Every day we have a look at the newspaper. We always look at the cartoon. To understand it we have to use our prior knowledge and think about what the author wants us to think or understand. We think of the connections we can make with it so that it means something to us. Sometimes it is quite hard to know especailly if we have not been watching the news, because the cartoon is always about something that has happened, in the news.
We have been reading about the Pike River Coal Mine and the terrrible disaster. We had been watching, listening and hoping. Today there was a cartoon, which we all understood. It needed only one word in it. We understand from the cartoon that like us the author is thinking about the coals miners and their families and how much they want their loved ones bodies back with them. We looked closely at the machine and at the arum lily, which is the kind of flower people often give and have at funerals. We are very sad, we are sad for all the families and friends.
We talked about how people feel empathy with others and how we are all connected to these people because they could be our brothers, our dads, our uncles or our friends, how many of us have visited Greymouth and many of us know people there. We talked about how we are all New Zealanders together and what this means to us in times like this. We all made a connection with this terrible disaster. We are storing these memories in our brains, it is now part of our history too, and we will remember in the years to come about this sad time.
Newsletter
5 November
Thank you once again to those that help and helped, and a thank you to Michelle who I missed of the first list, with going to the Gym and the Symphony. Both were really good, positive and informative outings. We were proud of the way that the children behaved and listened.
Launch of Skoolstars
This will be held on Wednesday 10 November that is next week. Come along and see us all Expressing Ourselves. I will let you know the time, it is either 6pm or 7pm or both. The DVD’s can be purchased for $20.00. Something to put away for the 21st birthday celebrations.
Next week.
Friday is Show Day, so no school.
On Thursday I have a release day to continue putting things together for our blue folders. Mr L W will be in for me.
Assessments.
I have spoken with all the Year 4 children and given them their Asttle results. This is just one form of assessment and we take into consideration all their learning. Many of the children find these “tests” challenging as we do not spend all our time doing “tests”, so it is a new way of assessment for them. All the children have made progress. These assessments will be in the blue folders. I am also completing Running Records and send the results home with the children.
Book Orders
Please have them to me by Wednesday.
Chocolate Bars
Could you please send any to school tomorrow, Friday for the Chocolate Wheel for the fair?
If you can help at the fair, please let me know.
Check out our blog. www.room6@freeville.blogspot.com You can add your reaction to any of the postings just by putting in a tick.
15 October
The term has started in a really positive way. We have been revising our maths basic facts, in particular subtraction. We have been thinking about all the strategies that we use for reading. We are trying to use them whenever we are doing any reading. We have been writing poems about ourselves. We are practising for skool stars and putting together a dance for the filming. This has been interesting. In Circle Time we discussed bullying and tried to work out why people do this, what it is and some strategies of how to deal with it. There was some interesting discussion. We are doing this on Thursdays now rather than Fridays because as part of our Inquiry Learning we are doing the Arts on other days.
Sunhats.
The children need to be wearing their sunhats. If they are not they will be told to sit under one of the trees, in the shade. They can still play there but they need to stay in this area.
On Tuesday morning I will be at a meeting here at school. On Thursday I am going to a seminar put on by Whahakata House, to learn more about different issues that can affect children. Mrs Q will be in for me.
Don’t forget to check out our blog. www.room6@freeville.blogspot.com I am also putting the newsletters on the blog.
Fair
If you are able to help with the Fair, on 3 December please let me know. The times available are from 2pm to 7.30pm. Team Freeville would like to know as soon as possible. They are half hour slots. I will send home a copy for you to fill in and return to school.
Thank you for the contributions for the treasure hunt at the fair. If you have anything that you can donate to this we would really appreciate it.
Calendars.
If you have any orders please get them to me by 29 October.
Book Orders for Book Club
Please give these to me by the 4 November.
Gym
We will be going to the gym over at QE2 in November. The cost is about $32.00. You will receive a notice about it. You can also start paying for it now if you wish too.
Choice and Challenge
This term we are joining LT1 and 2 for this. There are a number of options including Baking, Flying Objects, Computer things, Hockey and Sherbet. Each week the children have a choice of what they participate in.
Newsletter
Room 6
September 24 2010
The end of the term and it certainly has been an interesting one. I hope by the time that we get back to school next term these after shocks have faded away. We have had a busy term. We completed our Inquiry on How Can I Make a Difference and what we have learnt I hope has made us realise how we can and have made a difference particularly at this time. We have learnt more about subtraction and addition. We have learnt how to write persuasively, another way that we can express ourselves. We continue to learn and relearn and remember what reading strategies we need to be using to understand and get more out of what we have read. In the holidays I will be planning more ways to learn.
Thank you to those who have or who will send food along for our end of term celebration. Thank you also to those who have donated food to the City Mission. Thank you to those who continue to support the children’s learning both at school and at home.
We say farewell to Lisa who has been our student teacher. We wish her well not only with her teaching but also with her house which has had considerable damage. Lisa continued to come to school from her home which is without drinking water and sewerage. We thank her for her commitment and resilience.
Blog www.Room6atfreeville.blogspot.com
We continue to blog away. There’s lots there to look at. Please add a comment; it is accessible to anyone and everyone. Each comment comes to me before it can be published so there is no opportunity for comments that we don’t like.
Stuff at school.
After many issues I have told the children not to bring Mighty Beans, or Trading cards to school for the following reasons. They are too easy to loose. They are too easy for children to put in their pocket when they do not belong to them. They distract the children from their learning. Trading Skills need to be developed to a higher level and I do not have the time to resolve complicated trading issues. If the children bring things to school that are not needed for their learning they must take responsibility for them. It is very difficult to find rugby balls, tennis balls, cars and other objects that are taken into the playground to play with. When money is brought to school it is a very good idea to give it to me for safe keeping.
Don’t forget daylight saving which begins on Sunday, yes it will be darker in the mornings but lighter at night. Spring your clock forward by an hour on Sunday morning.
Have a good holiday. The children certainly deserve an extended break.
The week that was…
An interesting week. Most of the children have coped pretty well with the after effects of the big one. Staff here have as well, although like you quite a few are suffering from some sleep deprivation. I wonder if you can guess who the teacher was who not only has slept through all the after shocks, but also slept through the big one? We have been concentrating on our Inquiry and it has been really good because we are understanding how to communicate our thoughts, emotions and feelings. We have done this by writing and talking about the earthquake. I have put a lot of work on the blog and also have accessed another blog call www.Whenmyhomeshock.co.nz This website includes stories from children in the Canterbury area. I am slowly adding to this as well. I have also added some poems to The Press website and will add more when I have your signatures.
If you are finding that your family is suffering the effects of the earthquake, please let me know and I can suggest where you might go for some extra help and support. I keep on telling myself that every aftershock means that is one less that I have to experience!!!!
We have also been…
Learning about equivalent fractions and subtraction. We have been concentrating on synthesising all our learning strategies so that our reading has a special meaning for us. This all means that we are putting all the reading strategies together and making a personal connection from what we have read. An example of this is when we think about the story of the little boy who cried wolf. We want the children to understand that it is not such a good idea to lie as you might just get “eaten”. Today we are going to be thinking about all the people we need to be thankful too for having helped others during and after the earthquake.
Book Orders.
There is a special book sale. Can I please have those book orders in by the end of the term which is Friday week, 24 September.
Party Time
I thought that it might just be a good idea to have an end of term party on 24 September. To celebrate our survival, a good learning term and farewell Lisa our student teacher who will be leaving us.
Thank you to everyone who has or will contribute to our Loud Shirt Day, on today Friday.
Appeal.
I am going to put a box in the classroom for anyone who would like to donate some non perishable food to the City Mission. They have an appeal going at the moment, particularly to those very needy families who also have had to deal with earthquake issues. Canned food and pasta is great to donate but anything else is also appreciated.
Blog. www.room6atfreeville.blogspot.com
Please have a look. You should be able to access it even if you don’t have a goggle account or have not been granted access. Please add a comment. Click on the comment word underneath it. When it says Comment as click on the little arrow and a box will drop down. Click on anonymous It will then tell you what to do, sometimes you have to click twice, a box will come up with what you have written and it will ask you to write a word in a box. Then it should tell you that your comment will be published once it has been modified or verified. Please make sure that you sign your name straight after your comment. The children love seeing the comments that you write. I get an e-mail and it asks me if it should be published and of course I always put yes!!
Yes, I hope that you all manage to get some decent sleep at the weekend.
