Week 1

A big welcome back and a very special welcome to lovely Alyssa Hemopo a new girl in our class from Auckland. Also you will have received the school and Year 1 notices by now and realise we are having (weather permitting ) our Junior Athletics day on Friday morning. This is a fun morning with the year 2's and as we use the "Houses" for teams, please help your child choose something to wear that matches their house colour.
Next Tuesday is also our Tihi Reserve walk in the morning slot. In anticipation of this we have already begun our study around animal groups in The Living World Strand.This will lead into aspects of lifecycles , sustainability of species, environments and our contribution as "people" to these issues.
By the enthusiasm already I think we have some budding David Attenborough's in the making.

A reminder we will all need sunhats by next week and any new clothing please can you name these or use my pens at school to do so.Should any of your child's clothing go missing, just check our clothes basket first. If left outside I put them in there.

Well here is to a happy and exciting term and the attached photo shows we are on the way.....

Yes we do have fun at school even Bernie!

Room 9 with Bernie and Humpty ! Aren't  they a good looking bunch?

Term 4

Term 4 everyone and despite the weird holiday weather, the days are getting warmer and SUMMER is on it's way. We have a full 10 week term this time with only the Labour Day break as a holiday. The Student Led Conference day is in week 9 on the Friday. So circle Friday the 9th of December on your calendars.
 We will be covering a Sustainability Theme this term with a look at "The Living World" in particular Life Cycles and Animal groups. Our final Art for S.L.C. will also be around this theme.

Weeks 4-7 we will also have a teacher joining our class Her name is Teresa Brown so do say Hi if you see her before I can introduce you. Don't forget!! Junior Disco on Friday the 11th of November a social highlight I am sure, for everyone including me. What will I wear??????

Week 8: This is when we will be sharing the School Assembly with room 18. We intend to do our "Its a small world dance"  then, so Monday the 28th of November at 1.30pm is your chance to see your darlings in action should you wish to.

As you can see it will be a full on term with lots of love, laughter and learning and as it's my last term with your child a very special one for me.
 The room is ready, Bernie is preened and poised for action, tables set  ...... So let the term begin, see you all on Monday.
Mrs McLaughlin

Ps Don't forget your sunhats!

The children were the stars and I hope they continue in their life accepting and appreciating others from around the World. A tremendous end to a really enlightening unit of work with them this term.
A future United Nations....watch this space!

The Grandparents Concert...
Well it was a great success with all the classrooms entertaining us with their different dances.
Room 9 you were amazing and waited so patiently for your turn. A huge thankyou to all our last minute helpers who got us there in time and of course our Grandparents who came and watched.
I am attaching photos from the day I think the smiles say it all!

Mrs Klomp came in for all of our children whose Grandparents were  unable to attend....a real treat for her.

week 8 and one more sleep till.....

Hi everyone .
No doubt you have been well informed about our build up to the grandparents concert tomorrow and ONLY 1 more sleep to go!  Yes they have all worked hard and looked delightful in their costumes. I know many parents have requested to come tomorrow, but the day is only for the grandparents.
However today we had a costume check and I  have included a photo taken this morning to give you a snippet of how they looked. A huge thanks to all the parents who have helped, donated and loaned pieces to transform them all into our version of the UNITED NATIONS!!!

Ready for our Grandparents concert 2016

PS. let the grandparents from overseas know about the photo and hopefully a short video once we have had the concert videoed.

Term 3

Hello to everyone  another busy term, but with the added bonus of the days getting longer and warmer. We started our term with Miss Murphy a third year student teacher. Unfortunately she succumbed to Tonsilitis in her second week and as a result had to cancel her teaching experience with us to get better. She related well to the children and we all wish her well for her next placement. 
Topics to be covered this term include Keeping Ourselves Safe, The Olympics, Dance and the Grandparents Concert.
 For K.O.S. we began the term with a visit from the Fire Brigade, which they all loved! and last week we had a lesson with Constable Viv. As part of our class programme we have talked about staying safe, who or where to go to in an emergency, lost, or feeling frightened and to help me can you ensure your child knows their address, your phone number and places to go to in emergencies. Every family will be slightly different and at school I model what we do "At School' in such circumstances.
The Olympics have also been covered, starting with some history and a Geographical angle. With so many children having backgrounds from different countries we have made a feature of this. They have enjoyed looking at the different  dress, schools , languages and everyday practises from these countries and the aim is make them see although we are different we really are the same inside with the same needs. 
Watching some highlights of sports at the Olympics has broadened their view on sports and recognise the commitment and perseverence needed to achieve at such a high level. The idea has now extended to our Grandparents concert where we are working on a song "It's a small world" with all the children dressed in National Costume. If you can help out in any way here please let me know! 
Folders will also be coming home before the end of term and this would be a timely time, to go home when Grandparents are here. Please can these be returned by the end of term.

Calendar Art the children have designed these around the Olympics and I have photographed them  for you to view. The Originals are held at the office to view in person. 

Sickness We have had alot of sickness  in the class this term. Tonsilitis and chest infections, conjunctivitis and suspected Glandular fever all which in a classroom environment can quickly spread A  huge thankyou to those parents who have kept their child at home until well. Some children are so tired and sick they are falling  asleep in class . While I understand you may work and have difficulty getting homecare for a sick child we are unable to give the best care for your child at school. Apart from passing bugs on to other families, coming back too soon does undermine  both their resilience and learning. Hopefully the worst is over this term but please keep your child home if they are not themselves  and possibly sickening for something.

Lauren Chepulis: You may be aware Lauren and her family have gone to Canada for 3 months.and will be back in November. hopefully we can either Skype or Facetime Lauren so she can share her experience of school in another country. 

Grandparents concert: Many of you have enquired if parents may attend the concert. The answer is unfortunately NO! we just do not have the room and this day is to celebrate the unique relationship we have with our Grandparents. Children who do not have grandparents here don't miss out, as Mrs Maud (ESOL teacher) comes along as a special Grandparent. 
* We are on School Assembly in term 4 and I hope to do the item for assembly, where you may want to come along and see your child perform.

Heres to a great Spring, blossoms are out already, daffodils up and 4 weeks till daylight saving!
Nadine

Calendar Art

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Week 10

Well the end of the term has come so quickly and as you can see on the last day we had lots of fun on our Silly Hat Day.

Cameron Herbert celebrated his 6th birthday on the last day of term ....with some very yummy Minion  cup cakes.

Have a wonderful holiday break everyone and I will see you all refreshed in term 3!