Pohutukawa News  Term 2, 2018

 Dear Parents and Whānau,

Welcome to you all. We had a very exciting term in Term 1, getting to know

each other and finding out all about Manaakitanga - Be kind, Be Honest, Be

Respectful and He Manu Rere - Know Me, Know Others, Know How. We’re

looking forward to continuing on our shared learning journey with you and your

child. Read on to see what we will be covering this term.

What are we learning about this term? 

Inquiry :    This term we are continuing to develop the concepts of belonging and diversity

with our school-wide inquiry focus:

Know Me, Know Others, Know How

In Term 1 we explored the following big ideas

★ Identity is what makes us different ★ Belonging is what makes us the same ★ There is responsibility in belonging

We will build on these understandings with the big idea

★ Art helps us share who we are and what is important to us Using an Artists' Brief and following our inquiry process, each class will create a

permanent sculpture that reflects their unique identity and represents our New

Zealand heritage and diverse school community. The inquiry will culminate in

Term 3 with a celebration and opening of a sculpture trail for the school whanau

and community to enjoy.

We will be exploring lots of ideas and processes linked to sculpture and art

through our inquiry. Please talk to your child about what they are doing at

school and get them to share their ideas and explorations about sculpture with

you.

Key Competencies :

The NZ curriculum outlines five ‘Key Competencies’ that we want our children to

develop. They are:

- Participating and contributing: sharing ideas and cooperating - Relating to others: being open-minded, respectful and caring - Thinking: being curious and thinking of creative solutions to problems - Managing self: being independent - Using language, symbols and texts: we use these in all subject areas as a

way to communicate ideas We incorporate the Key Competencies in all our learning and ways of being.

The school has developed these icons to symbolise the Key Competencies - see

if you can match them up with the statements above!

These key competencies will be the foundation of all our learning this year.

Home Learning: The home learning your child needs to focus on is Reading. Please

make sure that you take time to read to your child - to have them

read to you - and to share your thoughts about what has been read

- every night.

PE: Cross Country: We are currently training for the Cross Country which will be on Tuesday 29th

May 9.15am-10.30am. If it is too wet to run on this day, the Postponement Day is

Friday 1st June 9.15am-10.30 . We run every day so the children need to wear

trainers or footwear that are suitable for running.

Kiwisport: Move’mprove This foundation skills programme, developed by

GymSports NZ, helps to develop fundamental

movement competence. Each class in Pōhutukawa will

have a 40 minute session run by a KiwiSport tutor on the

following Wednesdays: 16th, 23rd, 30th of May and 6th

of June.

Library Days: Each class visits our school library once a week. Please help your child to

remember to return their library book in their book bag on their class day.

Thursdays: Room 17 9.20-10.05, Room 18 2:20-3:00

Fridays: Room 16 9:20-10:05, Room 24/25 12.15-1.00

 Assemblies:  We get together as a team once a fortnight to share our learning and sing a few

songs. We will share what we have been doing, welcome new students and

celebrate successes. If your child is going to be performing or hosting at

assembly you will be notified beforehand. Pōhutukawa assemblies will be in the

PAC at 2.30 pm every second Tuesday from 15th May onwards. All Pōhutukawa

parents and whānau are welcome to attend.

Learning Conferences: We will have our parent and child learning conferences on Wednesday 4th and

Thursday 5th July. This is the opportunity for your child to share their learning

with you and for you to discuss their progress with their classroom teacher. It is

important to engage in these conversations as they help build the positive

home/school partnerships that enable us to deliver a programme which best

suits all of our learners.

Please see the school newsletter later in the term for more information on the

conferences and how to book a time.

 Uniforms: Please label every single item of your child’s clothing. School hats

are not compulsory this term. In this colder weather children can

wear navy, black or white thermals or long-sleeve t-shirts under

their school shirt - strictly no stripes, sparkles and patterns. If your

child wears earrings, only studs are allowed for safety reasons. No

dangly earrings.

Lunch Boxes: We are now a ‘waste-free’ school. This means that anything your child

has in their lunch box which needs to be discarded will be returned to

you. Please try to minimise packaging and wrapping that is not

recyclable or reusable. We have a Brain Break each day around 10:00 am. The

children need to bring a piece of fruit, vegetables or a healthy snack to eat at

this time. It needs to be easy for them to access it, possibly in a small separate

container, so they don’t have to bring their whole lunchbox to the mat.

Punctuality: We suggest that children arrive at school between 8.20-8:30am. This gives

them time to get themselves organised for the day and socialise with other

children. Children are only allowed in the classroom after 8:15am and should

not be at school before this time as teachers are busy preparing for the day and

are unable to supervise children. If your child is late always go to the office first

as they may have missed the roll being marked. They will be given a Welcome

slip to give to their teacher.

Tissues: The cold weather can bring on the sniffles, so we

would really appreciate each child in Pōhutukawa

bringing a large box of tissues for the class to use.

Welcome to the team:  We are so happy to welcome Nicola Hew to our

Pōhutukawa team . Nicola will be teaching alongside Stacy

McIvor in Room 24/25

We look forward to working with your child throughout the year. If you have any

questions or concerns, please talk to your child’s teacher. If you require a longer

time please make an appointment with the teacher so that they can ensure that

the matter is dealt with appropriately.

Kind regards

The Pōhutukawa Teachers

Stacy McIvor (Team Leader), Mina

Lala, Serene Hodgman, Megan Le

Gallais, Tracey Waller, Terri Vinsen,

Nicola Hew