NGĀTI TOA NEWS

Kaye

www.ngatitoa.school.nzP: 04 236 7785E: office@ngatitoa.school.nz

Kaye’s KoreroKia ora whanau.What a beautiful start to the last week of the term. It is great getting the children out to the zoo—last week was tough being cooped up inside for a large part of the week. In preparation for term two, it would be great if you could do up a little pack of bits and pieces for your children to do on wet days—card games, knuckle bones, puzzle and colouring in books etc. Quiet things they can sit and do with a couple of others. That, along with their slippers or some nice thick socks, would be ideal.

This is the week we farewell Margaret Lavulavu from our staff. I began my relationship with Margaret when she was training to be a teacher and I was a lecturer at the teachers’ college. It has been lovely to reconnect with her at our school and I take this opportunity to thank Margaret for her input and support of the children she has taught over the eight years she has been here. The children, past and present, have fond memories of her and I know she has some enduring relationships with the people she has worked alongside. All the best in Auckland Margaret, and we are sure our paths will cross again.

Enjoy the time with your children over the break. Get out and about with them and find fun in the things that don’t cost you lots of money but get you out enjoying our beautiful community. Looking forward to seeing you all back safe and sound on Monday 1 May.Have a great weekNga mihi nui

11 April 2017

You will know that one of the underlying beliefs informing the way we do things at Ngāti Toa School is that children learn through play, exploration and inquiry. You will also know from your children that we like to get them out of the classroom, learning from their environment. This means that sometimes the children are out in

a variety of weather conditions. Next term is likely to be even wetter and muddier than this one, so we ask that you prepare children for it by ensuring they have a change of clothes in their bag (even just extra pants and socks is a help). An extra pair of shoes to be kept at school would be good if possible too.As mentioned above, we also ask that your children have some slippers or thick socks that can stay at school to be worn inside. Next term, we won’t allow shoes and gumboots to be worn inside; it is really difficult to keep our carpets clean, so we will need to enforce this one.Don’t be alarmed if your children come home and say they have been for a walk in the rain. Our teachers will not take the children out if it is very inclement or unsafe, but they may go out in the rain occasionally. A good jacket is a must. See Kiri in the office if you need a KidsCan jacket for your child.

Dirty PlayReporting progress and achievementPlease take the time to give us your thoughts on what you want to know about how your child is going at school. See notice further down.

Farewell Assembly for Margaret Lavulavu There will be a farewell assembly for Margaret on Thursday 13 April at 2:00 p.m .in the hall.

receiptsPlease continue to send your receipts along to the office. The proceeds go into our “Education Outside the Classroom” (EOTC) fund.

NGĀTI TOA NEWS

School donation

School donations are welcomed at any time during

the year. They are $25 per child or $40 per family.

These donations are a great help to us, covering

extra things like subsidising buses for trips,extra-

curricular activity e.g. Stepping Out. Please send

these along when you are able, or deposit in the

school’s account:

01 0546 0124048 00 with your family name in the

“Reference” field.

SoccerIn the Year 3/4 section, Ngāti Toa Warriors won the tournament! Well done team—what a fantastic effort. Ngāti Toa Cool Guyz placed third in the tournament so also played out of their skins. Great stuff teams!

Ngāti Toa Poikiri played in the finals of the Year 1/2 section this week and were pipped at the post by Te Kura Maori 1-0.

Thanks to Catherine, Jo and Tanaia and all the other parents who have been supporting these children each week.

Trip to WairarapaWe would love to take the children to Greytown next term for Arbor Day as it is where Arbor Day began in New Zealand. Our topic over term two is Living Landscapes with a science perspective of flora and fauna—that the landscape is a magical place where we need space for all the children of Tane—flora, fauna, humans. There are some absolutely magnificent trees in Greytown and some lovely history for us to learn about. To take buses would be out of our reach, cost-wise, so we would like to know how many parents would be willing and able to provide transport and come for a day out on 6 June. You would need to have a fully registered and warranted car, a full license and be prepared to be out for the day. Could you please complete the tear-off below with your availability.

Nits are aboutLet’s see if we can keep on top of these wee pests! Be vigilant and please check your children’s hair regularly and treat accordingly. See Kiri in the office if you need some treatment (stuff not fixing them for you!).

Glasses and gogglesThere is a pair of children’s prescription glasses in an Avengers action man case in the office for which we cannot locate the owner.

Also, we still haven’t found Robbie’s prescription swimming goggles. If any have turned up at your house that don’t belong to your child, could you please send them back to school.

11 April 2017

NGĀTI TOA NEWS

What’s coming up: (Please note change of date for school assembly)

Tuesday 11 April: Years 4–6 visit Welling-ton Zoo (Kōtiri and Tūrama)

Thursday 13 April, 2:00 p.m: Assembly for Margaret Lavulavu in the hall

Thursday 13 April, 3:00 p.m: End of term

Monday 1 May, 8:55 a.m: Term two begins

Wednesday 3 May, 7:00 p.m: Camp meeting for Year 5 and 6 whanau in Kōtiri

Updating contact detailsI have noticed when I have gone to contact some of you that your numbers no longer work. I know how easy it is to forget to update your contact details when you change phone numbers or address but it is critically important that we can contact you in the case of accident or emergency.

Please take this opportunity to give us your current contacts (and an extra person out here if you work in town) so that we are all up to date. Thanks so much – this is important.

Te Whanau Ngatahi—parent support groupFor new whanau, this group is our parent support group. We meet a couple of times a term to plan how we are going to connect whanau, and support the school through fund-raising and other events that bring us together as a community. You are very welcome to come along to our meetings and become an active member of the group wherever and however you can. Our next meeting will be early next term.

Camp 2018There will be a meeting early next term for all whanau of children who will be in Year 5 or 6 in 2018 to discuss camp. Please circle Wednesday 3 May at 7:00 p.m. in Kōtiri. Please complete the tear-off with any questions you might have about the camp.

Porirua Little Theatre’s SeussicalSeussical is on over the holidays. Tickets can be booked through: https://www.iticket.co.nz/events/2017/apr/seussical-jnr

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Camp meeting

Your name: ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Your child’s/children’s name/s ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Your questions about camp: .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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11 April 2017

NGĀTI TOA NEWS

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Wairarapa trip helpers

I have a fully licenced and warranted car:

I am a fully licenced driver:

I am available all day on June 6:

How many children can you carry in your car? .......................................................................................................................................................................................................

NAME ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

SIGNED: .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

DATE: ...................................................................................................

YES

YES

YES

Name of child/children: .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Caregiver/s: ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Address: .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Phone contacts: ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Email: .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Emergency contact name: ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Emergency contact phone: .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Any other information we should know: (e.g. custody arrangements, copies of reports to go elsewhere etc)

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.......................................................................................................................................................................................................As at (DATE): ...................................................................

UPDATED CONTACT DETAILS

11 April 2017

NGĀTI TOA NEWS

Reporting your children’s progress and achievementWe teach to the New Zealand Curriculum which has a progression of levels that children work through on their learning journey through formal schooling. The table below illustrates how the New Zealand Curriculum levels align with year groups and where National Standards levels fit.

You will notice in our reports that there is a focus on reading, writing and mathematics. Without a strong foundation in these core areas, children are likely to have difficulty accessing other learning areas (such as science, social sciences, technology, the arts, health and physical education). Having this foundation broadens the curriculum for our students, as they are better able to learn in these areas.For National Standards we use an overall teacher judgement (OTJ) when a child has had a full year working at a particular level.An OTJ comprises a range of evidence selected by the child and teacher, which includes standardised testing results, examples of student’s work and evidence from their everyday teaching and learning programme, and shows how they are applying their literacy and numeracy skills across all their learning.An interim judgement is made during the year in which children are moving towards a standard. This is to let you know how the child is progressing towards the relevant standard. This is very straightforward for Years 4–6 as the judgements are made mid-year (interim) and end-of-year (final or achievement). For Years 1–3, because children start school at different times throughout the year, achievement OTJ reporting is done After 1 Year (or 40 weeks), After 2 Years (80 weeks) and After 3 Years (120 weeks). The interim judgement is made half way between standards. That means some children might have their reporting in terms 1 and 3, others in terms 2 and 4. We will let you know when your child is due for these judgements.We are interested to find out what you want to know about your child’s progress at school. We would like to review our current reporting and incorporate as many of the things you would like to know while still meeting our obligations.Could you please complete the following and return before the end of the term.

Your name: ................................................................................................................Your child’s/children’s name/s: .............................................................................................................................................

NZC Level Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4

Year Level Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8

National Standard After one year After two years After three years End of Year 4 End of year 5 End of Year 6 End of Year 7 End of Year 8

This table shows the alignment between the New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) levels and the school year level, and the National Standard appropriate to these.

These are the things we can tell you about.

1. Progress and achievement in core learning areas:• Reading• Writing • Mathematics and Statistics

2. Progress and achievement in other learning areas: • Science • Arts (visual, music, drama, dance)• Social Science• Technology • Health and Physical Education• Learning languages

3. Progress and achievement in key competencies: • Participating and contributing• Using language, symbols and text• Managing self• Thinking• Relating to others

Please tell us what you would most like to know about how your child is doing at school.

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11 April 2017