Hub 2, Term 3, Communication Update
Kia Ora Whanau,
Welcome back to the fabulous Term 3. We hope all our Akomanga Rua families enjoyed a well-earned break with learning juices recharged and ready to squeeze. Akomanga Rua has an amazing term of exciting learning planned. Please take some time to read our upcoming concept, events, and reminders. Remember to mark your calendars!
A very warm welcome back to Hayley Hindson returning from Medical leave. She’s energised and ready for action. Joining the Akomanga Rua team is Heather Robinson, who joins us with a wealth of experience and enthusiasm. Finally, we would like to welcome the new learners who have transitioned from Akomanga Koru: Manaia, Matteo, Bella, Wyatt, Paige, Victor, Sasha, Zara, Oliver, and Nina.
Communication
A friendly reminder that Year 1 & 2 learners are still developing their interpersonal skills. As teachers, we are here to support and navigate the social developments of all of our learners. Our door is always open if you have any concerns please come and speak to us. We are happy to spend time with and guide the learners to successful resolutions.
Concept Focus
Our concept focus for Term 3 is Sustainability. To make sure that future generations enjoy everything that we enjoy today, we need something called “sustainability” in most areas of our lives. Sustainability is one of the puzzles that scientists and governments are working together to solve today for everybody’s future. In Hub 2, we are going to explore how we use resources in and around the school and our community. How much stuff do we throw away? How much do we recycle? Some big ideas for inquiring minds.
Toys at School
We appreciate the children enjoy sharing their precious toys with their friends but we do not encourage learners to do so. If you could please remind learners to leave these at home to ensure they do not get broken or lost.
Personal Responsibility
In Hub 2, we are encouraging our learners to take responsibility for all their possessions. On arrival, learners should hang their bag on the hooks outside and put their book bags on the shelves. We encourage Hub 2 learners to put away any resources that they take out, rather than leave them on the floor. The lost property basket should be checked before learners ask an adult to find items for them. This directly ties into the Stonefields learner qualities of thinking and being self-aware. We are encouraging our learners to be their best selves by being independent and self-reliant.
School Hours
A friendly reminder that the Hubs open from 8:30am please ensure that if learners arrive at school before this time they are booked into Kelly Club - Please book them in. Celia Mackinven stonefields@kellyclub.co.nz. Alternatively please ensure you are onsite supervising learners up until this time. School starts at 8:55am, if you arrive after this time learners will be marked as late. If your child is going to be late or is absent please email the Hub teachers and the office. Teachers will also be attending professional learning every Thursday from 7:30 am until 8:45 am. Absentees can also be sent through the School app.
SchoolTalk
SchoolTalk is a great app that allows you and your child to see and chat about what they are learning each day. You will see a calendar with timetabled events, if you click on these events, the events will show the modelling book or learning design for that lesson.
Goals: Learning goals can be uploaded by the teacher. When that learning goal has been achieved the box will turn green. If your child is working on that goal then it will be yellow.
Note: We are still teaching the children how to use SchoolTalk in their learning and how to upload evidence to SchoolTalk. This process takes time so please be patient as it can be a complex tool for 5 and 6-year-olds to use.
Parent Helpers Please!
We would love your help with the following:
If you are able to come in before school or after lunch from 2pm onwards Monday - Friday (but not assembly days) that would be great. It does not have to be every week, every little bit helps.
School Uniforms
A friendly reminder that we are in the chilly months of the year and fleeces are necessary for those chilly mornings and when we are outside. Please ensure your fleece is well named - we recommend getting your name embroidered as this eliminates the chance of it getting lost. We are also encouraging shoes to be labelled or have something unique on them as we have many learners that take them off and misplace their shoes during the day - this includes socks. The correct uniform of a polo shirt, shorts/skort with black tights only/uniform long pants are to be worn to school each day, these can be purchased through the school website or the 2nd hand uniform shop.
A friendly reminder that head lice is always around. If your child has shoulder-length hair it needs to be tied up in a ponytail and please regularly check your child’s hair for lice, especially if you see them scratching!
Lunch Boxes
In Hub 2 we will have a ‘Think snack’, which learners will eat around 10am. This is optional, not compulsory. It gives our learners an opportunity to have a quick snack while they are learning.
The Health organisation refer to ‘smart snacking’, where people feel more energised, can help with concentration and memory.
For this to work, and not compromise learning time. We are asking for learners to bring in a vegetable or piece of fruit which is preferably sliced or peeled, wrapped separately or in a container, which is named. If you are unsure, please ask your Hub teacher and they are happy to discuss this further. Stonefields School is proud to be Enviro School, to ensure we remain litter-free we recommend the reusable containers that are easily accessible to your learner and all rubbish to be taken home.
Junior Cross Country (Year 0-3)
Our staff and learners have been exploring some big questions in regards to our whole school sports events and reflecting on the purpose, outcomes and inclusivity. Learning design is always evolving and our sports events should be evolving too to ensure that we are providing the richest opportunities for all of our learners.
Last term, in response to learner's voice, we made changes to the Senior Cross Country. This was hugely successful and we were really excited by the atmosphere on the day and the massive shift in the data from learner's voice after the event. Key outcomes were: increase in motivation and participation, increased sense of success and learners enjoying having more agency.
With the Junior Cross Country approaching we are thinking about where we go next with this event. We would love to have a community voice on this, from parents/caregivers of learners who love cross country and from those who hate cross country. All perspectives are important is helping us to meet the diverse needs of our learners.
On Friday, 2nd August, we will be having an open forum in Hub 3 from 8:00am - 8:45am. Muffins and coffee will be provided. If you are keen to come along and share your ideas please RSVP for catering purposes. If you are unable to attend but would still like to contribute please email your thoughts to lynnk@stonefields.school.nz
Home Learning
Home learning in Hub 2 will consist of a range of readers in their book bag; 1x reader at their level which will be their guided reading book and 2x readers that are easier and will allow them to read with confidence and ease. You should see these in their books bags already.
Each week we will focus on one poem a week, which we encourage you to re-read with your child over the week and revisit in following weeks - especially the favourites!
Assembly
This term our Junior certificate assemblies will be held on the following days:
Parents are welcome to attend on these dates - we look forward to seeing you there!
Kapa Haka
Kapa Haka meet every Monday morning from week 2 at 8 am - 8.45 am in Hub 6.
We encourage new members to join - if your learner is feeling a little bit shy we are happy to set them up with a buddy.
Junior Pasifika
Junior Pasifika meet every Tuesday lunchtime from week 2 at 1-1.30pm in Hub 1.
We encourage new members to join - if your learner is feeling a little bit shy we are happy to set them up with a buddy.
Digital Learning - Kawa of Care
This term we are using iPads and computers to support our learning here is our Kawa of Care to support us.
Responsible Use
Student Agreement:
Our door is always open and we are very happy to have a chat before or after school! We are free to connect most mornings and afternoons, except for Thursday morning and Tuesday after school.
If you have any questions or concerns and need a longer time to meet with us, please feel free to contact us to make a scheduled time to connect.
Please email us if you have any questions.
We look forward to working in partnership with you for the next step on your child’s learning journey.
Hub Teachers Contacts:
Haley Hindson
hayley.hindson@stonefields.school.nz
Heather Robinson
heather.robinson@stonefields.school.nz
Stacey Rowe
Stacey.Rowe@stonefields.school.nz
Matt Brunton
Matt.brunton@stonefields.school.nz
Whole Hub
Whole School Communication
Please read this link for further information about Stonefields School
Community Notices
Please take the time to click on our community notices. This section holds information on what is going on in and around our community, outside of school activities. New notices have and has recently been added and the section is updated on a regular basis.