Term 2 Class Newsletter 2011

Room 9 Class Newsletter
Term 2 2011

Dear Parents,

Room 9 Programme for Term 1 will be:
Maths:
For numeracy we will be covering multiplication and division,
The strands work will explore aspects of statistics and geometry.

Religious Education:
The first week we will look at psalms for the Prayer Strand. Later we will focus on the Holy Spirit and God Strands. We will also celebrate the Liturgical Events of Eastertide, Pentecost and the Ascension.

Literacy:
Reading: We are working on key words, the comprehension skill of being able to infer (read between the lines), and also asking and answering different types of questions. We will use one text for the whole week. Therefore the books the children are bringing home are not the ones we have read in class. The books they bring home are for enjoyment and to help them get reading mileage.

Writing process: We will be using the narrative and report formats.
Oral Language: we will be working on our read aloud skills.

Inquiry:
This terms Unit for the year is an integrated one that explores: “Why people share stories? and What makes a great Production?” You can follow our discoveries and decision making on our blogsite http://room9shsinv.blogspot.com/

Physical Education / Health:
This term we will focus on Playing Games and Jump Jam.We have PE on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. (These are the only two days they are to wear sports uniform unless they have a note or 
                                                                                    there is a special event.)

The Arts and Technology:
We will be exploring construction techniques by making costumes and props for the Production.
The students will engage in drama and dance units that are integrated with our Inquiry Unit.


Homework
10-20mins of reading
10 mins Basic Facts (Doubles, halves, timetables, and basic facts up to 50.)
Spelling: The tests will be on Fridays and new words given that day too. Day 4 of their spelling book is to be completed by Mondays and returned to school for marking.


Library
Our library day will be Fridays.

Student Teacher
This Year we will have Mrs Michelle Ryland a Third Year Teacher’s College Student working in Room 9 on Mondays and has a three week posting in June.

Release
I will be released to do my Senior Management work on Fridays. We are lucky enough to have Mrs Cimone Page doing this release. This will provide continuity for the class. Mrs Page will carry on with the normal class programme.

Events
5th May Jack and the Beanstalk Production
11/12th May School Aerobics Competition
19th June School Mass
6/7th July School Production


Blog and Contact
We have a classroom blog this can be found at http://room9shsinv.blogspot.com/
Parent Information blog for Room9 with class newsletters etc can be found as a link for this blog or on http://parentinformationroom9.blogspot.com/


If you have any problems or wish to speak with me at anytime please don’t hesitate to contact me. My e-mail is klieshout@shsinv.school.nz . I would like to set up communication via e-mail this year with as many parents as possible so if you have an e-mail address could you please e-mail me at the above address so I can set up an e-mail grouping for the class.

All class newsletters are also posted on the class blogsite under Parent Information Room9.

Kath Lieshout (Room 9 Teacher.)

Meetings

Meetings

21st March 2011

Dear Parents,
As you know the Year 6 students will be away on camp to Stewart Island from the 26th to the 28th of October. There is a meeting about this camp on the 29th of March at 7.30pm.
This is an information meeting at which the following will be discussed:
Cost
Timetable
Menu/ dietary needs
Equipment list
Consent forms
Medical forms (for both adults and students going on camp.)
Role of parents attending the camp.
Any questions or concerns you have.

If you are going on camp it is important you attend this meeting.

Thank you

Kath Lieshout
Room9 Teacher

21st March 2011

Dear Parents/ Caregivers,
We have an evening for the Year 6 boys and girls on Thursday the 7th of April 2011 .

I will be talking to the Year 6 children about puberty. The talk will take place in Room 9 from 6 -6.30pm for the boys and 6.30-7pm for the girlss.

While this programme is being offered outside school time, we would encourage you to take this opportunity for your child. We will be covering changes to our bodies and emotions at puberty. This will be done through a DVD and a powerpoint.

If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me at school 215 7317 or via e-mail at klieshout@shsinv.school.nz.

Please fill out the slip below and return to school at your earliest convenience.

Thank you for your support.


Kath Lieshout


We will be attending the Pubertal Change Session on the 7th April 2011

Number attending: ________________ ( parent/s, guardians, student)


__________________________________ Parent/ Caregiver

Homework in Room 9

The students have two notebooks for homework.

One notebook is for reading. It is divided into three columns: Date, Name of the book, Pages. Each night the student is to fill this out each night.

The second notebook is for spelling and basic facts.

The spelling words for the week are written in the front of the book.

In the middle of the book the students record the words they got wrong and words they get wrong frequently in their writing. The students need to learn these each week too. They will be tested on them at some stage.

The basic fact answers only are to be recorded at the back of the book

Dear Parents/ Caregivers,
This year I will be assisted in the classroom, for an hour each day by Mrs Ingham. She is a registered teacher and will work we small groups of students on a daily basis. The programme she is running has been planned by me and will support the teaching I am doing in class.

The reading groups will work on word attack skills, self-monitoring and
fluency using poems. The maths groups will work on strategies for learning
basic facts and follow-up activities from the teaching I have done.

If you have any queries about this please contact me either by email at this
address or leave a message on the school answer phone and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Could you please let me know that you got this so I know my e-mail addresses
are correct.

Kath Lieshout
Room 9 Teacher

Parent-Teacher Communications
Most classes have or will soon be sending home class information newsletters.
Mr Forde has asked teachers to include e-mail contact details as the first port of call, and to state a suitable time for parent interviews during the week.
He has implemented a procedure of NO parent teacher interviews after 8.40 am in the morning.
If you need to discuss something important about your child, please make an appointment, or send a note or e-mail.
This is more confidential than having an interview in a busy class and also allows the teacher to prepare for or find any information you may request.
It also allows the teacher to meet and greet the children and other parents in the morning.
All queries about students please contact me. Mrs Page and Mrs Ryland plan and assess under my directive. As classroom teacher all the information about the students in Room 9 is held by me and is my responsibility.

Term 1 2011 Room 9 Class Newsletter

Dear Parents,

I am really excited to be teaching your children this year. At present there are 31 Year 6 students in the class.



Room 9 Programme for Term 1 will be:
Maths:
For numeracy we will be covering addition and subtraction,
The strands work will explore aspects of statistics and measurement.

Religious Education:
The first week we will look at the charism of Sacred Heart School and the second week will be on prayer. Later we will focus on the God and Jesus Strands. We will also celebrate the Liturgical Events of Lent and Holy Week.

Literacy:
Reading: We are working on main ideas, key words and locating information in the texts. We will use one text for the whole week. Therefore the books the children are bringing home are not the ones we have read in class. The books they bring home are for enjoyment and to help them get reading mileage.
Writing process: We will be using the personal recount and report formats.
Oral Language/ Current Events: Once a term your child will work with a group of children on our current events blog http://weeklynewshsinv.blogspot.com/ which they will present to the class on Fridays. This will be part of our on-going oral language programme.

Inquiry:
Our first Unit for the year is an integrated one that explores: Why is safety important? As part of this unit we will be looking why and how we make rules and how knowing this can helps us make great decisions about our learning and our learning environment. You can follow our discoveries and decision making on our blogsite http://room9shsinv.blogspot.com/

Physical Education / Health:
This term we will focus on Run, Jump, Throw in preparation for the Zone athletics. We will also be swimming in from the 7th -24th of February . There will be more about this at a later date. We have PE on Monday and Friday afternoons. (These are the only two days they are to wear sports uniform unless they have a note or there is a special event.) This will not happen during the two weeks we have swimming.
Fitness: this term we will be working on aerobic fitness with timed runs. The students will keep records of these. They need their sports shoes EVERYDAY.

The Arts:
We will be exploring construction techniques by making Funky Chickens .



Homework
10-20mins of reading
10 mins Basic Facts (Doubles, halves, timestables, and basic facts up to 50.)
Spelling: The tests will be on Fridays and new words given that day too. Day 4 of their spelling book is to be completed by Mondays and returned to school for marking.

Library
Our library day will be Fridays.

Student Teacher
This Year we will have Mrs Michelle Ryland a Third Year Teacher’s College Student working in Room 9 on Mondays.

Release
I will be released to do my Senior Management work on Fridays. We are lucky enough to have Mrs Cimone Page doing this release. This will provide continuity for the class. Mrs Page will carry on with the normal class programme.

Events
3th Feb School Mass 9.30am
8th Feb Parent Night
7h-24th Feb Swimming
2nd March House Colour Day
9th March Ash Wednesday
5th April The Minstral Visit
4th & 5th April Parent Interviews
Zone Athletic Sports (yet to be set)
Southland Athletic Sports ( yet to be set)

Camp
Bannockburn was unavailable this year so we are going to Stewart Island. The dates are the 26-28th of October. We are staying at a Backpackers so, I will need to confirm numbers for this and the Ferry. Therefore if you would like to be a parent helper on camp this year I need to know by the 18th of February.

We have a classroom blog this can be found at http://room9shsinv.blogspot.com/
Parent Information blog for Room9 with class newsletters etc can be found as a link for this blog or on http://parentinformationroom9.blogspot.com/


If you have any problems or wish to speak with me at anytime please don’t hesitate to contact me. My e-mail is klieshout@shsinv.school.nz . I would like to set up communication via e-mail this year with as many parents as possible so if you have an e-mail address could you please e-mail me at the above address so I can set up an e-mail grouping for the class.

All class newsletters are also posted on the class blogsite under Parent Information Room9.

Kath Lieshout (Room 9 Teacher.)

Term 4 2010 Room 9 Class Newsletter

Dear Parents,
The children all seem to have had a great break and are refreshed for a busy and exciting term.
Room 9 Programme for Term 3 will be:
Maths:
For numeracy we will be revising and consolidating our numeracy knowledge and strategies with particular emphasis on decimals and percentages. The strands work will be on probability and algebra.
Religious Education:
We will be working on the Church and the Communion of Saints Strands. We will also look at the Liturgical Seasons of Advent and Christmas.
Literacy:
Reading: We are working on the types of questions that help comprehension and making inferences about the texts. We will use one text for the whole week. Therefore the books the children are bringing home are not the ones we have read in class. The books they bring home are for enjoyment and to help them get reading mileage.
Writing process: We will be using the recount format and looking at the development of proof reading and revision skills.
Oral Language/ Current Events: Once a term your child will work with a group of children on our current events blog http://weeklynewshsinv.blogspot.com/ which they will present to the class on Fridays. This will be part of our on-going oral language programme. We will also be presenting our camp experience with you.
Inquiry:
Our Unit for this term is an integrated one that explores: Why people buy and sell things? We are hoping to make crafts to sell, the profit will be sent to St Paul’s school in Christchurch. This school was destroyed in the earthquake and the students have been corresponding with the students there. You can follow our discoveries on our blogsite http://room9shsinv.blogspot.com/
Physical Education / Health:
This term we will focus on Throwing and We have PE on Tuesdays and Friday afternoons. (These are the only two days they are to wear sports uniform unless they have a note or there is a special event.) Fitness: this term we will be working on aerobic fitness with running EVERYDAY so the children need to bring their sports shoes every day.

The Arts:
We will be exploring shape, pattern and colour using a variety of mediums and construction techniques.
Homework
10-20mins of reading
10 mins Basic Facts (Doubles, halves, timetables, and basic facts up to 50.)
Spelling: The tests will be on Fridays and new words given that day too. Day 4 of their spelling book is to be completed by Mondays and returned to school for marking. They have nearly completed their last book for the year so they will be using essential word lists each week. These are words they need for their writing
Library
Our library day will be Fridays.

Release
I will be released to do my Senior Management work on Fridays. We are lucky enough to have Mrs Paige doing this release. This will provide continuity for the class. Mrs Paige will carry on with the normal class programme.

Camp
This will be for the 21 Year 6 pupils only. The Camp will include an afternoon of yachting and kayaking, a day at the Arrowtown Museum, abseiling and a visit to the Clyde Dam.

We have a classroom blog this can be found at http://room9shsinv.blogspot.com/


If you have any problems or wish to speak with me at anytime, please don’t hesitate to contact me. My e-mail is klieshout@shsinv.school.nz .


Dates for Term 4
15th 19th 21st NZEI meetings in the afternoons.
20th October Spirit of Nation12pm
27th October Share the Road 11am
1st November Class Trip to ENRICH
1 – 6th November Tour of Southland
7th November School Fair and Mass
13th November Year 6 Day at Secondary Schools
15th November Year 6 Camp
12th December Final Mass 6.30pm
15th December Last Day of School

All class newsletters are also posted on the class blogsite . There is a new link on the blogsite called Parent Information and all newsletters, camp information, ideas for helping your child at home can be found there. http://parentinformationroom9.blogspot.com/


Kath Lieshout
Room 9 Teacher.


NB.
We have a couple of cases of head lice in Room 9. Please check your child’s head and if there is a problem treat immediately.

WRITING
You can help your child by getting them to practice writing diffferent types of sentences. Examples are shown below.
Types of Sentences

Simple Sentence

The cat sat on the mat


Compound Sentence

My dog is not popular with the neighbours. My dog scares the postman away.


My dog is not popular with the neighbours because s/he scares the postman away.


Complex Sentences

The cat sat on the mat.

The cat sat on the mat so that he could curl up and go to sleep.

The girl walked into the classroom.

As the girl, with flaming red hair and freckles on her nose, walked into the classroom, all heads turned to stare at her.

Writing at Home.
Lots of reading by, with and to your child: of a variety of books.
Read books to or with your child
Talking books ( from Library)
Give your child lots of experiences: going to beach, park, baking, building huts, sport, art….
Your child might like to keep a diary or they could put their spelling words into sentences.
(Try just one word in a variety of sentence lengths. Make it a challenge - who can write the shortest, longest or most detailed sentence!)