18 March

18 March

Our first arts focus for the term was creating self-portraits.  This linked well with our learning about our Turangawaewae and with most of the portraits complete, the children can connect Community One as one of the special places in their worlds.

Take a look at some of the wonderful art pieces and be sure to come in and view the others when you have time.

The stations in the PMP area look particularly interesting this week too!  PMP is an acronym for Perceptual Motor Programme.  This programme is based on research and aims to help younger learners improve their eye/hand and eye/foot coordination, fitness, balance, locomotion and eye-tracking skills which in turn impact positively on their ability to learn Literacy and Mathematics.

In week 9 of this term you will be invited to come into Community One and the children can show you what they do at the different stations.

Lastly, please reinforce at home the following hygiene routines to help do our bit to stop the spread of autumn germs and teach your children ways to protect themselves from possibly contracting the COVID-19 virus at this time.

Wash hands regularly and use hand sanitiser.  Use soap and water each time, sing Row, Row, Row your boat twice or Twinkle, Twinkle little star once and dry hands after.

Avoid touching other people and keep your hands away from your face.  This means not rubbing eyes and putting fingers in mouths.

 Picking noses is a "no-no"!  Each time a finger goes in a nose, there is a potential for viruses to enter the body and make your child sick.  There is also the potential for that same virus to be transferred to other surfaces and other children.  There are tissues in the community and children need to be blowing their noses, not picking!

 If you feel a tickle in the back of your throat or your nose, cover your cough and sneeze with a tissue or a sleeve!






Finally, if your child is unwell, please be considerate and keep them at home until they are well enough to come to school. 

10 March

The students have well and truely settled into the routines of Community One.  We are all so impressed with how independent they are and how much effort they are putting into their learning.

Our topic learning for this term is Turangawaewae which is a Maori concept which celebrates how places are significant to different people for different reasons.  When we are in a particular place that we feel empowered and connected to, then that place is our turangawaewae.  The children have been talking about special places at school and then at home and in the coming weeks we will be working on enhancing some of the special places so that the children will feel further connected to these areas.

Some of the most popular places at school are:

The gardens where the swan plants grow.

The fairy doors.

The adventure playground.

In week 9 of this term there will be an exhibition open evening where you will be able to come along and view the enhancements made by the children and read and enjoy some of their writing about their Turangawaewae.

Action Stations

On Friday mornings we would love to have some parents come in and run an action station with the children.  The best experiences are the ones that you yourself are passionate about, so if you have a hobby that you would like to share with the children, please speak to your child's guardian teacher.  Some examples of stations could be:  crafts, paper folding, outdoor games, baking, biscuit decorating, taking photos, yoga, dance, planting etc.