Dear Parents, Caregivers and children,
We are half way through the school year already! Hopefully you all have had a wonderful Winter break - despite occasional storm! Your children are back at school now, probably much to your relief (!) and we are all geared up for another term of fun, laughter and hard work. It was great to see so many of you at the 'Celebration of Learning' afternoon in the final week of last term. Once again, the children showed how proud they were of the work they completed in school and enjoyed having a captive audience in their families to showcase their progress over terms one and two. Remember, any time can be ‘Celebration of Learning’ time so, whenever you can, just pop in with your child and get them to show off all the learning they have been doing.Housekeeping reminders:
- Slippers are worn indoors during Term 3.
- Football in Schools coaching is on each Thursday in Term 3- a rain jacket is compulsory (just in case we have to walk to the community centre in the rain).
- School Lunch: Hotdogs on Wednesdays and ‘Food for Thought’ on Fridays.
With Mrs Skilton leaving for the balmy climes of the Bay of Plenty, there have been a couple of small changes to the structure of the Year 3-4 teaching team:
- Year 3:
- Room 10 - Mikaela Cody and Trish Theobald (on Fridays)
- Room 9 – Mrs Mawby
- Year 3/4 Composite:
- Room 11 - Jess Davidson and Fiona Ranchod (on Wednesdays and Thursdays)
- Year 4:
- Room 7 – Richard Dobson (Acting Associate Principal) and Gabrielle Heath (on Fridays)
- Room 8 – Karen Chao and Christa Pitman (on Fridays)
- Team wide:
- Ruth Holmes (Classroom Release Time Teacher).
To contact teachers by email, please address as: surname@muritai.school.nz
Values Education:
Our classroom CARE programme will once again be closely linked to our school values this year. We will be unpacking these values as the term progresses. This term we will focus on Self-confidence and Commitment. We also continue to foster the Key Competencies of Relating to others, Participating and Contributing, Managing Self and Thinking.
A (midyear) reminder about homework:
- Each night’s homework comprises a total of 15-20 minutes of practice in Reading, Spelling and Mathletics/Basic Facts. A tick the appropriate section/columns ‘proves’ that homework is being done. It is perfectly acceptable for your child (particularly Y4 children) to do these ticks them-selves.
- Our children lead very busy out-of-school lives. For this reason, it is perfectly acceptable for out-of-school activities to count as ‘homework’. All that is required is that the activity is recorded in the spaces where the ticks would normally go. For example, if your child has Ballet on Monday after school, write ‘ballet’ in the Monday slot for reading, spelling and basic facts.
- Homework books are returned to school every morning. This allows children to use their spelling words during classroom practice time. If the book is left at home, then the child misses this practice time. Teachers may also wish to check home reading and the homework book for messages from home.
Teaching and Learning in Years 3-4 in Term 3
Below is a quick outline of what you can expect your child to be learning this coming term:Literacy
The children will further develop their report writing skills from Term 2. They will also be learning how to expertly craft a narrative (story) and enhance the descriptive quality of their writing by, acting on feedback, making changes to the writing to improve clarity and meaning.
Reading opportunities will be varied: teacher directed (reading groups) and independent (personal interest and enjoyment); and will be integrated across all areas of the curriculum. Children will be researching and reading for information, reading for meaning and understanding a range of texts. We will continue to encourage fluency, expression and the reading of punctuation to enhance comprehension levels even further.
Integrated Studies
Our first integrated study is an investigation into the modern and ancient Olympic Games called: : The Olympic ideals in action”. The ‘Big Idea’ of this study is that “We have the power to inspire others with our achievements”.Our second integrated study is a trip back to the time of Ancient Greece. The ‘Big Idea’ of this study is that people who lived in the past were not that much different to ourselves, even though some of their cultural practices seem very different to how we do things today.
If you have expertise in either of these topics, please let your child's class teacher know and you will be readily invited in - we love visitors we can learn from!
Numeracy
In Maths, we will begin to use our knowledge of Addition and Subtraction strategies to further our understanding of Multiplication and Division. This will begin for some children, by looking at multiplication as repeated addition and division as repeated subtraction. Knowledge of times tables facts will become more and more important as the term progresses and your support at home with this is greatly appreciated.
We will also explore the Geometry strand and will be looking closely at identifying and classifying 2D and 3D shapes, position, orientation and transformation.
Physical Education
Football in Schools is our main PE this term beginning on Thursday in Week. Coaches (players from local football clubs) run the programme and offer our children new opportunities to develop agility, spatial awareness and teamwork through football.
School Production
“Muritai Broadway” is the theme of this year’s school production. The school values of 'Self-Confidence' and 'Commitment' will be promoted as the children prepare for their performances on stage. While we are still in the initial planning stages, Rooms 10 and 11’s item will be centred around “The Wizard of Oz’ and Room 7-8-9’s item will draw inspiration from “Mary Poppins”. More details will be sent to you in the coming weeks, including how you can help your child prepare.
If you have skill is set design, dance/choreography or costuming, and would like to help in some way, could you please let your child’s teacher know ASAP. Thanks! We will be very thankful for any help you can offer!
The Arts:
For our Visual Art study this term we will be Printmaking. The children will be experimenting with a variety of printmaking techniques as well as completing a cooperative artwork. For Performing Arts this term, many of our Year 3 and 4 children have opted to take part in our Art Splash choir and will take centre stage at the Michael Fowler Centre later in the term - more details to follow.Getting in touch
As always, your first port of call is your child’s teacher. We can be contacted by our email address (surname@muritai.school.nz), or feel free to pop in before/ after school for a quick chat. If you wish to talk about your child’s learning at any stage of the year, you do not have to wait until parent interviews to do so! Your child’s teacher will be happy to talk with you - however be aware that Monday and Tuesday after school are usually staff meeting times.
We all look forward to another great term. Our thanks for your support, as always.
The Year 3 and 4 Teachers.
