Haumoana School – Room 3 Newsletter, Term Two
2 May 2016
Dear Parents and Guardians
Wow - one term has flown by already and here we are in Term 2!
It is set to be another busy term with many Matariki activities planned.
Here are a few reminders to get our term off to a smooth start.
1. Brain Food - children are able to eat their healthy snacks at any time during the morning that suits them. Please provide several healthy options for this purpose. It is proven to help maintain focus. Water bottles are still required as this has benefits for the brain too.
2. Writer's Notebook - Please continue to gather items for your child's notebook.
3. Homework done regularly will have benefits for your child. A little, often, is preferrable to cramming in on one night per week! Some children are lagging behind in their reading logs. Please ensure your child reads each night. They will also have spelling words to learn and Number Knowledge to learn.
Have a great term everyone. I know that our eager learners will continue to do well.
Sue Jensen
Wow - one term has flown by already and here we are in Term 2!
It is set to be another busy term with many Matariki activities planned.
Here are a few reminders to get our term off to a smooth start.
1. Brain Food - children are able to eat their healthy snacks at any time during the morning that suits them. Please provide several healthy options for this purpose. It is proven to help maintain focus. Water bottles are still required as this has benefits for the brain too.
2. Writer's Notebook - Please continue to gather items for your child's notebook.
3. Homework done regularly will have benefits for your child. A little, often, is preferrable to cramming in on one night per week! Some children are lagging behind in their reading logs. Please ensure your child reads each night. They will also have spelling words to learn and Number Knowledge to learn.
Have a great term everyone. I know that our eager learners will continue to do well.
Sue Jensen
Haumoana School – Room 3 Newsletter, Term One
1 February 2016
Dear Parents and Guardians
Welcome to 2016 in a newly renovated Room 3!!! We are so lucky to have this updated
environment to work in and I’m particularly looking forward to air conditioning!
Still some setting up to do – and it will be great to have children’s input. I’m sure you and your children have had happy
holidays and are eager to start a new year of learning. We will initially be working on developing
the routines of a new class, focussing on the Habits of Mind Thinking Interdependently and Taking Responsible Risks. I am looking
forward to working more with the Senior Team and the other Year 3s. More details about this to come. The reading books your children bring home in
the first few weeks may be easy, as we work on establishing these routines and
I get to know the children. These are a
few notes to help your child settle in…
Brain Food – Each day starts with a healthy snack
and milk to help activate the brain. The
snack should be fresh fruit or vegetables or plain crackers and
cheese. Please cut larger pieces of
fruit such as apples into manageable segments that can be consumed in a short
time. No packets or sweet biscuits. Room 3 has a policy of flexibility with eating during the day (at any
time suited to your child). Please
provide several healthy snacks for this purpose. Research shows that when healthy snacks are
eaten regularly, students are more attentive and enjoy learning more. Morning tea is eaten while the
teachers read to children. I ask that
they choose something that does not have commercial packets as the noise is
difficult for children to hear over as the wrappers crackle. I encourage them to bring a bottle of water
to the classroom and have this available throughout the day. It is essential to keep the brain functioning
well. Please name bottles clearly.
Stationery – This can be ordered through
OfficeMax – either online or in the shop.
If this is organised early we can get straight into our learning
programme. We use a shared/pooled system
for rubbers, crayons and pens so naming is not necessary. For
this reason it is best to keep any extra fancy items at home. It saves worries about loss or damage of
these items. Coloured pencils may be used,
but we do not require felt pens.
Sport – During the first few weeks of term our PE programme is
aquatics (swimming). The few weeks we
have available to learn to swim are crucial.
It is expected that your children bring togs every day. Even though some mornings may be colder it
often turns out hot enough to swim in the afternoon. If there is a medical reason why your child
cannot swim please write a note in the homework book (or see me).
Topic Studies: This
term our topic is ‘TEAM’ and we will focus on working together, becoming aware
of our immediate environment and then the wider community. We will have several
out of school experiences to explore. This
focus will integrate all Curriculum areas - Reading, Writing, Maths, Art etc.
Our aim is to
explore values such as respect, honour and our School Value of Belonging (A
place to stand – our turangawaewae.
Being empowered and connected.) Two Habits of Mind - Thinking Interdependently and Taking Responsible Risks will be the big
ideas woven into everything we do. Great
Habits to set the tone for the year! In Room 3 traditional ability
grouping for reading and maths will be minimised. Collaborative learning in mixed ability
groupings is proven to be more beneficial to children. In time, the children will come home talking
about this. Thinking Hats and
Thinking Maps will feature strongly in all areas of learning too. A Writer’s Notebook will be used to
generate ideas for writing. Please
encourage your child to bring along items of interest to glue in e.g. photos of
pets, holidays, special events; newspaper articles of personal interest;
tickets for rides, movies etc. Even
interesting words or phrases that you come across or that tickle your fancy
which could be used in their writing can be included.
Homework
Each week there will be a homework sheet that should not
require more than 20 minutes each night.
☺
The spelling list comprises of 5 words
taken from the essential lists, children’s own writing, or senior levelled
lists, and 5 words using the Chunk of the Week.
I expect children to be learning these words by following the chart that
is glued into their books. Please
encourage them to learn words before being tested. Using colour to practice with is a very good
way to aid memory.
☺
They
will have a reading book taken from
either the browse box (easy books at a lower level) or from the guided teaching
session (more challenging) each day.
Please remember to record the date, title and a comment about the
content of reading in the Reading Log. This
could be related to what your child already knows about the topic, what he/she
has learnt, what surprised, frightened, worried or made him/her laugh. “Good Reading” type comments can be made in
the bottom section of the page. Please
discuss the reading with your child – this is crucial to understanding. A question guide using de Bono’s Thinking Hats
will be included in the homework book.
Use it every day.
☺
Basic Facts must be learnt each day. Last year’s notebook will be continued and a
new one started upon its completion.
Please send along to school as soon as possible if you have it at home. See more notes on this in the Basic Fact
book.
☺
I have set up online activities (Study Ladder
and Sunshine Classics) for children to work on, at their own pace. A separate letter will explain this. There will be time at school for working on
this too, so if you do not have access to the internet do not worry. It is optional!
☺
Sometimes
there will be a topic task, which is
optional but of course will benefit your child’s learning if undertaken. Let me know if it is too much.
☺
We
also look at Habits of Mind and
other Thinking Tools (Thinking Hats, Thinking Maps, and Thinker’s
Keys). Please discuss your child’s
learning with them and ask about their ways of thinking.
☺
Poem
books will be sent home on a Friday.
Please ensure these are returned on Monday.
Please contact us every day your child is away – even if
your child is sick for several days.
This is for security purposes and sometimes the reason changes! They might be sick the first day but then
need to go away for a family funeral/holiday etc. Please record your email address and
cellphone number below. Thank you.
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