School Newsletter – 12 April 2022

Term 1, Week 11

A Message from the Principal

Dear parents and caregivers

I would like to thank you for all the support that you have given to your children, the staff and the school during this term. As you are well aware, the management of the requirements and guidelines form both the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education changed a number of times across the various phases of the red traffic setting, and has been ongoing. I would like to thank you for your support in enabling Kohimarama School to operate as safely as possible within the pandemic during this term. 

We are pleased to be in Week 11 of the term where we have the opportunity to share our Assessment Snapshots with you.  We felt that this was important due to the fact that there was no formal testing at the end of last year.  These Assessment meetings are somewhat different to a Learning Conversation that you have experienced in the past.  The focus for these Assessment meetings is to share with students and their parents/caregivers an up-to-date picture of where their child/ren are currently and what this means for them.

Now is an opportunity to talk about how the school sets out a plan for assessment and reporting, which is shared with the Board of Trustees.  Formal assessment is a marker of achievement, a moment in time, and is used by teachers and students to inform their next learning steps.  

The Table below outlines an overview of formal assessment that will be undertaken in 2022.

Student Assessment timetable 2022

Term 1	Term 2	Term 3	Term 4
Maths AssessmentJAM/GLoss All studentsReading AssessmentPM/Probe All students  Diagnostic survey for early yearsSchool Entry Assessment & 6 Year old Nets  Teachers moderationWriting Snapshot All students Standardised Normed TestsProgress and Achievement (Year 4-8)  Week 7 (Maths, Rdg Vocab, Rdg Comp, Listening)All students Reading EasTTle toolOnline assessment tool, developed to assess students’ achievement and progress.Year 6,7&8, Snell Team	In time assessment as per needs, and all new students Maths AssessmentJAM/GLoss All studentsReading AssessmentPM/ProbeAll students Teachers moderationWriting Snapshot) Diagnostic survey for early yearsSchool Entry Assessment & 6 Year old Nets	Maths AssessmentJAM/GLoss All studentsReading AssessmentPM/ProbeAll students Diagnostic survey for early yearsSchool Entry Assessment & 6 Year old Nets  Writing Snapshot Teachers moderationAll students Standardised Normed TestsProgress and Achievement (Year 4-8)  Week 7 (Maths, Rdg Vocab, Rdg Comp, Listening)All students Reading EasTTle tool Online assessment tool, developed to assess students’ achievement and progress in readingYear 6,7&8, Snell Team	In time assessment as per needs, and all new students Maths Assessment(JAM/GLoSS,Reading AssessmentPM/Probe Teachers moderationWriting Snapshot) Diagnostic survey for early yearsSchool Entry Assessment & 6 Year old Nets

The above formal assessments combined with work the student completes every day in class and Teacher observations show an overall picture of a student’s ability.  This forms the Overall Teacher Judgement which is in your child’s SchoolTalk report which you will receive at the end of Term 2.  Schools make an Overall Teacher Judgement against the New Zealand Curriculum.g

For parents we have a mixture of formal and informal opportunities to deepen understanding of student learning. Parents are always very welcome to contact their child’s teacher to check in on where their child is currently working, have a look at the work they are doing or to discuss any concerns they may have. Parents can make an appointment depending on the Covid Protection Framework (CPF) setting. This may include meetings by phone, Google Meet or meetings face to face. 

SchoolTalk is always open to view and is a tool that allows you to see where your child is currently working. If you need more assistance in using this tool, come and have a chat with your child’s teacher.

The SchoolTalk tool – The intention is that parents will regularly check in on their child’s learning. It supports students in being prepared for their learning for the day and it provides a means for regularly discussing the learning taking place. 

Formal Reporting in 2022

Assessment Snapshot

This is an opportunity to share with families an up-to-date picture of where their child/ren is/are at currently. We felt that this was important due to the fact that there was no formal testing at the end of last year.  Teachers will share with parents recent testing and discuss what it means 

This focus is a little different from the past where the students were the ones that shared the learning they had done with you all. Instead, the teacher will be leading these chats however we would still like students to be at the chats. The interviews are 15 minutes long and students may attend although these are not the same format as Learning Conversations which will occur later in the year.

SchoolTalk Reports– This is a summary of where your child is working within reading, writing, mathematics and learner dispositions midyear.

Dates that reports are released in 2022 are;- Friday 8th July and Wednesday 14th December 

Learning Conversations – This is a time when students, teachers and parents can talk about the students learning together and provides an opportunity to unpack the SchoolTalk report further. In 2022 the date set is Wednesday 27th July – 3.00pm – 6.00pm and Thursday 28th of July – 1.30pm  – 8.00pm

Reporting to Parents 2022

Term 1	Term 2	Term 3	Term 4
Phone calls to parents – within first 3 weeks to touch base Assessment Snapshot Week 11 Tuesday 12th April (1.00pm – 5.00pm) and Wednesday 13th April (3.00pm – 8.00pm) Meetings with parents as per student need	SchoolTalk Reports (Years 1-8) Week 10, Friday 8th July Meetings with parents as per student need	Learning Conversations talk through SchoolTalk report (students attending) Week 1, Term 3 27&28th July. Meetings with parents as per student need	SchoolTalk Reports (Years 1-8) Week 9, Wednesday 14th December Meetings with parents as per student need

Kohimarama School has the learner at the centre of all we do. The reporting cycles and opportunity to meet regarding progress are to ensure that students progress is transparent and that together, school and home, work to maximise the learning each year.

News

Sunglass Thursday

Thank you to our students and staff who got involved and wore sunglasses to school on Thursday last week as a fun thing to do.  Awesome home made sunglasses, and some very cool colours too.  Enjoy the photos.

Welcome to the Library!

What a busy school term it was. It was a great pleasure to see the students back in the library choosing their favourite book, asking for new titles and suggesting popular authors. 
In order to keep the good habit of reading, please make sure you return any overdue items this week and issue the new ones so you have something to look forward to on the rainy day. 
Happy Easter! 

House Captains

 Introducing Selwyn House Captain Max Hoskin

My name is Max Hoskin, I am very excited to be one of the four Selwyn house captains for 2022. I am in Rm 18 and am a year 8. I love most Sports I play although my favourite sports are Football, Hockey, Touch rugby, Running, Swimming, Surfing, Cycling and Skiing. One of my most favourite moments was when me and my Football team won the Football tournament in Eastern Suburbs.  One of my Main Goals this year for being a house captain is to encourage everyone to do their best and participate in Team Sports and other sporting events. I hope I can be a great House captain for Selwyn and help motivate and help everyone in Selwyn. I am looking forward to big School events like Cross Country and Swimming sports once COVID ends. I really hope Selwyn wins the House shield this year. Also remember to wear your House T-shirts and pack a wrapper free lunch on Fridays. In even weeks.

 Introducing Atkin House Captain Sam Duder

Hi my name is Sam Duder I am very excited to be one of Atkins house captains for 2022! I love swimming, waterpolo, hanging out with friends, gaming and listening to music I like to have a good time all the time.  I like to encourage  people to try their best and cheer them on. I have been at this school for 8 years and am glad I was put  into Atkin for some of the older house captains have taught me to become the person I am today. I am quite a staunch Atkin leader and i can’t wait for COVID to go away so we can start up sports events such as cross country athletics day and smaller events planned by the house captains. I am year 8 and am in room 20 my teacher is Mr Viggo some of you may know him. Even though Atkin hasn’t won the shield since 2019 I believe we can do it this year if we have the right attitude. We have had quite a good start to the term and we have been top for 2 times so far. I am excited to work with your kids to make their Kohimarama school experience better, and please remember wraper free lunch and house t-shirts days!! GO ATKIN!!!!!

The winning house for Term 1 was Colenso. Congratulations!

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