Akomanga Tahi (Hub 1)

Dear Parents/Whanau,

Happy New Year! It’s been lovely to meet you all over the past couple of days and getting to know your children! Please take time to read the information below to know more about our hub and what is happening this term.

Our Learning

‘Express Yourself!’

This term we are learning about feelings and emotions through fairy tales. Understanding emotions is a critical part of our learners’ overall development. Our learners are experiencing many new things for the first time, which can be overwhelming!

Being able to name emotions and use words to express how they are feeling increases their ability to interact with one another and make healthy friendships.

For the first half of the term we are exploring feelings through the story ‘Goldilocks and the three bears’.

Please bring to school - 1 teddy bear or other soft toy from home, which your child is comfortable leaving at school overnight - it can be any size. We will use this teddy bear for learning. When the learning has finished, the teddy bear will be returned home.

At home - discuss emotions with your child, use different vocabulary for sad, happy, angry e.g., heartbroken, content, irritated, explore how characters feel in the stories you read each night. This could also be a lovely opportunity to share stories or favourite fairy tales and legends from your childhood. Here is a link to some at home suggestions.

Think Snack

In Hub 1 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.

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.

Learners will bring it into the hub before school along with their book bag. There will be several containers labelled for easy access.

We are a rubbish free school so if possible, please keep food wrappers at home. The think snack is vital for children during their learning. Lollies, muffins and treats need to be left at home please. Thank you for your support with this.

Swimming

This will be going ahead for our Year 2’s in Term One with our hub going on the following weeks:

Week 6: Tuesday March 12th, Wednesday March 13th, Thursday March 14th.

Week 7: Tuesday March 19th, Wednesday March 20th, Thursday March 21st

We require all swimming items to be clearly labelled in a named plastic bag, including all uniform items, as things can easily be misplaced or accidentally taken when items are not labelled. Further information will be made available through the communication update.

Meet The Teacher Evening

We are holding a ‘meet the teacher’ evening in Hub 1 on Thursday February 21st, starting at 4:30pm. This is an opportunity to ask us any questions and learn about what happens in the hub. All welcome to attend!

We will be sending out a survey with questions to ensure we are delivering information suited to your needs. If you do not receive this please touch base with your hub teachers.

However, If you would like to spend more than two minutes one on one with the teacher we recommend you book an appointment with us as there are many parents we are meeting during this evening.

General Housekeeping

Reading books

Readers will come home within the next two weeks. All books are to be returned in the return boxes at the start of each week.

Hats and Shoes

A reminder that hats are compulsory and need to be brought to school by all learners everyday in Terms 1 and 4. A lot of our class learning takes place outside as well as outside play at morning tea and lunch, so it is very important learners bring their hats every day. We encourage parents to label or distinguish hats carefully and clearly to avoid any hats being lost. We are also encourage shoes to be labelled or have something unique on them as we have many learners remove and misplace their shoes during the day.

Fleeces

Please mark the labels with your child’s name. Fleeces are expensive items of clothing and they need to be returned to the correct person.

We recommend practising packing and unpacking your child's school bag with your child - lunch boxes, morning tea boxes, book bags and their fleece. If these items do not fit into their bags, then please buy a bigger bag for your child to avoid losing these precious items.

Lateness

Learners arriving at school after the bell has rung has a huge impact on their learning time and the teachers’ teaching time.

Please make sure your child is at school before 8.55am (when the bell goes) to ensure they are ready for the start of their school day. It is preferable that they arrive at 8.45am to sort out their things and then get ready for learning. If you would like to speak to a teacher regarding your child’s learning, please email to arrange a time to meet. Our time is very limited as the school day starts. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

School Supervision

Please remember school supervision is from 8.30 - 3.00pm. Learners may not be in the Hub until 8.30am. It is preferable that they arrive by 8.45am to sort out their things and then get ready for learning. Before 8.30am, children should be booked into Kelly Club, which also does after school care. You can contact Celia Mackinven at stonefields@kellyclub.co.nz

Sickness

If your child is sick and has been vomiting or had diarrhea, please keep them home so other children in the hub and teachers do not get sick. We prefer that the children stay at home for 48 hours after their sickness so the bugs cannot be passed on. Use the ‘Absentee’ tab on the School App to let us know your child is absent. Alternatively call the office on 527 7721 or email admin@stonefields.school.nz

Parent Helpers Please!

We always enjoy having parents/whanau support us in the hub. If you are able to come in before school or after lunch from 2 pm onwards Monday - Friday (but not assembly days) that would be great. It does not have to be every week, every little bit helps. Please click here if you are able to help. We would love help with the following:

- Putting reading books away

- Hearing learners read

- Photocopying

- Laminating

- Pencil sharpening

Assemblies & Certificates

Assembly dates are:

Friday 22nd February - Week 3

Friday 8th March - Week 5

Friday 5th April - Week 8

Certificates are given out to 6 children per hub at junior assemblies. We will send out an email letting parents know if your child is receiving a certificate, though everyone is warmly welcome to attend as many of the junior assemblies as you wish as it is a celebration of the junior school's learning.

Digital Learning - Kawa of Care

This term we are using the iPads and computers to support our learning. Here is our Kawa of Care to support us.

Student agreement:

-I will respect the equipment (my iPad, stylus and case) by always looking after it and keeping it safe.

-I will respect others by always using my iPad to interact with anyone in a kind, positive and helpful way.

-I will make the most of this opportunity to learn lots of new things and to share these with others. My iPad is for learning.

-I will always be in the right place, on the right app, at the right time when I am on my iPad. If in doubt I will ask my teacher or parent.

-I will protect my email password and keep it completely secret.

-I will close the case when I am not using my iPad.

-I will keep it safe when I am not using it. I will leave it on an appropriate surface, like a table.

-I will make sure I keep it in the same condition that I was given it.

-I will keep it charged and ready to use.

Our doors are 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.