Te Aroha Primary School
Term 2 Week 9 2022
PRINCIPAL / TUMUAKI MESSAGE
Kia ora parents and whānau,
We are into the final weeks of Term 2 and my first as Principal/ Tumuaki of Te Aroha Primary School. The teachers have been hard at work assessing your children and preparing their mid-year reports that will be coming home this Friday 1 July. It has been a privilege to read the reports. It is evident that TAPS teachers work collaboratively with their students to seek the best possible outcomes for your tamariki.
Matariki breakfast - what an awesome morning we had on Thursday. Thanks must go to the TAPS team of teachers and support staff for their organisation and delivery of the event. Thanks to matua Rawhiri for joining us and helping with the formal parts of the breakfast, the blessing and prayers…the singing was beautiful too.
Also, a massive thank you to Richard Shotton for sponsoring the breakfast! A very, very kind gesture and greatly appreciated. On behalf of us all, thank you to Richard for sponsoring the breakfast…and cooking the toast.
Thank you also Megan Diprose for covering Road Patrol so that our rostered children could enjoy the kai with their friends.
Student Wellbeing - As I previously mentioned we are into the final two weeks of term. It is always a good idea at this time to monitor your child’s energy levels and hours of sleep. Children typically begin to get tired and run down towards the end of term. By keeping them home when they’re sick and doing your best to ensure they are getting enough sleep you can help us all to get to the term break in the best health possible. Primary aged children should be aiming for 9-11 hours per night, this is the time when the body rests and grows. It is also very important for brain development to get the correct amount of sleep each night.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my first 8 weeks here. Everyone has been extremely welcoming. The students are a credit to you as parents, they are fantastic tamariki. I think I am about halfway through learning all their names, hopefully by the end Term 3 I will have them all sorted.
Lastly, the building work that has been going on between Room 3 and the Goldfields Room is due to be completed this Friday 1 July, we’ll keep you posted.
Have a super week everyone.
Ka kite,
Justin Bertrand
KEY TERM DATES
TERM TWO DATES 2022
- Ready, Set, Go! – (1:40pm - 2:40pm), Wednesday 22 June, Wednesday 6 July
- 23/6/2022 (8:15 - 9:00am) Matariki School Breakfast for TAPS Tamariki - please make sure your child has registered for this event.
- 24/6/2022 Matariki Public Holiday – Friday 24 June
- 8/7/2022 Last day of Term 2 – Friday 8 July
Other term dates to be advised.
SPORTS NEWS - Mrs Paul
Totara Springs: Chocolate selling is well underway. There is another fundraiser which is way easier, but involves a bit of activity and sponsors, using Facebook some people have their whole camp paid for in under an hour!!! Contact Lucy in the office if you wish your child to have a look at this and they haven’t brought it home. Health forms will come home this week so please look out for them.
Netball: A reminder to everyone to wear the correct unoform to games - and to behave and listen at team practices.
Rippa: This Wednesday we have the big final and wish our 3 Teams all the best. Information and car lists were sent home last week so I hope all the team parents received them. If your child was away and you didnt, please contact us ASAP.
Basketball: We had some of our lovelies trying out for Under 13s yesterday. Was great to see the determination to succeed in them! Happy to spend Sundays watching kids turn dreams into reality. Ka mau te wehi!
The Magic Of Matariki
Matariki hunga, Matariki ahunga nui - Matariki has many admirers. Matariki brings us together.
Our Matariki breakfast was a special celebration, bringing our school together to eat, talk and have fun together.
Matariki Learning Across the School
Tukua kia tu takitahi nga whetu o te rangi. Let each star in the sky shine it’s own light.
Our school also joined together to share their learning about Matariki.
EXTRA NEWS and STUDENT VIEWS
Senior School Reporters
Elisabella and Perryn were our reporters for this week's newsletter - “Bringing extra news and student views to the Newsletter”.
Meet Our People - Getting to know our PTA
Perryn and Elisabella interviewed Amy, Camilla and Jen from the PTA.
They talked to them about their goals for this year. Camilla told them that their goal was to try as hard as possible to raise $10,000 for the school. Amy said that recruiting others was also a goal.
They were all asked the question “Why did you join the PTA?” Amy straight away said that she wanted to help the school raise money and to meet new mums and parents. “Amy tricked me into it.” exclaimed Camilla. Jen told them that she wanted to meet others.
The reporters asked them about their thoughts on getting the kids to get ideas on how to spend the money. They all thought it would be good to hear what the children had to say but also thought that it would be good to see what they think the money would be well spent on.
To finish off the interview, the reporters asked them some questions so we could get to know them better.
“What is your favorite food?”
Amy was quick in to say that she liked butter chicken, while Camilla likes anything spicy. “Anything sweet,” Jen says.
We also got to learn about one thing that we may not know about them. While Jen and Amy were thinking about it, Camilla popped in to say that she was a grandmother of 6, meaning that her children were also aunties of 6. Jen came in to say that when she wasn't doing mum things, she was a Midwife. “I was a math teacher at Hamilton Boys High for 11 years,” finished Amy.
The reporters hope to interview other members of our PTA over the next few weeks.
(Left is Jen Hiriwani, middle is Camilla Melrose, right is Amy Paetai)
CLASSROOM ROUND UPS
WAIHOU / HUB 1 / JUNIOR BLOCK / YEAR 1-2
Room 1 - Mrs Johnson
What an awesome time we had celebrating Matariki last week. The breakfast was a highlight and we had so much fun flying our Matariki kites.
LITERACY - Our phonics work is w ,q, y,and z and -at and -an rhyming words. It is so pleasing to see the progress that is being made with the reading of decodable books, children are sounding out words more independently. Some learners will be bringing home heart words on a key ring to practise each day. We are writing heart words we might need in our stories and recording the dominant sound for other words that we need. So “The dog ran down the street” might just be written as - The d r d the s for a beginner writer. We have a special focus this week of being able to read the story we have written and to share it with others.
MATHS - This week we have started a Geometry unit on 2D shapes. This learning will be linked to counting and problem solving.
REMINDERS
Please remember your drink bottle, homework books and book bags everyday.
A change of clothes in school bags just in case they are needed.
Room 2 – Miss Webb
Last Thursday, Room 2 enjoyed celebrating Matariki together with a yummy breakfast and a day of Matariki activities and sharing.
Literacy: This week we will be working on adding detail to our writing. We can do this by editing our work to make sure it flows and is easy to read. We will be adding ‘wow words’ to our writing to make it more exciting. For phonics we will be practising the sounds of ck, j, qu, v.
Maths: We are now starting a measurement unit which will take us through to the end of the term. We will be comparing objects by length and ordering objects using mathematical language like smaller, bigger, longer, shorter.
Please remember your drink bottle, homework books and book bags everyday.
Please do not hesitate to contact me via Seesaw or email zwebb@tearohaprimary.school.nz
Room 3 – Miss Swan
Kia ora koutou,
It is hard to believe that it is Week 9 already! Room 3 had an amazing time last week celebrating Matariki within our class but also within our entire school. Our Matariki breakfast and assembly felt very special and we were excited to take part!
Writing: We are learning to use our senses with our writing this week. This will encourage describing words (adjectives) to be used which will make our writing interesting to read.
Reading: Readers continue to come home this week. Thank you whānau for being understanding last week while I was unwell. Homework will return to normal.
Maths: We are looking closely at place value with two digit numbers, continuing with our wonderful counting collections and continuing on with our Geometry unit.
Reminders for the week:
Please remember to bring your Poem book back at the beginning of the week
Please remember your drink bottle, homework books and book bags everyday.
Our days are getting colder - school jerseys and warm socks are needed!
Whaea Armstrong is in Room 3 on Thursday this week.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me via Seesaw or email mswan@tearohaprimary.school.nz
GOLDFIELDS / SATELLITE UNIT / JUNIOR BLOCK
Room 4 - Mrs Suzette Willis, Mrs Donna Taylor-Erutoe and Team
Kia ora koutou,
A hearty thank you to all our whanau who attended our IEP meetings. It is such a privilege working with every student in their own unique way. We had a lovely Matariki celebration at Base school on Thursday. Please have a look on our facebook page to see photos about the celebration, as well as our Kapa Haka group who did a great performance!
Have a great week everyone!
TIKAPA MOANA / HUB 2 / MIDDLE BLOCK / YEAR 3-5
Room 5 - Miss Entwisle
Welcome to Week 9! We enjoyed having the opportunity to celebrate Matariki with the rest of the school last week. The breakfast was delicious! 😊
Reading: Our class novel Gruesome Twosome is getting pretty exciting. Trains, fairgrounds, penguins and clowns are making for some interesting class discussions.
Writing: We are creating our own fairytale inspired stories and can’t wait to see what our selected characters get up to.
Mathematics: Multiplication is not as scary as some of us initially thought. We are doing a great job of knowing how to read, write and solve problems involving the O, 1 and 10 times tables.
Reminders / Online Learning - Homework
Our Spelling words and weekly poem and other home learning based tasks are available on Seesaw. This work is optional.
Students have free access to learning sites such as: Prodigy, Sumdog, Sunshine Classics, Epic! And Mathletics.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact Miss Entwisle via the school office: 078848803; email: mentwisle@tearohaprimary.school.nz or through the Seesaw message function.
Room 6 – Mrs Bankier
We are definitely noticing the number away with bugs at the moment, please keep your child home if they are sick and we look forward to seeing everyone well again soon!!
- This week we are creating our own Narratives in Writing. Thinking about characters, settings and plot.
- In Reading we are looking at celebrations from around the world - linking this to our learning about Matariki.
- In Maths we are continuing to learn about multiplication and division, using facts we know to solve facts we don’t yet know.
- Our Spelling this week is around the magic e / silent e at the end of words.
Room 7 – Mrs Paul
In Reading: we need to finish off all the Matariki work that was prepped but not completed. All of these activities are based around levels of understanding and comprehension.
In Maths: We are going back to look at multiplication strategies. Testing showed that there are a lot of people not using efficient strategies so I am picking this up now rather than waiting till we next visit Multiplication, Once again, knowing our tables helps!
In Spelling: We are still working on the ch sound. This is a tricky diagraph and so needs some time.
We continue to look at the early navigators and settlers in NZ.
TE MOANANUI-A-KIWA / HUB 3 / SENIOR BLOCK / YEAR 6-8
Room 8 – Mrs McKenzie
Welcome to week 9! This term has flown by. What a week last week was, celebrating Matariki! I especially enjoyed all the tamariki coming together to share a big breakfast. It was a beautiful way to see the school values shine where the senior students were all helping the younger ones.
This week, we keep to our daily routines.
- Maths first up, we will be using our multiplication knowledge in geometry and measurement. We have a few hands-on maths activities planned which Room 8 will enjoy.
- In Reading, we continue with focusing on comprehension skills such as vocabulary, inferring and evaluating.
- Writing, we are targeting how to write a good conclusion by learning what a conclusion should include and not include. Handwriting and punctuation will be a daily warm up too.
- Topic Inquiry includes looking into the legend of Maui, and also Captain James Cook in more detail. On Friday, we are spending the day working on our Wonder Rocket Project so watch the space as the students learn what it takes to launch rockets!
Looking forward to another wonderful week. As always, if you have any questions, I am always happy to receive message via phone, email or Seesaw. Nga mihi.
Room 9 – Whaea Armstrong and Mrs Gamble
Manawatia o Matariki - The magic of Matariki
We hope you all had a magical long weekend with your whaanau! Our tamariki sure had a beautiful start to Matariki last week, creating art, learning about the stars and even having a delicious breakfast at school. The magic of Matariki is still upon us as we continue our learning around Matariki by completing our taskboard in literacy. This will also include the making of fry bread and the continuation of learning around playing traditional Maori hand games.
Maths - This week we will be recapping our learning around multiplication and division. We will be going back through the strategies we have learned with the inclusion of decimals.
Seesaw - keep an eye out on seesaw this week as we keep you up to date with our learning around Matariki.
Reminders:
Please keep your child at home if they are experiencing flu-like symptoms. This will help to stop the spread of any viruses at school.
Totara fundraiser is underway. Please ensure you bring back any money from the chocolates you have sold to the office.
Rippa Rugby this Wednesday!
Here's to another awesome week ahead - Kia tū, kia toa, kia mau - accept the challenge!
If you have any questions send us a message on Seesaw or email
aarmstrong@tearohaprimary.school.nz and lgmable@tearohaprimary.school.nz
Room 10 – Mrs B
Ka mahuta a. Matariki i te pae, ka mahuta ō tatou tūmanako ki te tau”. When Matariki rises above the horizon, our aspirations rise to the year ahead.
What a magical week we have had learning and celebrating Matariki. We continue our learning on Matariki this week, by completing our taskboard, which is aligned to each of the Matariki stars. This will include making soup (Matariki) and an anemometer, a wind meter (Ururangi)
In Maths - we continue using the Matariki theme to explore algebra through collaborative problem solving and return to our multiplication and division learning to explore these operations with the use of decimals.
Literacy and Inquiry - we will be using school journal material to explore Ngā Pakanga o
Aotearoa: The New Zealand Wars, with a close look in to Te Rā o te Pāhua (the Day of Plunder) at Parihaka.
It has been wonderful to see a number of Rm 10 students return to school but there are still a number of unwell students. To stop the spread of this virus, please keep your child at home if they are unwell.
Good luck to our girls who are off to the Rippa Rugby regionals on Wednesday - KIA KAHA!
For all students going to Totara Springs and fundraising using the exercise challenge grid, I will sponsor them on the $1 slot and give the money to Lucy at the office.
Here is to another exciting week in Rm 10. Always proud of the hard work and wairua in our class.
Be sure to check out Seesaw - there are going to be more exciting posts to share with you at home.
Arohanui - Mrs B dp@tearohaprimary.school.nz
Year 7/8 Technology at Te Aroha College
Please make sure your child has shoes that cover their feet (NO SLIDES PLEASE) and long hair needs to be tied up. Roll call for the bus at 8.30am outside Rm 10. If your child is running late and misses the bus, please take them straight to the College.
Students 12+ years are to wear a mask on the bus as per Orange setting.
LUNCHES IN SCHOOLS PROGRAMME
SPONSORS
We need these firms to keep our school cashflow and community relations going strong. They are generous to us which enables us to benefit your children so I would ask you look at the team of sponsors and where possible, use them as we all gain.
School Policies and Procedures
School Policies and Procedures
SchoolDocs is the tool we use for our school policies. These are kept updated with the SchoolDocs team ensuring legal and compliance matters are always up-to-date.
To access SchoolDocs simply :
1. Go to schooldocs.co.nz
2. Click Search for your school.
3. Start typing the school’s name and select it from the dropdown list.
4. Enter the community username tearohaprimary and password school
From there it is simply a matter of navigating to areas you wish to look at - enjoy the read.
School App, Facebook, Seesaw and our School Website
Please use these tools we provide - we use them to alert, inform and effectively communicate with parents.
Check it out - there is plenty for you to find out.
If in doubt please ask your child’s teacher as we will be using these platforms on a regular basis to keep our parent community informed and up to date.
Contact Us
Email: admin@tearohaprimary.school.nz
Website: https://tearohaprimary.school.nz/
Location: Jubilee Avenue, Te Aroha, New Zealand
Phone: 07-884 8803
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Te-Aroha-Primary-School-193399510687026/