Newsletter 23 October 2015

Room 8 Weekly Newsletter

avondale.7blogspot.co.nz

23rd October, 2015

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

There was a huge pile of sweat shirts and polar fleeces that we took to the office this week.  None of them had names on them and we are at a loss as to who they belong to.  If you are missing any uniform, please let us know.  It is important that all items of clothing are named, especially now that the weather is warming up and children are discarding their polar fleeces etc.

Please do not send your child to school wearing jandals.  We are doing athletics on a daily basis and jandals are unsafe.

A named drink bottle should be sent to school each day please.  We do not let children go outside for a drink during class hours, but they are free to use their drink bottle anytime inside.

This week we began a buddy reading system to give everyone more "reading mileage".  The children are taught how to prompt each other and in so doing, are reminded of strategies they can use when reading.

Have a good weekend.

Kind regards,

Pip and Jolanta

Parents signature: ______________________________________

Newsletter 19 October 2015

Room 8 Weekly Newsletter

avondale.7blogspot.co.nz

16th October, 2015

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

This week we welcome Samara who has transferred from another school.  Lucy joined us at the start of the term.

Four days a week we have news.  Your child has to address the whole class with a news item which needs to be prepared for the morning.  They may bring an item from home, provided that it is not a soft toy.  The item gets looked after during the day by the teachers and handed back at the end of the day.  We have noticed lately that very few children come prepared.  Just as a reminder, your child's newsday is:

Please remember to send a named school sunhat to school which must be worn at playtime and lunch time.

Some chidren have word lists at the back of this book to learn to read.  Please tick as they are learned.  

There is a letter about accessing our CORE 5 programme included in this newsletter.

This week we started our plants topic by visiting the school garden, sorting pictures into groups of vegetables or fruit, and placing some mung beans into water waiting for them to sprout. 

Have a good weekend.

Kind regards,

Pip and Jolanta

Parents signature: ______________________________________

Newsletter 18 September 2015

Room 8 Weekly Newsletter

avondale.7blogspot.co.nz

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

We have been assessing reading levels this week.  It has become very clear that the children who get a lot of home support are the ones who are making the most progress.  Please can you make sure that you allow a few uninterrupted minutes each afternoon/evening to sit with your child and encourage them to read the book that has been sent home.  Following this, you will need to sign the notebook.  Please find attached to the reading notebook, some information relating to the importance of reading every night.

Next term we are starting on a science topic about growing plants.  We need empty, cleaned soft drink bottles  that we can cut down to size.  Also, empty yoghurt pottles would be useful.  We are planning a picnic to the Botatnic Gardens near the end of the year to tie in with this topic.  (There will be a busfare cost involved).

Thank you to all those parents who come in every morning to get their children settled and help them write a sentence on their whiteboards.  We are seeing some good outcomes.

Have a good weekend.

Kind regards,

Pip and Jolanta

Newsletter 28 August 2015

Newsletter 24 July 2015

Room 8 Newsletter, 24th July, 2015

Dear Parents & Caregivers,

Welcome back to Term 3.  As you have no doubt discovered, we have had some big changes in Rooms 7 and 8!  The wall between the two rooms has been knocked out, opening up a wonderful learning space.

This means there is more opportunity for children to receive needs-based programmes.  We have re-grouped the children for reading, maths, handwriting, and story writing.  There are plenty of professional conversations between the two teachers relating to your child's learning; it is great to bounce ideas off each other.

News Day:  Your child's news day is: 

Basic facts - In the rear of this book there is a basic facts sheet for the older children.  Please can you help your child become fluent with these.

Can you please ensure that your child's uniform is clearly named.

This week we welcome 2 new children to our class:  Andre, and Mercedes.

This term our topic focus is "Fairy Tales".  On Tuesday of next week we are havng a visit from the Science Alive team who will be taking a lesson called "Fairy Tale Forensics" where we will become detectives and scientists to discover who broke into the Three Bears' house.

Have a lovely weekend.

Kind regards,

Pip and Jolanta

Parents/Caregivers signature:  ______________________

Early Words

Dear Parents and Caregivers

Today your child has 2 laminated early word cards in their reading folder. As part of homework each night please help them learn these by pointing to random words and asking your child to read them.

Success in reading is dependent upon learners quickly memorising sight words to enable them to progress quickly through the early stages of emergent reading. It is extremely important that within the first two terms at school children are able to recognize these words.

In the last week of this term we will be having an early word cupcake and lemonade morning tea to celebrate their learning.  Your child will need to be able to read at least 70% of the words that we have covered this term to participate.  Children who have started midway through the term will be asked to learn 70% of the words that they have covered whilst at school.

Please also note that the Room 7 blog is now active.  I will be posting any work that the children feel proud of, and a copy of all notices that go home from the class.

http://avondale7.blogspot.co.nz

Kind regards

Jolanta Gall

March Newsletter

March Week 5 2015

Dear Parents and Caregivers

I am pleased to report that all the children have settled well into Room 7 and school life. Thank you for your support over the last few weeks in setting routines, early bed times and helping your child to manage their learning and belongings.

We have been very fortunate this year in having excellent weather which has enabled us to swim on most days. Swimming has given us less time for other curriculum areas, however, the great progress made has been well worth it.  Next week will be our last week for swimming as we concentrate on other Physical Education activities.

Homework

Room 7’s homework policy is to send home a reading book from Monday to Thursday. On Friday we send home the poem for the week. This is pasted in the back of the Home Contact book.

Monday to Thursday the Early Words book will go home with a word for the day. Please read each days sheet and include some of the previous worksheets to help your child consolidate and remember their words.

‘Do I need to read every night.’

Answer  ‘Only if you want your child to make progress.’

Maths

This week a laminated goal card will come home with your child’s Maths goal which we ask you to help them with.

The majority of child will work on consolidating KNOWLEDGE Stage 1 and 2 of the curriculum. Please see the maths board in class for further information.

In class we will be working on short Knowledge acquisition and developing Strategy skills. Later this term we will be learning about Statistics.

Rich Maths Tasks

 Every Friday is our Rich Maths Task

Rich tasks open up mathematics. They transform the subject from a collection of memorized procedures and facts into a living, connected whole. Rich tasks allow the learner to 'get inside' the mathematics. The resulting learning process is far more interesting, engaging and powerful. We want all our children to love Moths and feel that they are successful.

Fun Five

In class we have a Fun Five behaviour plan which assumes that each child has met the requirements of being a responsible  learner and class member. Everyday we will have 5 minutes of fun activities. Should your child be removed from this activity they will have the opportunity of a fresh start the following day. Serious misbehaviour issues will result in detention with a letter home and or a phone call home.

Emails and Phone numbers

Please check that we  have the correct contact details for you and an emergency contact.  It can be very distressing for children if they are sick or injured and we have difficulty contacting someone. It would also be great to have an email contact as we like to send photos and details of wonderful learning so that you can see what we have been doing.

Best Wishes

Jolanta Gall