Term 1, 2017 Newsletter

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Welcome back to a new school year. It is great to see all the students so enthusiastic about being back, and also hearing all their news.

We have a new student in our class this year. Anthony Oliveira has moved here from Blenheim. His parents are Brazilian so he speaks Portuguese. That will be a new language and culture for us to learn about. Please make him and his parents welcome.

The whole school will be embracing the theme “Just Water” in terms 1 and 2.  We chose this because the Caritas Lenten Unit this year is about the effects of climate change in the Pacific. As we are trying to be a more environmentally- friendly school, and because we live so close to water, it seems a good opportunity to explore the far-reaching effects water has on all aspects of our life.

Rooms 1,2 and 3 had a very successful study on the Estuary last year so this year we are going to visit  our local beach at Sumner and discover more about that habitat. We have a trip planned for this Friday the 10th February, weather permitting. We will be leaving school at 9 am and returning at 1pm. I apologise for the late notice about this trip. Your child needs to bring along $5 to cover the cost of the bus. Some have paid already! Beach life is part of being a Kiwi so we will also learn about beach safety.

The writing genre this term is descriptions and The Arts is visual art with a focus on drawing. We have a different sports provider this year and we look forward to alternate Monday morning lessons with Youthtown. Kiwi Can will be back every Friday. We are so lucky to have these outside agencies provide their expertise.

The 1st Term is always a busy week for Religious Studies. The overall strand this term is “Our Gracious God” and then the Holy Spirit strand. We will be doing the Caritas Lenten unit as usual, as well as Lent and Easter. You are most welcome to come to our Wednesday morning class mass. Check out the newsletter for the dates and for our assembly.

Please feel free to email me photos of fun activities your child might want to share. Email is also a good way of communicating with me as I do check it before or after school. marian@stannes.co.nz

The class blog is another way of finding out what we have been up to as well as the school Facebook page. The website is a good way to access both if you haven’t “saved” it already.

If your child has long hair I would encourage you  to tie it back as tightly as possible. Every year we have a battle with lice and tied back hair definitely lessens the chance of having to deal with this problem.

For future reference, if there are days you would be available to accompany us on school trips, can you please let me know.(Email if that suits.) All trips exclude pre-schoolers. We love to take the students on excursions but lack of parent help can sometimes be an obstacle.

Please feel free to come into the classroom before or after school and see your child’s work. They love showing what they have done.

Thank you for your support.

Marian