A very warm welcome to all our new students and families in the Junior School.
Our Junior Team is now as follows:
- Lisa Ray Team Leader with Year 1 and 2 children in Room 8.
- Amber Davidson with Year 2 children in Room 9.
- Louise Johnson with Year 2 children in Room 7.
- Hayley Sanileva with Year 1 children in Room 12.
- Kelly Cowan with Year 1 children in Room 11.
Our programmes for Term 2 are well underway and include a focus on our values Effort and Resilience.
Our teaching and learning inquiry topic is focussed around the theme:
HOW WE EXPRESS OURSELVES
The Central idea is that People recognise and share important events through the beauty of celebrations and traditions
Learning Intentions (We are learning to…)
- Recognise and talk about the important celebrations and events that our families and us celebrate.
- Understand why celebrations are important to our families and us.
- Talk about days and events that others celebrate.
We are developing inquiry skills:
- Finding – Where shall we look for information?
- Organising – How do I organise my information to get my message across?
- Presenting – How will I share my information with others?
- Social Action – How can I make a difference being safety conscious?
Key questions that will support the inquiry:
- What are the events that you and your family recognise?
- Why is it important to you and your family?
- What reasons do people have for these celebrations?
- What days or events do others celebrate?
- How do we celebrate?
During the term we plan to visit the Auckland Museum by bus at a cost of approximately $15 per student (More information to follow).
During Science Week (16 – 20 May) the Science Van will be visiting at a cost of $4 per student.
Classes have daily fitness activities, which include our Jump Jam sessions first thing on Tuesdays and Fridays. You are most welcome to join us then for a vigorous workout in the hall!
Our BBPS Vision is “We are inquiring, connected, resilient and future-focussed learners who give 100%”
The children need to gain skills in thinking, problem solving, working co-operatively, and communicating effectively.
We really value the partnership with parents in helping to make our vision a reality.
A sincere thank you for:
- reading to your children every day.
- listening to them read to you every day as part of home learning, and practising the alphabet, basic words, early spelling skills or maths.
- ensuring children have enough sleep and have an ‘early to bed’ time.
- getting children to school before the bell at 8:50 so they have enough time to get organised before school.
- helping teachers in classrooms as necessary.
- helping to return readers to the book room.
- letting us know about the things you feel are going well.
- approaching teachers to discuss any concerns or issues so we can work together to address them.
Quick informal queries or comments may be made before school or through emails. However, because teachers may need to attend staff meetings immediately after school, for anything requiring more deliberation please make a suitable appointment.
Self-Management
To foster the Key Competencies component of our New Zealand Curriculum including self-management, at this time of the year we would be expecting the Year Twos in particular, to be taking more responsibility for walking into school, hanging their bags and putting bookbags into classrooms ready for the day. If possible, saying goodbye at the school gate would help to further the development of children’s confidence and independence. A meeting place after school away from the classroom could be another step.
It also helps teachers end the day with the class’s full attention for notices etc if parents wait at a distance from classrooms and are not directly outside classrooms before the 3pm bell.
Uniform
Now we are into the second term children are able to wear the winter uniform. Our website has a list of the requirements. Undergarments including extra non uniform t-shirts or vests should not be seen. For extra warmth it is better to wear the school sweatshirt that can then be easily removed when it gets too hot. Sunhats are no longer compulsory but can still be needed on these continuing hot sunny days. It is a good idea to also have a raincoat ready and waiting in schoolbags for those unexpected downpours. An extra pair of undies can also be a good idea in case of emergencies. Longer hair needs to be tied back to discourage nit epidemics. If your child has lace up shoes please teach him/her how to lace them up independently.
Home Learning
At the early levels children bring home a book each day that is kept in their bookbags until Friday or the following Monday so that over the week they have 4 small books to share with you. At the higher levels the book will be returned to the class each day so they only have the one to read. Please ensure all books are kept and returned in the bookbags after the home reading each day and it would be helpful if you could return any earlier readers that may have got ‘lost’. They are a huge expense for the school and we do need to keep them in circulation for class reading programmes.
Please remember to check the school website for notices – www.bbps.school.nz
Morning Tea and Lunches
Drink bottles need to contain water only please. To promote healthy eating we encourage children to eat their bread (or pasta, rice, noodles) first at lunchtime. Please keep sugary, highly processed snack foods to a minimum. Our expectation of a rubbish free school means that children need to take home anything not eaten from their lunch box. However fruit peel and cores etc can be collected to feed our Worm Farm.
Our main goal is to ensure children feel secure in their class, enjoy coming to school, and develop confidence and independence as they continue their learning journey.
On behalf of the Junior Team, who definitely know that ‘Our Enthusiasm makes the Difference’, kind regards and thank you,
Lisa Ray
Team Leader
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