Three-Way Conferences

Week 2 Term 2 Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences

We have Three-Way Conferences (for Parent/Student/Teacher) scheduled for Tuesday 10 May and Wednesday 11 May. Families can choose the day that will work best for them. 

Students and their parent(s) need to attend a 10 minute appointment on one of these two days. Details are provided below for how to make an appointment.  

Appointments available

Tuesday 10 May 3.15 - 6.45pm

Wednesday 11 May 3.15 - 5.35pm

How to make a booking

Bookings are now open. How do parents make a booking for their child's Three Way Conference?

There are a number of ways bookings can be made. Either:

1) Go to the School App and then the Links section then School Interviews. Enter the code akwma

2)  Go to www.school interviews.co.nz and enter the event code akwma

Term 1 - Week 11 - Last week of the term

Kia Ora! 

Wow, we have come to the end of the term. Our last school day is Thursday.  We have managed to fit in a lot of learning and fun despite the rough start of Covid, let's hope the next three terms have fewer interruptions.

We continue to be safe in and around our classroom to ensure everyone feels comfortable every day in Kākano.

Please remember if your child is unwell they need to stay at home. 

Holy Week

Today marks the start of Holy Week, with today being Palm Sunday. We will continue to learn about the events that take place during this week. We have a Liturgy on Thursday that we will attend in our classes.

There are Masses taking place this week and next weekend. Unfortunately, we still cannot attend Mass as a school, it would be great to see families attend Mass together. 

Winter Uniform

After the holidays, children are expected to be in their winter uniforms. Please note that boys can now wear long sleeve polo shirts instead of the skivvy. Our uniform hours are Monday and Friday from 8.30 to 9.00 am and Wednesdays from 2.30 pm to 3.00 pm. You can also purchase uniforms online by going to the school website. Once the online order has been put together, you will be able to pick up your uniform from the School Office.

Swimming

Kakano 4, 5, 6 and 7 are all swimming this week. Please bring your togs every day.

The week ahead:

Monday - gymnastics in the hall (bring shorts)

Tuesday -Normal Day

Wednesday - Normal Day

Thursday - Last Day Of School! (School finishes at 2:45pm)

Kakano Teachers

Stations of the Cross

This week we remembered Jesus' last day on earth through the Stations of the Cross. It was lovely being outside and hearing stories at each station that made it relevant to our lives today. We said a prayer at each station and a different classmate was able to take the cross to the next station.

Term 1 - Week 10

 Kia ora whānau

There are only two more weeks left of this school term and it is so great to see nearly all of our students and staff at school and well! We continue to be safe in and around our classroom to ensure everyone feels comfortable every day in Kākano.

Easter

We have some special learning happening for the children to help them prepare for Holy Week next week. Firstly they will be told the Palm Sunday story and we will have a sort of donkey parade to celebrate this. We will also be talking about The Last Supper, the Washing of the Feet and the Stations of the Cross over this time.

It is important to teach all of our tamariki about what the week leading up to Easter Sunday is really about. This video could be very helpful to show your children and help you remember what the HOLY WEEK is about and why it is important that we recognise and celebrate the days leading up to Easter Sunday. 

https://youtu.be/cZ4gQniUVO8

Swimming

Kākano 1,2 and 3 are swimming this week.  Please bring your togs every day.

House Tug of War

On Friday we will be having our annual Tug of War competition. Please can your child bring clothes to school on Friday to change into their house colours in the afternoon.

The week ahead:

Monday - gymnastics in the hall (bring shorts)

Tuesday - normal school day

Wednesday - normal school day

Thursday - normal school day

Friday -  sausage sizzle and juicy day $1.50 each, house tug of war, roller skating club (bring roller skates.

We look forward to seeing everyone this week!

Kākano Teachers

What a cool week!

There have been lots of new and exciting things for us to do this week in kākano. Check out what we've been up to.

Structured Literacy Approach

Kia Ora Kākano whānau, 

                                        It is likely you will have seen a big change in the reading books your child is receiving. As you may be aware, St Marys is in the process of changing to a ‘structured literacy’ approach to reading. A consequence of this will be a change in the type and frequency of books being sent home. Each week the book will be targeting a specific reading/spelling rule that your child is learning to master. The books may appear too ‘easy’, however the focus is firmly on the particular rule being taught. 

On Mondays your child will bring home an activity sheet with words from the story. (There may be other activities that come home, focussing on your child’s individual needs).  These words can be sounded out and practised, with the actual book coming home near the end of the week. Repetition is the key to embedding the rule until it becomes automatic, so this book can be read over and over again.  At this stage they will be photocopied, however the quality will improve in the near future. 

Until your child has run through the Stage 1 portion of the programme they will not anymore be ‘classified’ as being at a particular ‘colour level’ of reading. Stage 1 is expected to last for the first 2 years of school. We are working on an alternative reporting system to show progress and next learning steps, aligned with our new programme. 

As a parent, you may wish to learn more about this approach and the Science of Reading. If you have questions, please feel free to find further information at:

 • Lifting Literacy Aotearoa 

• Learning MATTERS 

• iDeaL Approach 

• APM Reports – At a Loss for Words. (Very interesting analysis of current methods of teaching reading)

Due to Covid we haven’t been able to schedule a parents information evening around the IDeal Structured Literacy programme. We hope to be able to set this up later in the year. 

If you have questions, please contact your classroom teacher.

Regards,

Kākano Teachers