Term 2 Week 6 Newsletter

Hi there

I am trialling this new way of writing my newsletters. If you have any comments please click the comments box at the bottom of this post that way everyone can see your comments. Of course if you don't want everyone to read the comments then you can email me a response as before.

Thank you to all the well-wishers and your kinds thoughts while I was away sick. I am happy to say that I am feeling much better and glad to be back at school.

What's new?


Slippers: As discussed at the beginning of the year I like to introduce slippers during the wet, winter terms into the classroom. With the children having to walk through the rain to get to class, to get their lunch, to go to the bathroom they are getting their feet wet and then tend to traipse that wetness through the classroom. This is very unpleasant on the mat and for the children to have to sit in so I like to encourage the children to have slippers to wear in the classroom. There is a box at the door for the children to put their slippers in and another box for them to put their shoes in. You don't need to go out and buy another pair of slippers to have at school they can either take them to school everyday and bring them home everyday (which can be annoying and they may forget to bring them, so if they can keep them at school that would be great) or they can have a pair of thick woolen socks to put on. Most of the children are already doing this and it is working really well, thank you.

DVD's: During the wet lunchtimes I have been putting on DVD's through the computer and data projector to watch. Mainly because the children get very restless and hyped up when being couped up inside all day everyday (like they have this week) This tends to keep them calm and they enjoy the break. The children get to choose whether they want to watch these DVD's or they can go next door to Room 14 and choose a quiet indoor activity to play in there. I have asked the children if they have any DVD's they would like to watch to bring them in and I will look after them until they are needed. Although all these movies are children's movies, some of them have PG ratings so if you are uncomfortable with the children watching these without your presence then please let them know they need to choose the option in Room 14. Otherwise they tend to choose watching the DVD's.

Timetable: Your class parent co-ordinator, Jackie White, has very kindly made up a timetable for parent help in the classroom. This is mainly during writing and reading times. If you would like to help out during these times please put your name down on the roster that is pinned to the classroom notice board. Please no pre-school children though. As much as I would appreciate the support I find that pre-schoolers tend to either take the attention of the parents away from the classroom children or they become a distraction for the children in the class, either way this kind of defeats the purpose of parent helpers.

Sickness: There are quite a few nasty bugs going around at the moment and so to alleviate these bugs being passed on again we ask that you keep your child at home if they are showing any signs of these bugs, ie incessant coughing, running noses, sore throats, or if you are unlucky enough to have what I had dizzy spells, nausea, fever etc.

Naming Clothes: There have been 2 jerseys disappear from our classroom over the past few weeks. And I have noticed a few items of clothing (sports gear, shirts, dresses, socks and jerseys) that don't have names on them. This makes it very difficult to give them back to the rightful owner especially when the children don't recognise their own clothes. Can you please check your children's clothes (all of them) and make sure they are clearly labeled. Also if you happen to have Reuben Anderson's or Justine Berry's jerseys by accident can you please bring these back to school asap? Thank you.

Trips coming up:
On Monday 14th June all the year 2's are going to Ferrymead to tie in with our topic/inquiry work. We have been looking at cultures and what culture we personally associate with. This term we are looking more into the New Zealand culture - hence the cultural week with different Maori activities, rakau games, hangi etc. Now we are going to look into the past and see how things were done and what life was like 100 or so years ago - hence the visit to Ferrymead Historical Park. We will be learning what school was like, what games they played, how housework was done and entertainment ie theatre etc in days gone by. I will be needing 2 parent helpers to help out on this day, so if you are free, haven't helped out before and don't have any pre-schoolers to look after at this time or can arrange for them to be looked after then please see me. This is a full day excursion, the children will need their own lunch and we will have a picnic lunch together.

Curriculum
Maths: We are learning to tell the difference between repeated patterns and sequential patterns. We are learning to continue these patterns and make up our own patterns.

Writing: We are doing procedural writing and learning how to write instructions for how to make or do something. Our success criteria is when we have a title, a goal, a list of materials required and the steps for the procedure. Each step must start with a verb - a doing word ie add, pour, put, mix, plug, eat, drink, wait, place etc.

Handwriting: We are learning the final blend mp in words like jump, tramp, bump etc. This is also the focus for the poem of the week

Oral Language: We are learning to be good listeners and good speakers. A good listener 1) looks at the person, 2) doesn't talk, 3) uses appropriate facial expressions, 4) leans in closer to the speaker. A good speaker 1) Speaks clearly, 2) speaks firmly, 3) has an interesting topic, 4) has at least 4 points to share.

I hope this gives you enough information to keep you informed with what you're children are doing in class time. The children were quite shocked to hear that they were actually learning things when they play their games and have fun in class. They can't believe that you can have fun and learn at the same time lol.

I hope you are enjoying this lovely weather - good for the ducks they say, but I think even they will be getting sick of it by now. Keep warm, try and keep those dreaded bugs away and have a great week.

Cat Kincaid