Monday 29 May 2017

Pōhutukawa Team Newsletter - Term 2, Week 4, 2017

Science

As part of our Science/Art/Health interchange, many students in the Pōhutukawa Team have been identifying and learning about organs and systems of the human body. As part of this topic, the children have been dissecting hearts, eyes, kidneys and other organs to find out about their structure. The children have also been involved in a research project on the system or organ that they were most interested in.


A future surgeon in the making.

Rhythm Interactive

Recently, we were visited by Rhythm Interactive - a special drumming group that tours New Zealand. As part of the show, each student was given their own drum to play. The students had lots of fun learning to keep in time with the beat. Here's a video of the drumming in action:


Hockey

As part of our winter sports programme, we have had guest teachers from Small Stix Hockey come to school every week. During each session, the students have been learning about and practising lots of different hockey skills such as; passing, trapping, dribbling and tackling.



Dance

Next week, the children will start to learn a new dance routine as part of our dance/fitness programme. We will be showing off our dances as part of the Year 5 - 8 Showcase on the evening of Thursday, 6 July. More information to follow. We look forward to seeing you there!


Friday 12 May 2017

Term 2 Week 2

Kia ora whanau!

Welcome back to Term 2. 

We have had an action packed programme for our concept-based learning approach this term, with children involved in either Science, Health or Visual Art. Each teacher is leading in a curriculum passion that they have to ensure that children get amazing experiences and deep learning opportunities. Each home room will have the opportunity to be involved in each of the different learning areas throughout the course of the term.

Hub 14 have started the term off with Amy for Health. They are focussing on understanding:
-what a good friend is
-what a bad friend is
-what bullying is and what to do about it
-what by-standing is
-the effects of negative self-image and tools to change our thoughts.

Hub 15 are starting the term off with a crime scene investigation with Gayle. The children are learning the basics of forensics and DNA.

Hub 21 have been very engaged in their Science lessons, in which they have been learning about identity through dissecting different things such as hearts and eye balls. 

Hub 22 are underway with their learning about 'Cubism', a style of art made famous by Georges Braques and Pablo Picasso. They have learned pencil techniques, had a play with fragmenting their drawings with different lines and shapes, and are now beginning their cubist style artwork.

Reading and Maths Groups

Term 1 provided a great opportunity for us to get to know the strengths and next steps of all of our children across reading and maths. Some reading and maths groups will be changing in the coming weeks to reflect the learning that children have achieved during Term 1. 


Sport updates


Winter Sport


We have now finalised teams for Winter Sport and communicated these to the children. The interest in playing sport was really encouraging and making up teams was a challenging task due to the level of skill and positive sportsmanship displayed by all the children. Unfortunately, we are limited to entering a maximum of two teams per sport in each age group and so can not take all the children who want to go.


Children participating in Winter Sport will have an early lunch each Friday (starting in week 3). They will be bussed to their game location at 12.30. Games start at 1.15 and should be finished by 2.15. On completion of their game they will be bussed back to Sandwich Road via Champion Street, arriving back at Beckenham by 3 pm.


Locations for matches are as follows:


  • Netball, Rugby and Year 7 and 8 football - Hagley Park
  • Hockey and Year 5 and 6 football - Nunweek Park


Children attending Winter Sport should ensure that they bring a warm jersey or jacket and a water bottle to their game. The following safety gear is also required:


  • Hockey - shin guards and mouthguards
  • Football - shin guards
  • Rugby - mouthguards


All players should have short nails and are not permitted to wear any kind of jewellery.


Of the children competing we have a mixture of highly able, competitive players and children who are trying out the sport for the first time. While there is a competitive element to Winter Sport, the primary focus is on participation and good sportsmanship. We look forward to seeing our school kete values on display.  

Cross Country

Cross Country

The children have been training regularly in preparation for our Cross Country Sports Event this Friday. We really appreciate your support. On Friday the children will have an early lunch before bussing back to Champion Street at 12.30. Teachers will lead a course walk to ensure the children are familiar with their route. The first race is the Year 6 girls who start at 1.30. Please ensure all children are wearing suitable footwear and have a warm layer to wear for before and after their race. Any children who are unable to compete due to medical reasons should bring a note from home signed by a parent or email the teacher.

Year 6 Girls – 1. 30 pm Year 6 Boys - 1.35 pm

Year 5 Girls – 1.45 pm Year 5 Boys – 1.50 pm

Year 7 Girls – 2:05 pm Year 7 Boys – 2:10 pm

Year 8 Girls – 2:20 pm Year 8 Boys – 2:25 pm

Thank you to all the parents who have offered to be course marshals. Please meet Jenny by the cricket pavilion at 1.15 to be given a high visibility vest and to find out your position.

Wednesday 3 May 2017

Science

Kia Ora Parents / Caregivers

This term, the children in Team Pōhutukawa will be engaged in an exciting interchange programme for Science, Health and Art. One of the topics they will be studying is called “Life Processes.”

In this unit, the children will be learning about DNA, cells, organs and other aspects of the human body. As part of this topic, the children will be dissecting organs from sheep and pigs.

Hygiene and safety will be paramount in this unit. The children will be taught how to cut safely and will be wearing gloves throughout the procedures. They will be required to wash their hands thoroughly after each procedure.

When we’ve done this unit in the past, the response from the children has almost exclusively been that of enthusiasm and excitement. Any children that do end up feeling squeamish, however, won’t have to participate and will be provided with an alternative activity.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know.