PRINCIPAL’S AWARDS Our Principal’s Awards are currently focusing on the following:I am a goalsetter... - I can reflect on my learning
- I can share and discuss my achievements
- I can plan my next learning steps
Autahi and Tautoru Amelia, Darragh, Lisa, Romy, Emelie, Finley, Jasmine and Wolfgang. Matariki and Mahutonga Bethen, Charlotte Ba., Gina, Maddie and Max.
Parent Workshop - Tuesday 21 March - 6.30pm-7.30pmDeveloping Children’s Speech and Language with Speech Language Therapist, Jennifer Lyons
Our NZ Curriculum relies on oral language as the foundation for student learning. It is essential for literacy learning, and successful use of language is critical for students’ wellbeing. Almost all learning relies on oral language.
Like anything, students’ abilities vary and they progress at different times. The level of oral language knowledge and competency of some students impacts on how they access the curriculum at any level. It is not easy for some! The English alphabet has 26 letters and 44 distinctive sounds. Some sounds are made up by 2 or 3 different letters, so how and when do you learn these?
Jennifer Lyons will be coming to share her expertise on these areas that we often have questions about: - Speech and language
- Developing oral language and vocabulary
- Developing phonemic awareness (the foundations for spelling)
She will be covering these areas and providing some very helpful information about what speech and language development to expect at different ages and stages. She will be giving practical tips on how we can improve all of these areas at school and home.
“Writing floats on a sea of talk” is a favourite saying of ours - actually “All learning floats on a sea of talk”!
We hope to see you all there.
Grow Your Mind Day - Monday 10 April PARENTS, YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS....... COME AND SHARE YOUR PASSIONS!Come and be part of our inaugural 'grow your mind day'!We know that you have skills, interests, hobbies, even hidden talents that would be new and exciting for our children to learn more about or for them to just have a new experience. We are aiming to have little Mini Workshops running throughout the day, depending on interest from you, your friends and family.The scope is wide, from music to cultural practices to cake decorating to photography, quilting, go carts, drawing, martial arts, hairdressing and ......and ....and.........the list goes on and on......whatever - as long as it's child friendly!A Google Form will be coming your way next week to pop your name down, but if you can't wait to fill that in just email your child's base group teacher.Please join us and make this a big success!
2017 Great Kiwi Science, English and Maths Competitions for Years 5-6The University of Canterbury is offering your child the opportunity to participate in the Great KIWI English, Mathematics and Science
competitions. These competitions take place annually and are designed by New Zealand teachers for New Zealand students based on
the New Zealand curriculum.
The competitions are administered by the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM) which is a not-for-profit Centre at the University of
Canterbury.
The competitions are open to all Year 5-6 students in English, Mathematics and Science. Students can enter in one or more
subjects. It provides teachers, parents and students with an independent, comprehensive record of a student’s performance.
The supervised online tests will take place in the last 2 weeks of Term 2.
Keep an eye out in upcoming Newsletters for registration.
Creativity at the Beach Last week we made it to the beach for one session and we had so much fun. We became town planners and architects. Take a look at the blog to find out more! What's we've been up toThere has been so much engaged and fun learning going on in Autahi! From thinking like scientists, to being musicians and creating our own tracks, to learning about symmetry and butterflies! It’s been busy and exciting in Autahi! Have a deeper look at our blog! 
This week we have been learning some games to play in the playground. We learned how rules actually make the games better, because everyone knows what they are supposed to do. We had to use some character strengths - bravery, zest, kindness, resilience. Have a look at the Blog and find out more. Art in TautoruWe shared our Chinese New Year dragon at Assembly last week. It is now hanging in Tautoru with lots of other lovely pieces of artwork. Pop in and have a look at our displays. 
Digital Technologies UpdateGoogle Accounts have been successfully set up for students in the seniors. The introduction of Google Docs has really changed the way students and teachers work. It gives students the opportunity to access their learning at anytime, to share with their classmates, teachers, and parents. Students are able to work collaboratively and also give feedback to each other on documents. Students are also accessing Google Apps that is shifting the classroom learning to a more student-centred environment. Setting up Google Accounts for Year 3 children will assist with the transition from the juniors to the seniors at the end of this year. We will begin by teaching all of the Year 3 students the skills required to confidently use Google Docs and ICT so that they will have a good foundation with which to continue building on. Teachers are using GAFE (Google Apps For Education) alongside the Hapara dashboard which allows them to monitor what students are doing with their Google Accounts. All children from Years 3-6 have their own student account and Year 1 and 2 students have access to Google Docs through the Tautoru GAFE site. A major focus that underlies everything is digital citizenship. Year 3 students will have brought home the WBS Acceptable Use of Technologies Agreement, developed by them and their teachers. They will discuss it with you and it needs to be signed and returned to school. Once a signed Acceptable Use of Technologies Agreement has been returned, the students will be set up with a Google Account. Safety is paramount and we take this very seriously. We are excited about the opportunities that will prepare our children for a future that will be very different to our own.
Please speak with Scott if you have any questions.
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