Kia ora whānau

Well, another crazy week done and dusted. It's hard to believe there are only three more weeks of the 2019 school year! Bearing this in mind we will be starting to alter our programmes at the end of this upcoming week. Guided instructional Reading groups will finish on Thursday, as we do need to get all of our school readers back into our resource room to do a stock take. To this end, can you all please have a look through your child's room, under the couch and in the backseat of the car, for any lurking school reading books or library books. We are still missing quite a few!

We will be continuing doing Reading throughout the team, but just in a different format combined with lots of Literacy based activities. Please do actively encourage your child to continue to read at home each night, and also over the holidays, so that they are able to maintain the wonderful progress they have achieved over this year.


This week will see us amping up our Art preparation for our big extravaganza in week 9. Your child should have brought home an invitation on Friday. Please have a rummage if you haven't seen it yet.
We will also be continuing to practice our beautiful singing voices so that we can amaze you on Thursday.

Timatanga End of Year invite

Congratulations to Jack Hodgson, Francie Stringer,  Jack Derry, Jane Kuntz, and Addison Aspros- for receiving a class certificate in yesterday's assembly. You make us all very proud of your achievements and for demonstrating the qualities of a Thorrington citizen

Reports and Class placements for 2020
We have been working very hard over the past weeks, both to complete all our assessments, reporting and general comments regarding your children, as well as thinking deeply about the best possible placement of your child in 2020. We do spend a lot of time thinking and discussing all the various factors that are involved when making up new Homebase groups. Please be assured that we do look at the whole picture very carefully, and take into account friendship groups,  past issues if any,  particular children's learning or social needs, class numbers, different personalities within a team, collaborative team members,  and much much more. It actually is a very complicated process!
Please remember also, due to the nature of our collaborative teaching at Thorrington, even if your child does not have their ' best friend' in their Home Base, throughout their collaborative team we have tried our very best to ensure each child has a friendship circle to support them.


Dates to diarise

Friday 6th Dec: 12-noon Timatanga Assembly- Athletics Certificates will be presented this assembly
Thursday 12th Dec: 11a.m Timatanga End of year celebration and shared lunch
Wednesday18th Dec: PTA Pizza Day
Friday 20 Dec: School finishes at 12.30.



 Have a happy weekend.

Sarah, Wendy and Andrea

Kia ora whānau

What a beautiful weekend we have had- just perfect for the Thorrington Boot Market. Hopefully, you have all had a restful enjoyable weekend.


Thank you for your queries and concern over Andrea's absence over the past couple of weeks. Her family has been dealing with a sudden serious illness and subsequent bereavement.  All of our support and sympathy are with Andrea and her family at this very sad time.

At this stage, we are uncertain as to when  Andrea will be returning to L3.
However, as Sarah and I are very aware of all the needs of our children through our collaborative teaching, our programmes are able to continue with minimal disruption to the children.


On a happier note, many thanks to all those parents who came along and supported us for our Timatanga Athletics day last week. It was a fabulous event and the children participated in everything with enthusiasm and positivity. Certificates for the Sprint winners will be given out in a later Timatanga assembly.

Congratulations to our Principal certificate winners last week- Jhai, Talia and Izzy.

Dates to diarise.

29 November: Timatanga Assembly
12 December: Art Exhibition and shared lunch



Many thanks

If you have any concerns or queries, please do not hesitate to contact Sarah or myself.

Wendy and Sarah.

Kia Ora whānau

Another busy week is over and the children have been practising very hard for our upcoming athletics day next week. We are also spending lots of time on producing some amazing art for our upcoming exhibition.

Some key dates and information to take note of

Tuesday 19 November: Timatanga Athletics 9.30-12.30. Pp date is Friday 22nd November. 

Please note House teeshirts are to be worn if possible.

On the day please ensure your child has 

• House colours shirt
• a polar fleece at school
•  a wide-brimmed hat (they cannot take part in any event unless they are wearing a sunhat)
•  a full water bottle
• suitable sports shoes 
• sunscreen applied

9.30am: Rotation of athletic skills

10.30am: Morning tea

11.00am: Sprint races

12.30pm: Parents and supporters welcome to stay for lunch together

Thursday 21 November:  Tuakana Gala

Our slot for visiting this exciting annual event is 11-11.30 on Thursday. Please see the attached information regarding this opportunity for your child to be able to buy some treats and support our senior student's initiatives in fundraising for the school. 

Tuakana Gala Day

Friday 22 November: Full school assembly 2 p.m. 

All are welcome. You will be notified if your child is receiving an award.

2020 Year 3-6 BYOD Parent Information evening - 7 - 8pm

Please feel free to attend this if you would like more information about the use of devices in the middle and senior school.

Thorrington Boot Market: Sunday 24th November 9- 2 p.m

Come along and enjoy this special Thorrington event!

Year Two writing

Some of our students have been doing some amazing writing based on Roger Hargreaves Mr. Men stories. We have even published our own book of these stories. Please feel free to come in and look at it.

We were very lucky on Thursday as Mrs. Harris came in to read and listen to, our stories with us.

 Have a happy and safe long weekend.

 Wendy, Andrea and Sarah.

Term 4 Week 5

Art & Nebulae
The children have all opted into a group for our visual arts unit this term. They will each be creating a piece of art which can be viewed at our upcoming 'Celebration of Learning' on the 12th December. More information to come.


Blue Tac

We have an on-going problem with disappearing blue tac in the L1-3 space. If you have discovered any little blobs of the blue stuff turning up home please have a quiet word to your child. It is very time consuming having to reattaching posters on a weekly and sometime daily basis.

HatsThank you for making sure that your child's hat is clearly labelled. It makes it much easier for the children to quickly grab their own hat on the way out to play rather than someone else's hat by mistake.TLC Mufti Day

Wednesday 13th November
Gold coin donation- proceeds to go to the SPCA
Come to school in mufti or dressed as an animal if you prefer

Canterbury Anniversary Day - Friday 15th November -school closed

Term 4 Week 4

Reminders and Up Coming Events

Athletics Day

Tuesday 19th November

We will be practising our running, jumping and throwing skills each day for the next two weeks in preparation for Athletics Day.
Please make sure that your child has suitable shoes and their sunhat at school each day.



Timatanga Celebration of Learning
Thursday 12th December

Save the date
More information to come



Year 2 Hosting Timatanga Assembly

12:00pm Friday 8th November

We would love to see you there if you are able to make it.
If your child is presenting, they will bring a script home to practise this week.


Sunhats
Please make sure that your child's sunhat is clearly named- big black lettering on the inside of the hat works well as the children often miss their name written on the tag.
If your child does not have a hat at school they must play in the designated shade area at play time and lunch time.

Keep up the great work with your maths bricks and daily reading!

Term 4 Week 3

Kia ora,
We hope you have all had a great long weekend and enjoyed some relaxing time in the sunshine with friends and family.

Our Trip
Last week the children had a fantastic time on our trip to Te Puna o Waiwhetū. We looked at how artists have represented the sky and space. We were amazed at the size of 'Orion' by Hannah Beehre - an art work using Swarovski crystals, dye and acrylic on silk velvet to show the Orion nebula.

The children then had time to create their own nebula art using chalk pastels and sparkly gems!

Ngā mihi nui to all the parents who offered to be a parent helper for this trip. We are very lucky to have such great support.

We have been learning a lot about stars and nebulae in preparation for out trip. Ask your child to show you their writing book to see what they have been up to.

Reminders

Sunhats must be worn at play times during Term 4

Library - Tuesday

Please return poetry books on Monday

Reading

All children should be reading each night for 10-15 min. Please fill in the reading note book to indicate that your child has done their reading. An initial or signature beside the date is fine. Some children like to record the tile of the book they have read as well. 

Children who are on level 19 or higher ( Purple and Gold) can read their own book or a library book rather than their instructional text, if they prefer. 

As text get longer, children may have the same text for more than one night. 

All children, including those children who are independent readers, benefit greatly from being read to.

Maths Bricks

Well done to all the children who are showing great determination and perseverance to learn their basic facts. Little and often is a great way to master them. If your child has lost their maths brick please let a teacher know and we can get them a new one.

If you would like some ideas for how you can support your child with their maths or reading at home, or if it is become a bit of a battle, please pop in and have a chat with one of us.

Athletics 

In the upcoming weeks we will begin practising our running, jumping and throwing skills in the lead up to our Athletics Day. Please ensure that your child has appropriate footwear on or at school to enable them to participate fully.

Early Pick Up From School

Sometimes children need to be picked up early from school. When possible please let a teacher know in advance if you will be collecting your child early. It is the parent's responsibility to sign their child out at the office so that the school has an accurate record of who is on school grounds in case of an emergency. 

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,

Wendy, Sarah & Andrea

Kia ora,

We hope you have all had a wonderful break and are refreshed for Term 4.


For Inquiry next term we will be learning about space. We would like each child to bring a jar with a lid to school for an activity that we have planned. The jar needs to be no bigger than the size of a jam jar.

Look forward to seeing everyone next week. Remember your sun-hats for Term 4.

Week 9

Kia ora,

We have a few tired children after 5 straight days of swimming lessons! Thanks very much to all the parents that have come along to help the children get changed after swimming. It has been very helpful.

Our normal classroom programme has continued albeit at different times. Children should still be bringing a reading book home every night. In maths we have started our measurement unit. You might want to see if they can help you measure some ingredients in the weekend ... never too young to start being able to create a lovely brunch for the family! Today we read a lovely poem about a dragon. Ask your child to show you their dragon creation they made to go along with the poem. Please remember to get your child to return their poetry books next week.

Classroom Release Time (CRT)
Sarah Moore is out of the classroom on Tuesday.

The Week Ahead
Monday:
Swimming
Tuesday:
Swimming
Library Day
Wednesday:
Swimming
Thursday:
Swimming
Friday:
Swimming
Sausage Sizzle
Poetry
Sports Mufti Day

We hope you all have a lovely weekend.
Nga mihi
Sarah, Andrea and Keith

Week 8

Kia ora,

In writing for Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori we wrote little booklets in te reo. The children are bringing them home today and we are sure they would love to read them to you.

Measurement - weight
For the next two weeks we are doing a maths unit on measurement. Your child is bringing a note home to remind them to bring a little toy next week that we can use to measure.

Swimming
Please have a named big bag for swimming. Your child will need to fit all their uniform, shoes and towel into while they are swimming. Please name everything - togs, towels, underwear (basically everything that can be removed!).  They may need a little bit more food in their lunchbox for the next two weeks as they will get pretty tired.
Thanks to all the parents that have put their name down to help during the next two weeks.

L1 - 
Leave on the bus at 11:50
Swim at 12:30
Return at 1:20

L2 - 
Leave on the bus at 12:20
Swim at 1:00
Return at 1:50

L3 - 
Leave on the bus at 12:50
Swim at 1:30
Return at 2:20


This week as a celebration of our "Calling All Creators" unit we shared our learning with the Timatanga Team. Check out some of the photos from this afternoon.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend. See you on Monday.

Nga mihi nui

Sarah, Andrea and Keith

Week 7

Kia ora whanau,

What a wet miserable week it has been! However, we had a fantastic time with Book Week this week including the highlight of dressing up on Book Character Day. We managed to meet with our buddy class to share who we were and read some books and we also managed a 'mini' timatanga parade! We've loved having Keith in our space this week - thank you to his expertise and time for making the programme continue to run so smoothly. 

Pens
A big thanks to the people who have purchased pens already. Could everyone please bring in 2 black pens as our supplies are getting very low.

The Week Ahead

Tuesday

Library Day

Wednesday

Timatanga Parents Morning Tea

Thursday

Photos

Friday

Sausages

Poetry Book - please return your poetry book to school

whole School Assembly

Photos

If you have more than one child at school and wish to have a photo of them taken together please email sandy.vallance@thorrington.ac.nzby Wednesday 9am.

Reminder

Swimsafe payments have to be made by Wednesday 13 September.

Unfortunately if the office has not received payment your child will be unable to go to swimming on Monday.

Payment options are:

Eftpos or cash payments through the school office

Cheque through the school office

Internet banking payment to 03 0855 0334890 00 with your child's name as reference.

Parent Help for swimming

A list of swimming times is on the 'issuing' desk for parents to help us at the pool. Please pop your name on the list if you can give us a hand during these times.

Kia Kaha Te Reo Māori

Māori Language Week / Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori - 9th-13th September 2019

The chosen theme for 2019 is again 'Kia Kaha te Reo Māori’.

‘Kia Kaha’ is well understood in New Zealand English with its meaning of ‘be strong’. We often talk about languages as if they are people – talking about language health, strength and revitalisation. So when we say ‘Kia Kaha te Reo Māori’ we’re saying  - ‘Let’s make the Māori language strong'.

Strength for an endangered language comes from its status, people being aware of how to support revitalisation, people acquiring and using it and from the language having the right words and terms to be used well for any purpose.

Every New Zealander can help strengthen our language. We’re hoping that more organisations, companies and community groups than ever will plan to take part in Māori Language Week 2019. Kia Kaha!

On this site you can find resources, ideas and reports about revitalisation and its increasing success.

It’s a part of the national promotion of te reo Māori undertaken by Crown agencies and coordinated by the Māori Language Commission as part of the Crown’s Māori language strategy, the Maihi Karauna. This strategy supports the revitalisation strategy of Māori and iwi, led by Te Mātāwai.

Te reo Maori is a taonga of Māori, guaranteed under the Treaty of Waitangi. But the Māori Language Act 2016 also makes clear it is for every New Zealander and a valued part of our national identity.

Goals of Māori Language Week

• Create a positive environment for the use of Māori language.
• Promote Māori language initiatives and events.
• Encourage non-Māori speaking New Zealanders to use reo Māori.
• Encourage speakers of Māori to support others who are just starting out.
• Encourage community, business, government and media organisations to participate.
• Promote resources to make Māori language more accessible.
• Contribute to awareness of the Crown Māori Language Strategy and the Māori and iwi strategy that work together for revitalisation. 

The Journey of the Gods was a very entertaining show. Here's a few photos from the show.

Have a wonderful week everyone - and keep dry!!

Nga mihi

Sarah, Andrea and Keith

Week 6

Kia ora whanau,

We farewell Wendy and wish her well for her travels. We look forward to seeing photos from her adventures. We welcome Keith Hamilton to L2 and our space for the next four weeks.

Pens

Unfortunately we are getting extremely low on black pens in our learning spaces... this is beginning to cause trouble at peak writing times!! Please could every child bring two black pens to school next week to replenish our numbers! Many thanks :)

PTA Fundraiser - Calendar Art:

Please make sure you get your order in if you want to order any calendar art. The folders with your child's art work are on the desk for you to look at.

Road Safety Lesson

We are having two lessons next week with Constable Ross about road safety. The first lesson is done in class. The second lesson will involve a short walk and crossing a quiet street. If you are available on Wednesday we would love to have at least one parent for each homebase to help us with this lesson. The times are different for each homebase - so if you are available please check in with your homebase teacher about times.

Lots of notices for the week ahead

Monday: 
Teachers Only Day (no School)
Tuesday:
Library Day - please return library folders
Road Safety Lesson with Constable Ross
Wednesday:
2nd Lesson Road Safety with Constable Ross
Thursday: 
Book Character Parade
Friday:
Journey of the Gods Show
Sausages
Poem - please return poetry books

Have a lovely weekend everyone
Sarah, Andrea and Wendy

Week 5

Kia ora whanau,

The was the end of a much quieter week. Our inquiry learning "Calling all Creators" is starting to go further into the 'doing' stage. We hope your child has let you know what they are planning but you can also check out our inquiry wall to see what we have been doing. Your child will be able to talk you through our learning journey.


Just a few reminders for the week ahead:
Tuesday:
TLC Mufti day (Bring a jar of food e.g. jam/marmite etc)
Library Day
Friday:
Sausage Sizzle
Poetry (thank you to parents who have made sure their children return their poetry book to school)

Swimming permission
Please return these if you haven't already done so.

St Martins Smart Touch

Registration opens: 19^th August – Team Managers enter online using the URL address www.sporty.co.nz/smarttouch Fill out the touch team manager sign up form and submit. You will then receive an email giving you the link to enter your player details. Please fill out all player details. If you have entered teams before you need to use the same sign in details as last year.

Closing date for entries 23^rd Sept 2019

Have a great week.

Nga mihi

Sarah, Andrea and Wendy