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Sunday, February 1, 2015

Middle Team Newsletter

Monday 2nd February 2015

Middle School Newsletter – Term 1


Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome back to school this year.  We hope you had a great holiday and summer with your family. It is fantastic to be back at school. Our middle team consists of six classes. The teachers in this team are:

Room 5
Room 6
Room  7
Room 23/8
Room 14
Room 15
Year 3/4
Year 3
Year 3
Year 3
Year 4
Year 4
Mrs Raewyn Field  - Team Leader - rfield@hnps.school.nz
Ms Shelley Washington – swashington@hnps.school.nz
Mrs Molly Glenn mglenn@hnps.school.nz
Miss Samantha Newton – snewton@hnps.school.nz  
Mrs Toni Te Whaiti -  ttewhaiti@hnps.school.nz
Mrs Karen Duligall – Blended Learning Classroom - kduligall@hnps.school.nz

We have a range of strengths to share with your children. The middle team teachers look forward to your full involvement and support. We hope you are able to assist your child to develop their independence, confidence and risk taking in their learning. Any offers of parent help are keenly accepted. Please advise your classroom teacher of days or ways you can help!

Expectations
Establishing good routines is an important part of getting started for the school year so we expect students to be responsible for their morning organisation and returning notices and homework. All students need a hat (named), brainfood, pencil case and book bags. Brainfood needs to be brought into the classroom each morning and books from bags need to be unpacked before school begins. All students need a wide brimmed school hat every day this term for sun protection. Water bottles are encouraged as are regular applications of sunscreen. All clothing needs to be labelled so the children can recognise their own items. The school uniform shop has hats and uniform items available.

Newsletter and Homework
Once systems are in place, a weekly homework sheet with relevant news of interest will be issued in each class by the classroom teacher. Homework will consist of
Maths – practise of -     number knowledge basic facts to assist with fast recall
-        skills  to develop knowledge and understanding in other strands  
This will be completed through Study Ladder which is online and free. Class teachers will set this up and send home log in details early in the term.
Reading – daily practise at a recreational level (not high difficulty) for fluency & mileage, as well as a completed reading log.
Inquiry – at times there will be a task related to our current inquiry topic in class.
We encourage you to work with and guide your child to complete work and settle into a homework routine that works for you. 20 minutes is a good guide for daily homework at this level. By the end of the year, homework habits will be well established.

Notices
Today, you should receive a stationery list, cybersafety and internet permission forms as well as a form for you to update your contact details. Please attend to these in the next couple of days to assist the classroom programme and school organisation. All forms can be returned to the classroom teacher. You may communicate with our school via emails, phone, class blogs, school website and good old fashioned face to face! Spare stationery will be held at school by the teacher.
Absences
The HNP school website has a link for recording absences. www.hnps.school.nz  Alternatively, you can phone the school (877-8788) and report your child’s absence, stating their room number and the reason for them being away.

Building Site
The school has started some major renovations over the holidays on the toilets, Rooms 8-10 and the old library.. Some of these will continue in term one. Safety fences are in place. The new toilets will be completed as the term begins.  Children will be advised of areas that are out of bounds. Please remind children to take care as they walk around the school.

Term One
This term our first school wide focus is on Cognition – Learning and Thinking. The middle team are looking at how we learn,  what skills we have that we can share with others and establishing class routines.
Mathematics – Measurement – Length and Area, Geometry – Position and Orientation and Algebraic Patterning
Literacy – Reading to develop our comprehension from a range of texts. Writing for the first three weeks will include memoirs, lists and enjoying poetry.
Physical Education and Health – Fitness training for Triathlon (Year 4) and Duathlon (Year 3), looking after and managing myself, swimming in readiness for the HNP Swimming Sports (Rooms 5, 14 & 15 – Year 4 classes).
Inquiry topics will cover aspects of Science, The Arts, Technology and Social Sciences throughout the year.

EVENTS HAPPENING IN THE FIRST FEW WEEKS
CALENDAR

Swimming days for the first two weeks are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for Rooms 5, 14 & 15. Please bring your togs, towel and goggles for sessions at the Village Pools.
HNP Swimming Sports (Year 4-6) – Monday 16th February (Postponement – Wednesday 18th Feb.)
HNP School Picnic – Wednesday 18th February 5:30 p.m.
HNP Triathlon (Year 4-6) – Monday 2nd  March at the Havelock North Domain (morning)
HNP Duathlon (Year 3) – Monday 2nd  March at school (afternoon)
Interschool Swimming (Year 4-6) – Monday 23rd February (Postponement – Tuesday 24th Feb.)

CAMP DATES
9th – 10th  March CAMP for Room 15 & Room 5 Year 4s – Stoney Creek Ranch
11th  - 12th March CAMP for Room 14 & Room 4 Year 4s – Stoney Creek Ranch
Year 3 Camp dates and details are still to be confirmed.

MEET THE TEACHER EVENING
Tuesday 10th Feb. 6:45 – 7:30 p.m. beginning on the field to introduce all teachers in the middle team, then in individual classes. If it is wet, we will just go straight to the individual classes. This will follow the Year 2 session which is from 6:00 – 6:45 in classrooms. Teachers will share their class organisation, routines and expectations with you. Information about camp for Year 4’s in Room 5, 14 & 15 will be included in this evening.
                                          

Any concerns, please email your classroom teacher or come in and see us. I am also available as Team Leader if you wish to see me, in Room 5.

We look forward to a great year with you in the middle team.

Raewyn Field, Shelley Washington, Molly Glenn, Samantha Newton, Toni Te Whaiti and Karen Duligall.

Middle Team Teachers 2015

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