Newsletter Week 4 Term 4
Sawyers Bay School 11th November 2021
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
What a very busy week we have had with swimming starting. The kids have worked extremely hard in the pool, and we are seeing progress every day. Thank you to all of the parents and caregivers for keeping your kids organised and well-fed over this period. We know that it is extremely tiring work for our kids to add this onto already busy weeks, but the progress that we see from consecutive days certainly justifies having all of the lessons together.
You may be aware that there has been significant media coverage of the upcoming Vaccination Mandate for Schools that comes into effect as of the 16th of November. Again, I would like to assure you all that there will be no disruption to the education of our children as these changes take affect. What it will do is shape how we integrate families back into our kura. Unfortunately we are not in a position to confirm the details around how we will manage this as there is still work happening in the background from agencies above us. What we can assure you of is that the children will remain at the most important aspect of any decisions made. We look forward to further clarity, which in turn, we can implement and welcome you all back!
Ngā mihi,
Gareth Swete
Thank you Port Otago
Upcoming Events
- School Swimming - Monday 8th - Friday 19th Nov
- BOOK FAIR - Monday 8th - Friday 12th Nov
- Final Assembly for 2021 - Friday 10th December, 2pm
- Last Day of Term - Wednesday 15th December, 1pm
Term 4 Week 3 Certificates
Term 4 Week 3 Te Akonga o te Wiki
Papatūānuku
This week we are really enjoying all of the PE we are doing! We had a great time at Kelly Sports on Tuesday. We learned to pass the rugby ball to each other in a circle. We are learning to work together as a team.
A highlight of our week has to be our Swimming lessons. Everyone has smiles on their faces and are doing what the swim coaches ask them. Already we are seeing progress in only a few days. We can’t wait to see the progress after two weeks!
The teachers are so impressed with the way the kids are able to dry themselves, get dressed, put their own shoes and socks on, and are remembering great manners to share with our helpers, their Swim Coaches and Bus Driver.
Miss Flannery has been teaching fun lessons about Space. First we had to decide how we could get to space if we were able to go. We drew pictures and wrote a story. Then we designed our own rockets or spaceships. We have started making them out of recycled materials. Soon they will be painted, ready to launch !
Report by Mrs. Campbell
Hine-Rau-Whārangi
The weather has been great and what an exciting week we have had in Hine Rau Wharangi. With swimming beginning it is great to see all of the children in Hine Rau being brave and getting right into the water even when they are a little apprehensive.
We also had Kelly Sports on Tuesday where we learned about playing touch rugby, fairplay, teamwork and how to weave in and out of the cones to get away from our opponents. We played a game of Golden Child where the last person running had to pass all their teammates and free them from being out.
With Miss Culbert we have been learning how to estimate length and how to use a ruler in measurement. Today we are looking forward to doing music using the ipads with Miss Culbert also. Just a little reminder to pack a little extra in the children's lunch box for when we finish swimming as it burns up there extra energy and we are finding having a light snack when we get back is just enough to give them some more zing.
Report by Mrs. Brewer
Tāwhirimātea
This week we are busy learning about telling time and creating a schedule. We were surprised to learn that time telling involves so many different Math skills such as fractions, skip counting in 5’s, multiplication, addition and subtraction. We are learning about adding and subtracting times to solve real life problems and to help us when we create our daily schedules for our dinosaur parks. Below are some photos of us playing a game of four in a row where we have to spin paper clip to get a time that we then have to find and cover on our game boards. This is helping us quickly spot times on clocks and to identify the minute and hour hands. Swimming is now in full swing and already we are seeing some wonderful progress being made. I am also very proud of the children for independently getting themselves changed before and after swimming. The children were very excited to receive their towels from Port Otago- what a generous gift! We have almost finished our paper mache dinosaurs. We are aiming to have them all painted and ready to share alongside some of our dino posters for Assembly on Friday. I will be sure to get some photos for you all to see in next week's newsletter.
Report by Mrs Swete
Ranginui
Kia Ora
Ranginui have been full steam ahead with swimming this week and although only day four, everyone has improved so much- confidence and skill. A huge thank you to our swim instructors who know our students so well, and just take us from where we left off last time. I see our students show them so much respect, how they all follow their instructions and how safe they feel learning new skills. A big thank you to Port Otago for their kind donation of towels to every student in the school- amazing kindness! (photo attached)
We have planted some of our sunflowers outside Hine Rau Wharangi as they have outgrown their pots and will look great in the garden. It has been the same with our beans, and most students have taken them home to plant in their gardens. This has been part of our inquiry unit which was based on the living world. The students have learnt alot about seeds to plants, and how to use science observation skills to discuss what they see and then make statements about why plants change.
We have begun to publish our descriptive writing using ‘Gangsta Granny’ as our person. The students have used adjectives to describe granny’s characteristics and added interesting details. Good work Ranginui.
We farewell and wish Miss Law good luck on her journey as a trainee teacher. Miss Law has spent the last three weeks in Ranginui planning and teaching math, P.E, literacy and dance to small groups and some whole class lessons.
WANTED: 2 litre milk containers (opaque ones) please. Needed for a brilliant Christmas activity idea! Please drop off to school as soon as possible. Thank you.
Report by Mrs. Ruzsa
Hinemoana
This week in Hinemoana we have been recapping some homophones and confusing words such as, you or you’re, where, wear, we’re or were and their, they’re and there. It is confusing isn’t it? Everyone has done a great job of using the correct words. Our next step is to make sure we use them correctly in our writing.
It was our first week of swimming and I have been impressed with Hinemoana’s positive attitude, giving everything a go and their perseverance. Our new towels have been a hit too - thank you Port Otago!
Report From Miss Laing
Tāne Mahuta
There have been some tired but happy faces coming back from swimming this week in Tāne Mahuta. Many children have been pushing themselves to complete a lot of laps in the pool. We are focusing on building up our stamina and endurance while swimming, as well as thinking about our technique. As a class we are excited for our upcoming game of flipper ball! Well done kids for putting in a lot of effort for this week’s swimming lessons.
Report by Miss Tenci
Shoebox request
Tane Mahuta would love to have another 12 shoeboxes for their current projects and would gladly accept any offers of shoe boxes.
Thanks in advance.
Sports News
This Weeks results:
Touch Rugby
Team Awesome 2-6 L POD - Ava M.
SBS Incredible 0-8 L POD - Beau
Team Touchdown 4-3 W POD - Ava W.
Futsal
Year 3/4 0-0 POD - Rupert
Year 5/6 0-3 L POD - Donnie
Community Notices
SBS Book Fair - Monday 8th - Friday 12th Nov
Missing Cat
NAME: SASS
Sass went missing Thursday 4th November
Please check your garages/decks/garden sheds for her
She is very missed
Contact Chelsea on 0274314177 if seen
Lost around Kohi Place area
Contact Us
Email: office@sawyersbay.school.nz
Website: https://sawyersbay.school.nz/
Location: Sawyers Bay School 99 Stevenson Ave, Sawyers Bay, Dunedin 9023, New Zealand
Phone: 03 472 8981