Year 4 Buddies

We have been trialling a year 4/new entrant buddy system.  This is the idea of Tuakana/Teina.  Some of us are lucky to have our big siblings at school, but some of us don't.  With our buddies it's like we do have a big brother or sister. We have had year 4 buddies on a Wednesday afternoon.  Some of us have been going down to the seniors and been working through some collaborative art, buddy reading and fitness plans together.  Others of us have been working with our buddies during Rising 5s in Autahi.  It's been really nice having a buddy to work with us and so we know some of the big kids in the playground.  

Here's what some of the kids in Autahi have to say about having big buddies:

"I like reading in the library with my senior buddy and she is my sister!"--Alfred

"It's cool having a big buddy.  I like building the puzzle with my big buddy. It's nice to see my buddy not at Rising 5s time, but at the playground." --Vera

"I like reading books with my big buddies.  My buddy made me a rainbow picture and I made one too."--Olive

Transition to School and Connecting with ECEs

The children in our class come from many different early childhood centres around Wellington.  As part of our transition to school program we try to visit most students at their centres before starting.  Children are invited to Rising 5s for up to 2 terms before they start and have visits as well.  

2 weeks ago I was lucky enough to get to go visit some of the children that will be starting this term in Autahi at their centres. This is so worthwhile as it allows the children to be in a place they feel comfortable and confident.  They show me around, tell me what they like to do and explain what they do on a daily basis.  

We had lots of fun and I know more about each of these children now. 

We also had KinderCare come visit us with 6 almost-school-aged children and a few teachers.  We got to be the hosts and show some of the things we do in school and some of us got to reconnect with our early childhood teachers.  It was lots of fun and we practised being big buddies and giving others a taster of what our school is like.  

Parent Workshop Term 1 2016

Last week we had our parent workshop. 

Thank you to all of the parents that were able to make it. For those that couldn't, here is a summary of what we covered.

First we asked for some feedback about what was going well so far.  

This is what we got: people have been enjoying Rising 5s, our transition to school, how children are making friends within our class and the use of praise and incentives to keep motivation up. 

We asked for feedback for ways we could improve the start to school.  We really appreciate the feedback.  

Some of the suggestions included: having buddies with older students, having more visits to school before children start and having more "real" class activities during Rising 5s. 

Next we addressed questions. 

The themes: people were a bit uncertain about homework and the role parents play in that, reading at home, how kids learn to write and how friendships are encouraged.  

Our responses: Fortunately, some of the suggestions are things that we already do! 

• We have got senior buddies who come in a few times a week to do buddy reading and writing with our new children.  This has proven to be really helpful for children when on the playground because they know some of the big kids around! 
• Children starting school are invited to attend Rising 5s afternoons for 2 terms before they start and can make a minimum of 2 school visits--more visits are welcome if you feel your child needs it and all you need to do is come see us.
• Rising 5s is our developmental discovery time in which we have a variety of activities that we do have out during normal class time as well. School visits provide more guided instruction.
•  Homework shouldn't be stressful! We are trying to encourage reading--this can be done by reading together, being read to or children reading to you. 
• Other homework includes exploring and practising their rocket words--these are high frequency words--and we encourage trying to do this in fun ways--chalk, shaving cream, glitter.
• Here is a link to the presentation we shared and it includes more information around early literacy in the classroom: Early Literacy Presentation Link 

What next: At the beginning of next term we will be inviting you to some Coffee Connection mornings to connect with other parents in our space and address anything you're still unsure about.   We will also be conducting more parent workshops. Watch this space for dates! As always, if you're unsure about anything please send us an email or come see us.