Good evening Kauri families,

I hope you all had a good long weekend and enjoyed some of that lovely sunshine!

Our first week went smoothly, with us all getting to know each other better and getting used to new dynamics and class routines. 

Thank you for all having stationery sorted and everything named. We will be fully into the swing of most things this week, so reading books and notebooks will be coming home daily, to be returned the following day. Please ensure you use the reading folder to transfer books to and from school, to keep them protected.

This Tuesday we have our second session of junior Kapa Haka with Mrs Livingstone. Mike from MC Hockey will be again coaching us on Wednesday and we have Mrs Livingstone teaching Kauri every Thursday until lunchtime. This is my classroom release time, in which time I support and assess children, attend meetings or do some planning. This coming Friday will be our first library day for the year. Keep bringing swimming gear daily. 

In Maths, we will continue with counting and understanding numbers to 20, 50 and for some, up to 120. In phonics, we will continue to revise our alphabet sounds and digraphs, and some will start on the 'ai', 'ay' sound. 

We will continue to learn about 'Myself and my Community', with the particular focus on kindness and friends.

Have a great week and please feel free to come in some time and let your child show you their classroom.

Have a great week.

Kind regards,

Karen Digby

Welcome to week 2 Kawakawa whanau,

We had a great start to the school year.  I am really enjoying teaching the class and working in a new space.  If you haven't been in our classroom you are more than welcome to come in and have a look before or after school.  On Tuesday I will not be at school, as I am helping my daughter, Jessica, move into her student Hall up at Lincoln University.  I am excited for her to be starting a new chapter of her life as a university student.  Mrs Abbey Moore will be teaching in Kawakawa all day on Tuesday.

This  week is Swim Week for the Year 4s and we have the instructors from EA Networks coming to take lessons in our school pool.  The Year 3s will be having this the following week. Our class swim at either 11.25 or 11.50am.  We will also still have an afternoon swim so they will be having 2 swims this week.  We will dry towels and togs on our deck after the lesson in the morning.

On Wednesday and for the following 2 Wednesdays we have Mike from Mid Canterbury Hockey coming to take skills sessions with us.  Can the class please have suitable footwear for these sessions.  I was really impressed with the very high skill level that all of the class has.

Please look out for reading books in your child's book bag.  There won't be a reading book on Tuesday.

We will be continuing our topic work on "Myself and My Community" we have been learning about what kaitiaki means and how to be a kaitiaki for out school and the school environment.  We will share some of this learning with you on see-saw.

I have set up a see-saw page for the class for this year.  We share a lot of our learning with you on this platform.  An email invite would have been sent to you last week, so please join up if you haven't done so already.

Last week, with getting back into the school routine there were some tired children on Thursday, so a short week was ideal. I hope that you all had a relaxing and enjoyable long weekend.  Have a fabulous week.

Nga mihi nui,

Julia Begg

Kia ora Koutou,

It was fabulous seeing all our returning and new tamariki this week. Having a four day week helped with the inevitable tiredness at the end of week 1.

We welcomed Jacqui Quinlan to our staff this week. She is teaching in Kahikatea each Thursday.

Swimming lessons with instructors for our Year 4-8 students take place this week. Classroom timetables will adjust to work around this.

The media is constantly reporting on the many changes in education. Although sometimes these changes add to the pressure of schools; most often they are aspects that are already happening. In many cases streamlining and sharing with parents and the community is a postitive step.

At the end of last year the Ministry of Education launched the Parent Portal

https://www.education.govt.nz/parents-and-caregivers/schools-year-0-13/parent-portal

This provides an overview of education in New Zealand, showing ways that parents can support their children’s learning at home and be informed about broader initiatives in education. 

There are changes around reporting to parents which are in the process of being launched. Schools are waiting on all the information which effectively is a streamlining of how Reporting to parents will look. 

Wakanui Staff are undertaking Professional Development in Assessment in the first half of this year which will support this.

Ngā mihi nui

Trena