Term 1 2011

Term 1 2011

Dear Parents and Caregivers

Welcome back to school for the New Year. Hopefully everyone had a very relaxing and enjoyable holiday. The teachers have been hard at work preparing for the year and we are all looking forward to getting started.

Our Year 5 and 6 team is back to 4 classes this year due to smaller numbers.

The team consists of

· Stu Devenport –Year 6 Room 13

· Melissa Coton - Year 5 Room 15

· Peter Hull - Year 6 Room 12

· Lisa Allen – Year 5 Rm 14

Ruth Hooke is another valuable member of our team. She will be teaching on Wednesdays in Room 14 and Fridays in Room 13. On Thursday she will continue to run the schools Performing Arts programme throughout the school.

Parent Interviews

Thank you to everyone who attended these interviews last week. It was fantastic to catch up with you to discuss your children. All the teachers have come away with valuable information which will assist in meeting the needs of your children.

Camp 2011 Forest Lakes (8-11 March)

Our major focus for the beginning of the year is camp at Forest Lakes. This takes place in week 6 of this term.

There is a cost involved with coming to camp; it will cost $215 per child. This covers every eventuality that may arise. We ask that you pay before going to camp. If there are any problems with this please contact your classroom teacher. It would be appreciated if you completed and returned the form at the end of the newsletter that was sent home last week with payment in a named envelope.

It is important that gear is being organised so that we are ready for Tuesday in Week 6. Let us know if you are having any difficulties as we can help you borrow gear. A gear check takes place at school in the morning before boarding the bus and you will be contacted if there are any major items missing. It is important that students are aware of what they have in their bags. Encourage them to take responsibility for checking their gear list and packing. This will be their responsibility while at camp.

If your child requires medicine to be given while on camp please make sure that it comes to school on Tuesday 8^th March in a named plastic bag and is given to the class teacher.

We are holding a meeting at 6.30pm on Thursday 24th February in the library for parents coming to camp for the full week. We will be discussing routines and also your responsibilities while at camp. It is important that you attend if you are coming to camp as a full timer. We hope it will take only about 30- 45 minutes. If your circumstances have changed please let me know as we have a waiting list for fulltime parents at camp.

Curriculum Topics

Our big idea for the year is ‘Standing Tall’. We will be forming our major units of work to fit round this throughout the year. This is a school wide theme and we are adapting it to best meet the needs of the students in our area of the school.

Homework

We have decided to wait until after camp to officially start homework so students can enjoy the sunshine and prepare for Camp. However we are starting reading homework this week. This involves a task called ‘Read around New Zealand’. Your child will have information about completing this task in their homework book. We will then ease into spelling homework. Your child should have between 8-10 spelling words to learn at home during the week. They will then be tested on these words on Friday. These words will be from the Essential Spelling Lists if your child has not already mastered them.

After camp, information will be sent home outlining expectations for homework.

Maths

Cross grouping will start week 2. We start the term looking at Number and exploring place value and basic facts. We then move into Measurement, exploring length and mass. There will be 4 groups based on ability so your children may not have their usual classroom teacher for Maths.

Writing

We are beginning the year focusing on poetry. After camp we will be looking at the genre of ‘Recounts’. We will use our experiences from Camp to assist this unit.

Topic/Inquiry

We start the term with a Health unit based around Peer Mediation training. This is a great unit and explores ways of dealing with conflict and resolution. At the end of the programme the Year 6 students will have the opportunity to apply for a role as a Peer Mediator in the playground at lunchtime to assist others with conflict resolution. This will be an excellent leadership opportunity for the Year 6 students.

After Camp we will start a Social Studies unit based around ‘Census 2011’.

Visual Art

Students will be learning about various concepts of drawing and will be building on their drawing skills using a variety of materials. Students will be completing a variety of exercises, exploring tone and contrast. We will all have a go at drawing a nikau palm!

Stationery

Thank you to the parents who ordered packs from school. Please ensure that stationery is at school as soon as possible if purchasing it elsewhere, so written work can start promptly. If you are covering books with duraseal please ensure that you have put labels on the front for the names, as it is very time consuming finding the owners of unnamed books. Names written in vivid pens are easily rubbed off. Labels are the best option.

Daily Reminders

Please help your child remember to check they have everything they need each morning and they are at school in time for the first bell at 8.40. Students should see that being organised is part of growing up and an important life skill to be developing.

They will need a water bottle (named) to keep hydrated during the day. It helps with concentration and learning. Ensure that it comes home regularly for a wash.

All students are expected to wear a wide brimmed sunhat during all outside activities. The hat needs to be kept at school for easy access.

Swimming

Swimming starts this week. Every class will be swimming everyday so please ensure that your child has their swimming gear ready. The gear should be named and in a suitable bag. We are lucky enough to have the assistance of a qualified swimming instructor for the first four weeks.

Sport

This year the year 5 and 6 students will have many opportunities to be involved in a range of sporting events. These sports range from netball and soccer to cricket and hockey. There will also be zone and inter - zone events such as swimming, cross-country and athletics. Parent support and transport at these events is much appreciated and it is also a wonderful opportunity to come along and see your child in action.

Blogs

We will be continuing the success of classroom blogging from last year. These blogs can be accessed through the school website. It is worthwhile visiting regularly and checking out the updates. It really is a fantastic way to see the learning that is occurring in the classroom. We encourage you to leave the comments for your children or the class – they really get a buzz out of it!

If you need to contact your child’s classroom teacher please feel free to drop by the classroom before or after school or make an appointment for an interview at the office. The easiest way to touch base with us is email e.g. teacher’s surname@muritai.school.nz

Thank you again for your support

Stu Devenport

Year 5 and 6 Team Leader.

EOTC Timetable

An action packed week ahead!

Year 5/6 Homework Term 4 Week 7 2010

Spelling / Fitness!

Learn the 10 spelling words for the week. You must be able to recite them to someone at home correctly while doing STAR JUMPS.

Reading: You must read for at least 15 minutes each night. Record your reading in a table. Try reading out loud to someone. Maybe you could share a story with a little brother, sister or friend.

Something A Bit Different!

Your task this week is to design a homework sheet for your class to complete. It can be whatever you like as long as it is educational and adding value to what we are doing in class.

You must present it on an A4 sheet (we can give you this at school if you want), it must also be accurate, easy to follow and achievable for everyone.

Have fun, get creative and original and go for it!

The winning homework sheet will be photocopied and given out as the next weeks homework for the class.

Homework - Term 4 Week 6

Choose Your Own Homework

This week you get to choose your homework and report back on what you did.

Spelling- Choose 10 words to learn for the week.

Reading- Read for at least 15 minutes each night. Record what you read in a table.

Now for the fun bit...

Investigate something interesting to you or report on something you know a lot about. You can choose from these or make up an investigation of your own.

• Cooking and baking with your family
• Designing and making something at home
• Report on a news item from a family event or world news
• Writing an original story or poem including illustrations
• Visit an art gallery or museum and report on what you saw.
• Undertake a mathematical investigation at the supermarket or around the house.
• Create an interesting learning activity for the class
• Read a book and write a review.
• Write a consumer evaluation of a new product. E.g acleaning product or food. Did it do what it said, taste good ,provide energy. Read the packaging for ideas to talk about.

Or something else !!!!

There are however the following guidelines:

• Include at least half a page or written work which can include pictures or diagrams. You must say what you think you will learn from the activity (The WALT), what you actually did learn and how it went.
• A parental signature must be included with this homework.
• We will be sharing the homework on Friday.

Give yourself a challenge to try something different, fun and challenging

Homework - Term 4 Week 5

Well done to everyone for your hard work completing all those tests last week... What a mission! You all did superbly and have made huge progress since the beginning of the year!

Only a few more weeks till the end of the year but please keep focused on your homework and ensure you keep high standards. Remember it is important you do your best at ALL of these activities below.

Good luck!

Spelling

Choose 10 inquiry based words to learn this week. Try and challenge yourself with some tricky ones. Along with learning your words please find the dictionary meaning for each one using either a dictionary (of course) or Google. Write these definitions neatly in your book with the word underlined.

Reading

Remember to read for at least 10 minutes every night. Copy and complete your reading grid neatly. Talk to someone at home about your book. Tell them what has happened so far, what is the complication and make a prediction of how the complication will be resolved.

Maths

Choose 10 numbers and write them neatly in your book. Next to each number list all the factors for that number. Factors are numbers that are multiplied together to give you that number. For example:

12 Factors = 1, 12, 2, 6, 3, 4

Inquiry

This week for inquiry we will be learning about historic disasters that have occurred in the Wellington region. In class you will visit this website to learn about these disasters. Your homework task is to share 3 facts about these disasters with someone at home.

Website: http://www.whatstheplanstan.govt.nz/info-wellington.html

Reminder

Our School Athletics Day is this Thursday at Petone Rec. Please remember to be at school on time with everything you need for an active day in the sun shine!
* hat
* big drink (maybe even 2)
* suitable footwear
* warm top and/or jacket
* big lunch!

Athletics Day 11.11.10

Below is the timetable for our annual Athletics Day at Petone Rec. We'd love to see you there! (Click on the image to make it bigger)

Year 5/6 Homework Term 4 Week 4 2010

Year 5/6 Homework Term 4 Week 4 2010

Spelling/Fitness

Learn the 10 spelling words for the week. You must be able to recite them to someone at home correctly while doing STAR JUMPS.

Maths/Fitness:
Go onto the class blogs and play some of the maths games. Record the games you played.
Extra: Think about what times tables you need to learn and practice them while doing press ups and sit ups.

Reading:
This week for reading you are to find your favourite picture book and read it to someone younger than you. Make sure that you have practised your expression and different voices. Make the book come alive for the listener! Also make up four questions for your little reader to answer and make them think.

Record in your book what you read and who you read it to.

Inquiry: Design a family disaster plan fridge magnet

As a family brainstorm information that you could include on the magnet, such as:

* nearest Civil Defence Centre

* family meeting place

* out-of-area contact

* emergency contacts

* space for household emergency plan

Have fun and no moaning about the sit ups and press ups!