Term 4

Hi Everyone!

Term 4 is here already – it’s hard to believe isn’t it?  The year has certainly flown by and Christmas will be here before we know it!

What an amazing Performing Arts Term we have just had, culminating with our spectacular Tall Tales Production.  We were so very proud of all the Year 3 and 4 children and were thrilled at how confidently they sang, danced and acted on stage. We certainly have some budding performers amongst our team!

With Jess Savage now on Maternity Leave we have a couple of Staff changes in the Middle School.  Janelle McKay is now teaching Room 11 Monday – Thursday, while Richard Dobson continues to teach Room 11 on Fridays.  I have taken over the Assistant Principal role, which means I will be teaching Room 9 Monday – Thursday and Sally Velven will be returning to Muritai to teach Room 9 on Fridays.

Term 4 is traditionally a very busy term and this year is no exception.  It will be a term full of athletic sports, pupils’ reports and anniversary reporting, learning celebrations, Eastbourne Carnival, EOTC, aquatics and of course our Christmas Concert!  To help you keep track of all these events there is a School Calendar on our school website http://www.muritai.school.nz/pages/calendar.php

Here is a summary of upcoming events particular to the Year 3/4 Team:

October        

Friday 17^th ~ Sustainable Coastlines Presentation and Beach Clean Up Day

Friday 24^th ~ Teacher Only Day - (School Closed)

Monday 27^th ~ Labour Day – (School Closed)

Thursday 30^th ~ Athletics Day

November

Sunday 23^rd ~ Eastbourne Carnival

Monday 24^th and Tuesday 25^th ~ Year 3 Anniversary reporting will take place.

December

Thursday 4^th ~ Celebration of Learning afternoon

Monday 8^th ~ EOTC Week will be starting

Monday 15^th ~ Meet the Teacher for 2015

Wednesday 17^th ~ Year 3/4 Christmas Concert

Thursday 18^th ~ Last day of Term – Leaver’s Assembly

Be sure to visit your child’s class blog throughout the term, as they provide a wonderful snapshot of your child’s learning journey and the children love to receive and read comments from you all.

The following is an outline of what will be happening this term.  Later in the term an extra email about EOTC will be sent.

Literacy

Our writing focus for this term is poetry.  The children enjoy reading poems and especially love writing poetry, as it often breaks all the conventional writing rules!  We will be identifying visual effects and language features of poetry and exploring a wide variety of poem styles. There will be plenty of opportunities to write and recite poetry aloud to an audience.  We will also continue to write reports and build upon the skills learned in Term 3.  There is still of course, the ongoing focus of embedding effective editing, proofreading and re-crafting skills into every piece of writing the children do.

Oral Language will focus on skills of oral presentation, with an emphasis on using vocal expression, confident body language and addressing an audience.  Children will be have opportunities to present their Inquiry based reports, recite poetry as part of a Reader’s Theatre and will continue to share news and items of interest.

Reading continues in all classes, with particular emphasis on reading for meaning and using expression when reading aloud. As previously mentioned, poetry will also feature in our class reading programmes.

Numeracy

This term we will begin with revising addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and learning fraction skills in cross-grouped classes.  Later in the term, children will return to their homeroom for maths and the focus may include Measurement, Geometry or Statistics.

PE

Every Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday before lunch in the lead up to our School Athletics Day in Week 3, the children will be taking part in Athletics practice.  Children will need to wear running shoes on these days to be able to fully participate. 

Swimming is scheduled to begin in Week 7, however this is of course weather dependent.

EOTC Week Planning for EOTC Week in Week 9 is underway, and we are planning a fun filled week of events, with cycling, arts and crafts, bush walks, and a beach day among other events.  More details to follow!

Integrated Studies

As you will be aware, our Inquiry focus last term was delving into Ancient Civilisations.  This proved to be immensely popular with the students and much to their delight we have decided to continue on with this in Term 4.  We will have a range of focus across the team and unfamiliar civilisations will be explored. This will enable students to further develop the research and reporting skills they have acquired from Term 3.

Te Reo

In Te Reo students will continue to learn Maori vocabulary as part of the Te Kupu o Te Wiki programme.  Alongside Te Reo, the children will be attending weekly Friday arts and crafts sessions where they will learn the significance of arts and crafts in Maori culture and will also be making Manu Tukutuku (Maori kites), Poi, mini Tukutuku panels, Koru designs, clay pendant gifts and weaving.

House Keeping Reminders:

~ drink bottles, sunscreen and sunhats are essential this term.

~ stationary: many children may need a top up of their stationary items. Pencils,  pens, rubbers in particular.  Please check with your child as they will know what they require.

If you have any questions relating to your child or the Year 3/4 team please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or myself.

On behalf of the Year 3/4 Teachers,

Hayley Skilton

Term 3

It is hard to believe that we are half way through the year already! We hope you have all had a good break and look forward to welcoming you back to Term 3 on Monday.

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 complete in school and enjoyed having a captive audience in their families to showcase their progress.

The term ahead:

Arts and the School Values
We have an exciting 'Performing Arts' based term ahead as we prepare for the School Production (16th-18th September) and ArtSplash (10th September) to take centre stage as the term unfolds. The school values of 'Self-Confidence' and 'Commitment' tie in very nicely and will be promoted as the children prepare for their performances on stage.

Integrated Studies
Our Inquiry focus this term will be delving into 'Ancient Civilisations'. Many children already have a keen interest in History and choose to read books from the library about Ancient Egypt or Ancient Rome. We wish to further this natural curiosity and equip the children with research skills beyond a quick Google search for an answer! We may have a range of focus across the syndicate as each class will take their research into areas of interest suited to them. There will be many opportunities for a variety of visual arts within these studies.

Again, if you are particularly knowledgeable in this area or have a love of History yourself,  please let us know and you will be readily invited in! 

Information Literacy

The class writing and reading programmes will be closely linked to our Inquiry – we are expecting the questions to flow and the children's research skills to develop rapidly in the quest for knowledge!

We will also have a focus on Narrative writing where the children can unleash their creativity.

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.

Sport and Fitness

We will introduce and develop 'big ball skills' this term, focusing around Netball, Rugby and Basketball. The children had multiple sporting opportunities last term with football and gymnastics so this term's sport will be weather dependent and not take place on a set day each week so it is best if children are equipped with sensible shoes on a daily basis.

Housekeeping

We look forward to welcoming the children back on Monday with their slippers once again, especially important if this rain keeps up as forecast. We continue with our ‘shoes-off’ policy throughout the Winter months to make sure the class carpets stay dry and clean and suitable for sitting on. There are shoe racks outside each classroom. It is best if slippers stay at school for the term.

Water bottles each day are still required as the children need to stay hydrated and trips to the drinking fountain can be disrupting to the class programme.

As always, please do not hesitate to get in touch with myself, or your child’s class teacher.

Kind regards,

Jess Savage and the Y3/4 team.

Term 2

We look forward to welcoming you back to Term 2 on Monday.

This term is our big Science term. Across the Syndicate we will be looking at forms of matter and ‘Changing States’ which means there will be plenty of opportunities for practical science.

If you are particularly knowledgeable in this area or have a good experiment up your sleeve please let your child’s class teacher know and you will be readily invited in! We love visitors!

In the meantime, the children may like to spark their interest with this video. ‘Symphony of Science’ very cleverly combine elements of various documentaries to music. The Year 4s will remember ‘The World of the Dinosaurs’ from last year. We wont quite be delving this deep, but it’s a good start to promoting some thoughtful questions.

The class writing and reading programmes will be closely linked to our Science Inquiry – we are expecting the questions to flow as the children’s curiosity is developed.

Our key school values this term are ‘Curiosity’ and ‘Excellence’ and we will be promoting these throughout the term.

In Maths, we will begin to introduce Multiplication and Division elements to our Basic Facts teaching but will largely focus on consolidating and building upon the children’s Addition and Subtraction Strategies and Knowledge.

Not ones to let the children’s fitness lapse after last term’s swimming and running programmes, we start Term 2 with Gymnastics and Football Coaching.

Gymnastics will run each Wednesday throughout the term. Children will need suitably loose clothing to participate fully.

Each Tuesday from Week 2, KiwiSport will be running a football coaching programme for the Syndicate for 8 weeks. Each class will have 45 minutes coaching each week. If the weather is favourable this will be held outdoors, and in the school hall if wet. Again, your children will need trainers and sensible clothing.

We look forward to welcoming the children back on Monday with their slippers in tow. We run a ‘shoes-off’ policy throughout the Winter months to make sure the class carpets stay dry and clean and suitable for sitting on. There are shoe racks outside each classroom. It is best if slippers stay at school for the term.

Water bottles each day are still required as the children need to stay hydrated and trips to the drinking fountain can be quite disrupting.

Towards the end of the Term the children will bring home a written report of their progress and we invite you in to school to a ‘Celebration of Learning’ afternoon where the children will share their artwork and book work from the year so far. Whilst the teachers will be there, this is an opportunity for the children to share their learning with you. The children are very proud of the successes they achieve in class on a daily basis.

As always, please do not hesitate to get in touch with myself, or your child’s class teacher.

Kind regards,

Jess Savage and the Y3/4 team.

Swimming Sports

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

On Thursday 13th March we have the Y3-8 Swimming Sports at Huia Pool between 12 and 2 o'clock.

In their classrooms over the past couple of days, the children have been choosing 2 or 3 races they would like to enter. The majority of the Y3/4 Syndicate will swim in the smaller pool which is perfect for our needs. Some of our more confident Y4 swimmers will join the Y5-8s in the main pool.

We have encouraged the children to choose races they will enjoy and feel confident about racing in. Our aim is for the Y3/4 Swimming Sports to be a fun event. 

If you are familiar with Huia Pool you know it will be a bit of a tight squeeze but the space worked perfectly for us last year. If you can spare a few hours on Thursday afternoon, please come and support your child.

The children are encouraged to wear 'House Colours' and to bring two towels so that they can stay warm between races.

We do require a few parent helpers, so if you are free and willing to help, please let me know via email: savage@muritai.school.nz

We look forward to seeing you there!

On behalf of the Year 3 and 4 teachers,

Jess Savage

Term 1 2014

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome back to Term 1 and to Muritai School for those families joining us for the first time this year.

We have a great team of creative and inspiring teachers working within Year 3 and 4 this year. As we take a collaborative approach to learning, your child is likely to see all teachers during various rotations throughout the year.

Year 3 (upstairs this year):

Room 10 - Annabel Smith / Ruth Holmes on a Wednesday

Room 11 – Jess Savage / Richard Dobson on a Friday

Room 12 – Hayley Skilton

Year 4:

Room 7 – Hayden Ray

Room 8 – Karen Chao

Room 9 – Carol Algar

On Tuesday afternoon you have the opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher and provide a little bit of background information about your child. We find these meetings invaluable and it is very helpful if you take a few moments to look through and fill out the form that has been emailed to you. We do value your perspective from home.

Our classroom CARE programme will be closely linked to our school values this year: Kindness, Respect, Curiosity, Self-confidence, Commitment, Excellence and Integrity. We will be unpacking these values as the year progresses.

Homework

Will begin properly next week. Each night’s homework comprises of 15-20 minutes work of practice in Reading, Spelling and Mathletics/Basic Facts. Each week there is an optional ‘extra’ to be completed as well, which may take additional time, spread out over the week. We are aware of the busy out-of-school lives our children lead. For this reason, it is perfectly acceptable for out-of-school activities to count as ‘homework’. All we require 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. 

Teaching and Learning in Years 3-4 in Term One

There is lots of great learning happening this term. Below is a quick outline of what you can expect your child to be learning this term:

Integrated Studies and Literacy

"Life According to Me" is a term long inquiry unit into what is important to us. We will begin with a personal inquiry into the history of our names before we ask the children to look outside of themselves and investigate the role each person plays in their community. This links very nicely with the Treaty work we are covering in class at the moment. Our reading of ‘Piano Rock’ ties in very nicely with this and during this topic we will also be focusing on covering a range of writing genres and encouraging children to plan their ideas in a variety of ways before writing. Children will be editing their own work by proof reading to check for meaning and by using dictionaries to correct spelling. Keep checking the classroom blogs to see what each class is doing.

Maths

The majority of the term will be spent on number knowledge and strategies, particularly Place Value. This will include a focus on problem solving and algebra. Cross-grouping of students during Maths time, where the children are grouped across the 6 classes according to need, will begin in Week 6 and continue for the rest of the term.

Swimming

Swimming is the main PE focus for the first 6 weeks, followed by cross-country later in the term. We are lucky to have the skilled instructors of Swimming NZ again taking each class for 8 lessons over 2 weeks. Their focus is on 'Water Safety and Survival', as well as fundamental swimming skills. Your child’s teacher will be in touch with the days they are swimming over the next 4 weeks. Please ensure that all togs, towels and goggles are named. We ended last year with over 20 pairs of goggles in Lost Property.

Art

Keep popping in to class over the next few weeks to see your child’s artistic talents shine through as the classrooms and corridors spring to life.

Housekeeping

Please ensure that your child has a sunhat and a drink bottle with them each day for the remainder of this term. The first bell at 8.40am signals a start to the learning day and it is important that your child is here by then.

Upcoming Events

School photographs take place during the week beginning 17^th February. Your child should have brought home an order form and envelope with details earlier this week. A schedule will follow shortly.

Swimming Sports for Y3-8 will be held at Huia Pool on the afternoon of Thursday 13^th March. The Y3s and Y4s will be using the smaller pool. You are most welcome to come and watch or if you are keen to help out please let your child’s class teacher know. Further information will follow closer to the date.

We welcome Harold back to school as The Life Education Bus arrives on Wednesday 26^th March for a week.

Cross-country will be held towards the end of Term One this year on Tuesday 15^th April. Again, further details will 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 a great year. Our thanks for your support, as always.

Jess Savage, Hayley Skilton, Annabel Smith, Karen Chao, Hayden Ray and Carol Algar.