Open Night

On Thursday this week 27 November we have our school open night.  For our Flexible learning space we are having a shared meal.  Sausages and bread will be provided.  Bring a plate to share.  It will be great to have you come and share with other families in your child's learning.  We have chosen the time to hopefully make it easier for working parents to join us.
The start time is 5pm and we will be finished by 7pm.

Oral Language

It has been great having the students getting into their oral language.  It is helpful if they can have prepared something at home and practiced how they will present it to the class. We are working on building confidence in standing in front of others and speaking,  This involves needing to be able to maintain eye contact, standing up straight without fidgeting and speaking clearly with good pacing. Here is Joel who dressed up as a policeman to present to the class on what he wants to be when he leaves school.

Big Week

Last week we had some exciting visitors to school.  We had Takoda's dad "Joe the Builder" come and speak to us about being a builder. After showing us many tools he made a table in front of our whole junior assembly.  We now have many students wanting to be builders when they leave school.

We also had a visit from the local fire brigade who reinforced some of our safety messages around getting out of a building if it is on fire.  We know that in the event of a fire we need to get down and get out. Once outside we need to meet at the place we have arranged with our family in the event of a fire or emergency.  The letter box is usually a good idea.

Here are some photo's of the fire brigade visit.

We have also started cricket skills.  Each Friday we will learn basic cricketing skills with coaching from Nelson representative cricket players.  Here are some photos from our first session. Look out the Black Caps.

Don't forget this week we are walking up to the Stoke Library on Thursday. Please have the students Library cards to school by Wednesday ready for our exciting outing.   

Safety/Follow your passions

This term we have been looking at safety. As part of this we have been visited by Kori the penguin who talked about the importance of water safety.  This friday we will have the local fire brigade visit our multi learning space with one of their fire engines.

We have also been looking at the jobs different people do as part of our follow your passions topic.  The students have been considering what they might like to do when they leave school.  Some of the responses are very amusing.  One student said he wants to stay at home and in order to do this he will "need to be nice to his mum." Another student said when he leaves school he wants to "get a job and make lots of money to give to his mum." Below are some photos of the students dressing up at discovery time and contemplating what they might want to be when they leave school.

Discovery Time

Every Monday morning we spend from 9-15am until morning tea with Discovery Time.  This is a hands on focus time where we emphasise one of the key competencies within the NZ curriculum. Today our focus was on thinking.  Encouraging students to think about what they are doing.  Students who are competent thinkers can solve problems and know how to seek and use knowledge.

Here are photo's of the students in their Discovery Time exploration.

These students were creating a town, giving consideration to what might be required in a town, and how the town layout might affect people's lives.

These students were thinking about colour and how they might express themselves .

Here the students are taking turns at teaching. Ella is setting out her requirements for appropriate behaviour on the mat.

With our focus on safety these students were thinking about how they safely move their cars and people around on roads.

These students were comparing the capacity of different containers to hold water.  Does a tall skinny container hold more than a short wide container?

These two were working out a new game, discussing the way it should be played.

Safety Module

Last week we started a 2 week focus looking at safety.  As part of this we had bike/scooter safety, looking at how we keep ourselves safe with basic maintenance, use of helmets and high visibility clothing.
On Friday we had a visit from St John's who introduced the students to the different responsibilities of Fire, Ambulance and Police. The students we able to engage in hands on activities with bandaging and viewing an oxygen cylinder. This week our focus will continue with dialling 111 and a safety focus walk with a Police Constable.
Below are photos from our time with Catherine from St John's.

Welcome Back!

We are back and into it! This is an action packed term and one where we really want to consolidate the students learning from the past two terms. Our Maths focus for the next two weeks is measurement.  We are focussing on mathematical language comparing different objects e.g. taller, shorter, heavier, lighter, longer...

Today for discovery time we had hands on activities comparing lengths and heights. Comparing objects used for holding water and their capacity. We joined hands and realised that with all our students we could make a chain that stretched from our classroom to the fence.

Here are some photos from our first day back.

Stoke Library Trip

This term it is my intention to take a walking class trip to the Stoke Library. Over the next week I will be posting information to assist parents/caregivers to get each student signed up with a library card.  The library experience is made all the better if the students have their own library card and are able to have books issued to them on the day of the trip.  Establishing a love of reading at a young age can be hugely beneficial for learning.