Kia Ora Koutou and Welcome to Term 4! It was great to see the children return to school refreshed and eager to get on with their learning. A warm welcome is also extended to those families who are new to Korora.
Thank you to everyone for the wonderful support you gave your child and staff in the whole school production held at the end of last term. The students certainly did shine on stage and will always remember their first time in a production. They were very proud of themselves and we hope that everyone enjoyed the occasion. We were very grateful to those parents who made or lent costumes to us and those who spent time supervising or dressing children. You will all appreciate it is a huge effort to ensure that every child (435) has an opportunity to take part either in front or behind the scenes and they did so admirably.
This term we are focusing on the introduction of the new values and over the first week the students took part in a myriad of activities involving these. They were introduced to the values at assembly on Monday and on Tuesday afternoon they worked together in groups of six (one child from each Junior school class per team) and together they had to work out mathematical clues in a scavenger hunt that led them all over the school as they solved them.
On Wednesday each class used the parachute and then did shared murals about the values. On Thursday the students worked in their House and on Friday joined up with their buddy class.
For your reference the values are -
EXPLORE - curiosity, critical thinking, creativity
CONNECT - cooperation, connection, inclusion
CONTRIBUTE - respect, kindness, caring, empathy
On Thursday we did the 'Shakeout' where all students practiced their earthquake procedures and then walked up McKenzie Track for the tsunami practice. Everyone knew what to do and the drills went well.
We farewell Mrs Barbara Ryan on Friday afternoon (October 26th) at assembly in the hall from 1.45 p.m. Barbara has been working at Muritai for 26 years and will be moving to Omokoroa, near Tauranga. We sincerely thank her for the wonderful contribution she has made at Muritai over the years. She is a kind and caring classroom teacher and has nurtured the students in her care embracing their passions. She has been a great member of our junior team and staff and has been instrumental in fostering a love of science throughout the school. The butterfly garden is just one testimony to this. She is respected in the wider education sector giving up many hours with the Wellington Literacy Association and the Royal Society in Science. She will be sorely missed but we wish her the very best in the future knowing she will have many wonderful memories of Muritai - not just its students and their families but also the wider Eastbourne community. I do hope many of you will be able to join us on Friday. Mrs Alison Furminger will be teaching room 1 for the rest of this year.
A wonderful term of exciting learning experiences has been planned for your child.
Literacy -
Oral language is a big focus in everything that we do so we are encouraging students to speak clearly, be confident and listen well. Our writing foci are poetry and letter writing. Reading continues with students daily taking part in activities that involve them reading to others, reading with others and also listening to reading by others.
Numeracy -
There is revision in the different areas of Number, particularly in addition and subtraction along with strand work in measurement. This will include mass, weight, volume and capacity. Problem solving activities continue.
Inquiry -
This term our Inquiry is entitled 'To Boldly Go - School-wide we are focusing on the concept of Globalisation. This means that students will be gaining an insight of our current reality so we can understand and contribute to our collective future. The big idea is that we need to prepare for a world we can't even imagine. The host curriculum area is Technology where we will ask, imagine, plan, create, test and improve and in Korora we will be working on how we will get from one place to another e.g. to Lower Hutt, different countries around the world, to space by what means.
Linked to this we will be having a 'Wheels day' at school on Friday November 2nd where your child can bring either their bike (two or three wheel) or scooter to school. More details to follow.
There will also be a trip to Te Papa as we explore the different areas. Rooms 2,3 and 4 will be going on November 20th and Rooms 1, 5 and 6 will go the next day on November 21st. We will need adult help on these days. More information will come out closer to the day.
In Visual Art the students will be exploring 3D using plasticine and clay and they will also be using fabric during inquiry.
It will also be a busy term with Physical Education activities. Each week the students will be learning skills in athletics i.e. long jump, shotput, high jump, relays etc and will culminate in the Korora Athletics Sports day later in the term.
We also have swimming instructors coming in to teach aquatic skills at the Eastbourne Pool. All students will have eight sessions in the pool over a two week time span. Rooms 1,2,3 and 4 will go in weeks 5 and 6 - Monday November 12 to Thursday November 22nd. Rooms 5 and 6 will go each day in week 7 and 8 from Monday November 26th to Thursday December 6th. Swimming will not be on Fridays.
Jumpjam continues in the hall on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8.40 a.m. Please join in with your child.
The lessons in Sexuality Education will also continue with four more this term.
E.O.T.C. or Education outside the classroom for the Korora team will be spread throughout the term and not be held all in one week. We will be having -
1. Wheels day
2. Te Papa visits
3. Swimming
4. Athletics and Athletics Day on Monday December 10th from 9 a.m. - 12. 30 p.m.
5. Korora Christmas concert and party on Tuesday December 11th at 1.30 p.m. in the hall.
Coming up
Rooms 2 and 4 will be having their class photos taken on Thursday November 1st as the students had not started school when the rest of the school had theirs. Parents and caregivers of rooms 2 and 4 should have had envelopes to place an order which need to be returned to the school office before the day.
You will also have been sent orders for calendars - these make great Christmas gifts especially for those who are hard to buy for so please have a look at your child's one at the school office and get your orders in quickly.
Teachers sent home a sheet asking you to record your child's swimming confidence. Please return these sheets to your child's teacher as soon as possible so that the instructors can plan the groups.
The next 'Starting school at five' information evening will be held in room 3 on Wednesday November 21st. If you or you know of a parent of a preschooler, particularly if they attend preschool outside of our zone, who will be starting school either this year or next please let them know about the meeting.
Each day your child needs to wear a named hat (bucket type) particularly as the weather is warming up. They also need to bring a water bottle and wear suitable shoes for the many outdoor activities we will be pursuing.
Later in the term your child will bring home a written report of their progress made during the second half of this year. Some students in room 4 who have just started school will have parent and teacher conferences instead. There will be a school wide 'Celebration of Learning' where your child shares their learning with you.
Diary Dates
October
26th - Farewell Assembly for Mrs Ryan
November
1st - Photos - rooms 2 and 4
2nd - Wheels day
12th - 22nd - Swimming for rooms 1,2,3,4
20th and 21st - Te Papa trips
21st - Starting School at Five information evening 7 p.m.
26th - Swimming for rooms 5 and 6 begins
December
10th - Korora Athletics Day
11th - Korora Christmas Concert and Party
18th - Last day of term 4.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact your child's teacher or myself.
Nga mihi
Maureen Buckley
Associate Principal
On behalf of team Korora
Room 1 Barbara Ryan - ryan@muritai.school.nz
Room 2 Nicolette Fisher - fisher@muritai.school.nz
Room 3 Maureen Buckley - buckley@muritai.school.nz
Chantel Lyons - lyons@muritai.school.nz
Room 4 Liz Sullivan - sullivan@muritai.school.nz
Margs Mills - margsmills878@gmail.com
Room 5 Michelle Hollard - hollard@muritai.school.nz
Room 6 Morag Roberts - roberts@muritai.school.nz
Jo Salisbury - salisburyjo@gmail.com
Reading Recovery - Gabrielle Heath - heath@muritai.school.nz
