Junior News

By Felicia Ward | Posted: Thursday February 16, 2023

Ko te maumahara kore ki ngā whakapapa o ōu mātua tīpuna, e rite ana ki te pūkaki awa kāore ōna hikuawa, ki te rākau rānei kāore ōna pakiaka - To forget one's ancestors is to be brook without a source, a tree without roots. Know where you come from.

PBL & Play

Tūrangawaewae

Driving Question: How can we celebrate who we are and where we come from?

This year the Junior Syndicate is on an exciting journey to incorporate play into our already successful PBL programme.

Play is an approach which encourages and enables children to explore, experiment, discover and solve problems in imaginative and playful ways.

Much like PBL, play helps children to:

- work together with others, share and take turns

- develop their own ideas

- develop creativity

- learn to solve problems and plan

- use objects and materials in different ways

- explore at their own pace

While the language of PBL is still the same, there is now less focus on creating an end product because children are creating, making and problem solving all the time.

So far this term children have been exploring Tūrangawaewae by using loose parts to construct and show themselves, their families and where they feel at home. Please take the time to look at the photos below of all the creativity.

How can you help on our play journey?

Resources! We are in need of a range of materials. We ask that if you are out and about that you collect things like shells, driftwood, sticks, stones, offcuts of wood, old piping - anything!

Meet the Teacher Picnic

We want to extend a big thank you for choosing to spend your Thursday night with us last week. It was lovely to reconnect with you all and it was a great chance to answer any questions. As always, our doors are open, so please don't hesitate to pop in and see us.

Reminders

Reading Folders: We ask that all junior children have a reading folder that they bring to and from school with their reading books. Each year we spend a significant amount of money on books and we want these to be looked after.

Clothes: Already, there is a large amount of lost property. Please ensure your child's belongings are clearly named so they can be easily returned. We also ask that children bring a spare change of clothes in their bags.

Learning Times: School begins at 9 am and finishes at 3 p.m. We love welcoming you all into our spaces but ask that you stay out of classrooms until school has finished as this is still critical learning time and can unsettle the children. You are welcome to wait in the Learning Street and come into class once learning time has been completed. 

Many thanks for your support in ensuring your children have the best start to school! 

Tēnā rawa atu koe,

Felicia Ward

Image Gallery