3.+Our+class+routines+etc!

Welcome back to Room 1 and 2010! This year promises to be another amazingly busy and full year! For those of you that may not know me, I have been teaching since 1992 ( on and off!) since I finished my training at Auckland College of Education. I have taught at Otaika Valley since I was offered a part-time position by a previous Principal quite a few years ago and the job just grew! I am now the DP. I live in Onerahi with my partner and our blended family. Our son Billy is currently in Year 4 at Otaika Valley - my partner's children are now entering adulthood. Should you ever need to talk to me about any concerns about your child or school please do not hesitate to catch up with me. I believe we are all here for the same reason - to help your child learn to the best of their abilities.

We are going to be studying the concept of 'Community' across the whole year this year. In Term 1 we will look at our class community and our roles and responsibilities and then the Rocky shore/Sandy shore communities and onto looking at The Bush community.

Below are a few notes about the way our class will operate this year...

HOMEWORK - will start in week 3 and will generally come home on a daily basis and will involve reading and small project type homework based around our areas of learning. Any project instructions will be saved onto the wiki as well - just in case they get lost on the way home!

LIBRARY - Our library day is THURSDAY. Children are allowed to take 5 books out at a time and are encouraged to take responsibility for them at all times. Your child will need some kind of library bag to transport books to and from school in.

ART - our art day is generally going to be on FRIDAYS - we will be exploring all sorts of different media throughout the year.

ICT - The aim for our class this year is to continue to integrate ICT as a tool for our learning. We will be producing a number of fantastic projects over the course of the year - hence the need for a pendrive/flash drive for your child to bring home their creations to show you! Your child will also need headphones - the small bud ones are fine and fit nicely into small snap lock bags and can be stored in our classroom safely.

CAMP - Our camp this year will involve staying the night at school with the year 0-2 classes - but as our class also has year 3 students I would be interested to find out how parents feel about the year 3's attendance at the senior camp also. Please fill out the form at the bottom of this letter and return to school ASAP!

PARENT HELP - If you are free to help in any way ( even if its just for half an hour on an occasional basis!) please let me know. Our class is always in need of a listening ear for extra reading, someone to help put away books, sort resources etc. If you feel you may be able to help, please let me know - it would be much appreciated!

SWIMMING - Term 1 and 4 are usually the terms we swim. Please try to ensure your child takes responsibitlity for bringing their togs to school every day. Should your child be unable to swim for any reason please let me know.

PARENT-TEACHER-CHILD INTERVIEWS - the first of these interviews is in a few weeks. The first interview gives us all a chance to set goals for the year, these can then be reviewed towards the middle and end of the year as needed. Keep an eye on the weekly newsletter for more details!

HATS - Please try to make your child responsible for bringing their bucket style hat to school daily. We are now implementing the rule "No hat - play outside room 1 and 2 ONLY"