Water Fight Fun- Monday 16 December after lunch
Optional- no-one has to participate
Bring your own NAMED water gun, etc. but no single use water balloons please
ALL children need suitable clothing including t-shirt/rash shirt to cover shoulders and footwear (lots of bees around), and a towel. NAMES ON EVERYTHING PLEASE.
We now live in Hikuwai- so arrive and depart from there from now on.
If we do not see you before the end of the school year, have a wonderful summer break and holiday season.
Andrea, Deb, Brooklyn and April
AI Animation - The children have been creating using AI and Meta. They draw their own characters, animate them using this platform , save the video and then drop these into iMovie. Many of these children would like to continue being creative at home, hence sharing the link. You could also join them for some fun drawing and creativity time with your child and learn something along the way.
Moving Day - we are moving classes on Fri 13 December during the day. We will arrive and leave to and from that space from then on.
School notices- we have not duplicated info here so please make sure you are reading whole school notices.
That's it for this week.
Andrea, Deb, Brooklyn and April.
Upcoming Dates and Information
‘Ararira in the Park’: Save the date- Tuesday 3rd December 5:30pm to 7pm. Children to please wear bright coloured clothing. Please don't go out and buy anything specially, any bright t-shirt and shorts or skirt will be fine! People can be on site from 5pm and children will be called to go to their classes at 5:45pm. They won't be able to leave the classroom for dinner during the show so feed them before they come. Please do not leave or get up during other class performances. It is a bring your own seat event.
Library Books- please locate and return any lost or overdue library books. If you are not sure, please check with your child's Ako teacher as they have a list of books overdue. All books will need to be returned by Friday 6th December.
On 6th December 2025 classes will be shared. Children will spend part of the morning on Tuesday 10th December with their new teacher and classes.
By 13th December reports for maths, reading, writing and an end of year comment as well as progress graphs will be shared with parents.
Our last day is Tuesday 17th December. We will finish at 1:00pm on that day.
Hamper items for Greenpark food bank can be put under the tree in the admin area.
We cannot believe the school year is fast coming to an end- only 3 full weeks to go. Please check out the photos page. A group of children are concerned about our gluesticks wastage and have come up with solutions for Qizzle, our supplier. Hopefully their production manager will be visiting us soon so the children can present their findings.
Hopefully you have all read the school newsletter on 20th November. If not, you may not be aware that Whaea Andrea will be leaving us at the end of the year. Andrea has taught at Ararira Springs Primary since opening back in 2019. It is sad to lose such an amazing teacher but we know the children in the Conductive Education unit at Addington School will benefit from Andrea's passion and skill set. All the best Whaea Andrea- we are going to miss you!
‘Ararira in the Park’: Save the date- Tuesday 3rd December 5:30pm to 7pm. Children are to wear bright coloured clothing.
Reading folders: Please remind your children to bring folders everyday to receive their weekly reading books.
Library Books- please locate and return any lost or overdue library books. If you are not sure, please check with your child's Ako teacher as they have a list of books overdue. Next week will be the last week for books.
Headlice- There has been headlice in the space. Please check your child’s hair and treat accordingly.
Chicken Pox- we have also got chicken pox doing the rounds. Here's the information regarding symptoms.
The rash appears 10 to 21 days after being exposed to the varicella-zoster virus. The rash lasts about 5 to 10 days. Other symptoms that may appear 1 to 2 days before the rash include:
Fever
Loss of appetite
Headache
Tiredness and a general feeling of being unwell
Sunscreen- with the weather warming up, if possible apply sunscreen before coming to school. Sunscreen is available at all times and is reapplied before break times.
School Newsletter- Please ensure you read the school newsletter. There are notices in there regarding 2025.
Later in the Term.....
Ararira in the park: Save the date- Tuesday 3rd December 5:30pm to 7pm. More information to come. It is the expectation that all children take part.
Last day of term for 2024- Tuesday 17 December 1pm
Welcome to Ararira Springs- Walt (Year 2) and his family have joined us from Wyoming, USA. A warm welcome to our school and community.
‘Ararira in the Park’: Save the date- Tuesday 3rd December 5:30pm to 7pm. More information to come.
Reading folders: Please remind your children to bring folders everyday to receive their weekly reading books.
Headlice- There has been headlice in the space. Please check your child’s hair and treat accordingly.
Sunscreen- with the weather warming up, if possible apply sunscreen before coming to school. Sunscreen is available at all times and is reapplied before break times.
School Newsletter- Please ensure you read the school newsletter. There are notices in there regarding 2025.
Week 5: A short week!
Thursday 14th November is a teacher only day. No children at school on this day.
Friday 15th November is Canterbury show day public holiday.
Later in the Term.....
Ararira in the park: Save the date- Tuesday 3rd December 5:30pm to 7pm. More information to come.
Maths games! Try out these maths games below with your child/ren.
Ararira in the park: Save the date- Tuesday 3rd December 5:30pm to 7pm. More information to come.
Reading folders: Please remind your children to bring folders everyday to receive their weekly reading books.
Week 5: Thursday 14th November is a teacher only day. Friday 15th November is Canterbury show day public holiday.
Reading Book in Week 3: We are completing are testing for Reading this week. Therefore, your child will be bringing home a lower level text, or a text they have seen before, as there will be no new reading learning this week.
Run Jump Throw: This week! Thursday 31st October 11.15am, you are welcome to come and watch.
Hui: We are on hui this Friday. You are welcome to come and watch, 9.15am to 9.45ish.
Gumboot Friday: We are participating in Gumboot Friday on 1st November. Children can wear gumboots to school and a gold coin donation is appreciated for I am Hope.
Ararira in the park: Save the date- Tuesday 3rd December 5:30pm to 7pm. More information to come.
Maths games! Try out these maths games below with your child/ren.
Sun hats: In term 4 students are required to wear sun hats. These need to be navy broad brim or bucket hats with a rim the whole way around- not caps. Please ensure these are clearly named, even add a button or patch to make these stand out.
Save your teddy (World Restart Heart Day): We are participating in "Save your teddy" day. We will learn basic CPR skills with Hato Hone/St John by getting hands-on practice with a favourite teddy or cushion - please bring a teddy or cushion to school on Wednesday 16th October.
Save the date:
Run Jump Throw - Week 3 , Thursday 31st October 11.15am
Hui - Week 3, Friday 1st November 9.15-9.45am
It’s Calendar Art time again! The student’s have been busy creating art work that can be made into affordable Calendars, Cards, Diaries, Mouse Mats and Sketch Pads. Each product is made from your own child’s art. These make unique Christmas gifts for family and friends and are perfect for posting overseas. If you have any questions please contact tash.scoble@ararira.school.nz
Paper order forms will be sent home in Week 1. You can also follow these instructions to place your order online:
1/. Go to www.kidsartworks.com
2/. Use the Entrance Code: KZ8182
3/. Enter your child’s room & name when prompted
The order is open from now until October 30th. Payment can be made over the website via credit card or account2account.
Celebration of cultures: Monday 23 Sept. To celebrate our Inquiry learning about our cultures, we will have a shared lunch and non-uniform day.
Shared lunch - please bring a SMALL plate of food to share (@ 1.15pm lunch eating time).
Wear (whole day) - anything suitable to represent your culture. It could be a sport uniform, national dress, colours that are significant to your child, items that mean something (e.g. icons like kangaroos, silver ferns, religious symbols, celebrations, etc). Ask your child what they put in the 'My culture' book creator for ideas.
Māori Language Week: was last week. Matua Michael sent home learning challenges through Hero. Your child has until the end of this Monday to complete these challenges if they wish to. A blank map of NZ and the longest place name was sent home with children who were interested on Friday to assist.
St John's: visited us last week and taught us how to put someone in the stable side position, Shayne also showed us how to make an emergency call from a cell phone. As all phones are slightly different, please show your child(ren) how to do this from your own phone(s).
Cricket lessons: will be on Monday (visiting expert)
Kī-o-rahi : Thursday (we are teaching this ourselves)
Art Exhibition: in the school hall for everyone to come and see
Tuesday, 24 September: 3:00 – 7:00 pm
Wednesday, 25 September: 3:00 – 5:00 pm
That's it for now.
Andrea, Brooklyn, April and Deb
School Photos: Tuesday, just before lunch time. For the photos, only t-shirts will be worn with buttons done up. No thermals.
Celebration of culture: Monday 23 Sept. To celebrate our Inquiry learning about our cultures, we will have a shared lunch and non-uniform day in Week 10.
Shared lunch - please bring a SMALL plate of food to share (lunch eating time).
Wear (whole day) - anything suitable to represent your culture. It could be a sport uniform, national dress, colours that are significant to your child, items that mean something (e.g. icons like kangaroos, silver ferns, religious symbols, etc). Ask your child what they out in the 'My culture' book creator for ideas.
Māori Language Week: is this coming week. See prior while school messages for competition info.
That's it for now.
Andrea, Brooklyn, April and Deb
THIS THURSDAY: Junior School Fun Run, followed by our sharing of learning. Thursday 12 Sept Fun run starts 2pm. You are welcome to come and watch and then join us for a celebration of learning. The celebration of learning will be held in our class from 2.30 -2.45.
School Photos: next week- more info to come.
That's it for now.
Andrea, Brooklyn, April and Deb
Next week: Junior School Fun Run, followed by our sharing of learning. Thursday 12 Sept 2pm.
Lego: we have House of Bricks visiting us the Wednesday afternoon- Yay!
Science/Art/Drama day: is also this Wednesday for our hapori.
That's it for now.
Andrea, Brooklyn, April and Deb
We had Firewise visit our school this week. Hopefully your child will ask you about where your safe meeting place is. This is a location your family would meet at in case of a fire at your home. This is a timely reminder to check your smoke alarms.
We have daffodil day on 30 August. Children can come dressed in yellow, and green if they wish to and we would appreciate donations to the cancer society.
Save the date: Junior School Fun Run, followed by our sharing of learning. Thursday 12 Sept 2pm.
Faded names: please check existing names on clothing as lots are now faded and are very hard to read. Thanks.
That's it for now, an update will come at the end of next week, and weekly after that.
Andrea, Brooklyn, April and Deb
No, you have not missed any others- this is the first for Term 3, as there has not really been anything to share until now.
Things to know:
Save the date: Junior School Fun Run, followed by our sharing of learning. Thursday 12 Sept 2pm.
Faded names: please check existing names on clothing as lots are now faded and are very hard to read. Thanks.
Teacher Only Day: is Monday 19th July (next week). Hopefully you already know about this/
Disco: this Friday evening. Whaea Deb and Whaea Andrea will be there. See the Whānau Facebook page for details.
That's it for now, an update will come at the end of this week, and weekly after that.
Andrea, Brooklyn, April and Deb
Friday 5th July
We are on hui! On Friday 9.15am 9.35ish we are presenting hui, you are welcome to come and watch.
Matariki evening celebration at school.
Non uniform day - dress up matariki themed (dress as your favourite star), donations go to the Year 8's end of year trip.
Uniform
Crocs are not appropriate shoes for school. Ensure shoes are suitable for rain, grass, and fitness times.
Huarapa 4 - Whaea Deb
Whaea Deb is away in the final two weeks of Term 2 (Week 9 and 10). Whaea Deb's 16 year old son Henry is representing New Zealand for Clay Target Shooting. Whaea Deb and her family are heading to the UK to watch him compete.
Whaea Pamela will be relieving in Huarapa 4 for these two weeks
Important dates:
Week 9 - Friday 28th June Matariki public holiday (no school).
Week 10 - Friday 5th July Matariki evening celebration at school.
Cross country date change- previous weekly notices mentioned this would be in Week 9 of this term. But we have decided to have this during Term 3 or 4 instead (for warmer weather).
Huarapa 4 - Whaea Deb
Whaea Deb is away in the final two weeks of Term 2 (Week 9 and 10). Whaea Deb's 16 year old son Henry is representing New Zealand for Clay Target Shooting. Whaea Deb and her family are heading to the UK to watch him compete.
Whaea Pamela will be relieving in Huarapa 4 for these two weeks.
Important dates:
Week 9 - Friday 28th June Matariki public holiday (no school).
Week 10 - Friday 5th July Matariki evening celebration at school.
Cross country date change- previous weekly notices mentioned this would be in Week 9 of this term. But we have decided to have this during Term 3 or 4 instead (for warmer weather).
Learning converstions:
Reminder to please book on HERO for your learning conversations with your childs ako teacher.
Tuesday 11th June: 3.15pm - 7.45pm
Thursday 13th June: 2.15pm - 6.15pm.
On Thursday 13th June school is finishing early at 1.30pm. Here is the link to fill in the supervision your child requires from this time.
Pokemon Cards
There has been a post last week on HERO and Facebook regarding Pokemon cards that were handed out to students. Unfortunately, these cards were taken from a sibling and should not have been handed out. Some cards have been returned already and the family is very grateful.
Just a reminder if any Pokemon cards came home last week they may belong to someone who did not want them shared and would love them back as they hold sentimental value. Email Whaea Brooklyn - brooklyn.neame@ararira.school.nz
THT hotdog day
Te Hapori Tautoko is providing a Hot Dog Day on Friday 14 June. Orders can be made via KINDO and close on Tuesday 11 June. At $3 each, these will make a yummy hot lunch!
Curiosity clubs - Week 6-10
The new round of Curiosity Clubs started in Week 6. The time slot is 11.45-12.45, if any whānau are available to come in and help please let us know.
Important dates:
Week 6 - Monday 3rd June is Kings Birthday (public holiday no school).
Week 6 - Tuesday 4th June is a Teacher Only day (no students at school).
Week 6 - Friday 7th June 'Movie Night'. Movie times 5-6.30pm and 7-8.30pm, more information to come.
Week 7 - Tuesday 11th and Thursday 13th June 'Learning conversations'. You will be notified when you are able to book your spot.
Week 9 - Thursday 27th June Junior Cross Country. More information to come.
Week 9 - Friday 28th June Matariki public holiday (no school).
Week 10 - Friday 5th July Matariki evening celebration at school.
Swimming: Finished! Thank you to all of our awesome parent helpers who came each day, we couldn't have done it without you! Thank you also for the parents who attended the year 3 Marae visits!
Important dates:
Week 6 - Monday 3rd June is Kings Birthday (public holiday no school).
Week 6 - Tuesday 4th June is a Teacher Only day (no students at school).
Week 6 - Friday 7th June 'Movie Night'. Movie times 5-6.30pm and 7-8.30pm, more information to come.
Week 7 - Tuesday 11th and Thursday 13th June 'Learning conversations'. You will be notified when you are able to book your spot.
Week 9 - Thursday 27th June Junior Cross Country. More informaton to come.
Week 9 - Friday 28th June Matariki public holiday (no school).
Week 10 - Friday 5th July Matariki evening.
Swimming - Continues this week Monday to Friday
Marae visits - Year 3 only - Te Pa o Ngāti Moki
Huarapa 4 (Whaea Deb) and 6 (Whaea Andrea) are going on Monday 20th of May.
Huarapa 5 (Whaea Brooklyn) are going on Tuesday 21st May.
Please ensure children have a full lunch, warm layer, jacket, vest, shoes comfortable for walking and easy to take on and off independently.
Matariki evening
Te Hapori Tautoko is excited to bring you a Matariki Celebration on Friday 5 July 2024.
This whānau information booklet provides you with all of the information you need to know and ways you can support! It is set to be a wonderful evening and a highlight in the calendar for many.
Te Hapori Tautoko is providing a Hot Dog Day on Friday 14 June. Orders can be made via KINDO and close on Tuesday 11 June. At $3 each, these will make a yummy hot lunch!
Pink Shirt day
Week 3 Friday 17th May. Students are to wear pink (or alternatively wear school uniform). A gold coin donation will be appreciated. Money raised goes to The Mental Health Foundation.
Year 2 Swimming starts
Week 3 is our first week of swimming at Selwyn Aquatics. We will swim Monday 13th through to Friday 24th May.
We will be going every day at 11.30am and returning to school at 1.30pm. Please ensure to pack a full lunch (perhaps some extra food), a wet bag to carry swimming togs, goggles and a towel. Shoes that are easy for your child to put on themselves.
Ensure all items are clearly named!
Above is a screenshot of our parent helpers for each day. Please check for your name and date as previously organised, if this is incorrect please let us know asap.
Huarapa 4 - Whaea Deb
Whaea Deb is away in the final two weeks of Term 2 (Week 9 and 10). Whaea Deb's 16 year old son Henry is representing New Zealand for Clay Target Shooting. Whaea Deb and her family are heading to the UK to watch him compete.
Whaea Pamela will be relieving in Huarapa 4 for these two weeks.
Pink Shirt day
Pink Shirt Day works to reduce bullying by celebrating diversity in all its forms and supporting schools, workplaces and communities to be safe, supportive, welcoming and inclusive for everyone. To celebrate this important kaupapa we’ll be wearing pink (alternatively wear school uniform) on Friday 17th May.
We’ll also be fundraising to support Pink Shirt Day. A gold coin donation will be appreciated. Money raised goes to The Mental Health Foundation.
Missing bits and pieces from classroom
Last term we lost some crystal /rocks from a science kit.
We have lost a few strong magnets from one of our school kits.
Also, plastic toy fish from a fishing game.
Please let us know if any of these have come home in pockets or bags!
Curiosity clubs
Friday's starting next week for 4 weeks at 11.45am to 12.45pm. If any whānau are available to come in and help please let us know.
Year 3 - Marae Visit : Reminder of dates
20 May (Week 4) Huarapa 4 (Whaea Deb's ako class- we have a parent already) & 6 (Whaea Andrea's Ako class)- going with Hikuwai 6
21 May (Week 4) Huarapa 5 (Whaea Brooklyn's Ako class)- going with Hikuwai 5
Year 2 - Swimming
Parent helpers are still needed for Wednesday (15th, 22nd) and Thursday (23rd) of May. Leaving school at 11.30 on bus and returning by 1:30pm back at school.
Reminder: Please check you have filled in the information about your child's swimming level on the google form link you were sent (if you child does not swim at Selwyn Aquatics)
And just like that it is the end of the first term. Today I walked around the space today talking with the children about the term. These were some of the comments made……
“We got to do new things like science, art and drama with Whaea Megan, Whaea Andrea and Whaea Annabel. We love them because it’s super fun.” (Mackenzie and Frankie)
“The first term has been great because I like doing art and there are new things to use.” (Billie and Quinn O)
“I loved pedalmania this term because there was lots of different bikes I could ride. I got to ride them with my friends.” (Theo)
“I liked it when Jim the policeman came in. We got to see his pepper spray, and his Harry Potter wand’. (Gus)
“I like to draw and play on the trampoline. We didn’t have a trampoline at my old school”. (Mayce)
“I like storytime and bringing sharing on Friday.” (Alfie)
“I liked pedalmania. There was a whole bunch of different bikes. It was fun because I got to do it with all my friends.” (Phoebe)
This week we did some road safety with Jim Manning. An important message for parents was….
Children need to be in a booster seat until they reach the height of 148cm
Children need to travel in the back seat of a car to avoid death or injury from airbags in the front seat should there be an accident.
Ensure children are crossing at the school crossing when they are there.
Year 2 Swimming -Parent Help urgently needed. Please email if you can help.
Leaving at 11.20am - Back at school by 1.30pm
Swimming starts on Monday May 13 and finishes on Friday May 24. Swimming is part of the New Zealand Curriculum so it is expected that all children take part. It will be $81.50 for 10 lessons.
Year 3 Marae Trip to Ngāti Moki (Taumutu)
The Year 3 children will head out to Te Pa o Ngāti Moki near Leeston next term. As the marae is only able to accommodate 50 people at one time, we have had to split our Year 3’s into 3 separate groups and join with the Year 6’s. There are trips planned for 6 May, 20 May and 21 May. Here are the groups attending on each of these days.
20 May (Week 4) Huarapa 4 (Whaea Deb's ako class- we have a parent already) & 6 (Whaea Andrea's Ako class)- going with Hikuwai 6
21 May (Week 4) Huarapa 5 (Whaea Brooklyn's Ako class)- going with Hikuwai 5
We will require a couple of parents to help. Parents will be required to say a short pepeha as part of the powhiri (welcome). We can help you with this but your children are somewhat experts on this!
Learning in class….
Maths- daily
Health- Wellbeing practices and explicit teaching of the school values
P.E- Locomotion & Māori Games
Digital Technologies- Unplugged learning (learning required before the use of ipads)
Structured Literacy and Writing- daily
Inquiry- Movement
The Arts: Music & Drama- Collage
Emails
Andrea- andrea.harrison@ararira.school.nz
Brooklyn- brookyln.neame@ararira.school.nz
April - april.tougas@ararira.school.nz
Deb- deb.wesley@ararira.school.nz
Days to Remember
Library Day - Tuesday
Sharing Day- On Fridays we have sharing time where the children will have the opportunity to share something in a small group. Sharing items could be a creation they have made, a sporting achievement, toy or talking news about something special. Sharing items will be placed in a container at the start of the day to keep them safe. Toys will only be brought to school for sharing on a Friday as they can be lost or damaged. Children can also take a photo of their sharing and send in an email.
Happy Easter holiday everyone! Hard to believe it will be April shortly. We had a fun fortnight in Huarapa, with our inquiry learning and all other programmes well underway. We had 'Pedalmania' come on Monday with a wide variety of ‘wheels’ for the children to ride. This was part of our inquiry on movement. We enjoyed watching all the children take risks and give something new a go.
We have a busy few weeks ahead with walks and trips planned. We will be seeking parent help to support these events.
We are missing some rocks from science from yesterday. Should these make there way home in school bags could these please be returned next week as they belong to a set.
Reminder: There is no school on Tuesday. We will see everyone on Wednesday.
Road Safety
In Week 11 Senior Constable Jim Manning will be working with all the Junior children about road safety. We will have a class lesson and then a lesson along the street.
We will be needing a couple of parents per ako class to help with this. Please let your child’s Ako teacher know if you are about to help. We will be doing a short walk in the vicinity of the school and looking at potential hazards (eg. sneaky driveways). All children will need their safety vest.
Thursday April 11 - Walk with Constable Jim
12.00 - 12.45pm Huarapa 4 (Whaea Deb)
1.35 - 2.10pm Huarapa 5 (Whaea Brooklyn)
2.15 - 2.50pm Huarapa 6 (Whaea Andrea)
Year 2 Swimming
Early next term the Year 2 children will be heading to Rolleston pool each day for two weeks of swimming. This begins on Monday May 13 and finishes on Friday May 24. Swimming is part of the New Zealand Curriculum so it is expected that all children take part. More information regarding cost is still to come. We will require some wonderful parents to help each day to assist in managing the children getting changed etc. More information to come in the coming weeks.
Year 3 Marae Trip to Ngāti Moki (Taumutu)
The Year 3 children will head out to Te Pa o Ngāti Moki near Leeston next term. As the marae is only able to accommodate 50 people at one time, we have had to split our Year 3’s into 3 separate groups and join with the Year 6’s. There are trips planned for 6 May, 20 May and 21 May. Here are the groups attending on each of these days.
20 May (Week 4) Huarapa 4 (Whaea Deb's ako class) & 6 (Whaea Andrea's Ako class)- going with Hikuwai 6
21 May (Week 4) Huarapa 5 (Whaea Brooklyn's Ako class)- going with Hikuwai 5
We will require a couple of parents to help. Parents will be required to say a short pepeha as part of the powhiri (welcome). We can help you with this but your children are somewhat experts on this!
Message From Nicky- Old school uniform (smaller sizes): We'd love any old school uniform you may be throwing out. We take these to our local pre-schools to use for 'dress ups'. Please give to Nicky in Teretere or drop to the office. Thank you.
Learning in class….
Maths- daily
Health- Wellbeing practices and explicit teaching of the school values
P.E- Locomotion & Māori Games
Digital Technologies- Unplugged learning (learning required before the use of ipads)
Structured Literacy and Writing- daily
Inquiry- Movement
The Arts: Music & Drama- Collage
Emails
Andrea- andrea.harrison@ararira.school.nz
Brooklyn- brookyln.neame@ararira.school.nz
April - april.tougas@ararira.school.nz
Deb- deb.wesley@ararira.school.nz
Days to Remember
Library Day - Tuesday
Sharing Day- On Fridays we have sharing time where the children will have the opportunity to share something in a small group. Sharing items could be a creation they have made, a sporting achievement, toy or talking news about something special. Sharing items will be placed in a container at the start of the day to keep them safe. Toys will only be brought to school for sharing on a Friday as they can be lost or damaged. Children can also take a photo of their sharing and send in an email.
Not long to go until Easter! Our Inquiry is well underway. We have done some thinking about the mechanics of a bike (how a chain works) and the health benefits to biking and movement in general. The children are very interested in the fitness area but lets wait and see where this takes us.
Wool in Schools- Unfortunately we didn't get to do 'Wool in Schools' as the previous had a break in and the contents of the container were damaged.
Hero Comments- As teachers we do spend a considerable amount of time with these posts. Could we please ask you read these and share with your children.
No wheelie shoes- As these shoes are unsafe particulary for P.E , we ask that these school are not to be worn to school. This is a whole wide rule.
A request from the children: Could you all please collect empty groceries boxes for construction. Our box is currently empty
Reading Books- These will always come home on a Thursday or Friday and they must come home in reading folders to protect them from getting damaged in back packs.
Maths Games: See below for a couple of Maths Games to play at home. The best way to learn Maths!
This coming week:
Wednesday- Paid Union Meeting. Early finish to school. Please let the office know if your child will be remaining at school.
Thursday- Elgregoe the Magican performance.
Learning in class….
Maths- daily
Health- Establishing a positive learning environment and explicit teaching of the school values
P.E- Locomotion & Māori Games
Digital Technologies- Unplugged learning (learning required before the use of ipads)
Structured Literacy and Writing- daily
Inquiry- Movement
The Arts: Music & Drama- experimentation with sound to add to a role play
Emails
Andrea- andrea.harrison@ararira.school.nz
Brooklyn- brookyln.neame@ararira.school.nz
April - april.tougas@ararira.school.nz
Deb- deb.wesley@ararira.school.nz
Days to Remember
Library Day - Tuesday
Sharing Day- On Fridays we have sharing time where the children will have the opportunity to share something in a small group. Sharing items could be a creation they have made, a sporting achievement, toy or talking news about something special. Sharing items will be placed in a container at the start of the day to keep them safe. Toys will only be brought to school for sharing on a Friday as they can be lost or damaged. Children can also take a photo of their sharing and send in an email.
Hard to believe this is the end of week 5. All our regular learning programmes are now up and running. We started our inquiry this week with a scavenger hunt. The children found various random items which they discovered later to be all parts of a bike. Our overall theme is movement so it will be interesting to see where this leads.
Reading Books- These will always come home on a Thursday or Friday and they must come home in reading folders to protect them from getting damaged in back packs.
Next week we will take part in the 'Wool in Schools' programme. There will be a container on site where these sessions will take place. We will also be doing some sessions with Jacob from Selwyn Sports Trust learning some Māori PE games. As a teaching team we did these games a few weeks ago and they are so much fun. The children are going to absolutely love these sessions with Jacob!
Jars with Lids- If anyone has any spare jars with lids Brooklyn is after quite a few for her for curiosity club. Please send along any you may have.\
Maths Games: See below for a couple of Maths Games to play at home. The best way to learn Maths!
Learning in class….
Maths- daily
Health- Establishing a positive learning environment and explicit teaching of the school values
P.E- Locomotion & Māori Games
Digital Technologies- Unplugged learning (learning required before the use of ipads)
Structured Literacy and Writing- daily
Inquiry- Movement
The Arts: Music & Drama- experimentation with sound to add to a role play, collage
Emails
Andrea- andrea.harrison@ararira.school.nz
Brooklyn- brookyln.neame@ararira.school.nz
April - april.tougas@ararira.school.nz
Deb- deb.wesley@ararira.school.nz
Days to Remember
Library Day - Tuesday
Sharing Day- On Fridays we have sharing time where the children will have the opportunity to share something in a small group. Sharing items could be a creation they have made, a sporting achievement, toy or talking news about something special. Sharing items will be placed in a container at the start of the day to keep them safe. Toys will only be brought to school for sharing on a Friday as they can be lost or damaged. Children can also take a photo of their sharing and send in an email.
Here we are at the end of Week 3. The term feels like it is flying by already. This week we started our structured literacy programme and reading books will be home on Friday. There were some children without reading folders. Could you please make sure they have these. Reading books must come home in reading folders to protect them from getting damaged in back packs.
Next Tuesday we are going to ‘create’ a dessert pizza. This resulted from collecting data as part of our statistics learning (Whaea Deb’s ako class). The children are very excited about making this.
Curiosity Clubs started today. The children were very excited about this and wanted to share what they had done during this time.
For the last couple of weeks we have spent our afternoons doing wellbeing and health learning. The children are learning healthy wellbeing practices and learning lots of relationship building tasks as part of our health curriculum.
Learning in class….
Maths- Statistics
Health- Establishing a positive learning environment and explicit teaching of the school values
P.E- Locomotion
Digital Technologies- Unplugged learning (learning required before the use of ipads)
Structured Literacy and Writing- daily
Emails
Andrea- andrea.harrison@ararira.school.nz
Brooklyn- brookyln.neame@ararira.school.nz
April - april.tougas@ararira.school.nz
Deb- deb.wesley@ararira.school.nz
Days to Remember
Library Day - Tuesday
Sharing Day- On Fridays we have sharing time where the children will have the opportunity to share something in a small group. Sharing items could be a creation they have made, a sporting achievement, toy or talking news about something special. Sharing items will be placed in a container at the start of the day to keep them safe. Toys will only be brought to school for sharing on a Friday as they can be lost or damaged. Children can also take a photo of their sharing and send in an email.
And just like that we are at the end of the week! It has been great meeting new families to our space and catching up with last years ones. The kids have been amazing and really excited about being back, as are we.
Most of the notices were sent out in the previous post but a couple of new important ones.
Just be to aware, there is a current case of chicken pox in our space.
Andrea and April are job sharing. Andrea will be in class 70% of the days and April will be in when Andrea is out. This is because Andrea will be teaching Science throughout the school on those days.
Check out the photos from our first week under the 'Learning' tab.
Emails
Andrea- andrea.harrison@ararira.school.nz
Brooklyn- brookyln.neame@ararira.school.nz
April - april.tougas@ararira.school.nz
Deb- deb.wesley@ararira.school.nz
Days to Remember
Library Day - Tuesday
Sharing Day- On Fridays we have sharing time where the children will have the opportunity to share something in a small group. Sharing items could be a creation they have made, a sporting achievement, toy or talking news about something special. Sharing items will be placed in a container at the start of the day to keep them safe. Toys will only be brought to school for sharing on a Friday as they can be lost or damaged. Children can also take a photo of their sharing and send in an email.
A huge welcome to the 2024 school year. Also a warm welcome to our new children and their whanau who join our class this year. You are joining a very special school community here in Lincoln.
Just a few housekeeping notes for the first few days
Weekly Notices will be published here at the end of each week. You will get a notification from Hero saying these are published. Please ensure you read these. These notices outline upcoming events, things your child is learning and other important need to know information.
On Tuesday's drop in day please bring all stationary to school, including spare items.
Please use the 'Kiss and Go' parks as just this. The purpose of this area is for quick drop offs, not a parking area. Please do not block the driveway for other parents. If there are no carparks available there is plenty of street parking. Remember it is a school carpark- keep your speed down and model patience and good manners please.
Please ensure your child has a brimmed hat from Wednesday. We are a Sunsmart school. If your child does not have a hat ......no hat, no play (children are required to stay under the walkway during play times).
Safety vests- to be worn to and from school.
It would be very helpful if sunscreen could be applied before they come to school. The children will reapply before playtimes.
Our routine class timetable will be introduced gradually so reading books won’t be coming home straight away. Our learning focus for the first few weeks is on our school values, health (building relationships and class culture) and learning new routines.
Whaea Andrea is job sharing with Whaea April this year. When Andrea is not in our Hapori (learning hub) she will be teaching science around our school as our expert science teacher. This year we will have expert teachers in visual art (Whaea Megan), drama (Whaea Annabelle) and science (Whaea Andrea) teaching across all levels in the school.
Please ensure your child's clothing, sunhat, drink bottle and lunch box are all clearly named. We do not have a property bin in class as we endevour to return any found items back to the owner straight away.
Emails- Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s ako teacher through email. We will acknowledge your email within 24 hours to say we have received it and will reply to your email within 48 hours. Our 'contactable time' is between 8am-5pm Monday to Friday. You can of course send an email outside of these times but we will respond during our 'contactable time.' However if the email is urgent, we will of course be in touch.
Andrea- andrea.harrison@ararira.school.nz
Brooklyn- brookyln.neame@ararira.school.nz
April - april.tougas@ararira.school.nz
Deb- deb.wesley@ararira.school.nz
Library Day- Tuesday
Morning Routine-When your child arrives in the morning they need to put their reading folder in their ako class reading box.
Sharing Day- On Fridays we have sharing time where the children will have the opportunity to share something in a small group. Sharing items could be a creation they have made, a sporting achievement, toy or talking news about something special. Sharing items will be placed in a container at the start of the day to keep them safe. Toys will only be brought to school for sharing on a Friday as they can be lost or damaged. Children can also take a photo of their sharing and send in an email.
Welcome to 2024 everyone! Let's go!