Term Two

Kia ora everyone!

I hope you all had an amazing holiday break, got to sleep in lots and do some really cool stuff. By the sounds of all of your stories this morning you were all out there doing adventurous activities and keeping busy.

This term in Room 12 we will be doing a nice assortment of learning activities to see us through this 9 week term so the time will no doubt fly!

Cross Country:
Cross Country will be held next week on Monday at 1pm at Aranui Park across the road. Our class will be running towards the end of the afternoon, each running 4 laps (1800m) so if you would like to come and watch I suggest being there around 1.30 to ensure you don't miss the race. We will be doing a little training during school time but if the kids could partake in some running outside of school too this would benefit them very much.

In class learning: 
For our reading focus this term we will be doing a minor novel study with the follow up activities to be completed at home. I am going to prepare the children with books and their matching activities which include a range of comprehension tasks and other t We will meet once a week with each book group to discuss how they are going with the novel and activities. This will run through the whole term and hopefully be completed by week 9. 

Our writing focus will be around Gail Loane's poetry units, focusing on observing and noticing the world around us. This will also take up most of the term and will involve the students spending a good portion of our classroom time in our external environment surrounding the school. 

During our Mathematics time we are still working our way through number strategies and knowledge and will be introducing measurement later in the term. 

We have a school wide Matariki unit being studied this term and the children will have ample opportunity to develop their understanding around this topic. We will be having a celebration towards the end of the term in which parents/caregivers/whanau are encouraged to attend along with us. We will have our art pieces on display and any other work we have published throughout the term.

Home learning:
Home learning for this term will be focused around our Novel Studies unit and all follow up activities should be completed at home throughout the week when they have finished the chapter they are working on. I will also be adding in some Maths home learning activities for my learning class with a large focus around basic facts and multiplication. I have seen a positive improvement in their understanding of these areas so far at school so if we can keep practising these at home that would be very  much appreciated. 
This week for home learning they will be finishing their interview skills activities until we start Novel Studies next week. 

There are a range of other activities happening around the school this term including:
- Tackle Rugby (week 3)
- Band
- Ukulele
- Academic Quiz (week 6)
- Motueka High School extension programmes
- Rock da House rehearsals 

It will be a very exciting and busy busy term. 
I would just like to send out a big thank you to you all for all of your constant support towards me. I have had such an incredible start to the year. I look forward to catching up with you all soon.

Nga mihi nui

Miss McKenzie