WOW Week: Trash to Treasure

Next week we are having an environmental WOW week with a focus on trash to treasure.
Can all students please bring an old item of clothing or a piece of recycled material that we can transform form trash to treasure. Ideas for the clothing can be anything from an old t-shirt that we can paint on or adjust, a couple of empty milk bottles we could make into a pair of shoes. A plastic/paper bag that could be transformed into a hand-bag....

Keeping Ourselves Safe

Today as part of our keeping ourselves safe unit we had constable John in class talking to the students about being safe around people they don't know. As part of this we did a role play in which Constable John played the role of a stranger trying to get the students to get into his car. He offered lollies, ice creams and puppies.  Many of the students were happy to get in the back of his imaginary car, despite others saying "No Don't do it!"
Please talk with your child about the importance of not going with people they don't know.  Consider different situations e.g. what to do if you are late picking them up, what to do if someone stops outside your house and tries to talk with them...

We have continued the role plays throughout the day to reinforce this message and even discussed what to do if someone tried to make them go.

Phoebe was very firm in saying No! she was not getting into cowboy Jakes car even though he asked her to help him look for a lost puppy and said that he knew her mum and dad. Well done Phoebe.

In the role play below constable John and 3 others were pretending to be teenagers at the beach encouraging Takoda to come with them to a fort they had made in the sand dunes. They told her not to tell her parents and offered lollies and treats for her to go with them.

Term 2 Welcome Back!!

Welcome back. Hopefully everyone has enjoyed a relaxing break followed by a long weekend. In our first week back we looked at ANZAC day and New Zealand's involvement in the wars and various other conflicts around the world. Caleb brought along medals awarded to his great grandfather from the second world war.  The students each wrote a reflection about what they think and feel about war and then together we painted poppies.  Pop into the class to have a look at our presentation on this.

As well as writing about war, the students each made a postcard, writing about what they got up to in the holidays.  Part of this learning was around the process involved in writing and sending a postcard.  There is a presentation in class of the students postcards which are both informative and colourful.

              Cross Country

This term sees the school holding its cross country.  As part of the students physical education programme they are running each day. Please make sure your child has shoes suitable to run in.  The running takes place every day with a circuit around the school straight after morning tea.  Here are a few photos showing the students in action. All classes in the AWA syndicate are involved.

                                                          Maths

Along with our regular focus on number, for the first two weeks of this term we are doing a unit on telling time.  The focus is on students being able to identify the hour, half hour and quarter past. Assistance at home with getting the students to tell you the time on an analogue clock would support what they are doing in class. 

                                                    Reading

At the end of last term all students were tested with their reading.  Most have shown a significant improvement in their reading level which is really pleasing.  Please keep up the hard work ensuring they read at home with you each night.  Last term we had a class wide focus on prediction, trying to predict what a story might be about using the cover and title.  This term we are focussing on being able to summarise what has been read.  The ability to summarise in their own words is a really important skill. When reading at home get your child to tell you what their book is about after they have read it.  This ensures they have been taking it in as they read. Some groups have been doing a play. The students really enjoy the opportunity to perform in front of their classmates.

                                                Oral Language

This term each student will be given a country to find out information about and present to the class.  As well as building their oral language it is designed to give them more of an idea about the world they live in.  Your assistance at home in helping them to get some information together is appreciated. Please see the parent information section of the blog for more detail.

Writing

Over the past few days we have been writing about different aspects of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory story.  On Monday the students wrote from the perspective of one of the Oompa loompas and had to write what was happening, who it was happening to, what they felt about it and why they felt that way.
Here are a few of the pieces of writing;


Augustus Gloop went down the chocolate river. I saw him go down the pipe. He got stuck in the pipe then I sang a song then he got unstuck. This how how Augustus fell in the river, he was sucking too much.  I feel bad because I don't like people falling in the chocolate river.

Joshua Lovell


Hello my name is Oompa Loompa. I saw Veruca Salt. She went down the rubbish shoot because she wanted a squirrel.  I feel happy because she kept saying to Mr Salt I want, I want.

Amelia Allen


Augustus Gloop fell in the chocolate river because he was drinking chocolate.  I feel funny because he is in the pipe.

Mitchell Cooper


Hello I am an Oompa Loompa. When we saw Augustus Gloop get sucked up into the chocolate pipe we sang a song about him and we felt angry because when the people eat it they will get sick and then we will need to shut down.

Haylen Oxnam

Charlie and the Chocolate factory

Today students each chose one of the children from the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory book. Using our dress-up box they chose an item to help represent that character.  They presented to the class their character, where in the story they are, how they are feeling and why.  The students did really well taking on the different characters and then wrote a story from their characters perspective. Here are some photos from the day

Term 1

Term 1 is quickly coming to an end.  We are continuing our focus on the students Literacy.  Please keep reading each night with your son or daughter. The students should be bringing home 3-4 readers a week.  If on a particular night they do not have a new book re-read one of the books in their reading cover.
Spelling is being tested each week.  Please keep up the good work in learning the spelling words at home. A number of our students have moved up a spelling level in the last week which is very encouraging for them. This week we will be testing the sight words.  Some students have moved beyond the sight word levels however for those still working through them we want to keep encouraging this as it assists their reading greatly.

Today in class one of the reading groups performed a RAP from their reading book to the rest of the class.  It was great to hear the encouragement given by the other students in the class to the reading proficiency of this group.

Logos

Over the past two weeks we have been looking at Logos helping the students to understand logos are a visual representation of a group.  Some logos such as the Nayland School logo express the aims of a group or organisation. Do you know which aim each of the 4 panels in the Nayland school Logo stand for?

If not why not ask your son or daughter to see if they can remember. To assist the aims of Nayland are

• Connected Community
• Achieving Brilliance
• Kia Kaha - Stand Tall
• Confident learners