First Day of School

Well - end of the first day and we had a fantastic day. The classroom looks bare again now the children have all gone home.





Great excitement - The new buildings are soon to be built. The old car park area has now been fenced off, so here is the "before" picture.  Hopefully we will get the "after" picture on later this year.

Week 1 News

Term 1 Week 1

Tuesday 31^st January

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Room 4 and the 2012 learning year.  Here’s hoping you and your family have had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday and are ready for the exciting challenges that lie ahead! 

There are always adjustments needed at the beginning of a new school year - be it getting back into morning organisation and routines at home, adjusting to a new class and teacher, different expectations of a new year level or meeting and making new friends.  I believe it is especially important in the first few weeks to allay any fears or concerns children have and gradually increase the learning “momentum” so that children’s confidence is preserved and that everyone can get into the “groove” of being back at school again.

Here are some gentle reminders to ease you all back into the routine of school life.

The bell goes at 8.55.  Children settle better in the mornings if they are at school early enough to unpack themselves and have a little play.  They need to be seated, ready on the mat when the second bell rings at 9 o’clock. This is an important time for checking that all children are present and accounted for.  If your child is going to be absent please phone the school office in the morning to let us know.   The day finishes at 3 o’clock.  Please ensure that children know where to meet you.  If you are picking children up at the classroom we ask that you wait outside the classroom until they are dismissed as this keeps the child more focused on the end of day routine.

In the morning or after school you are very welcome to come into the classroom to view and talk with your child about the work they have been doing.  It makes them feel important and their efforts valued.  

A class newsletter is sent home each Monday outlining any special events and homework expectations that occur through the coming week.  The newsletter will be sent via email, as soon as I can load your email addresses onto my files.  A hard copy will be glued into homework books as soon as stationery is purchased and sorted.    Our class wiki will soon be up and running, but you can view this newsletter on our class blog which can be found at http://hnpkduligall.blogspot.com/ .  This is where we can share our learning with you.  It can also be used to consolidate our classroom learning, at home.

For the next week, reading and readers will be whole class, shared stories.  These stories will not be independent readers for most children.   Please take time to read to them and listen to a small portion of the story if they are able to read it themselves without too much difficulty.   Getting your child to tell you about the story, the characters or their favourite part may be a good idea.  Children will be focussed on getting back into school routine and it is important to make this a “happy” reading experience for them.

I would appreciate stationery being purchased as soon as possible so that we can start children working in their books.  Purchasing through the school ensures that children have the correct stationery right from the start. Children will be responsible for their own pencils, rubber, vivid, white board marker and glue stick.  They will need a pencil case to help them be organised and independent.

Our Rich Theme for the first half of this term is “Learning Excellence” and the Key Competency is “Managing Ourselves and our Learning”. 

Year 1/2 teachers have a busy and exciting year planned. More information about our themes and reading, writing and maths programmes will come in future newsletters.

I’m looking forward to working with you and your child this year.  Please feel free to speak to me about anything concerning your child. Please be aware that the mornings are a busy time for settling children and setting up for the day.  As I don’t have meetings on Monday and Thursday afternoons these are good times to make an appointment if you wish to see me.  

You can also contact me through my email address which is -  kduligall@hnps.school.nz  

Please remember chair bags and sunhat, if you forgot today.

Kind Regards,    

Karen Duligall

Welcome

Welcome to Room 4 2012. This is where the Year 2 children in Room 4 get to share their learning with their class, their families, the rest of the school, other schools in New Zealand - even the world! We will become Global Citizens!

Table Tennis

Clatter clatter bang bang!
Yesterday we had a table tennis tournament. We had bats from the PE Shed. First we made nets with cotton and wool. Next we went down to the carpet and wrote down our rules of table tennis. Finally we ended up doing the tournament and I felt excited. Eventually William won. Hurray for William!
My favourite part was that it was the whole of Room K3 doing it!

Table Tennis

Yesterday the class had a great table tennis tournament. I felt excited when I started it because it was my first time.
First we made our own nets with materials Mrs Duligall gave us. Next I played Kit and I won. Then I was a score judge. Suzanna won both time. Finally I played Suzanna in the finals. She won.
My most thrilling part was when I got to the finals.

Shot Put

Bounce, bounce the ball bounces across the shiny floor. Go and get your ball said Mrs Duligall. I walked to get the ball. I walk back to my place. Its the front rows turn. What you have to do is put your feet apart just apart and put the ball on your shoulders but don't curl your fingers otherwise it will be a throw. The second shot put is one foot forward. The last one is swivel around and bend, turn and go.

Shot Put

Yippee, we are going to the hall to play athletics. Shot put is hard because my arm hurts.
Brodie

Shot Put

"Push!" said Mrs Duligall then... balls flew through the air.
Our classroom was doing shot put! First we did some easy learning how to do it. Then something harder which was doing it. Next something harder. After that there was the hardest of them all. When we started we got into groups. My group was Alice and Suzanna.
The bit I enjoyed the most was getting it right.

Table Tennis Nets

Before we could play Table Tennis we had to design and make our own Table Tennis nets. Each group were given a ball of wool, some tissue paper, stickers and ice block sticks. We had to work together to get our design made. We were very pleased with our finished nets.

Table Tennis Tournament

Well done to everyone who took part in todays Table Tennis Tournament. You worked together to sort out the rules, scoring system and made sure everyone had a go. Congratulations to William the Room K3 Table Tennis Champion 2010!