WELCOME
We would like to extend a warm welcome to all those students and their families who have joined the Middle School this year. We are looking forward to a great year of learning. This is going to be a busy and exciting term.
Please remember that we see every child as an important part of our classrooms, so please don’t hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or the Middle School team leader in Room 12, Mrs Rist, with any queries or concerns.
MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHING STAFF
Welcome back to Hannah Saul, Jacinta Howie, Anushka Patel and Debbie Rist. Joining the middle school team is Cherry Wong, with Michael Grimmer teaching in Room 13 on Tuesdays.
Room 14 – Jacinta Howie – Year 3
Room 15 – Anushka Patel (and Michael Grimmer) – Year 3
Room 16 – Hannah Saul – Year 3 and 4
Room 12 – Debbie Rist (Team Leader) – Year 4
Room 13 – Cherry Wong (and Michael Grimmer) – Year 4
Please do not hesitate to contact the your child’s teacher if there is an issue or problem at school or at home. Our email addresses can be accessed on the school website – go to ‘Our People’ and then ‘Our Staff’ to find the teacher you wish to contact.
Bucklands Beach Primary School is a PB4L school
Our school promotes Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L). Our values are respect, responsibility, relationships and resilience.
REWARDING POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR!
There are many ways that we acknowledge and reward students for following the school wide expectations of responsibility, respect and safety. Some of these are:
- Gotchas
- Whanau Tokens
- Classroom Rewards
- Team Certificates
- Principal’s Awards
- Whole School Rewards
Positive Behaviour for Learning includes the use of evidence based practices:
- A consistent school-wide system of support that helps define, teach and support appropriate student behaviour, creating a positive school environment.
- School-wide discipline practices including establishing clear consequences.
- Teaching social skills, helping students to manage their own behaviour.
- A focus on prevention of problem behaviour and teaching and practising appropriate behaviour.
- Supporting staff to intervene effectively to manage behaviour in the classroom and other school environments.
- Active supervision at break times.
There are just three rules at BBPS. We expect all students, teachers and whanau to:
BE RESPONSIBLE BE RESPECTFUL BE SAFE
We support our students to follow these three simple rules by teaching and practising our expectations, just as we do for reading, writing, maths and other curriculum areas.
IMPORTANT REMINDERS
Uniforms:
All students are expected to wear the correct uniform items every day. Those who are not in the correct school uniform will need a note from home to inform the class teacher about the reason. Please remember that shoes / sandals should be only black and suitable to run and play in. Hats are compulsory in term one.
Students are also reminded that they are expected to wear the correct uniform for sport and PE. They should be wearing blue shorts with a sports t-shirt and suitable footwear.
In term one, PE lessons will be on Thursday.
Swimming: This term all students will have three swimming lessons per week. Please see below for the day your child will be swimming. Swimming is part of the school PE curriculum, therefore it is important that your child brings their swimming gear for each lesson. It would be appreciated if all swimming togs, towels and goggles are named.
Room 12 – Monday, Wednesday and Thursday
Room 13 – Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday
Room 14 – Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
Room 15 – Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday
Room 16 – Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday
Last year we had a few instances of toys or other personal items being brought to school and in some cases the items becoming broken or lost. Please help us by reminding your child that unless it is part of class learning, toys are not to be brought to school. This includes soft toys, collectible figurines and swap cards such as the ones from Countdown.
BIRTHDAYS
Birthdays are an important and exciting time for our children and if their birthday falls on a school day they like to bring a treat to school for their classmates. There are many food allergies and different cultural practises within our classrooms so we ask that treats, including cakes, chocolate, sweets or small gifts, are not brought to school to be given out.
HOME LEARNING
Students are asked to complete home learning on a regular basis. Home learning encourages the development of good study skills and habits, will provide opportunities for parents to have a sharing time with their children and will help students to develop responsibility for their own learning.
For Year 3 and 4 children, up to 20 minutes a night is considered sufficient.
In the Middle School, home learning will be set weekly. Home learning will usually comprise of daily reading, learning of spelling words and rules and maths basic facts. These skills support our writing, reading and maths programmes.
From time to time teachers will set additional tasks to be completed and these tasks will be explained in the Home Learning book.
Book bags / library bags are to be used to transport readers and library books to / from school and to / from the library.
Please take the time to read to or with your child on a daily basis. Reread the class readers with your child, read books from the library or read a book from your own collection. Make it a regular and fun time.
Inquiry Focus
Developing a Class Treaty
During the first few weeks of the term classes will be working on preparing a class treaty, and developing and agreeing on expectations for behaviour and relationships in the class. When each class treaty has been agreed upon, each class will attend a special middle team assembly where they will share their class treaty with each other.
This term Middle School students will be conducting an inquiry unit called “Up the Creek”. We are inquiring into how the natural environment of Wakaaranga Estuary and wetlands supports systems of living things and how they are affected by human behaviour.
The inquiry will include a trip on Tuesday 20 February by bus and by foot, where the students will explore our local estuary and wetlands.
We will require parents to help with this trip. Further details of the day’s plan will be sent out separately.
THE SCHOOL WEBSITE and BYOD
The school website is an efficient way to advise the school office of absences, read team and school newsletters, access the school lunch ordering system, and access your child’s learning through Student Voice.
The year 4 team is very excited about BYOD this year and are looking forward to using the iPads for creating and enhancing their learning. Some of the prices for the paid Apps have increased since the end of last year. You are welcome to come and talk to your child’s teacher about any aspect of the use of iPads in the classroom, the uploading of the required Apps, or about accessing and using the school’s website
www.bbps.school.nz. To begin, the most important Apps that are required are the Google apps, including Google Drive, and a sketching/whiteboard app.
Important dates for this term:
- 12, 13, 14 February – Getting to Know You conferences (Room 12 – 12, 13 and 15 February)
- 20 February – Inquiry trip to our local estuary and wetlands
- 2 March – Whole school beach cleanup
- 5 – 9 March – Seaweek
- 20 March – Year 3/4 Swimming Carnival 11.00am – 12.30pm
- 30 March – 3 April – Easter
- 13 April – Last day of term
Paying Online
All payments for trips etc can be made online. Go to the school website, click on Parents, select “Parent Shop” and pay on “Kindo”.
The cost for each child to travel by bus for the Estuary Inquiry trip is $5.00.
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