A very warm welcome to all our students and families in the junior team, especially those who are joining the BBPS family for the first time.

As a part of the BBPS junior team we strive to ensure that children feel secure in their class, enjoy coming to school, and develop confidence and independence. Our goal is to facilitate learning through inquiry by guiding and assisting them with ongoing development of thinking skills, problem solving, working co-operatively, and communicating effectively.

Our BBPS Vision is “We are inquiring, connected, resilient and future focussed learners, who give 100%.”

We really value the partnership with parents in helping to make our vision a reality.

Initially the classes will be busy:

  • Getting to know the children’s interests, skills, talents, achievement levels and specific learning needs
  • Establishing relationships
  • Establishing expectations and standards i.e. ‘to be the best that we can be’
  • Setting routines

Timetable

Each day will include the following:

  • Fitness and PE  – We have jump jam fitness on Tuesdays and Fridays at 9:00am following roll call, where parents are very welcome to join us. The classes will have swimming each day, so please make sure your child has his/her togs.  
  • Oral Language – including news.
  • Reading – Children are grouped according to their progress and achievement levels.  Teachers monitor the children on an ongoing basis and as a result these groups will change throughout the year.  Children all learn at different rates, and therefore it is important to celebrate individual successes rather than comparing to the rate of progress of the other children.
  • Writing – Children are encouraged to develop their letter sound knowledge and spelling skills so they have the confidence to attempt words with increasing independence.  Using individual conferencing teachers assist children with their own writing goals.  Classes also write together as a group to model the writing process i.e. planning their ideas, writing them down, editing, and publishing in a variety of ways.
  • Maths – In Years 1 and 2 the major part of maths learning is based on developing number knowledge and strategies to use when working with numbers.  Children are grouped accordingly.  

Initially the children will be working on Statistical investigations, during which time they will be learning to:

    • Sort objects into categories
    • Use simple graphs to make a display of the data collected
    • Talk about their data displays and discuss what they discovered

Over the year we also work on probability, time, money, measurement, and algebra.

  • Other learning areas include science, art, music, drama, and health.

Inquiry Topic – Much of the learning is integrated with topic studies to include science, social sciences and technology, and as an Enviro school we are incorporating Education For Sustainability ideas as well.  This term our inquiry theme is ‘Where we are and our Place in the World”. We have Seaweek in Week 5 and we will be taking part in activities that highlight environmental issues and responsibility.  We are also taking part in a school beach clean up, on Friday 24 February, as we are learning about building human responsibility towards the community.

Our school has zero tolerance for bullying and all issues are followed up, with the ultimate aim being that children know the steps to take if they are unhappy with incidents that occur.

These are:

  1. Ignore trivial or minor irritations.
  2. Move away.
  3. Be assertive in saying what you don’t like and to tell the person to STOP IT.  We are learning the words to use to express ourselves clearly, rather than lashing out physically.
  4. If none of the above solves the problem, have the confidence to then seek help from a trusted adult, i.e. teachers on duty or the classroom teacher.

Please reinforce the above steps and encourage your child to get issues resolved at school the day they occur.

To further assist with fostering good relationships between children we ask that the issuing of birthday invitations and sharing of party food be dealt with out of school, thank you.

Home Learning

On Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays this consists of:

  • Daily reading books.  Children may bring home the same book for more than one night depending on their reading level and the focus for lessons.  The reading log is used as an incentive to increase ‘reading mileage’ and an opportunity for you to write a comment.

Please ensure readers are kept and returned in book bags, as other groups and classes need them.  They are also very expensive to replace.

  • Alphabet/blend and word recognition practice, according to classroom programme and learning level.
  • Maths – Have a close look at the NZ Maths website – this is an outstanding supporting resource: http://www.nzmaths.co.nz. On this site is the NZ Maths families’ link with lots of information for parents (and in

particular the ‘Helping at home’ section) http://www.nzmaths.co.nz/families. Occasionally teachers may send   home Maths homework to support classroom learning. Please play lots of games at home such as cards and board games like ‘Snakes and Ladders’ and ‘Monopoly’.

There are a number of suitable on-line, Internet support programmes such as:

http://www.maths-games.org/adding-games.html

http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game11.htm

http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/

http://www.ictgames.com/octopus.html

http://www.ictgames.com/funkymum.html

http://www.ictgames.com/caterpillar_slider.html

https://nz.ixl.com/?gclid=CIeo8-mOsagCFQkSbAodJzzNHA

http://illuminations.nctm.org/Activity.aspx?id=3565

http://www.teachertools.co.nz/fifteens/

We prefer parents not to focus on teaching children specific strategies (ways to do maths computations) at home. However, we would be delighted for parents to do lots of problem solving activities at home e.g. ‘If I have 3 apples and there are 5 of us, how many more do we need for every person to have an apple?’ ….and talk about how they got their answers.

Please encourage the correct pencil grip and letter formation for any writing that your child is doing.

On Fridays, instead of the reader and reading log, children will bring home their poem book and library book, which will need to be returned to school the following Monday. Individual classes may have some variation to this procedure.

Please check you child’s bag for newsletters and notices – there are spares kept on the table in the office foyer, and copies can be accessed on our school website www.bbps.school.nz  

Children can be attracted to classroom items that sometimes find their way into pockets so please return any bits and pieces such as little teddies from the maths corner – we would be grateful and no questions asked!

Before and After School

Children can arrive at school from 8:15am, but are to sit on the seats outside their classrooms until the 8:30am bell, at which time they can enter the classroom. Students arriving before this time should be booked into Skids.

Children settle better if they have had time in the morning to unpack, get their book bags organised, and briefly play with friends before school, so the best arrival time is between 8:30am – 8:45am.

SKIDS offer a before and after school programme for parents which includes a casual drop off from 8.00am to 8.30am.  

If your child is going to be late or absent, please phone the school on 534 6543 to notify the office, or go to ‘Report an  Absence’ on the school website and complete the quick form.

Please note that the school programme begins at 8.50.

It would be helpful if parents arriving before the 3.00pm bell, wait away from the classroom e.g. by the sun shelter or ‘friendship seats’, so that teachers can end the day with the children’s full attention for notices etc.

Children may ride scooters to and from school, but not within the school grounds when it is busy with parents, pre-schoolers and other children.

Uniform

Please ensure all your child’s belongings are named; including the spare pair of knickers/undies that each child should have in the bottom of their backpack. This minimises the chance of items becoming lost. The found property boxes outside the hall so please check this regularly for items that have gone astray.  If your child comes home with someone else’s name on an article of clothing please return it to school as soon as possible.

Morning Tea and Lunches

The first 15 minutes of lunchtime is supervised and the children are asked to remain seated and are encouraged to eat their bread (or equivalent) first!

Drink bottles need to contain water only please.

We are fostering the notion of a rubbish free school with a “Pack in, Pack Out Policy”.  This means the children need to take home anything not eaten from their lunch box.  It would be helpful if items like yoghurt were put into containers so they do not leak and also that food in wrappings can be opened independently.  Please can you pre-open wrappers such as muesli bars etc. Please keep lollies, sweets and chocolates at home for treats, rather than as part of the school lunch.

Some scraps such as apple cores and banana skins may go in the worm bins for our school gardens.  

We have quite a large number of children with various allergies including reactions to certain foods, eg peanut products, so no food is shared between the children.

Lunches can be ordered on our website on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Go to www.bbps.school.nz click on Parents and Parent Shop, then Lunch Orders. You will need to register and set up an account.

School Assemblies

These are on some Friday afternoons starting at 2.15pm.  Parents are welcome.

At some time during the year, your child’s class will present an item and you will be informed when this is on.  Also if your child is going to receive a certificate or award the office will contact you.  It may seem a long time before your child gets a certificate, as there are only one or two allocated per class per assembly, but we do try to be as fair as possible throughout the year.  We give extra certificates at our team singing sessions and the children also enjoy gathering stickers and other awards for work well done.

e-learning

All classes have classroom computers as well as access to school laptops and ipads.

Our school website is http://www.bbps.school.nz

Reporting Progress and Achievement

Every child’s learning, progress and achievement is observed and assessed continuously throughout the year. This is done with groups as well as individually through formal assessment, ongoing feedback and feed forward, reflection and goal setting. Your child will be assessed soon after they arrive at school and then will be rostered on a reporting schedule according to their age and birth date.

ELL (English Language Learners)

Diana Spencer works with children needing extra assistance with learning English.  They may be withdrawn from the classroom for lessons, as well as having learning support in the classroom.  Please keep up the child’s first language at home and English will develop as your child is immersed in English language at school.

Working in Partnership

We endeavour to foster open communication with parents, and the best interests of the children are our paramount concern.  We have parent teacher conferences in a few weeks when you will have the opportunity to share information about your child with the teacher. Details will be in the school newsletter.

Also, if at any other time you wish to discuss any aspect of your child’s schooling and well-being please approach your child’s class teacher in the first instance; the team leader Lisa Ray and then the deputy principal Carole Crompton, or the principal Kelly Slater-Brown, if necessary.  Quick informal queries or comments may be addressed before or after school but for anything requiring more deliberation please make a suitable appointment.  Teachers may be busy with classroom preparation or have before / after school meetings to attend. These are usually held on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Communication with teachers can also be through email or a letter or note.

We welcome your involvement through the PTA and parent help.  Some of the ways parents are able to support the school are:

  • Joining the PTA.
  • Being a class liaison or parent rep
  • Doing crossing duty on Clovelly Road
  • Returning readers to the reading room
  • Being a parent help on trips
  • Visiting and helping with special events
  • Helping in classrooms

We look forward to a happy successful year in the Junior School at Bucklands Beach Primary School where ‘Our Enthusiasm Makes the Difference’!

Thank you

Kind Regards

Lisa Ray                   Team Leader Junior School

Louise Johnson      Room 7 with Year 2

Lorna Foulger         Room 8 with Year 1/2

Amber Davidson     Room 9 with Year 2

Kelly Cowan             Room 11 with Year 0/1        

Hayley Sanileva      Room  12 with Year 0/1