Welcome to Nikau Term 1, 2020
We hope you have enjoyed the wonderful weather over the summer break.
Our teachers this year are: Mrs Cherie Wallbank (Year 4,5,6 Learning Leader),
Mrs Cheryl Knapp who was previously a year 5/6 teacher at Sherwood Primary
and Miss SJ Park who is new to Sherwood Primary this year.
We look forward to working with you and your children to develop a love of learning, foster
self-worth and encourage the children to build positive relationships through our school values.
Inquiry:
Health – Why is my Reputation and Identity Important?
Ø How do we create our reputations?
Ø What do they mean to us now, and what will they mean later in life?
Ø How do we show people who we really are?
Term 1 and first half of Term 2 Science - Substances can be changed through different processes and for different purposes.
Ø How different processes change substances.
Ø Solids, liquids and gases are different forms of substances.
Ø Substances can be changed permanently or temporarily.
Ø How changed substances are used.
Upcoming Events:
Life Education Caravan - We will be attending sessions in weeks 1 and 2.
"Meet the Teacher" - picnic and talk will be on Tuesday 11th February (week 2). The picnic will begin at 5.00pm. You are invited to meet your child’s teacher at 6.30 in the Nikau Learning Space.
Year 4 Camp - This will be at Peter Snell Youth Village on the 2nd and 3rd April. The year 4 camp is a two day event leaving in the morning on the 2nd and returning to school the following day at around 3pm.
Goal setting interviews - Wednesday, the 7th of April and Thursday, the 8th of April. More details to follow.
Teacher Only Day - Thursday 9th April
Learning:
Music, P.E. and Library –Thursday. Please, note the school PE uniform or a change of clothes is needed, and sneakers must be worn for PE.
Reading – In Year 4 most of our children are now reading to learn rather than learning to read. In the early years children move through reading levels at a relatively quick pace and have usually developed strong decoding skills. However in Year 4 the focus is on comprehension, vocabulary, reading pace and being able to use text material in a variety of ways. There is also not the same number of levels as in the early years.
Children can read either to you, another family member or a friend. Please read and discuss a book with your child. It is a good idea to ask your child questions about what they have read. E.g. Who are the characters? Where was the story set? What happened in the beginning/middle/end? This is to encourage a deeper understanding of what has been read. Comprehension and understanding text is a major part of our reading programme this year.
The children will not always bring home the book they are working on in class. They have the option of choosing a school journal, reading a chapter book from home or a book they have chosen from the school library. Reading books will not be sent home if your child does not have their book bag at school.
Spelling – Children are expected to practice their spelling words each night. To help consolidate these they could put spelling words into a sentence. The children can also practice spelling on Steps. The spelling test will be on Thursday.
Maths – Children are expected to practice their addition and subtraction basic facts to 10 moving to 20, 2x, 3x, 5x and 10x multiplication and division facts. They can also complete Maths Whizz tasks.
General Information:
Please check your emails for the Sherwood School NEWSLETTER, hardcopies are available from the office.
Sherwood sunhats are compulsory for Terms 1 & 4.
Absentees – please ring the school on 09 478 3024 before 9.00am or you can use our school website if your child is away ill, or absent for other reasons.
School hours – the school day begins in the classroom at 8.50am for roll call. No children should be at school unattended prior to 8.30am. If they should be found early in the grounds they will be sent to BASC where a charge will occur. Thank you for your understanding regarding this matter.
Break Times – 10:00 – 10:20, 11.20 – 11.30. Please make sure the children have a small, healthy snack for these breaks.
Lunch Eating – We eat our lunch at the end of lunchtime at 1.10pm, after which children go straight into class for the afternoon programme. Sherwood is an Enviro School and any wrappers that come to school in lunchboxes will go back home in lunchboxes. We do not have bins to accommodate food wrappers etc. We have noticed that quite often parents do not provide morning tea for their children if they are having a lunch order – this makes it a long morning without food until lunchtime arrives especially when they sit with their friends who are eating snacks in front of them! A small healthy brainfood snack such as fruit, yoghurt or nuts will keep them going until their lunch order arrives. Thank you.
Tissues – We would appreciate it if you could provide a box of tissues for the class to use over the year. Please send them in with your child as soon as you can.
Meeting your child after school – Please organise to meet your child either by the gym or another area of the school. It becomes very congested on the deck outside the classroom and at the bottom of the stairs with all the children leaving the classroom.
Children succeed best when there is a positive and supportive relationship established between the teacher, child and home. Before and after school is really busy in our learning spaces, setting up and packing down the day, so please do not be offended if we do not have the time for important conversations at short notice.
If you have concerns about your child, please email us for an appointment, so we can put aside enough time to answer your queries. We will get back to you as soon as it is possible!
Yours sincerely,
Year 4 Team
Cherie Wallbank – cheriew@sherwoodprimary.school.nz
Cheryl Knapp – cherylk@sherwoodprimary.school.nz
SJ Park – seonjinp@sherwoodprimary.school.nz