Ruma+Karaka+Newsletter+No.+1+2010

__Ruma__ __Karaka__ __Newsletter No. 1, 2010__ Dear Parents, Welcome back to the new year at Thorndon School. We anticipate a lively start to the year with a number of activities and events. Our initial focus will be on getting to know each other, carrying out formative assessments, and getting underway with literacy and numeracy programmes. We will do our best to keep you informed about the details as events unfold. __Communication:__ Each class will operate a wiki where you can keep up with class events. We aim to have these online by the end of week 2. Students and teachers enjoy receiving feedback, so be sure to post a response. Other communication with parents is likely to be by email. Email is also a valuable medium for parents wanting to contact teachers. __Staff:__ The teaching staff in the Junior school will essentially remain the same this year (no new faces), but there will be some juggling of levels. Sue Holman will remain in Room1, but will be taking a Year 2/3 class. Niamh King will remain in Room 7, but will now have a Year 4/5 class. Krista Huber will be taking a Year 1/2 class in Room 4 and running the Reading Recovery programme. Zeeta Andrew (Rm 3) will also be taking a Year 1/2 class. Alistair du Chatenier (Rm 7) and Rebecca Nicholls (Rm 5) will take parallel Year 3/4 classes. __Meet the Teacher:__ This will be held on Friday, 19 February. We are looking at a new format which we hope will prove more attractive to parents. Watch the school newsletter for details __Topics of Study__ The major topic for study this term will be: - Healthy Heroes. This topic will involve an inquiry into the various factors that contribute to good personal health. Students will be introduced to the ‘Healthy Heroes’ website and will monitor their healthy habits on-line. More about this later. __Trips:__ We are planning to have a school picnic at Maidestone Park in Upper Hutt on the 24th of February. Parents and family are welcome. There will be more information on this event in the school newsletter. We will be travelling to the park by train. __Homework:__ Classroom teachers will provide further information on homework requirements, but at this point it is of primary importance that all children practise reading at home on a daily basis. If your child arrives at home without a book to practise from, with an inappropriate book, or with the same book repeatedly could you please mention this situation to your child’s classroom teacher. Our school policy is to limit homework to reading, spelling and occasional basic facts learning. __Sun hats:__ In line with our “Shady Schools” policy all children are expected to wear a wide brim sun hat in the playground. Could sun hats please be labelled with children’s names. Note the BOT now requires us to implement a ‘no hat - not play’ policy. __Drinks:__ Children may bring bottles of water into classrooms and drink from them at any time during the day. Sweet drinks, like juice or sports drinks, may only be drunk with morning tea or lunch. Soft drinks and energy drinks are not permitted at school. __Clothes:__ Children need to wear appropriate clothes and footwear to school. In the course of any single day children must be ready to run, jump, roll, paint, and play. If their clothes or footwear are going to prevent them from taking part in this range of activities, they are not appropriate for school. Please name all items of clothing. Remember who is the boss. You decide what your child wears. __Book bags:__ If you are reading this notice you have probably already checked your child’s book bag. Book bags are one of the means by which readers, receipts, newsletters, and children’s work can be safely conveyed home to you without being lost or damaged, so please check book bags daily. Can you also please ensure that they are returned to school on a daily basis. __Toys:__ We recommend that children keep their toys at home. If children do bring toys to school, it is at their own risk. If children have toys out during class time, they will be confiscated. (On some occasions children may be invited to bring a toy for particular purpose such as Discovery Time.) __Resources:__ We are always on the lookout for donations of spare materials. Currently we would be particularly interested in ice-cream containers, magazines, yoghurt containers, film canisters, and old T-shirts and business shirts (for art). Mr du would like boxes for construction please. __Swimming:__ Swimming will get underway as soon as possible. It is expected that all children will take part unless there is a good reason they should not do so. Please send a note to the class teacher if this is the case. __Stationery:__ All stationery requirements are provided for the reception class. For children in all other classes purchasing stationery (as specified on the stationery list) is the responsibility of parents. Stationery lists are available on the school website. __Parent Help:__ Teachers welcome parent help where it is available. Please talk to your child’s teacher if you think you would like to assist in some way. The types of tasks we appreciate help with do not necessarily require you to be available during school hours. Yours sincerely, Alistair du Chatenier