School Newsletter – 13 April 2021

Term 1, Week 11 — School news

A Messsage from the Principal

Dear Parents

As we approach the end of this first term in 2021, I reflect on how well we have all adapted to the ever changing learning environment in Auckland. Students, teachers and families have made considerable changes to their everyday lives. We have grown and learned lessons from our COVID lockdown journeys. Skills such as being adaptable, resilient, agile in our learning and recognising and knowing what to do when we become anxious, have all come to the fore.  

As a school, wellbeing and positive relationships with students and teachers is a critical component of the beginning of a school year. Our focus on wellbeing acknowledges us all and the ways that we have had to deal with a variety of circumstances as families and as a learning community. 

Thank you for the way that you continue to support your children and our school. This support enables us to focus on the learning for each individual child. Further we continue to develop as a learning community of teachers and learning assistants focused on your children so that we can do our very best. 

School Centenary

As a school we are looking forward to our centenary on the weekend of the 10&11 September 2021. This will be a time to celebrate the school and its community over the past 100 years. Please make time to register for the centenary on the school website https://www.kohimarama.school.nz/centennial2021/ 

Ka tu tatou ki runga i nga pakihiwi o te hunga i haere i mua i a tatou.
We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us.

Additional programmes at Kohimarama School that support students learning

Kohimarama School provides additional student learning support for enrichment and interventions as well as English Language Learning. These programmes are funded in part from your donations and are designed to both extend students or support students in learning.

In 2021 we are operating the following across the school;

Intervention

Terms 1 and 2                        Terms 3 and 4 (intended)

Year 2 – 5 Reading                   Years 2-8 Writing and Mathematics

Year 3 Writing

• 32 students are involved in Reading interventions and 6 students are involved in Writing interventions with a teacher, Mrs Crow 
• The 44 students, who are identified as English Language Learners are with a teacher, Mrs Walkinshaw who supports them with Literacy 
• During Terms 1 and 2 the senior school (Yrs 6-8) students will be working with Learning Assistants who will be supporting their Literacy skills through Rainbow Reading and Word Chain
• Mrs Crow withdraws small groups of up to 7 students at one time for 30 minutes.  She complements the classroom programme by working with the students at their instructional reading and writing levels.  This involves vocabulary exploration, work on phoneme and phonics and the key comprehension skills in reading.  During Writing intervention Mrs Crow supports the writing programme from the classroom with emphasis on vocabulary, punctuation and good sentence structure

Programmes supported by Learning Assistants
These programmes are run in the classroom

• Word Chain – A New Zealand phonetic based computer programme that focuses on problems with decoding, phonics and comprehension.  It is a graduated programme, students have an initial test to ascertain their start level
• Rainbow Reading – is a graduated programme that uses books linked to audio to support students progress in reading

Enrichment Programmes

Mrs Crow is the teacher who runs these individual enrichment programmes.  Teachers are canvassed by Mrs Crow for any student who would have their learning enriched by the programme.  The programmes we are currently running are:

• Literary Quiz Jnr
• Literary Quiz Snr
• Debating Snr
• EPRO8 Yr 5
• EPRO 8 Yr 6
• EPRO 8 Yr 7
• EPRO 8 Yr 8
• Future Problem Solving Years 6 -8
• Writers Festival Years 6 and 7

The programmes are reviewed at the end of Term 2 to see if any other programmes need to be added for Terms 3 and 4 eg. photography

English Language Programme:

• There programmes are run by Mrs Walkinshaw
• Students in Years 2-5 are withdrawn in groups of 4-8 for 30 minutes 3 or 4 times a week dependent on their need.  During this time the students receive specific targeted literacy support in oral language and reading
• Students in Years 4-5 are withdrawn in groups of 4-8 for 30 minutes 3 or 4 times a week dependent on their need.  During this time students are provided with front loading and support for writing that is occurring in their classes
• Students in Years 6-8 are given targeted literacy support within their Learning Hub for 30 minutes Monday to Wednesday.  On Thursday students are withdrawn for oral language learning

SchoolTalk

Our schoolTalk learning management tool has undergone a recent upgrade and some components are coming back online. The Calendar and Design for Learning are operating normally, while, over the next few weeks we will see the progressions being updated and added to. We should see this operating fully again over the next few weeks. Thank you for your understanding.  

Use of the school grounds

The New Zealand College of Chiropractic (NZCC) will use the Kohimarama School grounds on Saturday 1 May.  This tertiary college will use our main fields and grounds to hold their annual sports events for staff and students. Please be mindful of this event if you are in our vicinity.  

Cybersafety over the holiday break. – Holiday screen time survival tips

Experts have noted that holiday screen time can quickly blow out to eight hours a day. Cyber expert Dr. Kristy shares her top tips for managing screen time during the break.

Snell Team Open Morning

Thank you to all of the parents who made the time to attend the Snell team open morning. Understanding the way that the team operated and being able to see it in action was a privilege for the school, the students and the parents. Thank you to the teachers and students of the learning hub and Monique Browne, Team Leader and Debbie Ellery DP for creating the opportunity.

I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a wonderful school holiday break. Be safe and we look forward to seeing you in term two, commencing Monday 3 May. 

Paul Engles
Principal
for the staff team.

The Kohimarama Way – Reliability

News

Mufti Day – Thursday this week

A reminder we are raising funds for Nurnobi our World Vision child who is now 15 years old and lives in Bangladesh.  Our support ensures that he has choices for his future and the necessities of warmth, food, shelter and a community that is thriving.  Students who are participating need to bring $2 to their classrooms on Thursday this week, thank you.

Road Patrol Supervisor – Needed for Tuesday Morning Rawhitiroa Road

Are you able to support students’ crossing Rawhitiroa Road safely on a Tuesday morning 8.25 – 8.55 am?  If so please contact Meegan mhill@kohimarama.school.nz   Thank you for your support.

An amazing visit from Nano Girl

Thank you to Nano girl Jade for her amazing visit last week. Jade wowed us with her science, teaching us about low air pressure.

This aerial photo of the school was taken in 1991.  See if you can spot the differences between now and then.

Can you spot the swimming pool?  Do you know what is there now?

Latest Sports Update

We are missing a number of the new netball dresses that were purchased last year. If you still have any of these, please return urgently to the school office.