M Block's Term 1 News!

Hi guys, here's some of the important information from our term 1 newsletter.  Remember you can download and print our full newsletter by clicking on the link at the top of our blogspot or by clicking HERE!

Welcome back to school for another exciting year!  This term is shaping up to be a busy one and we're going to make the most of it!  Over the last 2 weeks we have been getting to know everyone, revisiting next learning steps, setting goals, and getting learning programmes underway.  Now that routines have been established and expectations have been set GET READY because there is SO MUCH to look forward too and HEAPS of fun and learning ahead of us!

Our newsletter is designed to go on your fridge or notice board as a quick reference to what's happening in M block this term.  It contains information about learning, upcoming dates and events, and important information regarding homework, behaviour management, and golden time.  If you have any questions or concerns please contact your child's teacher to arrange a time to meet.

You may already be aware that in M block we cross group for numeracy to ensure children are grouped according to their ability and that individual needs can be met.  This means that your child may have a different teacher at maths time.  This week we are completing our beginning of year testing which may result in some children being moved around as we fine tune our maths groups.  In addition to our numeracy programme we are fortunate to have Bernice running exra numeracy sessions as part of our teacher aide time.  These sessions are designed to give kids in need a short sharp boost in their numeracy knowledge.  More information on these sessions can be found below.

Thank you to all the parents attending this weeks Meet the Teacher Evening.  We see it as a fantastic opportunity to meet our paretns and caregivers and to spend some time explaining our learnign programmes, our routines, and our expectations for your children.  We will also be able to provide you with a copy of your children's next learning steps and goals for this term, we look forward to seeing you there!

This term's learning focus

Each term the focus for each curriculum area changes.  This term our focus will be on the following topics:

Numeracy - Addition and subtraction, forwards and backwards counting, place value, and basic fact recall

Literacy - Persuasive writing, reading fluency, and comprehension

Inquiry - New Zealanders that demonstrate or have demonstrated soem or all of the TP kid qualities.  You can find out all about TP by clicking HERE!

Physical Eductation - Summer games (throwing, catching, striking)

Children will also continue to work hard to achieve their reading, writingm and maths goals.  This term's goals have been set based on your child's next learning steps as outlined in their learnign journals last year.  Please talk to your children about their goals and help them by practicing them at home too.

We're TP Kids!

This term we're finding out about TP and what he means to us.  A big part of TP is the Life Long Learner Skills he represents.  These are the skills we want our kids to develop during their time at Totara Park School.  This term we are going to revisit each Life Long Learner Skill by having a different focus each week.  The focuses for each week are:

Week 2 - I motivate myself
Week 3 - I make connections
Week 4 - I ask lots of questions
Week 5 - I persevere
Week 6 - I take risks
Week 7 - I reflect

Try to talk to your kids about the skills and what they mean at home too.

Homework

For homework this term your child will receive 10 basic facts, 5 spelling words, and a reading log every FRIDAY to be completed by the following THURSDAY.  We ask that you help and encourage your child to complete at least 4 nights of reading, learn and practice their spelling words, and complete and practice the appropriate basic facts.  They will also be given a literacy and numeracy activity each week.  These will consist of quick practice activities to reinforce learning at school and can be completed with parental help when required. 

An information page with everything you need to know about homework can be found in the front of your child's homework book or by clicking HERE.  Please read it through and contact your classroom teacher if you have any questions.

Upcoming events and dates

M block Meet the Teacher Evening
Tuesday 14th February

M block's Harcourt Park Picnic
Friday 17th February

Swimming Day at Stokes Valley Pool
Friday 2nd March

School Cross Country
Tuesday 27th March / Pp. Thursday 29th Mar

Last day of term
Thursdau 5th April (Good Friday - Friday 6th Apr)

Term 2 starts
Monday 23rd April (ANZAC Day - Wednesday 25th Apr)

Numeracy Sessions

As mentioned above we will be running numercay focus groups this term.  The sessions have been setup to give kids a short sharp boost in their maths knowledge.  The sessions are run by Bernice between 9-9.30am and consist of just 4 children at a time, for up to 5 weeks.  Bernice is trained in teaching numeracy skills and can provide one to one time with each child focusing on their next learning steps. 

Last year we saw some fantastic progress made by the children involved, it is a great opportunity to increase confidence and help kids work towards their goals.  The sessions are not solely for children working below the national standards, they are an opportunity for teachers to nominate any child that they feel will benefit the most at the time, depending on current leanring and the child's rate of achievement. 

Should your child be involved we will send a letter home to inform you.  Children involved will miss out on morning fitness/PE in Tuesday's, Wednesday's, and Thursday's.

No Hat, No Play!

Term 1 is a summer term and so our 'No hat, no play' rule will apply everyday rain or shine.  We ask that your child has a named hat at school that they can keep in their desks.  If they do not have a hat they will be asked to sit under the tree outside the office during morning teas and lunchtimes.  Having no hat may also result in your child being asked to sit in the shade during fitness and physical education activities too.  Don't forget you can purchase a very cool Totara Park School full brim sun hat from the office for just $20!

DID YOU KNOW? 
Up to 80% of UV radiation can still get through on a cloudy day!

Behaviour Management and Golden Time

Our behaviour management system is based around Our Golden Rules and Golden Time. 

The Golden Rules are:

• We are gentle - we do not hurt anybody
• We are kind and helpful - we do not hurt the feelings of others
• We work hard - we do not waste our own or others time
• We look after property - we do not waste or damage things
• We listen to people - we do not interupt
• We are honest - we do not cover up the truth

If a rule is broken the procedure is:

1. Verbal warning and the child explains what he/she has done and which rule has been broken.
2. Warning card - a second warning is given and again the child explains what he/she has done and which rule has been broken.  The warning card is placed in front of the child as a visual reminder.
3. If the rules are broken three times within a session, that is 9-10.30am, 10.30-12.30pm, and 1.30-3pm, then he/she loses 5 minutes of their Golden Time on Friday afternoon.
   
   Physical violence and swearing will result in an autimatic loss of 5 minutes.

This term for golden time we will offer a range of fun activities for the kids to chose from each week.  On a Monday we will give the kids an opportunity to provide ideas for the Friday's golden time and then teachers will compare and reduce the lists down to a manageable selection for them to choose from.  Choices generally consist of art based activities, organised sport, computer time, DVDs, wheels, and occasionally cooking.  Toys will not be an option this term as they are banned school wide.

Children that lose golden time 3 weeks in a row or lose 15 minutes or more in a week will receive a note home to inform their parents.  We ask that you sign the note and return it to school with your child so we know it has been delivered.  We would also appreciate it if you would talk about th eloss of golden time with your child, why they lost the time, and how they might improve for the next week.  If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child and golden time please contact your child's teacher to arrange a time to meet.

We're Back... AGAIN!

Welcome to our blogspot for 2012!  We are Mr Chalmers year 3 and 4 class at Totara Park School, Upper Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand.  While we've been offline over the holidays TP kids have continued to use our blog AND we have still been getting visits from all over the world, which is really exciting!  We now have over 4000 hits! 

Soon we will have up to date news, photos and video, samples of our work, downloads, links to cool websites (for kids and parents) and maybe even our very own podcasts!  Keep visiting to find out what's happening, we hope you have fun exploring our blogspot!