Relationships – Whanaungatanga, Resilience – Manawaroa,

Respect – Manaakitanga, Responsibility – Tiaki

 

A community of agile and collaborative learners – Proud of who we are, empowered to make a difference

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the new school year!  The senior school teachers have lots of fun learning planned for term 1.

Congratulations to Miss Foulger who married in the holidays, now known as Mrs McIntosh.

Our senior school  team teachers for this year are:

Room 1                   Ms Redpath (Team Leader)              Year 6                       jillian@bbps.school.nz

Room 2                   Mrs McIntosh                                         Year 5/4                  l.mcintosh@bbps.school.nz

Room 3                   Mrs Chilvers                                             Year 5                       faye@bbps.school.nz

Room 4                   Miss Chao                                                  Year 5                       j.chao@bbps.school.nz

Room 18                Mr Chamberlain                                    Year 6                       nick@bbps.school.nz

Room 19                Ms Jochimsen (Ms J)                           Year 6                       k.j@bbps.school.nz

 

Please note for student safety, if your child is sick, late or absent for the day it is important you phone the school office on 534-6543 or go onto the school website and click on ‘Report an Absence’ to send an email to the office, by 8.50 am. Our office staff follow up students who are unaccounted for.

Library Bags

Students need their named school library bag at school on their classes library day.  If you need to purchase a new library bag these are available from the school library for $5.00.

Swimming

All students must bring their swimming suits to school on their swimming days or a note to explain why they are not swimming.  We have many students in the Senior School who need a lot of practice learning skills in the water. This is part of our school curriculum and is a necessary skill for living safely in NZ. Please support your child with this organisation as we have some children who have not been in the pool to date.

 A Senior School Competitive Swimming Sports will be held at Howick Intermediate on Thursday 20 February (with a saving day on the 24 February).  This competition is for those students who can confidently swim a length of the Howick Intermediate Pool.  On this day students involved will need to be at school by 8:30 am so we get an early start before the day gets too hot. These are races for students who sufficiently swim a length of the pool. We would appreciate parent help on this day – please indicate on the permission form below if you are able to support, or talk to Mr Chamberlain. Children who do well in these races will go on to compete in the Interschool competitive races on the 13th March. On Friday the 14th February we will run a trial those Year 6 students who would like to be considered for the Curry Cup.

For those students who are not confident swimmers, they will take part in a Non-Competitive Swimming Sports. Students in these races will not go to the Howick pools, but will remain at school for a fun day of non-competitive races.  Your child will be informed which swimming sports they are attending.

 Cricket

Trials for the inter-school cricket team and inter-school girls cricket team are about to begin so teams can be selected for their respective tournament days.  At this stage BBPS will be attending two days for the inter-school team (26th February and 10th March), and we are waiting for the date for the girls team. This year the squads will be coached by Mr Duncan and Mrs Patel.

Softball

Mrs Howie is again coordinating the BBPS Softball team to represent the school at the HPPA Softball Day on the 25th February at Meadowlands.  Sign-up for the team has already begun and she will be coaching those selected over the next two weeks so they’re match ready on the day.

 Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD)

The Senior School has been using Apple iPad, Apple Minis and Chromebooks. If your child has an Apple Mini we also suggest they have a keyboard. It is important that devices are named and charged before they are brought to school each day.  All students will be given passwords to allow them access the school internet and their class dashboard. Please note that internet access is turned off at 3pm each day. New students will need to also have their signed BYOD agreement with them on the first day. The E-Learning Apps can be found on the school website on the E-Learning Guidelines newsletter.

Home Learning

If you wish to  take the opportunity to support your child’s learning at home we suggest: 20 – 30 minutes per night. We recognise that our students have clubs after school so Home Learning is assigned for the week to fit your timetable.  If you have your own activities going on out of school, or prefer your child didn’t do Home Learning, please email your child’s teacher and let them know.

Word Study

There will be a weekly focus on a spelling patterns/rule linked to goals ready for use in dictation or partner testing towards the end of every week. Please discuss word meanings and use with your child.

All students need to be reading regularly at home. This could be reading independently or might involve sharing a book with a sibling. Even looking at the writing techniques in a sophisticated picture book can still be a rich literary experience. If your child is reading independently make sure that you check their comprehension occasionally by asking them questions to do with the text and vocabulary.

It is important to keep up with current affairs and search for information related to our Project Based Learning topics,  we will use the Kiwi Kids site. www.kiwikidsnews.co.nz

The Senior School will this year use Mathletics online as their Maths home learning (this is optional).   Mathletics gives flexibility for the children to work on their own individual needs and at their own pace. If you would like your child to access Mathletics, the cost is $31 for the year.  If you choose for your child to access Mathletics, we ask you to factor this into  homework time.

Playing multiplication games  to increase their fluency so that they can be applied in other areas of maths and problem solving is encouraged.  www.nzmaths.co.nz/families – Is a specific site on the NZ maths curriculum designed for home learning.

Some children may be keen to improve their keyboard skills – see Dance Mat Typing

Puberty Talk for Girls

There will be a parent evening to discuss the upcoming girls puberty talk on the 27th February at 7pm.  The girls will have their puberty talk at school on 28th February.

 Lunch Boxes/Drink Bottles

School lunches can be ordered on the school website from the second week, on Thursdays and Fridays.  As the first term is always very hot we encourage all children to have a named water bottle in class.  It is also helpful if all lunch boxes are named as these sometimes get left outside the classroom. As part of our enviro ethos, we encourage wrapper free (nude) food in lunch boxes.

EOTC – Year 6 Camp

Year 6 camp will be heading off to camp in Ngaruawahia on the 23rd March, returning to school on Thursday the 26th (at approximately 4.00 pm). Updates of the bus trip back will be placed on the school website, so parents know the exact time of arrival. This saves phoning the office.  Please note, most Year 6 children (and teachers) will be exhausted after four physically challenging days at camp. We encourage you to keep your child at home on Friday 27 March if you are able.  There will be a reliever at school for those who send their child.  Normal class programmes will resume on the following Monday.  We have a full quota of parents helpers. A special Health and Safety meeting will be held on 2nd March at 6:30 pm for those attending parents. All attending parents were notified at the end of last year. All outstanding camp fees need to be paid by the 5th March.

 EOTC – Surf Safety

This summer has emphasised the importance of open water safety instruction by schools. Year 5’s and all students in Room 2 will attend a Surf Safety Day at Red Beach on the 6th March. Please note students will need to be at school by 7:10 am on this day.  A separate notice has gone home with details.

Student Council

Last year our Student Council was instrumental in creating a student voice in our school. The students had many great ideas and took part in supporting change. This year we will continue to have a nominated representative from each class, to share ideas about school issues. Those students who are Whānau leaders and Enviro leaders will also take an active part in Student Council meetings.

Whānau Leadership Day

We congratulate our Year 6 students who have been named as Whānau leaders. They have a Leadership training session on the 21st February, learning about the habits of highly effective leaders.

Maths Rich Task

As part of the term programme the students will be conducting a task in which they produce a product that could be sold. They will be looking at the cost to produce and profit made. The Year 6 students will be selling pizzas on the 19th February at morning tea. They will be bringing home a letter regarding this week. The funds for this will be going to their BIg Day OUT at the end of the year. (This will be instead of a bake sale.)  Year 6 parents, we ask that you support your child with the ingredients and baking / hygiene of the pizzas but you also encourage independence.

(Please note this is separate to the cupcake day for the Robotics group run by Mrs Chilvers on the 8th March.)

Project Based Learning in the Senior School

For the first half of the term, we are using the Google Summit model to run a Cultural Summit for students to learn about each others’ culture.  Using students to present to other students develops a range of skills, leadership and gives scope for student led learning.  We are looking for some parents who would be able to work with groups of students from different cultures, to help them prepare a presentation and some follow up activities, and present to other pupils.  Please can you contact your child’s class teacher.

The planned dates for preparing the students are the 8th and 21st of February from 1:45pm – 2:45pm. 

The planned date to run the Cultural Summit are 24 – 26th, 11am – 2:45pm.  We are also looking for some parents who might have some expertise around filming, editing, and/or interviewing to work with a group of students to capture some of the summit.

For the second half of the term (along with year 6 camp) we will be looking at our natural environment and ways to make our Penninsula pest free. We would love to also hear from experts in this area too.

 Senior School Reminders

• Hats must be worn outside this term to be Sun Smart – No Hat, No Play
• Hair that touches the shoulder must be tied up for health and safety purposes.
• Uniform items, hats, drink bottles are to be named with a permanent marker
• No jewellery is to be worn (Only plain studs in pierced ears are allowed and wrist watches)
• Please leave toys and trading cards at home to enjoy, as we cannot be responsible for any loss or damage of personal items brought to school. (Cell phones must stay in school bags and only be used after school hours.)
• Due to food allergies, it is school policy that children do not bring food treats to school for the other students, including birthday lollies/cake.

 Thanks for your support with this.

We look forward to seeing you this Thursday night at Meet the Teacher at 6.30pm in your child’s classroom.  If you have any other queries please contact Jillian Redpath (Team Leader).

 

Regards

The Senior School Teachers

Please remember the school calendar and this newsletter can be viewed on the school website.

 

 

        

   Senior School Term 1 2020 Permission and Payment Form

 

        I give permission for my child _____________________________  of Room  ____ to attend the following:

 

 

       Senior Swimming Sports at Howick Intermediate if selected and to travel by bus.                                  

 

       (Y5/Y6)        Yes / No

 

 

 

    Payment for trips can be paid on the school website using Kindo, or at the school office

 

 

    Mathletics Home Learning              (Y5/Y6)                               $31.00

 

 

                                                                                                          __________

                                                                                  Total                  $ 31.00              Total                           

 

                                                                                                           __________                    

 

 

 

I am available to help at the Senior School Swimming sports at Howick                                                    Yes / No

 

 

I am available to help at the Senior School Non Competitive Swimming day                                            Yes / No

 

 

I would like to attend the Year 6 puberty evening for parents (28/2/19)                                                   Yes / No

(This talk is about girls puberty only)

 

 

I am keeping my Year 6 child at home on the Friday after Year 6 camp                                                      Yes / No

 

 

I have paid for the Year 6 camp or Year 5 Surf day                                                                                          Yes / No

 

 

Name _______________________________________

 

 

 

Signed ________________________________________             Date  ___________________