Junior Splash Reminder

Dear Parents/ Caregivers 

Tuesday 1st March 2017 1.30-2.30 

All children wear their school uniforms to school and bring their: named togs, towel and cap in a bag. Please remember the rule: no cap = no swimming - Goggles are optional - We invite all our families to come along at 1.30, meet us on the courts outside Rooms 9-12 and join us for the afternoon.

Weekly for Term 1 Week 4

Howick Primary School Junior Weekly Newsletter Room 9
Kia ora everyone! Welcome back to Term 1 in the Junior Team. Please make a note of the important dates and events coming up this week.
Meet the Teacher and family picnic	Thursday 23rd February - please note the date 5pm-7:30pm Please check the flyers around school for information
Junior Splash	Wednesday 1st of March - week 5 1.30-2.30pm see separate letter for details
Family photos	Please can you bring in a photo of your family/whānau.   We would like to have a family photo from every child to display on our classroom wall.   Could the photo please have the names of your family members on the back.
Ice block Fridays	If you would like your child to have an ice block on a Friday please send $1 to your child’s teacher.
HPS Gala	Please bring a bottle or jar of cordial, dressing or chutney as a HPS Gala contribution
Togs	Please check all of your child’s swimming togs and school uniform items are named including goggles and cap Remember  NO CAP = NO SWIMMING
Class blogs	Please check the child’s class blog for weekly letters and any other information. Click on the link : http://2017hpsrm9.blogspot.co.nz/
Lloyd Elsmore Swimming for Yr3s	Please return your child’s permission slips to their class teacher
Mathletics and Reading Eggs	Payment due by 3rd March
School arriving time	Just a reminder that children need to arrive at school at 8.30. Teachers are unavailable to look after children BEFORE 8.30 due to class preparation and meetings
Looking Ahead: Term 1 Week 4
Monday: Lloyd Elsmore Swimming for Y3s, Swimming R13, 14, 15, 16 Tuesday: Wednesday: Thursday: Friday: Ice Blocks

Junior Splash Day

Howick Primary School

                                     Willoughby Ave, 

PO Box 82-015, 

Highland Park, 

Manukau 2143, 

Auckland Ph 09 534-6082 

www.howickprimary.school.nz

Friday 17th February 2017 

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The Junior School are looking forward to our upcoming Junior Splash on Wednesday 1st March at 1.30pm.
After lunch all Junior classes will meet on the concrete courts outside Rooms 11 and 12 in their togs, ready to welcome our families. Students will be split into mixed age teams and siblings will be put together.
We will run a rotation of events, which are all about water safety, confidence and fun. Our aquatics rotation will kick off just after 1:30pm and we aim to finish our last activity around 2:30pm.
As our little ones do feel the cold so quickly, once the rotation is over we will all go straight back to our classes to get changed.
All children are asked to come to school in their school uniform and are asked to bring: 
! Named togs, towel and cap in a bag.
! Remember the rule: no cap = no swimming.
! Goggles are optional.
We look forward to seeing you.
Regards
The H.P.S. Junior School Team 

Gala Info

Dear wonderful Howick Primary School Families

Be part of our first gala in many years. It will be a great day of awesome fun and delicious food for all the family and community to enjoy. There will be plenty of stalls and activities for everyone including food baskets, white elephant, clothing, books, gift baskets, plants, mystery envelopes, games, a Christmas grotto, tombola, rapid fire and silent auctions.

The event is being school lead by the senior management team. The Board is fully committed to putting the proceeds of the Gala towards student resources in every year group. – technology equipment, junior playground, resources to support learning.

Staff and students will be asked to help prepare/set up and run their class assigned stall /activity. As this is a school event that is being held in the weekend, there will be a day off in lieu on Friday March 31st. We are very grateful to Howick College who are providing us some students to volunteer on the day.

Gala Committee

Planning is well under way and we have a fantastic Gala Committee team. New members are always welcome. We will be meeting in the School Board room from 7pm – 8pm on the following dates...

Monday 20^th February    Week 4

Monday 27^th February    Week 5

Monday 13^th March        Week 7

Monday 20^th March        Week 8

Gala Updates

All the latest Gala news will be in the weekly newsletters which will be available of the school website.

If you have any questions, please call the school office and they will direct you to the right person Ph 534 6082.

Donated Goods or Services

We are seeking donations, donated goods, experiences (Bach/sport/travel etc) or vouchers. If you can help, please call Lisa Fullford 0274 785 007

Gala Day Leadup

We would appreciate it if each family (not per child) could contribute to the fabulous food hampers. A Gala collection box will be in each classroom. Items can be delivered per week or all at once if that is more convenient for you.

Week 3     13 - 17 Feb          Bag of wrapped chocolate lollies

Week 4     20 - 24 Feb         Bottle or jar of dressing/cordial/chutney

Week 5     27 Feb – 3 March  Chocolate Bar

Week 6      6 – 10 March       Canned item

Week 7      13 -17 March              Bottled Item

Week 8      20 -24 March      Jolly Jars (Jars filled with small items suitable for

                                    girls or boys such as small toys, rubbers etc)

Other ways you can help

Donated items

These can be dropped off to the school office every Monday morning – closer to the time, there will be more dates

               We respectfully ask that all donated items are new or near new

Here are some suggestions, but not limited to…

White Elephant - Pictures, furniture, glassware, household items, sports and camping equipment

Items must be clean and in good working order. We cannot accept electrical goods

or any items that can’t fit into a car

Clothing - Adult / child, fancy dress / dress up, linen, shoes, handbags, belts, accessories and jewellery 

Books and Games

Parent help

During the upcoming newsletters, we will keep you updated as to what help is required. There will be plenty of sorting and wrapping of food hampers and gift baskets to be done. There will be a parent roster but it will be kept to only one hour per family for set up on Friday 24th March or for on Gala Day.

Wheels Day

Wheels Day

Wednesday 15th February 

Scooters, bikes, roller blades etc and helmet

At HPS we are safety first this means -no helmet no ride 

Please ensure that all wheels and helmets are named

Students are expected to wear school uniform.

Howick Primary School Junior Weekly Newsletter Room 9
Kia ora everyone! Welcome back to Term 1 in the Junior Team. Please make a note of the important dates and events coming up this week.
Wheels day	Wednesday 15th February Y2/3 1.30 - 2.15 Y0/1 2.15- 2.55 Children can bring bikes, scooters, prams, roller blades, roller skates and skateboards All children must have a helmet so NO HELMET, NO RIDE Please name all equipment including their helmet
Meet the Teacher and family picnic	Thursday 23rd February - please note the date 5pm-7:30pm More information to follow
Family photos	Please can you bring in a photo of your family/whānau.   We would like to have a family photo from every child to display on our classroom wall.   Could the photo please have the names of your family members on the back.
Ice block Fridays	If you would like your child to have an ice block on a Friday please send $1 to your child’s teacher.
Togs	Please check all of your child’s swimming togs and school uniform items are named.   We have already had a number of items lost, albeit temporarily, and several upset children.   Remember  NO CAP = NO SWIMMING
Class blogs	Each classroom has a class blog Please check the class blog for weekly letters and any other information. Click on the link : http://2017hpsrm9.blogspot.co.nz/
Looking Ahead: Term 1 Week 3
Monday: Lloyd Elsmore Swimming for Y3s, Swimming R13, 14, 15, 16 Tuesday:   Wednesday: Wheels Day Thursday: Friday: Ice Blocks

Information for Term 1

Letters came home today inside book bags  with lots of information about the term and year ahead.

If you missed the paper copy of the letter here it is for you ..............

                Thursday 2nd February 2017

              Dear Parents and Caregivers,

                  

              Welcome to the Junior School Team.  We would like to welcome all our new families                 to HPS and our existing families too.  The whole team are really excited about the year                   ahead.  

             This year the Junior Team at HPS has some teachers returning, some ex-Middle                         School teachers joining us and some brand new teachers.  

          Room 9 = Mrs Fiona Blest

        Room 10 = Mrs Michelle Wyatt

       Room 12 = Miss Samantha Jonson

         Room 13 = Miss Alison Wood and Mrs Katy Currie

         Room 14 = Mrs Kristen Oliphant

         Room 15 = Mrs Anita Munshi

                   Room 16 = Mrs April Hobby

Our topics this term are:

    English: Reading skills, Handwriting, Recounts, Flow Charts, Diagrams, Checklists

Mathematics: Statistics and Number

       Concept Study #1: Learning Focused Relationships – learning about each other and building a classroom community

Concept Study #2: Movement

Physical Education: Aquatics

E-Learning: Class Blogs

    Reading

     - As of week 3, all Junior children will have a reader Monday-Thursday and a poem each 
        Friday for children in Y0-2 from week 1.  Year 3s are expected to read library books or 
     other books of their choice.

     - Please hear them read each night as this is essential for their reading development.  

    - This reader is not intended to be difficult.  It is intended to be read by your child 
         independently, increasing their confidence and pleasure in reading, and encouraging                them to want to read.  

    - Please sign and comment in their reading logs and return it, and each reading book, daily.  

    - Reading logs are marked on Fridays.  

    - For children who speak more than one language, we encourage them to read books in                their first language as well as in English.  

Notes regarding home readers:

* The Reading log contains a wealth of helpful information to support you in assisting your child to read.  

*  Asking your child to retell the story in their own words or asking questions about your child’s story helps

  to aid and develop comprehension.

*  Discussing new words is a great tool to help extend your child’s vocabulary.

*  Be patient if children make errors.  Resist jumping in and correcting them.  Give your child a chance to

   think about the word before you try to help. Ask them to “Try that again”.

*  Share your child’s story if it is long.  Reading a page each can be a good technique.

Reading should be an enjoyable experience so offer plenty of praise!

Maths

- We use a variety of approaches and the children will be utilising a range of resources.  

- We are keen to build your child’s knowledge of numbers to 5, then 10, then 20, then 100 and beyond.

- We will also help the children extend the range of strategies they can use to problem solve.   

Writing

- At HPS we write daily.  

- On Mondays we usually write a recount of what we did at the weekend.

- We also write about our current topic of study, a particular writing unit or our experiences.

- Children are encouraged to try their own spelling by sounding out the initial and end sounds of a word.

- We model different styles of writing, including punctuation, grammar and spelling techniques.

- We value all children’s attempts and encourage a very high standard in writing/letter formation.

- Handwriting focuses on correct formation of letters and pencil grip.

- At HPS we use Casey The Caterpillar framework and you can see these up on the walls in our classes.

Homework

1. Reading - A reader will come home on Mondays–Thursdays and a poem each Friday for Year 0-2.

2. Fast Words - Each week your child will bring home 5 fast words on a Monday to practice reading and recognising instantly, until they have finished all the fast words.  This helps your child to build a bank of words that they can recognise without having to figure out the word. This makes their reading less ‘work’ and gives a sense of early achievement.  A certificate will be awarded when a child has learnt all their fast words.

General Information

Swimming

- The first term is our Aquatics term and our swimming program involves all children.  

- As this is part of the PE curriculum, please send a note if your child is unable to swim for a day.  

- Please name your child’s togs, towel and cap and send them in a named bag for ease of identification!

- Swimming caps are compulsory and can be bought from the school office.

- Goggles are an optional extra.

Library

- All books are to be returned to school weekly in your child’s book bag.  

- At HPS we operate a no book bag, no library books policy.

- Room 9 and 10’s Library days are Monday and Thursday.

News Day

All children will have an opportunity to share some news in front of the class on a Friday. Your child will be notified when it is their turn to share. This will start in week 3.

Some ideas for news topics are: family outing, holiday, newspaper article, photo, favourite book, homemade craft, science/nature object, insect, pet, painting, poster, sports or cultural activity etc. Please remember to check with your child’s teacher first if you are bringing an animal or something special.

Toys are not to be brought to school for news or any other time.  

Uniform

- At HPS we are proud of our uniform and expect the uniform code to be adhered to at all times.  

- Items such as tattoos, wrist/ankle bands, nail polish and non-uniform jumpers are not allowed.

- No other items of clothing are to be visible under the uniform.  We appreciate your support with this.  

- Please name all clothing and hats (including underwear while swimming).

- Hats are compulsory in Terms 1 and 4.

Morning Tea  and Lunch

- At HPS we have embraced the Education for Sustainability (EfS) ethos.  

- This means we encourage both healthy lunches as well as litterless lunches.  

- Please do think carefully about the contents of your child’s lunch and limit high sugar items including muesli bars.  What your child eats for lunch and morning tea has a direct affect on their learning particularly the length of time they are able to maintain concentration.

- Water only please for children’s drink bottles and we have water fountains available.  

- At lunch time there is a 10 minute eating time bell to help your child focus on eating their food before children will be released to play.  

Milk

- Milk is available daily at school.  

- Please let your child’s teacher know if you DO NOT want your child to have this.

Parent Help

- We always appreciate having parent help in our classrooms.  

- This can involve anything from sharpening pencils, gluing, etc to listening and hearing children read.  

- If you have any time available please see me.

Absences

- Please contact the school office 534-6082 or email m.ammonds-smith@howickprimary.school.nz to notify us if your child is sick or absent.

Online Learning, extra trips and events

- You will receive a notice about each upcoming trip or event and can pay for them at that time.

- Payments can be made at the office or given, along with permission slips, to your child’s teacher.

- All children use ‘Reading Eggs’ and ‘Mathletics’ online programmes costing $35 per year.  Payment for these need to made by week 5 of term 1 this year.

If there is anything else you’d like to discuss, please feel free to pop in and see me/us, or if you’d prefer, make an appointment.  Emailing is also another good way to communicate. We’re available to speak to parents about any matter they feel is important for the happiness and education of their child. So, if you would like to a catch us for a chat, I am usually available in class from 8:30-8.50am in the morning or after school if you want to drop in. ☺  

Thank you for your continued support,

        Fiona Blest

      f.blest@howickprimary.school.nz

       Michelle Wyatt

         m.wyatt@howickprimary.school.nz

And the swimming letter was sent home too

Willoughby Ave, PO Box 82-015, Highland Park,

Manukau 2143, Auckland

      Ph 09 534-6082

www.howickprimary.school.nz

Term 1, 2017

Dear Parents / Caregivers

Firstly, welcome back to Howick Primary School.  I hope you have all had a great holiday and are looking forward to a wonderful and busy 2017.

We are fortunate to have our own school pool and will start using it the week beginning on Tuesday 7^th of February.

Please note that swimming is a compulsory part of the school’s programme.  If your child is sick or injured however, please write a note excusing them from that day’s swimming.

A plastic bag is needed to keep all your child’s clothing in during changing time.  It would be a big help if you could please check your child’s clothing, including footwear, and ensure each item is clearly named.  A big thank you to all parents who have already named all items of their children’s clothing.

Please note that it is compulsory for all children to wear a swimming cap for every lesson.  

Weather permitting the swimming times for Room 9/10 this term are:

* Tuesday at 2.00-2.25             * Friday at 2.00-2.25               

Parent help during these sessions would be much appreciated.  Please complete the form below if you are able to help on any of these days and return it to me as soon as you can.

Thankyou for your continued support,

Fiona Blest

✁ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _

Room 9/10’s Parent Helpers for Swimming 2017

I _________________________________(parent’s full name) can help with Room

9/10’s swimming lessons on:

□ Tuesdays at 2.00                 □  Fridays at 2.00