This blog will be used during the year to inform you of upcoming events, to communicate messages and to showcase some of the great work and fun activities your child will be taking part in. Every Sunday night, a detailed outline of the weeks learning will be posted.
If you need to contact me, you can email me at annie@stmarys.rotorua.school.nz
A detailed Term 1 Newsletter will follow.
Annie
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Nau mai, haere mai, welcome to the
beginning of a new year in Room 13. I am
Annie Russell and I will be guiding your child on their learning journey this
year.
I have been teaching at St Mary's for a
long time and I enjoy very much the Year 1 level. I love building relationships with families
and seeing the amazing progress these little people make in their first year of
school. I have four daughters, all of whom
have attended St Mary’s and I understand that sometimes the school experience
can be a daunting one for both parent and child. I am here to help so if you have any
questions or concerns, I am available from 8:30am every morning for a
quick chat or to make an appointment for a time that suits to catch up. It is important
for your child’s progress that you feel you can approach me to discuss their
learning.
At St Mary’s we are developing life
long independent learners and this begins the very first time your child walks
through the school gate. With this in
mind, here are some ways you can support your child’s independence…..
*Ensure they can open
and close their lunch box and school bag without the need for support.
*Insist your child walks
into school carrying their own school bag and puts their book bag in the bucket
when they reach the classroom.
*Give your child the
opportunity to practice getting changed into their swimming gear and dressing
themselves in the morning. We will be
swimming all term and it is important that they can manage their dressing
routine at school.
*Ensure your child can
put on and take off their sandals.
Sometimes Roman sandals can be quite tricky. Velcro is something to
think about for winter shoes!
*If your child is upset
at the prospect of you leaving them at school, please alert me to this and we
will work together to alleviate any stress.
In my vast experience, giving your child a hug, telling them you will
see them at 3pm and leaving is the best solution for an upset five year old.
*Please
have your child at school at 8:30am. This gives them time to settle into their
day, have a play and be ready to begin learning. If your child is going to be late, please
alert the office so they can let me know and please only keep your child home
from school if they are unwell. It is soooooo
important that they are here every day.
*Please wait downstairs at the end of the day. I will bring the children down at 3pm and
will not let any child go until I sight a parent or caregiver.
This year our
communication will be via classroom blog.
Your child will also have a poem/homework book which will include their
reading log and later in the year, homework sheets. You will use this book to document your
child’s homework and make positive comments regarding their learning. If you need to contact me, my email address
is:
annie@stmarys.rotorua.school.nz
Our blog
site is:
room13stm2015@blogspot.co.nz
It is
important that you check the blog a few times a week. It is in place of notes from the teacher and
will have all the information you need, to
know exactly what is happening at school. It will also document what we are doing in
class so it is a fun way to share the learning with your child.
The first
Term is always a busy one. We will be
setting up our classroom routines and ensuring everyone knows the expectations
in Room 13. It is an exciting time of
the year when we are all getting to know each other but it is also a serious
time as it sets the standard for the rest of the year. I like things to run smoothly in the class so
we will be spending the first few weeks deciding on our classroom rules and
targets and figuring out how we can make our room a great place for learning to
occur. Your support during this time is
crucial.
In
Literacy we will focus on Recount writing which is telling a story about
something we have seen, heard or experienced.
We will focus on getting the children writing with some independence and
encouraging them to make links with letters, sounds and the high frequency
words. We will also be learning how to
write a basic Report . In reading we will
be continuing to make connections with
writing as well as pointing 1:1, retelling stories we read and using our great
strategies to figure out new words.
Comprehension is key in reading so do not be surprised if your child
drops down a level or two. After a long
break it is normal to lose some comprehension and we need to ensure they are understanding
what they read.
We will
visit the library every Friday and each child will be allowed to bring a book of
their choice home.
In
Numeracy we will focus on Number, getting to know our numbers to 10 and 20,
making sets, counting forward and back, understanding what makes 5 and 10 and consolidating
the basic facts. Our strand maths will
be around Statistics – gathering and sorting data, displaying results and
analysing what we found.
Our
concept or integrated topic this term is Community – what is a community?, who
lives in a community? , how are communities positively impacted by their
members. We will look at our classroom and
animal communities.
Physical
Education will be around Swimming and Athletics and Religious Education will be
mostly around the Jesus strand with some work on Lent and Easter. Our school’s mission statement is “With
Christ as our Centre we strive for excellence”.
Jesus is at the centre of all our school endeavors and we encourage
parents to discuss this aspect with their children often. A great way to encourage and support your
child in their faith journey is to pray and attend Mass with them.
Homework
in Year 1 should be a short, fun experience.
Your child will bring home a reader (book), a poem book, a word book and
a phonics book every night. Reading
these often will help consolidate the learning which takes place at
school. Most times the reader will have
been seen by your child at school. If on
the odd occasion it is a tricky book or they are not familiar with it, please read
it to them, discuss its meaning and the pictures and spend some time just
talking about what they think of the story.
This is the most important part of learning to read.
Once your
child has consolidated the letters and sounds, he/she will be working on blends
and some basic spelling words. Please
practice these with them at home as they will be tested at school.
We have a
behaviour program in place at St Mary’s whereby the children can earn Golden
Time. This is a reward on Friday afternoon
for super behaviour and is always an extra special treat. Children can lose Golden Time by not
following the Golden rules and this is always very sad. As you enter the classroom there is a spider
web on the wall and a spider with your child’s name on it. The challenge is to stay on the web
throughout the day by adhering to the Golden Rules. We also have class targets
where the children earn stars for displaying great “learning” behaviour. When they get 10 stars, they win a lucky
dip. Please discuss these programs with your child and check in with him or her at the end of the day to see how
their day went. They love showing off
their achievements to their parents and it’s great to see you get excited for
them.
Two
Principals awards will be given each week at Assembly for exceptional
behaviour, hard work, kindness, Catholic Character and amazing manners. These
are highly sought after and a big deal!
I like to
encourage parents to spend time in the classroom. If you have any spare time and would like to
be a parent helper in Room 13, we could use your help putting books away,
pasting work into books, making class resources and helping during some Golden
Time activities on a Friday. Let me know if you can help.
Finally, it
is my absolute pleasure to be teaching your gorgeous children this year. I know we are going to have an amazing time
filled with fun, learning and friendship.
I look forward to getting to know each of you as well.
Yours
sincerely
Annie
Russell
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