School Uniforms

Just a friendly reminder that all children need to be wearing the correct school uniform - the holidays are a great time to find those blue jerseys and sweatshirts ready for the winter term ahead. No non school uniform jerseys please.

Sewing Help Needed

We are seeking anyone who can sew to help sew some new kapa haka uniforms - the pattern is a simple one so if you can sew a straight line and zig zag, you'd be just the right person for the job. This can be done in your own time, at a time that suits you.

If you might be interested or you have a family member who might be able to help us out, please let us know or see Anna South (Ruby's mum) for more details. The more helpers the merrier!

Week 11 (11-15 April)

This week we are not having normal home reading due to our focus and preparations for our Learning Celebration. However we would like children to be practising their Kohara Chant (in their poetry folder) as they need to know this for Wednesday.

All poetry folders must be at school each day in our green baskets (not in school bags) - today we counted up 20 children who did not have their poetry folders in the classroom!!! These along with reading folders need to be put away each morning so that children have them ready for when their group is called for reading. Reading folders need to be put in their tote trays. If your child has any spare reading books still in their reading folder from last week can these please be returned asap so they can be shelved before the holidays.

A big thank you once again to all our helpers who have helped return our reading books this term - it is a fantastic help for us and we really do appreciate it. Keep an eye out early next term for the Term 2 roster which will be pinned up outside the doors into Kohara.

Sports Session
On Thursday morning the children get a chance to have a go at some ball skills with a sports session run by Kelly Sports. Please make sure children have suitable sports shoes on that day.

End of Term
Term 1 finishes on Friday at 3pm. We hope the children have a chance to recharge and relax and we look forward to hearing all about their holidays when they return to school on Monday 2 May.

Learning Celebration Wednesday 13th April

Hopefully you all received your programme of events for our Learning Celebration tomorrow (this was sent via email last week or in hard copy for those who don't get their newsletters emailed). In case you missed it here are our times for tomorrow (Wed).

Come along and find out more about our Term 1 Arts/Music Learning - either from 12-12.30 or we will be repeating it again from 1.30-2pm. You are also welcome to come earlier or stay later and visit the other classes throughout the day to see what they have been doing over the term.

At 12.30pm we will be offering up some tasters from some of our cultural groups represented within the school as well as a sample of our hangi (out on the back field). Children still need to bring along their normal lunch as well. A gold coin as koha (donation) towards the hangi would be appreciated and can be given to class teachers in the morning.

If you'd like to lend a hand - Mr Anderson and Darren are leading the men with preparing the hangi pit from 5am onwards and Mrs Coleman and Ms Hudson are leading the ladies with the food preparation from 7am. They would love any willing helpers at any stage of the morning if you have some time to spare.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Izzy's Fish Tank

Look carefully at Izzy's fish tank. It has real sand, driftwood and shells in it to make it look just like the bottom of the ocean. Izzy also created seaweed using cellophane and pipe cleaners. It is such a nice habitat that her rainbow fish has decided to live there!

Izzy made her rainbow fish by hand sewing and stuffing fabric in a fish shape. Her fish also has colourful scales just like the story. Izzy has thought really carefully about what her fish needs and making the tank was a great next step. 

Leon's Handwriting

Our whiteboards are a great way to practise our handwriting. Leon was busy working on letters that all start in the same way. We have been learning that a, o, d, g and q all start like the letter c.

You can practise handwriting in lots of ways - in a sandpit or at the beach with a stick, use a paintbrush dipped in water to write on a path, with chalk, on a whiteboard, on an iPad app (there's even a link on our blog), or just with good old fashioned pen and paper. 

Handwriting is a great activity to practise at home as it helps us get faster at writing our stories and makes our words easier to read. 

Taila's Weaving

Taila was keen to have a go at learning how to weave and Amelia was able to help teach him how to it. Taila chose to weave a flower pattern and even added a bumblebee detail to the middle. Well done Taila, you have shown a lot of perseverance.

Edward's Pet Pig

Check out Charlie, Edwards pet pig that he created out of recycled materials. The trickiest part was cutting out the ears and feet from old egg cartons. We think he will enjoy spending time in Kohara with us! We love the details Edward has added.

Statistics with Izzy and Anna

Izzy and Anna have been busy doing statistics in Kohara. They used the magnetic letters to write names and then compared them to find out statistical information. They found out that Coco and Anna both had 4 letters in their names and Isabela was the longest name.

We love seeing maths in action in Kohara!

Term 1 Learning Celebration

Come join us on Wednesday 13th April either at 12-12.30 or 1.30-2pm in Kohara and learn more about our Term 1 Music. A programme will be coming out soon with more details - you are welcome to visit other class sharing sessions as well and enjoy seeing what we have been doing. There will also be food stalls and a hangi at 12.30. Hope to see you there. 

Library Day

Hunt out those books! Library day tomorrow. 

Week 10 (4-8 April)

We hope everyone enjoyed their Easter break last week. It was a good chance for the children to recharge their batteries ready for the last few weeks of term.

Classroom Release Time
Room 18 have PE with Mr Lukes and Room 19 have Art with Mrs McHaffie on Thursday from 9-10.30am.

Kapa Haka is on Thursday

Library day on Friday - please remember to return books before Friday to our class library containers.

Reading Folders & Poetry Folders
Please encourage children to put their reading folders in their tote trays before school starts in the morning each day. On a Monday morning all of last weeks books can be returned to the grey reading container (the children know where this is located).
Poetry folders need to be returned to the green baskets.

School Disco
The PTA are running a disco for the children on Friday 8 April. Junior children from Year 0-3 are welcome to attend the junior disco which runs from 6-7pm. $2 entry and glow products will also be on sale. Preschoolers are welcome.

School Pool Keys
The school pool is now closed for the season. Families who purchased keys can return these to the office and receive their $20 bond back.

Lost Property
We have a growing pile of lost property inside our classroom - please take a moment and check through the pile next time you're in :)

Lost Cardigan

Bela has lost a brand new cardigan - please check at home just in case it's been muddled up by mistake - it's named.