.
Have a great week,
Annie

 

Week 7, Term 3, 2014

Another weekend gone in a flash.  This weekend I spent in Hamilton with Lilly at a Rep hockey tournament.  They were not terribly successful this time but a lot of fun was had and it was a good chance to catch up with our older daughter, Georgia who is at University there.  

This week Miss Lovegrove will be getting a lot more involved with teaching lessons in the lead up to her week of full control next week.  She is really excited, I know the kids and parents will support her 100%.

*Jump Jam Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

*Singing Wednesday

*Mufti Day Friday - gold coin donation

Miss Lovegrove will be teaching writing this week.  The writing is following on from last week focusing on Narrative.  The children will be writing their own fairy tale.  Last week we retold Cinderella and it was so successful, we thought we could have a go being authors ourselves.  Miss Lovegrove has a Lecturer visiting from Uni tomorrow so hopefully the first writing lesson will go very well.

In Mathematics we are covering making 5 and 10, adding two digit numbers together by turning them into tidy numbers and adding tens and ones and adding onto any number from 1-100 using counting on, place value and tidy numbers.  As the children are all in different places in maths, there is always a lot going on.  If you did not make it to the maths evening and would like some ideas on how to help your child specifically, let me know.

In Reading we will continue with our programme of reading to, reading with and reading by.  At school the expectation is that we read to the children 5 times a day.  This is a mighty goal with everything else that is going on at school but reading to is so important because it models what good reading sounds like.  You can use expression, funny voices, louder and softer voices, pick out tricky words, share the reading and have some lovely close time.  Please make sure you are reading to your child every day and I will make sure I am too.

The Reading Club only has another 4 weeks to go so I am working them pretty hard.  Please ensure you know what your child is focusing on in reading and how you can help them.  If you don't know, I can email you some info.

In Religious Education our focus is God the Creator.  The children respond so well to the RE programme,  please take some time to talk to them about what they are learning, it is heartening to hear them talking about God, creation, Jesus mission on earth and how they can be like Jesus.  We discussed "walking a mile in someone else's shoes" last week and the children really grasped the idea beautifully.  RE books will come home this week.  Please keep them over the weekend and bring them back Monday.

We will continue with Jump Jam for the rest of the term while the weather cooler.  Next term will once again be swimming time (cannot believe it is so close),

Oral Language has  been going really well.  We have been using De Bono's thinking hats to help us discuss and investigate.  The children have been using some lovely language whilst talking about feelings and emotions - the red hat.  This week we will begin looking at the Black Hat - negatives.

Looking forward to a great week,

Annie

Week 6, Term 3, 2014

Hi everyone and welcome back to Week 6!  Can you believe how fast this term is going?  We sure are racing in Room 13 to make sure everything gets done.  Here's whats on this week...

*Monday - Photo day
*Wednesday - Visiting Big Band at 9:50am
*Friday - Golden Time - Treasure Hunt

This week in Religious Education we will start our unit on God. The idea is the children learn that God is creator and that we should praise him for the gifts he has given us.  The children designed and created a gorgeous Creation poster which is now on the wall in the hall.  They are very proud of it and would love to show it off to you.   God will take us to the end of the term.

In Mathematics, Miss Lovegrove will continue with her group on counting on in our head and making groups to 5 and 10.  I will work on equal sharing and finding different ways to solve problems involving sharing.  This is the beginning of division and is tricky.

In Writing we have started a retell on Cinderella today.  We will spend the rest of the week writing, editing and finally publishing these stories.  Next week Miss Lovegrove will work with the children on developing their own Fairy Tale.  The genre is Narrative,.

In Reading we are working really hard and with 3 adults in the class, we are making great progress.  Some of the children have moved up 4 or 5 levels since testing in Term 2.  Very impressive.  The Reading Club are motoring along too.  Thank you for the awesome home reading.

In Oral Language we are learning to look at things emotively.  Our thinking hat is the red hat which focuses on the feelings we get when we look at something or read it.  The children are developing some lovely new language and deciding what "feelings" are.

In PE we are moving to music with Jump Jam.  We did not have it today as the photos were in the hall but most weeks it is Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  Have a look from 8:45 til 9:00am.  It is such fun and the kids love it.

Our Mathematics evening is scheduled for Wednesday this week from 5-6pm.  At present we only have 3 families from Room 13 attending.  The workshop is to help you help your kids.  Mr Macmillan has said that children can be brought and will be supervised in the Library.  It would be great to get a few more replies back,  particularly if your child is finding maths tricky.

Have a great week,

Annie

 

 

Mathematics Evening

Next Wednesday  Aug 27 at 5 pm, we will have a Maths information evening in Room 13.   The purpose of this is to show you ways you can help your child achieve the standard in Maths.  Notices will come home today with an RSVP portion.  This indicates your intention to attend and also how many take home packs I should prepare.  No kids please.
thanks, Annie

 

 

Week 5, Term 3, 2014

Hello lovely parents of the Room 13 kids.  My apologies for not posting any notices recently.  There is nothing major to report but here is what you might like to know about over the next few days...

*We have welcomed Nicole Lovegrove into our classroom for 6 weeks.  Nicole is a Year Two Teacher Trainee and is doing her practicum with us.  I have known her since she was about two, when her big brother started at St Marys with my oldest daughter Courtney.  She is energetic and enthusiastic about learning all she can while she is with us, we are lucky to have her.  

*This week we are focusing on Globalisation.  We are talking a lot about where food comes from, why we import food from other countries and how it gets here.  We are doing some writing and some mapping around this topic.  The writing is proving pretty difficult but they are giving it a good go.  Our writing for the term is procedure and the kids have a really good handle on that.

*In mathematics we are focusing on 1/2 and 1/4, being able to read it and understand what it means - splitting a group into 2 or 4.  We are practising equal sharing using 1/2 and 1/4 and also working on some problem solving.  The younger kids are working with Nicole on addition and subtraction number stories and using counting on to solve them.

*In RE we are finishing off Sacrament and will begin God next week.  

*I am currently testing for Reading but have lots of extra hands at reading time so books should come home as usual.  The Reading Club have only had one book so far this week as I have been testing them but they will go back to two books a day from today.  Thank you to Whaea Eliana who is doing a wonderful job with the reading and Nicole who is taking guided reading with the kids on level 15.

*There are no extra events to report this week, it is  a nice quiet week which is great because it gives us a chance to really get stuck into our classroom routines and learning.

*Golden Time this week will be making ice blocks.  We will have Golden Time in the morning and hopefully by the afternoon the ice blocks will be frozen.  This is to accompany our Science unit on freezing, melting, heating and cooling.

*Hopefully you are all staying dry.  Keep up the great stuff that is happening at home, particularly the reading.  We have 19 out of 20 kids reading at or above standard at present which is fabulous.  Lets keep that momentum going.  Remember, homework sheets are on the wall at the top of the stairs if you and your child want some extra homework and spelling lists are in their homework books with current words hilighted.

Have a great week,
Annie

 

 

Mary MacKillop Day Friday

Friday is a special day for St Mary's.   We will start the day with Mass, followed by some fun group activities.  Room 2 have asked Room 13 to join them for a shared lunch.  Because there is no sausage sizzle Friday, I thought this might be a great idea. Sorry for the late notice. If you can manage a plate for a shared lunch on Friday, that would be super.
Many thanks,
Annie


Week 3, Term 2, 2014
Wow another weekend over and back into it.  With that wet weather there was very little sport on during the weekend.  We took the opportunity to get our gumboots and raincoats on and prepare a space outside for our 10 week old calves that will arrive on Tuesday evening.  Lilly and Charlie are very excited.  I hope you had the opportunity to spend some time with your kids too.

Tomorrow I will not be in the classroom.  I have a Professional Development Course to attend so Whaea Eliana will be looking after the children.  She is very excited and the children seem to love her so I am sure they will have a great day.  I will be back at school at 3pm.

During this week we will be jump jamming Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday for fitness.  Pop into the hall at 8:45 if you like.  It is such fun watching the whole of the junior school move to music.
We planted seeds on Friday for Golden Time.  No one knows what they planted so in the near future, we will be getting a surprise.  Once they do start to grow, the children will be using the internet to try and find out what they are growing.  There are 4 different plants. It was a great Golden Time activity.
This week we will be making ice blocks and seeing how making something very cold, changes it.
Our writing this week will be around procedure but will also have a descriptive element.  We will be writing "how to make fruit kebabs" instructions and then we will be following someone elses instruction to see if we can make the kebab exactly how that person described.  There is some amazing writing happening in Room 13.  Check out the cool lunch boxes displayed in the classroom.
In Mathematics we will continue with equal sharing which is the beginning of division and entails being able to use doubles, halves and skip counting to share things equally without needing counters or other materials.   Tricky stuff.  The other group will be working on solving addition and subtraction problems by holding a number in their head and counting forward or back the remaining number.  To do this they need to be able to count forward to 50 and back from 20 and understand that addition and subtraction are merely counting forward and back.
In Reading we will continue with our guided reading programme as well as our must do's and can do's.  Whaea Eliana will be in to support the readers while I work with the Reading Club.  We are also  introducing a Buddy Reading Programme so the children will be looking at what expanding vocabulary, fluency, accuracy and comprehension mean and using this knowledge to support their buddy in their reading.
In Religious Education we will be carrying on with Sacrament and in particular the meaning of Holiness and in PE we will be focusing on large ball skills.
Congratulations to the children who received Principal Awards on Friday at Assembly.  I am always on the lookout for worthy recipients of this coveted prize.  The children spent some time with Mr MacMillan on Friday afternoon which they seemed to enjoy very much.  This week we will finish our Mr MacMillan's Snore book and send a copy home with everyone.  Funny!
This week we have Interviews for all children who may not have met or are not on track to meet National Standards.  It is a good opportunity to discuss how we can make sure they do get there and that parents have the support they need to help their child.  If you have concerns about anything and your child is not in the above category, you are welcome to email me or catch me before school.
On Friday we have our Mary MacKillop Feast Day Mass and celebrations.   Please join us at Mass at 9am.  We will hopefully be meeting our new Priest Father Eamon.
Mr MacMillan mentioned in the newsletter last week that a number of kids are arriving to school late.  Just a reminder that school does start at 8:45 and it is important the children are at school in time to organise themselves, get any jobs done and spend some time chatting with their friends.   Being on time allows them to settle into the day and eliminates any disruptions for the rest of the children.  8:30 is the time we suggest you aim for.
Everyone has settled back into school beautifully and even though I have said it before, I will say it again, what super kids you all have! I am so lucky to be spending my days with such a great group of enthusiastic, hard working, fun kids. They are just fantastic!  Thank you for all the hard work you have put into them, it makes my job so fulfilling.
Have a super week, see you Tuesday,
Annie


Week 2, Term 3
Welcome back to Week 2.  Starting the term with a head cold was not ideal, but I am feeling 100% now so week 2 should be fantastic!  Over the weekend I said goodbye to Father Mark and attended his last 10am Mass in Rotorua.  Over the past 7 years I have got to know him really well.  He has helped me in so many ways, sometimes just by sharing a joke but mostly in developing my Faith journey.  I will miss his Masses and particularly his Homily's but mostly his friendship.  Luckily, Tauranga is not far away.
This week.........
There is not too much on this week which is great because we can really get stuck into our programme of learning.  During this term, we will have Jump Jam in the hall on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 8:45.  Jump Jam is fun movement to music and the whole junior school are involved.  It is great fun.  Pop you head into the hall if you want to check it out.
*Reports and Portfolios went home on Friday.  Most of the children in Room 13 are working at or above Standard for their time at school which is pleasing.  If you child is not quite there, and you would like an interview, please go online and use the password sent home last week to book a time or see me before school.  Please can we have the Portfolios back by the end of the week so I can start putting Term 3's info in.
*On Thursday the Whanau group will be selling steam pudding and custard as a fundraiser.  I am not sure how much yet but last year they were yummy!  I will let you know the cost asap and the children can order with me.
*This week we are writing descriptions about what we find in our lunch boxes.  Then we are going to investigate where the food comes from and how it connects us to the rest of the world.
*In Mathematics some of us are practising equal sharing which is the beginning of division and some of us will be looking at solving word problems using addition and subtraction.  On Friday the Strand maths will be around figuring out how we measure things and what non standard units we can use to measure.
*In Religious Education we are looking at Sacrament having finished our final assessment on the Church and Belonging last week.  In a couple of weeks the children will once again  bring home their RE scrapbooks.  Please have a talk to them about what they have been learning.  They love their Religious Education lessons and often get so much information from them.  I think you will be quite impressed.
*In Reading we will continue with our guided reading programme.  Each day in Reading we have a different focus for independent work.  We have comprehending text, sequencing events and blend and chunk knowledge.  The children have to work really hard during reading to get all their work done.  They are hard little workers at school and are making superb progress in Reading.  Our release teacher, Eliana is extremely impressed with how far along they are after only one year at school.  Thank you for continuing to support and encourage their love for reading.
The Reading Club had an hilarious week last week.  We read a story called "Dad's Snore" and decided to write our own version using Mr MacMillan instead of the character in the book.  They were so funny, photographing Mr MacMillan and sneaking around so he didn't find out.  I will send them each home with a copy once it is completed.
*Next Monday I am on an Oral Language Course for the day so there will be a reliever in the class.  I always leave a comprehensive plan for relievers so the day will carry on as normal for the kids.

I hope you all had a super weekend in the (somewhat cold) sun.  Keep working hard with you awesome kids,
Annie



Week 1, Term 3, 2014

Hi and welcome back to Term 3.  Hopefully you have all had a wonderful time with your children and they are ready for some great learning in Room 13!

This term our concept is Globalisation.  We will be looking at food from around the world and alongside this will run a Science unit on Material World, focusing on observing changes when cooking, cooling, freezing and melting.  Later in the term it would be great if we could have a shared lunch where some of our International families share their favourite dishes.  We have many cultures represented at our school and in Room 13, hopefully over the next 10 weeks we may be able to learn some more about what is special to them.

In Literacy we will be focusing on Procedural writing which goes hand in hand with recipes and cooking.  Our Oral Language will be around the Thinking Hats.  These hats are on the door to our cupboard in the classroom.  Each hat describes a way of thinking about information, they lead to great discussions and debates. We will be looking at the Red Hat, Feelings, first using newspaper articles.  Our Reading programme will continue as normal with the Reading Club carrying on for the entire term.  During the first part of the morning, Eliana Maxwell will be relieving in the classroom so that I can work with the reading club. We are experiencing some great success in our club after only 3 weeks.  The class reading programme will consist of Guided, shared, independent, and buddy reading.  Mrs Dunkley's class will be coming in before morning tea each day to buddy read with our kids.  It gives them a chance to show off their skills, get some reading mileage and practice their reader once again before bringing it home.

In Numeracy our focus will again be Number.  This term a big part of our programme will be looking at problem solving.  We have a lot of knowledge, we now need to be able to draw on that across contexts to solve maths problems.  Our Strand this term is Measurement and particularly measuring using non standard units.  This will also work in well with our concept.

In Religious Education our Strands are Sacrament and God.  We have 3 Masses this term and a farewell on Wednesday at 10am for Father Mark.  You are all invited to attend and stay for morning tea afterwards.

We are half way through the year and on Friday the children will bring home their Portfolio and a Mid Year Report focusing on National Standards. Following this, there will be an opportunity to meet with me at a Parent/Teacher Interview.  These interviews are not compulsory so if you have no concerns it is not necessary to make an appointment.  I have met with many of you to discuss the 6 year old testing so those parents should have a pretty good idea of where their children are at.  There are still some kids whose parents I need to catch up with regarding this testing.  This will happen in the next few weeks and there are still a few children yet to turn 6.  Once they have, we will discuss their results at a time that suits.

Please ensure you check the blog a couple of times a week.  It is intended that the blog replace notes etc going home so all the important information will be on the blog.  If something comes up during the week, I will often write in the homework books so it is important to check those also.  This term the children will take some responsibility for blogging so please check it and leave a comment for them.
After two terms it is fair to expect the kids have a very good idea of how things work at school.  They are learning how to be responsible, independent thinkers but they need your support in order for them to be successful.  With this in mind......
*please have them at school by 8:30 so they can organise themselves, meet with friends and take care of any jobs they may have in the morning.
*please ensure they carry their bag up and put their books away themselves. That is their job.
*please encourage them to take care of their own gear - jerseys, hats, lunch boxes.  
*please remind them to check when they get to school to see if they are the prayer team on duty.

This term our Homework sheet will again be available to those who would like to complete it.  Instead of pasting it into books, I will pin the sheet to the wall under the spider web and if your child wants to take part, they can grab a sheet and put it in their homework book.  There will also be spelling and of course reading for homework.  

Many thanks for your gongoing support.
Annie

Week 9
Wow! Here we are at the end of another Term.  It has been a short one and has gone very fast but we have covered so much and the children have engaged in some great learning and made some amazing progress.  I am very pleased with them and proud of them.  This week will be a short one for me.  On Thursday and Friday, Mrs Martin will be guiding the children's learning on these days. She has some special  "stuff" lined up for them.  Thank you all for your support during this term. We have worked hard in Room 13 and is just wouldn't be possible to progress the children so successfully if it wasn't for you guys.  The new Modern Learning Environment has proven to be both popular and a great success and we will continue with it next term.  The achievement in reading and writing is proof that what we are doing in the classroom is working.  Most of our kids are either above or at standard in reading and with the help of the recent ALL programme, the reading is zooming ahead.  We have a group of kids working at the end of Year 2 standard in Mathematics and we now know how to decide what we know, figure our what we want to know and identify some ways of finding the information.  We can debate, spell many more words than we could in Term 2, write Reports, name and explain the parts of a bee (it's structure) and so much more.  Wow, what a busy time we have had.
This week the learning won't stop.  Here is what's on...
* Monday 11-12:30 The Junior Cross Country Race - weather permitting.  Please come along and support our kids, they have been training so hard.
*Thursday 9:30 - a visiting choir will entertain us in the hall
*We were to make bird houses but with my short week I am unsure we can complete the task.  We will do this in term 3.
*Golden Time - a surprise to be announced by Mrs Martin
*Testing - I still have some 6 year old tests to complete before Wednesday.  I cannot meet parents this term, there simply isn't time, however, if I have not yet discussed your child's testing and they have turned 6, I have not forgotten you.  All our children have achieved either at or above in all their 6 year old tests so far.  I am over the moon about that.
*Writing this week will be the choice of the children.  They love to be given the opportunity to choose what they write about, no doubt we will have letters, poems, narratives, reports and songs.
*In reading our aim was to move most of the kids up a level by the end of the term.  It is super exciting when they are able to move up a level, please give them some extra support if you feel they are struggling a bit.  I have already seen some great progress as a result of the ALL programme.  I am enjoying very much spending some extra time with these readers.  Last week we did a play and made masks.  Tomorrow we will present the play to the rest of the class.  I will attempt to video it so it can be put on the blog.  If your child is an ALL reader, I am setting up an extra page on this blog to document what is happening during these sessions.
*Last week we did some Maths knowledge testing and I was so pleased.  A large group of kids managed the Stage 3 test with very little input from me and another group the Stage 4 test.  Stage 3 is the expectation at the end of Year 1 and Stage 4 at the end of Year 2.  Wonderful Mathematics Francis, Tilde, Rose and Rosa.
Once again, thank you for your support and for  a great Term.  Have a wonderful holiday with your kids, keep up the reading and I will see you all in Term 3.  Roll on Spring!
Annie

Week 8
Hi all, I have just had a wonderful day listening to Father Elio, a visiting priest and Lecturer originally form Italy, now living in Australia.  He is a very passionate and insightful man, giving us some great things to think about when teaching the RE programme in schools.   He also enlightened us as individuals when thinking about our own relationship with God.
Now I am thinking ahead to the week and what we still have to achieve before the end of the term...not far away now.
On the last two days of term I will not be in the classroom.  My family and I are travelling to Thailand for a family holiday.  There will be a reliever in the classroom doing some fun, end of the term activities with the children.  But until then, the hard work continues.
*There will be writing assessments and Maths knowledge assessments this week.  We will continue with Narratives - made up stories and will focus on problem solving, joining and splitting sets and writing number stories using+/-. Some of our kids are amazing mathematicians and great thinkers.  I will include some problem solving in the Homework sheet, see if your child can show you more than one way of solving them.  They are so clever.
*In Religious Education we will continue with The Church, looking at what things are in the Church, what they are there for and how they are symbols of God and Jesus.
*In reading we will continue with our guided reading and independent reading programmes.  The groups are focusing on reading to find information, silent reading, fluent reading where our voice sounds smooth like a river, using different strategies to figure out new words and getting the right speed when we read aloud.  Remember, if your child brings home a book that is too hard, go through it with them, talk about the pictures, what the story might be about.  Give them the names and tricky words first and see if they got the meaning at the end.  The kids in the Reading Club will have two books each day.
*Most of the children have a reading mountain in their homework book.  Please practice these words, in no particular order, every day.  They need them in order to move to the next level in reading.  We want to start pushing them through the levels pretty quickly now, ideally, 1 level every 3 weeks.
*Next week on Monday and Tuesday we will be constructing bird houses.  If you would like to help, let me know and we can chat.  We will be using ply and hammer and nails to put them together.  Hopefully once painted, they can be put out in the school.
*It is wonderful to see some great problem solving going on in the classroom.  Please continue to have high expectations of your kids.  They are so capable and want to be leaders, lets encourage them to be just that.
*Lastly, a bit of a moan.... please could you endeavour to get your kids to school on time.  Arriving late is not only unsettling for your child but also means they miss out on doing their share of the morning jobs and settling into the day with their friends.  They also interrupt whatever is going on in the classroom.  The expectation is that children will be at school at 8:30.  I know what mornings are like and sometimes it just cannot be helped but there are too many kids arriving late consistently and it has become an issue that management are now looking at seriously.  Thank you for your support.
Have a great week
Annie

Week 7, Term 2, 2014

Hi everyone, what a fantastic weekend we have had.  Chilly in the shade but lovely in the sun.  I hope you have all had a nice time with family and friends.  We are heading to the end of the term and while everyone is feeling a little tired, we need to keep the momentum going to optimise the learning for the children.  Thank you for your support with this.
Thank you all for your attendance and interest in our recent Student Led Conferences.  I know the children loved "showing off" to you all and sharing how clever they are.  It was so heart warming hearing you talk to and praise your children for their effort and achievement and I got some gorgeous photos which I will post this week.
This week I will begin an Accelerated Literacy Programme in Room 13. Mrs Kusabs will be assisting me in the classroom for 5 hours per week.  More information will be sent home to the children involved this week.
We have now completed our Move It Programme for Term 2.  The children had a great time learning some gymnastics skills.  Tuesday was the last day and the children enjoyed some play with the giant parachute.  Photos will follow. Next term we will take part in a new Move it programme.
We have a very busy week ahead, there is a lot going on in the school but Room 13 will be hard at work on the following....
Mathematics: we will be working on using knowledge to solve word problems in maths, doubles and halves and adding and splitting sets to make number stories.
Reading: we will continue with our guided reading, buddy reading and indpendent reading programmes as well as working on identifying and using punctuation, sequencing sentences and silent reading to find information.
Writing: we have our writing assessment planned for this week.  We will be looking at factual writing and explaining using facts.  As well as this the children will be engaging in some Narrative or story telling writing.  As usual we will also be focusing on full stops, capital letters and wow words.
In Religious Education we will continue looking at belonging and the Church.  We have Mass for the Sacred Heart of Jesus coming up.
Cross Country training will continue with the race only a week or so away.  We have some lovely competition going on in our class and everyone has set a goal for the race.  I am very proud of their efforts in the training programme.  Go Room 13!
This week the children will be sending letters home regarding the recent Student Led Conferences.  Please respond with a letter addressed to them with some positive comments about their learning.  A template with some ideas for the letter will accompany the children's letters.
Once again thank you for your continued support and your lovely cheerful good mornings each day.  It is so nice to have such a great group of kids and parents.



Week 6, Term 2, 2014

Thank you to everyone who sent in tin cans.  The Golden Time Activity was awesome!

This week our big focus is Student Led Conferences.  It was great to see on Friday that most of you had booked a time to hear from your child about their learning.  There are just a few things to remember about Student Led Conferences....
*it is not a parent/teacher interview but a chance for your child to talk to you about what is happening for them at school.
*we are all familiar with phrases such as:
-we are learning how to... (WALHT)
-my focus is.....
-I already know____, I want to find out________, I need to _________
-what do I need to do next to get better
-we are here to LEARN!
*the children have practised discussing their learning and will talk to you about Reading, Writing, Maths and Religious Education.
*they may need you to give them a prompt - the green sheet sent home can help you with this and there will be several in the classroom on the night.
*your time slots are at 5 minute intervals but you are able to take as much time as you like with your child.
*this is a new initiative so your patience and understanding is much appreciated.

I have been meeting with parents of 6 year olds during the last couple of weeks.  After the testing it is good to discuss what is happening and where to from here.  If I have not met with you regarding your 6 year old's testing, do not panic, I have not forgotten you.  I will touch base this week with the last group.

For the rest of Term 2 and 3, I will be involved in an Accelerated Literacy Programme.  It is an initiative of the Ministry of Education and is focused on getting all children to National Standard in Reading and/or Writing.  I am very lucky to be part of this group and even luckier to be able to work with children from my own class.  Starting in Week 7, I will be running a special programme in Reading.   I will have support in my class from another Teacher and a Teacher Aide and will be focusing on accelerating Reading.  If your child is chosen for this Programme, I will send you a letter of explanation and we can discuss exactly what it means for your child at a time that suits.  It is a great way to really get our kids moving and gives me some time to focus on exactly what the readers in our class need.

This week is our last Move It session.  We have been involved in the programme for 6 weeks and have been learning some cool gymnastics.  There will be a page in the Portfolio for you to see what it has all been about.

We are busy training for the Cross Country Race.  As the children complete a lap of the field, they are given a stick.  The stick is equal to a space on our track in the classroom and when they have completed 100 spaces or laps, they will receive a Gold Medal.  If they manage to complete 200, the prize is a Pizza lunch!  We are not all athletes, however some lovely healthy competition has come out of this exercise and I ask that you encourage all your children to give it a go and do their best.  Afterall, that is all we can ask of our kids.

I would just like to add a quick thank you to  my classroom helpers - Nadia, Rosie and Olga.  Every week these lovely ladies come in and help me with tasks that free me up to plan and execute exciting learning programmes for your children.  They are very much appreciated, every little bit you do helps so THANK YOU.

The term is flying by and at this stage the kids tend to get a bit tired.  Keep up the great reading at home and remember the Homework sheet is not compulsory, just a little extra if you choose to do it.  Keep encouraging independence in you children, they are proving to be a very capable group and thrive on being given responsibility.
Have a great week
Annie




Week 5, Term 2, 2014
Hi everyone, I hope you are all enjoying an extra long weekend - we have certainly taken advantage of the extra sleep in.  Here are the notices for the week....

Reading Evening: Wednesday June 4th @ 5:15

 This is a great opportunity for you to get some ideas for how you can support your children at home with reading.  There are a few readers in Room 13 who are below expectation, the reading evening could be particularly helpful for those parents and as a consequence, their children.  It is a practical evening giving you an insight into how we teach reading at school and how you can support this at home.  Obviously reading is one of the most important curriculum areas and it is a priority to us as teachers.  Please let me know asap if you can make it.  It is very worthwhile.

Next week on Friday13th June,  Room 13 is in charge of running the assembly.  Our topic will be courage.  I will be talking to the children  about courage and being brave and for the assembly we will be dressing up as someone we think is or was brave in some way.  This is just a heads up to start thinking about costumes.  It can be anyone, a grandparent, parent, sibling, super hero, someone from the movies - anyone they think is brave and can explain why.  We will be practising for the next two weeks.  Parents are welcome to attend assembly at 2:10 on Friday 13th.

This week, Running Records will continue in reading time.  The children will therefore be bringing home books from their Rocket Box.  It is a great idea to get into the habit of visiting the public library with your child.  It is so good for them to choose their own books, be exposed to varying authors and genres and to challenge themselves with books that are outside of their school reading programme.  I am really excited about the reading, there are many children who have moved up 2-3 levels so well done to everyone.

In writing, we will be focusing on descriptive writing.  I am trying to encourage some of our more able writers to enhance their stories by adding adjectives - wow words - to make their writing more interesting to read.  We have some very able writers in Room 13, it is exciting watching them develop.

In Maths we will continue with Number this week, as well as some stratgy testing.  Strategy is the skills the kids use to work out problems.  All of the children in Room 13 are working at or above standard in Maths which is very pleasing.  We are focusing on:
 *Adding tens eg 30+70=100
*Ordering and writing teen numbers eg 13, 17, 18, 19
*Assessing knowledge

In Religious Education we are focusing on the Church and in Oral Language, we are using a donut circle to talk and listen to a buddy so that we can tell the rest of the group what we heard.  We are also learning to question to find more information and to decide where on the SOLO rubric we are placed.  Check out the bee hive by my desk to see what the SOLO rubric looks like.

Our concept is structures and we have learnt so far that a structure is something put together with many parts.  We have constructed tree houses and imaginary structures so far.  We are now moving on to looking at the structure of a bee and a bee hive.  Very interesting stuff.  Our main focus is to identify what we already know, decide what we want to know and figure out how to find that information.  We are developing lovely investigative learners in Room 13.

Remember that Student Led Conferences are to be held in Week 6.  These are a great opportunity for your child to talk to you about what they are learning and why and where their learning is going next.  They are not a Parent/Teacher interview and I will only be there as a support person.  If you would like to see me regarding your child, come and see me and we will arrange a time that suits.

I am chugging through the 6 year old testing.  I am so pleased with the testing so far.  Every single child is at or above expectation so far which is awesome.  I do need to meet with all the parents of kids who have turned 6.  I will send a note home in homework books or catch you before school to make a time.
That's it for now, have a great week,
Annie


Week 4, Term 2, 2014

Welcome back to another week of lovely learning in Room 13.  I hope you all had a super weekend.   We had our youngest daughter Charlie's First Communion and Confirmation so it was a very special weekend for us.
Here is what's happening in Room 13 this week......
*Our topic study on structures began with an investigation into Autumn trees.  We figured out what we already knew, wondered what questions we might be able to answer and then looked into ways of answering those questions.  It was an awesome study and the children learnt lots, not just about trees but also how to look for information.  This week we will begin our next structures topic on Bee Hives.  We are looking at the parts that make up the bee hive, what it's job is and how the bees make their hive.  The focus is "many parts make up the whole".  We will then use our geometry maths unit to  help us put together our own beehives using shapes.
 *In Reading this week I will be testing.  If your child brings home a book that is either too easy or too hard, it is because they have chosen it from their rocket box.  Please use your common sense and either help them along if it is tricky or give them some extra reading if you find it is too easy.  The books in their box are around their level but sometimes another persons rocket box looks more interesting and they may take a book that is not at their level.  It is important for me to take the time to test reading so I know I have them at the appropriate level.
*In writing we are looking at reports.  We will write reports on bees and bee hives and the job bees do for us.  We are putting a lot of effort into rechecking and editing our writing as well as peer and self assessing to see what we could do better next time.
*In Mathematics we will continue with our Strand Unit on Geometry and our ongoing Number investigations.
*In Religious Education we have the Review Team visiting this week.  They are looking at how RE is taught in our school. Some of the children will be chatted to regarding their learning.  We are going on to the God strand this week.   Please ensure the RE scrapbooks are returned to school and that you have commented in the appropriate places.
*We will continue training for the Cross Country Race for Physical Education and our regular Move it Session will be on Tuesday.  Please can the girls bring shorts on this day.
*We have begun practising leading our student led conferences.  The idea of the meeting is that the children will be able to talk to you about what is happening with their learning.  Some information will come home this week to give you a better idea of what to expect. It is important to remember that this is not a parent/teacher interview and I will not be available to discuss your child's learning.  If you have any concerns about this, get in touch and we will organise a time to meet.  Once your child turns 6, we will have a 1:1 meeting to discuss their 6 year old testing and to figure out where to next.

The term is humming along very quickly and we are covering lots of work.  It is super when I hear back from parents that their child has talked to them about some of what is happening at school.  The kids are not always terribly chatty about their day at school but please talk to them about their learning and give them a chance to consolidate what is happening at school.  They are like little sponges, taking in all sorts of interesting information.
Have a great week
Annie
 

Week 3, Term 2, 2014

Hi everyone, wow, don't those weekends go by fast!  This week we have a great week of learning lined up, this is how it will go...

This week I have pasted a Homework sheet in the books.  It is not compulsory but is a practice sheet for some of the things we are working on at present.  The spelling will help in reading and writing and the math's is our Strand or Topic maths.  Please keep up the reading every night.

We are practising using our reading and writing strategies independently this week.  The children may be given some books slightly above their reading level.  The idea is to encourage them to use the really important strategies of looking at the beginning, middle and end sounds, using the picture cue, re reading the sentence, leaving the tricky word, reading to the end of the sentence and rereading to find which word would fit and thinking about what makes sense.  A lot of these strategies cross over to writing as well.  Overall I am very pleased with the writing in Room 13.  Many of our kids are already above National Standard.  Yipee.

In Mathematics we are looking at 2 dimensional shapes - describing their characteristics, explaining what makes them the same and different from other shapes and drawing and naming them.

In Religious Education we are continuing our learning on The Holy Spirit.  Our focus of understanding is around the Holy Spirit being the Spirit of God and how welcoming him into our hearts will help us grow closer to him and be better people here on earth.  The children are naming the symbols of the Holy Spirit and retelling the story of Pentecost.

This week is road safety week and on Friday we have a road saftety puppet show.  Have a talk to your child about it on Friday afternoon.  Road safety is so important.  Later in the year I am hoping to invite Ronald McDonald to consolidate this learning with his cool show.

We didn't get to bake last week as we were so busy constructing our structures.  Baking will take place this Friday for Golden Time.

There are a few books still oustanding from the Library.  Remember our Library day is Friday and the kids cannot take a new book without bringing their old one back.

Over the next couple of weeks, we have lots of 6 year old testing happening.  If your child does bring home a book they have not seen, please support them in their reading by going through the story and talking about the meaning, tricky words and ideas before they read.

Many thanks, have a great week
Annie

Week 2, Term 2, 2014

Hi everyone, my apologies for no newsletter this week, the days have really gotten away from me.  We have had a great week of learning and the children are responding very well to our new learning environment.  Just a reminder that the purpose of our surroundings is to find out whether offering choices, options,  varying work stations and independent programmes will increase independence and make our kids more aware of what they are learning, how best they learn and why they are learning.    Please help me out with encouraging them to be independent both at school and home.  A little job that is just theirs  is a great way to start, eg giving them the responsibility of putting their book bag in their school bag each day.  I can cope with the book bag being forgotten if it is going to teach the children that they have to take some responsibility for themselves.

Some of our readers are below expectation for their time at school.  There can be many reasons for this.  The best way to become a better reader is to read.  The kids must read every day and discussing their story and it's meaning will help them come to terms with the purpose of reading - to gain meaning, to get information to enjoy an imaginative journey or to have fun.   Please make reading a priority.  I know what evenings and mornings are like and for that reason, I don't give homework but reading is a must.  Let's get all our kids to standard by the end of term 2!

For the next 4 weeks we will be having Move it (gym) on a Tuesday.  Could the girls please wear shorts under their dresses.  It is really tricky doing gym in those gorgeous tunics.

In Week 4 we will have a visit from the Religious Education Review Team. They will come into our class and talk with the children as well as check our our classroom displays, talk to me and check my planning and assessment.  They are a lovely bunch of people working hard to ensure the Religious Education Programme is being taught effectively and efficiently in our lovely school.  At present we are looking at the Holy Spirit, our Values are Respect and Courage and our Fruit of the Spirit is Love.  Feel free to talk to your children about these things over the next few weeks.  The RE books will come home on Friday.  Please take some time to look through them and make a positive comment in the space.

Tomorrow we are baking for Golden Time.  It is not necessary for you to bring anything.

We are also constructing tomorrow so if you have any recycling, bring it along.

We are working really hard at the moment understanding the difference between fact and opinion and using facts to write Reports.  Some of our kids are struggling with writing, mostly keeping an idea in their head for long enough to write it down and staying on task until the writing is complete.  Some of the children have brought a word list home to learn.  Please check the homework book and practice these words each night, starting at different places and increasing speed as you go.  They are words necessary for early reading and writing and will help in both areas. 

Many thanks for your ongoing support and in particular to my weekly helpers, Rosie, Nadia and Olga.  You truly are superbly talented pasters!

Annie

Monday 5 May

Hi everyone and welcome back to Term 2. I hope you all had a super holiday with your families, it went very quickly and here we are, back into it! 
 The weather is definitely getting cooler so on particularly "yucky" mornings, I will let the kids inside so they don't have to wait around in the cold.  
You may notice some changes to our learning environment this term.  I am trying some new ideas with the children in an attempt to encourage independent thinking, problem solving, student driven learning as well as offering some different options for learning styles.  I hope the kids will enjoy the changes.  There is a lot of information around about Modern Learning Environments, ours is incorporating some of these ideas.  We will see how it goes.
This term our Concept is Structures and particularly Animal Homes.  We will be focusing on Technology and Science and will be integrating our Concept into writing, reading and oral language.  The idea is that we investigate what we know, decide what we want to find out and figure out how we will get the information using a variety of means.  Using thinking skills, problems solving some ict, group work, cooperative learning skills and independent thinking will be big on our priority list this term.
In Maths we will continue with Number and the Strand will be Geometry - shapes.  In Religious Education we will begin with Holy Spirit and then go on to God.  In Writing the focus is Reports which will go very well with our Concept and with our reading programme.  The focus for oral language will be developing our Student Led Conferencing skills as well as thinking skills and speaking/listening skills.  In PE we will be training for the Cross Country as well as developing our fundamental skills with Move it.
There are a lot of kids turning 6 over the next couple of weeks.  There will be a lot of testing happening in the class so if your child brings home a book they have not see, or that seems a bit hard for them, just use your judgment and support them by reading it to them first, sharing the reading or giving some extra help with tricky words.  It is good to be challenged in reading but we don't want to put any undue pressure on our readers, we want them to love the reading process.

Finally, we are well into the year now and the children know the expectations of school.  I am working really hard to help them be independent thinkers and learners  and I need your support with this.  Next year when they go into Year 2, they will be expected to look after their own gear, have what they need for learning, organise themselves in the morning and take some responsibility for themselves.  With this in mind, please help your child by.....
*ensuring they carry their own bag into the class
*reminding them to put their own homework book and book bag into the buckets but not doing it for them
*reminding them in the afternoon to check for their own gear before they leave school
*asking them what they have been learning at school and what they might need for upcoming events such as Golden Time
*Encouraging them to do their homework and have their bag ready for the next day.
We are so lucky in Room 13 to have such a wonderful group.  Let's all help them be the very best they can be.

Quick reminders:
*Move it starts Tuesday - PE gear please
*Resurrection Liturgy Tuesday at 10am in the Church
*Pencil holders for Golden Time - nothing to bring
*Could you all save some of your recycling for our construction area?  Things like toilet rolls, tissue boxes, yoghurt containers, cardboard boxes etc will be gratefully received.

Many thanks
Annie
*reminding them often that they are amazing and great and they can do it!

Tuesday 15th April, 2014

Here we go, last week!  It's amazing how fast this long term has gone and how much we have covered with your little darlings.  This week is short but busy with Holy Week Activities and Assessments.  Here is what is happening...
*Tuesday @ 10am - Stations of the Cross Liturgy in the Church
*Wednesday - I am away at my oldest daughters Graduation in Hamilton.  Mrs Stevenson will be in.
*Thursday - Feet washing ceremony
*Room 13's Re enactment of the Last Supper and Easter egg decorating.  Could all the kids bring their Jesus clothes on this day as well as a hard boiled egg to decorate.  The Last Supper will take place in our classroom after morning tea.
*Friday is Good Friday - school is closed on this day.

Thank you all for an awesome term.  The children have worked hard and have made some great progress in Reading, Writing and Maths.  It is so exciting watching them connect their learning with the world around them and to see them grasp new concepts - it's what makes this job great.  They are an amazing group of super kids, I am very lucky to spend my days with them.
Have a Holy Easter and a wonderful break with your children...
God Bless,
Annie

Extra Notices for Week 10.......
*Mufti Day Friday 11th for Tara Chapman - gold coin donation please.
*Donkey Parade Friday at 10am - please bring Jesus clothes to school in a named bag.
*Wheels day for Golden Time - if the weather is bad, dvd in the classroom.
*I am away next week on Wednesday at my oldest daughter Courtneys Graduation.  Karen Stevenson will be teaching the children.  I will leave all the work for the day.
*Next Friday is Good Friday so no one will be in school.  Please take your child to Mass over Easter.  It is the most important time in the Church Calendar.
*Stations of the Cross are next week on Tuesday at 10am.

I have decided to postpone our trip to the movies.  You have all been asked for so much in the way of donations, money and extras this term, I just feel it is enough. I will plan a fun, free activity for Thursday next week to celebrate great behaviour in Term 1.  Many thanks for your support.
Annie 


Monday 7th April, 2014
Welcome back to another fantastic week in Room 13.  This week there are lots of things on... here we go.
*Tomorrrow we have our Marae trip.  Thank you to Cyrus, Ben, Shell, Nigel and Olga for offering your services with transport.  We will leave at 9am so can parent helpers be in the class at 8:45 please.  It is so great to see the Dads getting involved, thank you all.  Please bring a gold coin or can of food as a koha for the Marae.
*On Tuesday we also have the Stations of the Cross Liturgy at 10am, however we are going to miss this due to our Marae trip.   I will talk to the children and take them through the stations of the cross next week as part of our Holy Week celebrations.
*On Wednesday I am out all day on an Oral Language course.  The children will be well looked after and I will leave all the work for the day.  It is important for teachers to continue learning so that we can pass on new and dynamic ideas onto your kids.
*On Friday at 10am we have our famous donkey parade.  Our friend Flynn the donkey will be here to re enact Jesus' ride into Jeruselem on Palm Sunday.  One lucky child from the Middle or Senior school will be chosen to play Jesus while the rest of us, dressed in our Jesus clothes, wave palms and sing Hosanna.  I have been at St Marys for a really long time and we have had this donkey parade every year, it is somewhat of an institution.

The learning in Room 13 is humming along nicely.  This week we will wrap up Jesus with two assessment tasks.  We will focus on Holy Week next week including dressing up in Jesus clothes and re enacting the Last Supper.  We are writing I see, I think, I wonder stories on Hedgehogs and on Wednesday we will make potato hedghogs for fun.  Please could each child bring a reasonable sized potato to school on this day.  In Mathematics we are focusing on teen numbers, identifying them, understanding they are made up of 10 and some more and instantly recalling the teen facts eg 10+3=13.  In Reading we will carry on with our guided reading programme as well as the Big Book, Poem (in their homework books each week), shared reading and reading to.  The children love being read to, please keep this up at home as it allows them to hear what good reading sounds like including: fluency, phrasing, speed, intonation and expression.

Thank you for your ongoing support, I hope you all have a fantastic week,
Annie

Tuesday 31st March, 2014

Hi everyone, sorry my notice is a little late this week.  I was at Tara Chapmans funeral yesterday, what a beautiful celebration for such a sad occasion.  Tara was sent off by a lot of amazing, committed and wonderful people and it was so great to see the community of St May's come together in support of her family.

This week in Room 13:
Rice day is today - Tuesday.  I will cook the rice during the middle block and the children will help with the preparation.  Photos will follow on the blog later in the day.  The children are asked to think about what it is like to feel a bit hungry like some of the kids from other nations where there is just not enough food.  The gold coin donation will be laid down in a coin trail on Friday 4th April.

We are completing a few assessments this week for the Term 1 Portfolio.  This lovely record of your child's learning will come home in Term 2.  The programme may differ slightly to account for this.

I am pleased with the progress I am seeing in reading.  Keep up the great work at home and encourage your child to have a go reading other texts that may spark interest.  The public library is a fabulous resource and I encourage you to make regular trips there with your kids.
Mathematics is coming along beautifully and most of our kids are at or above standard in this area.  Yipee.  We have been working on recognising and writing the number words 1-10 and the children are really getting the hang of it.  This is something you can practice at home too.  There are some neat puzzles around which support this learning.
In Religious Education we have been learning about Jesus.  We are wrapping up this Strand and will complete an assessment task at the end of next week.  We will then focus on Easter with some fun activities in Week 11 to do with chocolate, eggs and a bunny as well as a serious focus on the death and ressurection of Jesus.
The writing in Room 13 is also progressing well.  Practice at home is very helpful and could consist of writing shopping lists, emails or letters to Grandparents, cards for birthdays and just rewriting stories they know well.  The focus is always capital letters, full stops, rereading to check the writing, underlining word tries and even checking spelling using the dictionary.
We are nearing the end of the first term and we would like to have a special outing to celebrate hard work.  I am negotiating a trip to the movie theatre with Reading Cinemas for Week 11.  I will keep you posted.
Just a quick update on the toy situation at school.  I have decided that we should have a "no toy" policy in Room 13.  We are experiencing a lot of breakages, some losses and some very upset kids.  Please do not allow your child to bring toys from home.  There are plenty of fun activities to do at school without needing to bring things from home.  
Thank you all for your ongoing support.
Annie

Golden Time this week will be: Dress up Party - All children are welcome to bring a costume and if you would like to contribute to our party food (chippies, cupcakes, lollies) please feel free.





Monday 24th March, 2014
Hi everyone, welcome back to another great week of learning in Room 13. I had a super weekend in Whangaparoa with our oldest daughter Courtney.  The sun was shining and because she lives just 2 minutes walk from the beach, the water looked gorgeous too.  I hope you all had a lovely weekend also. 
The weeks are flying by and we are fast approaching the 1st anniversay of starting school for some of our kids.  It is really important that we keep National Standards in mind and really focus on supporting the children to reach their targets.  The goal is to be reading at level 12 after one year at school and some of our kids are a wee way from this.  Reading with and to the children every night is expected and some writing practice to help improve vocabulary as well as using phonetic strategies (sounding new words) will help them also.
This week is a busy one including a visiting musician this morning, the annunciation liturgy, athletics and ice cream sundaes on Friday.  Phew!
Last week a letter went home regarding the rice lunch asking for parent help and for the children to bring a donation, cup, spoon and plastic bag for the rice day.  I have decided to cook the rice during the morning with the children using rice cookers.  We will do this in the classroom and have a really good talk about the purpose of rice day and what it means to us.  Because of this, I will not need parent help to cook the rice.  I will not need the children to bring a cup, spoon or plastic bag either as we already have what we need in the classroom.  I would however ask that each child bring $2 for our Golden time activity this week - ice cream sundaes.   We will have ice cream, cream, topping and chocolate chips on our sundaes.  Once we have eaten them, we will save the plastic containers and spoons for our rice day. 
This week we are focusing on maintaining our momentum with reading,  writing and mathematics.  Our focus for writing is recount - writing a story using a beginning, a middle and an end that talks about something we have seen, heard or experienced.  We have started today writing about a visiting musician called Joseph who played some gorogeous Bach for us today in the hall.  See if your child can tell you what his musical instrument was and where he came from.
In mathematics we are continuing with Number and on Friday will look at making half turns with our bodies.  Our Strand focus is position and rotation.
We look forward to seeing you all on Thursday at the Junior Athletics day.

Have a great week
Annie

Monday 17 March, 2014

Well after a bit of a wild weekend weather wise, here we are in Week 7!   During the weekend we took our daughters Lilly and Charlie to Auckland to see Mama Mia.  It was a great show, lots of singing and dancing, enjoyed very much by us all.
This week at school we will be talking a lot about Jesus Father Joseph, his feast day the 19th March will be celebrated by the whole school at Mass on Friday - once again you are all welcome to attend.  We will continue with our Strand study on Jesus and move into the Holy Spirit later in the term before the holidays.
We will continue with our regular reading programme this week now that all the testing has been completed.  All the children are grouped according to their abilities and needs.  Please keep up the reading at home, it is super important that the children read and are read to every day.
In writing we will finish our see, think wonder stories and will then move into descriptive writing where we identify somebody or something and describe what they are like.
The mathematics testing is also completed and the children have been grouped into 4 groups.  We are all working on different areas of Number.  Below are some ideas for how you can help your child with mathematics:
*count forward and back from any number to 100 when in the car, the bath, sitting in the lounge - anywhere.
*count in 2's, 5's and 10's - called skip counting forwards and backwards to 100
*recite doubles to 20 - eg 2+2=4 etc remembering that doubles and skip counting in 2's are related
*practice word problems using +  -   and skip counting eg Sarah and Kate had 5 marbles each, how many marbles altogether?
*use websites such as:

www.ictgames.com

www.topmarks.co.uk

*recite what makes 5 as quickly as possible eg I say 3, you say 2 makes 5

*recite equations with 5 eg 5+2=7, 5+5=10, 5+3=8 .... these should be instant knowledge

All practice is great practice so whatever you can do is fantastic.  Most of the early  Mathematics is made up of knowledge which is maths "stuff" that the kids just know instantly - just as we knew our times tables by rote - the children need to know the above.

For Golden Time this week we will have Malteser races - great fun and the kids do not need to bring anything special.

CRT Release: Every teacher in NZ is given two days a term for administrative "stuff".  At St Mary's we have our release each week for an hour and a half.  If I am not in the classroom, this is probably why.  Mrs Hall is responsible for our release this term and will be working on some Maori Language and Art with the children.  It is a great opportunity for me to ensure all the testing is up to date and I know exactly where the children are at and where they need to go next with their learning.  

Independence - Please, Please, Please encourage your child to be independent with their morning routine.  They should all be putting their own book bag and homework book away in the morning, putting down the chairs and getting themselves organised for the day.  If they do this for themselves, our afternoon routines are made much easier when you are not here to help.  They are awesome little people and are quite capable, lets encourage them to be the best they can be.

Thank you for your support.

 

Have a great week

Annie

Monday 10th March, 2014

Just a quick reminder that the swimming sports on Thursday next week is not for the Junior school.  Only Middle and Senior students will take part.
Our Athletics day will be on March the 27th at school, a fun event to look forward to.

I have sent the Religious Education books home this weekend.  Please look through this lovely book with your child and talk to them about what they have been learning.  You will be amazed at how much they take in and how interested they are in the RE Programme.

Next week we will be back to nomal with homework reading.  Now that all the reading testing is complete, I can be sure the children are in the right group, focusing on their needs.  Please read every day with your child.  Some of our readers are not where they should be for their time at school.  We are going to have to work really hard over the next couple of months to ensure each and every one of them makes National Standards by their 6th birthday.  Reading to your child is equally as important as having them read.  It allows them to hear what good reading sounds like and helps them hear phrasing, expression and fluency.  Please do not point for your child, they must point themselves and anyone reading above Level 8 should no longer be pointing but should be able to follow the text with their eyes.  Thank you for your support.

Jesus clothes need to be brought to school on Thursday for our special feast.  There is a note in the Homework book regarding this.  The children will need them again closer to the end of the term for the Last Supper.
Annie

Monday 24th February, 2014

Gala week!  It has come around fast.  Please all pray for a fine day Thursday, Gala's are no fun in the rain.  Keep all that lovely Gala stuff coming in to Room 13.  We are doing so well.  It's great to have a bit of healthy competition going on and it gets the kids excited about the Gala.
Things are well underway in our class and lots of lovely learning is happening every day.  This week things will be a little bit different, changes are outlined below...

*During reading this week I will be testing.  This can be a little time consuming and usually takes all week but it is important to find out exactly where the children are in terms of their reading so I can ensure they are grouped correctly.  Your child will bring home books from their rocket box this week.  Most of them will have been seen already but if not, please read with or to your child the first time so they are familiar with the story.  Lots of talking about the book, title, characters, storyline and what they think is also super helpful.

* I will also be testing during Mathematics this week.  The children are now very good at playing their maths games independently so I will be able to set them to work and get the testing done during their maths time.  Again, it is important to clarify their knowledge and the strategies they are using so that I can group them accordingly as well as use the results to build on their current knowledge.

This week in writing we will look at recipes and how to make things.  We will engage in some simple recipes then next Tuesday, the 4th, we will make pancakes for shrove Tuesday.  This is the day before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.    On Tuesday we will have a Liturgy in the hall whereby the children will burn their promises.  These can be something they intend to give up (as Jesus gave up his life for us) or something extra special they would like to do during Lent.  These ashes will then be used on Wednesday to mark the sign of the cross on the children's heads.  Lent is a very important time in the Liturgical Calendar and we will be doing some extra special work on it over the next week or so.
In Maori we are learning a Mihi.  This is a greeting in Maori where the children say who they are and where they come from.  There is a copy in their homework book for them to practice.  Hato Maria is St Marys, Kura is school and Pariha is Parish.  There is a space for you to fill in you names, whaea for Mum and Matua for Dad.  Thank you for your support.  I usually try to get Father Mark, who speaks fluent Te Reo, to come and listen to the children present their Mihi once learnt off by heart.  He gives out lots of praise and some certificates too if they do particularly well.
At the end of each term I organise a special outing to celebrate great behaviour and hard work during the term.  We will begin talking about this outing during the week and more information will follow for parents who would like to accompany us.  It is a great incentive for the children and nice to do something fun as a thank you for being great.

Golden Time this week will be a Water Fight.  Children can bring along buckets, water guns, water balloons, tog and towel and anything useful for getting each other totally soaked.  We will have the sprinkler going too so it should be a great time.  If the weather is no good, we will settle for a dvd and popcorn inside.

I will add to the notices during the week as more information comes to hand  but for now, thank you all for your support over the last few weeks.  We are off to a great start and I know we are going to be the best class at St Mary's School.
Have a fantastic week,
Annie

Monday 17th February, 2014

Here we go, week 3 already!  I hope you have all had a super weekend and are ready for a great week of learning.  I went to the Cabaret show at the Blue Baths on Friday night, what an awesome show.  We had such a great time.  On Saturday night Lilly and Charlie and I had dinner our while Craig and our two older girls Courtney and Georgia went to Auckland to see Eminem.  A fantastic night was had by all.
This week we will wind up our Move it sessions with one on Monday and the last one on Wednesday.  We will swim every day this week from 1:40 until 2:10 so please bring named togs and towel in a plastic bag.
On Friday we will begin our RE unit on Jesus.  This will lead us right up to Easter at the end of the term with Lent slotted in.  At the end of  next week the children will bring their RE books home for you to look at.  Please talk to them about their work.  It is truly amazing what they remember and understand and as Christ is at the centre of all we do, spending some time sharing their book is important.  There will also be a space for you to write a wee comment.  Thank you.
In mathematics we are learning about the magic number 10 and all the amazing things we can do with it including skip counting in 10's, adding in t10's, showing numbers using 10's and ones and identifying how many 10's make up a number.  We will also continue learning our cooperative maths games and playing successfully without the need for teacher support.
In writing we will have our first Recount assessment.  Following this we will engage in some Instructional writing.  Our first task will be writing instructions for making a picture frame.  We did this on Friday during Golden Time.  They look gorgeous, check them out on the wall in our class.
In Reading we will continue with guided reading, shared reading, big book and poem, buddy reading for the bigger kids and phonics for the younger ones.  The reading programme is going very well.
Please keep checking the list for the Gala.  Each day a different item is on the list and Room 13 want that Pizza lunch.  We are doing very well so far and I think Luke might be in the lead for our classroom competition.
This week for Golden Time we will be having a Treasure Hunt.  As our swimming time is during Golden Time, we will have ours at 11am straight after morning tea.  No one lost Golden Time last week, I was very proud.
I will add messages to the Blog during the course of the week so do check it often. Here's to another great week in Room  13.
Annie

Monday 10th February 2014

Hi everyone and welcome back to week 2!  We had a great four days last week getting to know each other and figuring out the expectations in Room 13.  We are a diverse group who have lots of lovely gifts to share with each other.  Thank you for getting your children to school on time.  Please continue to have them at school at 8:30 so that they can get their classroom jobs done and settle into the day before the bell.  It really does help with learning.
In the morning the children are expected to put their book bag in the bucket, put their bag away in the cubby hole and put down the chairs.  Once those jobs are done they are free to play outside or quietly inside.
This week we will be taking part in Leg it, a Move it initiative from Sport Bay of Plenty.  There will be more explanation and lots of photos on the blog after tomorrow so that you  know exactly what we are up to.  Please could the girls wear a pair of shorts under their uniform?  It is much easier to get stuck in to the activities when you are not wearing a dress.
On Friday we will have our first Mass for 2014.  It would be great to see as many parents as possible attending.  Mass begins at 9am.
This week we will continue learning about what learning means, how we can learn and what our barriers to learning are.  We will focus on recount writing - a story about something we have seen, heard or experienced and we will continue with our reading programme.  The focus is getting to know each other and learning about our similarities and differences.  This will help us gel as a group.  In maths we are learning how to work cooperatively in our maths groups and in RE we are focusing on Prayer.
Please continue to listen to your child read every day and to sign their reading log.  We will have a reading incentive programme start this week whereby the children get a sticker each time they read.  When they have 15 stickers, they will get a prize.  We need to encourage reading and talking about the reading.
I do give out the odd lollipop in room 13.  Not all the time but just for special treats.  If you have a problem with this, let me know and I will organise another treat for your child.
Thank you for a great start to the term.  Feel free to catch up for a chat in the morning and of course to sign up for parent help.
Annie

PS Class interviews Thursday 5:30-6:00.

Friay 31st Janaury,  2014

  Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Nau mai, haere mai, welcome to the beginning of a new year in Room 13.  I am Annie Russell and I will be guiding your child on their learning journey this year.

I have been teaching at St Marys for a long time and I enjoy very much the Year 1 level.  I love building relationships with families and seeing the amazing progress these little people make in their first year of school.  I have four daughters, all of whom have attended St Mary’s and I understand that sometimes the school experience can be a daunting one for both parent and child.  I am here to help so if you have any questions or concerns, (even if you think they may be silly ones),  I am available from 8:30am every morning for a quick chat or to make an appointment for a time that suits to catch up.  It is so important for your child’s progress that you feel you can approach me to discuss their learning.

At St Mary’s we are developing life long independent learners and this begins the very first time your child walks through the school gate.  With this in mind, here are some ways you can support your child’s independence…..

*Ensure they can open and close their lunch box and school bag without the need for support. 

*Encourage your child to walk into school carrying their own school bag and to put their book bag and poem book  in the buckets when they reach the classroom.

*Give your child the opportunity to practice getting changed into their swimming gear and dressing themselves in the morning.  We will be swimming all term and it is important that they can manage their dressing routine at school.

*Ensure your child can put on and take off their sandals.  Sometimes Roman sandals can be quite tricky. Velcro is something to think about for winter shoes!

*If your child is upset at the prospect of you leaving them at school, please alert me to this and we will work together to alleviate any stress.   In my vast experience, giving your child a hug, telling them you will see them at 3pm and leaving is the best solution for an upset five year old.

*Please have your child at school at 8:30am.  This gives them time to settle into their day, have a play and be ready to begin learning.  If your child is going to be late, please alert the office so they can let me know and please only keep your child home from school if they are unwell.  It is soooooo important that they are here every day.

This year most of our communication will be via classroom blog.  This is up and running now.  Your child will also have a poem/homework book which will include their reading log and later in the year, homework sheets.  You will use this book to document your child’s homework and to communicate with me.  If you need to contact me, my email address is:

 annie@stmarys.rotorua.school.nz

Our blog site is:

wwwroom13stmarysrotorua.blogspot .com

It is important that you check the blog daily.  It is in place of notes from the teacher for the most part and it will have all the information you need to know exactly what is happening at school.  It will also document what we are doing in class so it is a fun way to share the learning with your child.  If you do not have internet access, let me know and I can make sure that we set up another system.

The first Term is always a busy one.  We will be setting up our classroom routines and ensuring everyone knows the expectations in Room 13.  It is an exciting time of the year when we are all getting to know each other but it is also a serious time as it sets the standard for the rest of the year.  I like things to run smoothly in the class so we will be spending the first few weeks deciding on our classroom rules and targets and figuring out how we can make our room a great place for learning to occur.  Your support during this time is crucial.

In Literacy we will focus on Recount writing which is telling a story about something we have seen, heard or experienced.  We will focus on getting the children writing with some independence while  encouraging them to make links with letters, sounds and the high frequency words.  In reading we will be continuing to make those connections as well as pointing 1:1, retelling stories we read and using our great strategies to figure out new words.  Comprehension is key in reading so do not be surprised if your child drops down a level or two.  After a long break it is normal to lose some comprehension and we need to ensure they are understanding what they read.  Some of the older children are already reading well so they will be involved in an Independent Reading Programme whereby their skills of comprehension, vocabulary building and individual reading and writing will be developed.  We will visit the library every Friday and each child needs a library bag to transport their book in order to keep it safe.

In Numeracy we will focus on Number, getting to know our numbers to 10 and 20, making sets, counting forward and back, understanding what makes 5 and 10 and consolidating the basic facts.  Our strand maths will be around geometry and investigating distance, direction and change.

Our concept or integrated topic this term is Citizenship.  We will be looking at belonging and the rights and responsibilities that are associated with being part of a group.

Physical Education will be around Swimming and Athletics and Religious Education will be mostly around the Jesus strand with some work on Lent and Easter.  Our school’s mission statement is “With Christ as our Centre we strive for excellence”.  Jesus is at the centre of all our school endeavours and we encourage parents to discuss this aspect with their children often.  A great way to encourage and support your child in their faith journey is to pray and attend Mass with them.

Homework in Year 1 should be a short, fun experience.  Your child will bring home a reader (book), a poem book, a word book and a phonics book every night.  Reading these often will help consolidate the learning which takes place at school.  Most times the reader will have been seen by your child at school.  If on the odd occasion it is a tricky book or they are not familiar with it, please read it to them, discuss its meaning and the pictures and spend some time just talking about what they think of the story.  This is the most important part of learning to read.

The older children in the class will be working on blends and some basic spelling words.  Please practice these with them at home as they will be tested each Friday.

We have a behaviour programme in place at St Mary’s whereby the children can earn Golden Time.  This is a reward on Friday afternoon for super behaviour and is always an extra special treat.  Children can lose Golden Time by not following the Golden rules and this is always very sad.  As you enter the classroom there is a spider web on the wall and a spider with your child’s name on it.  The challenge is to stay on the web throughout the day by adhering to the Golden Rules. We also have a group reward system whereby the children can earn pizza pieces by staying on task at their table.  The first group to get a whole pizza wins lunch!  Please discuss these programmes with your child and check in with him or her at the end of the day to see how their day went.  They love showing off their achievements to their parents and it’s great to see you get excited for them.  Two Principals awards will be given each week at Assembly for exceptional behaviour, hard work, kindness, Catholic Character and amazing manners. These are highly sought after and a big deal!

I like to encourage parents to spend time in the classroom.  If you have any spare time and would like to be a parent helper in Room 13, we could use your help putting books away, pasting work into books, supporting reading and writing and help during some Golden Time activities on a Friday. Let me know if you can help.

Finally, it is my absolute pleasure to be teaching your gorgeous children this year.  I know we are going to have an amazing time filled with fun, learning and friendship.  I look forward to getting to know each of you as well.

Yours sincerely

Annie Russell