Tote tray construction | Thursday 23rd October | Can you help us?!

our creative 

tote trays

On Thursday 23 October, M13 are attaching tote trays to their desks so they can store their books underneath their desks. We were wondering if the parents/caregivers could come and help us attach them.

Avie has helped us to create some clever designs so the tote trays slot under our desks without getting in the way of our knees, using drawer sliders from Bunnings and wood.

Please email Amy <amyaustin@islandbay.school.nz> if you could come and help on Thursday!

from Ella, Joe, and M13 

Here's a prototype:

2D and 3D shapes and our reflection on giving feedback

We are learning about 2D and 3D shapes at the moment. We are trying to make connections between 2D and 3D shapes, and to identify what the 2D cross-section of a 3D shape would be...

To explore 3D shapes, we have been using isometric paper to help us draw cubes.

Last week we started by learning about Little Boxes together with our learning buddy.

We also discovered some new language: vertex, vertices, edges, faces...

We've been using multilink cubes to help us create and visualise the drawings we're making.

At the end of our lesson, we have a gallery walk where we have a look at each other's learning, and then we give feedback to other kids by writing them a star (something they've done well) and a wish (a next step to work on) on a sticky note.

Today we had a few issues with giving each other feedback so we had a problem-solving session after break. We put on our (Edward De Bono) black and yellow hats to help us. After we identified the problems, we talked to our learning buddies about solutions then shared them with the class:

What were the problems?	What are some solutions?
Some people had too much feedback while others didn’t have enough.	Share out feedback evenly; look at other people’s learning.
Some people didn’t give a star and a wish.	Make sure you give both a star and a wish; get your sticky notes ready with a * and a à first.
We couldn’t understand the feedback.	Think about it before you write it down; ask your buddy, “does this make sense?”
Some people weren’t listening when we asked them to be fair.	Listen. Think about others’ feelings.
Some people gave conflicting feedback.	Read the other feedback first; make sure your writing makes sense.
Some people repeated feedback unnecessarily.	If your ideas have already been said, say something different/ go to someone else’s learning.
Some kids were arguing over who got to give feedback.	The first person who gets there gets to write the feedback.
We got feedback on the wrong learning.	Write the date on your learning. Does it matter? It might still be useful feedback.
Some people weren’t listening to the teacher’s instructions.	Make sure you are listening yourself; encourage others to listen. Follow instructions – if you don’t hear, ask your buddy. Ignore distractions.
	Take your time; do it properly.

We're pretty good problem solvers! We're looking forward to our next gallery walk and feedback session so we can put all of this in to practice.

Fractions

We are learning to find fractions of a set...

Mahuri Term 3 Newsletter

Kia ora parents, caregivers and children,

Can you believe we’re in to the second half of the year already?! We’re looking forward to next week’s Parent Teacher Child conferences when your child will lead us through their learning and we can set goals together.

Student agency

The teaching staff has been thinking and talking about student agency this year. During the holidays we had an excellent professional development day exploring this with Kath Murdoch, an Inquiry learning expert from Melbourne. Here’s one of her blogposts on How do inquiry teachers… teach? that gives a sense of her approach. We are keen to support children’s independence and self-determination in their learning as much as possible, and are exploring ways to do this. This may take the form of independent mini-inquiries or passion projects, allowing kids to pursue a particular area of interest, and to consciously develop their independent learning skills (like time management, researching, collaboration, communication, etc.) at the same time. Other ways we aim to develop children’s agency are through learning reflections, learner licences that offer greater autonomy and independence as students demonstrate their self-management skills, weekly learning goals and class reflections. If you have any ideas, suggestions or feedback please let us know.

Student teacher in M13

We are lucky to have a student teacher working with us this term. Megan Lindsay is a qualified early childhood education teacher who is now training to be a primary school teacher. She will join us from 11^th August until the end of term.

Inquiry

Building on last term’s wonderful inquiry into Changes to the Land, we are moving on to a design and innovation inquiry this term, exploring how we can be Kaitiaki of the Land. Children will identify a need and create designs for protecting and taking care of the land in our local environment. If you have, or anyone you know of has, expertise in design, landforms, erosion, local government, or the changing environment, and would like to share this knowledge with us, we would love to hear from you!

Our maths focus areas this term are Number: Multiplication & Division and Fractions, Proportions & Ratios, Problem Solving, Basic Facts, Geometry, and Measurement.

In reading, we will continue to develop comprehension strategies through reading texts about changes to the land, design, and other interest areas. Our writing programmes will flow from this as we write reports, explanations, procedures, and scientific investigations, interspersed with ongoing recounts, character writing and poetic writing.

PE

Our focus this term is striking and catching. We will develop these skills through games and activities using small and large balls and different strikers: hockey sticks, cricket bats, etc. Let’s hope for some good dry weather to get outside and get active!

Parent help

If you can support our class programme with either regular or one-off parent help, we’d love to hear from you. Spelling testing and reading with children are particularly useful ways to help. We always welcome parents visiting to read a favourite book or share some knowledge or expertise; even if you’ve already read to the class, we’d love you to come back again!

Home learning

A reminder to return home learning folders to school on Mondays. Each Monday children will bring home a new list of ten spelling words, an updated Reading log (if needed) and basic facts to be learned off by heart during the week.

Dates this term

Monday 28^th July:                           Speak Easy performance for Y4-6, 9am in the hall

Tuesday 29^th July:                           Y4-6 swimming sports

Wednesday 30^th July:                     Powhiri 9am

Parent Teacher Child conferences (Y4-6)

Thursday 31^st July:                         Parent Teacher Child conferences (Y4-6)

Friday 1^st August:                            Freedom Friday begins

Monday 25th August:                     ICT Parent meeting

Friday 12th September:                 Dancesplash performance, 5.30pm, Michael Fowler Centre

Thursday 18^th September:             Mahuri Celebration of Learning, 9.15am in the hall

Tuesday 23rd September:             Parent Teacher Child Conferences (NE-Y3)

Friday 26^th September:                   Last day of Term 2

To be confirmed:                             a school trip to the landfill

Thank you for your ongoing support. As always, if there is anything you would like to discuss about your child’s learning, please get in touch to make a time to talk.

Nga mihi,

Shanon, Adele, Ximena and Amy

Term 2 Newsletter

Monday 5^th May

Kia ora parents, caregivers and children,

I hope you’ve had a happy autumnal Easter and ANZAC break. It was great to meet with you at the end of last term to talk about how your child’s learning is going and to set goals for their next learning steps. This term is shaping up to be a great term, kicking off with cross country training and swimming.

Inquiry

We are looking forward to a science-focussed inquiry this term, investigating how The Land Changes, exploring how land changes affect us and how we affect the land. We have planned lots of hands-on experiments, and are particularly focusing on developing children’s scientific skills of observing, pattern-seeking, and modelling. This will involve lots of observation of erosion in the school playground and in the community: the sea wall, the effects of the deforestation above the golf course and bike track, landslides in the area… We will explore the concept of kaitiakitanga and learn about traditional explanations for changes to landforms through legends like Ngake and Whataitai. In groups, children will create learning stories to chart their growing and changing understanding of changes to the land. If you are, or anyone you know of is, an expert in landforms, erosion, or the changing environment, and would like to share your knowledge with us, we would love to hear from you!

Our maths focus areas this term are Number: Addition & Subtraction and Multiplication & Subtraction, Problem Solving, Basic Facts, and Measurement.

In reading, we will continue to develop comprehension strategies through reading texts about changes to the land. Our writing programmes will flow from this as we write reports, explanations, procedures, and scientific investigations, interspersed with ongoing recounts, character writing and poetic writing.

Mathletics

This application is a great way to support your child’s maths learning. Teachers can tailor each child’s profile so that questions are aligned to their level. We plan to use this in class as well as encouraging children to use this site at home. If you haven’t yet signed up and would like to, you can contact the office – the school subscription offers you a much-discounted price of $21, rather than $100 for a yearly subscription.

PE

This term we will be swimming each Thursday – children will be assessed on the first day and grouped according to their strengths and needs. Children always need a particularly substantial lunch on swimming days! We are also focussing on gymnastics in the first 5 weeks of term on Mondays; children need to wear suitable clothing for leaping and balancing! We are also training daily in the first two weeks ready for the school cross country day on Friday 16^th May; children need to wear (or bring) suitable footwear to school.

Blogging

We’re really enjoying sharing our learning with you through our blog. Thank you for your support in commenting on children’s writing – it is a wonderful form of immediate feedback and a real incentive for future learning.

Parent help

If you can support our class programme with either regular or one-off parent help, we’d love to hear from you. We really enjoyed hearing from those parents who came in and shared a favourite story with us last term. We always welcome parents visiting; even if you’ve already read one story, we’d love you to come back and share another!

Home learning

Because Fridays are such a busy day of extension and enrichment programmes, we have decided to change the day for returning home learning folders to Monday. Children should bring home a new list of ten spelling words, an updated Reading log (if needed) and basic facts to be learned off by heart.

Dates this term

Mondays:                   Gymnastics in the school hall

Every Thursday:       Swimming at Kilbirnie Pool

Friday 16^th May:        Cross country at Houghton Valley School

Monday 2^nd June:      Queen’s birthday

Tuesday 1^st July:       Portfolios come home

Friday 4^th July:           Last day of Term 2

To be confirmed:        a school trip to observe landforms

Thank you for your ongoing support. As always, if there is anything you would like to discuss about your child’s learning, please get in touch to make a time to talk.

Nga mihi,

Amy

amyaustin@islandbay.school.nz

Malcolm has 24 pegs - solution

A few weeks ago we talked about a problem, Malcolm has 24 pegs. Amy made an Explain Everything clip to begin solving the problem.

Now Laila has created a solution to the Malcolm's pegs problem. Check it out!