Turakina School
New Entrant
Handbook
Kia ora whanau
Welcome to the Junior Classroom at Turakina School. I look forward to being part of your child’s journey in learning.
The aim of this booklet is to provide you with some helpful information about Turakina School, our Junior Class and a few ideas that may help your child to settle quickly into school life.
Informal, relaxed, open and friendly relationships with parents play a vital role in the daily operation of our Junior Room and help to ensure children feel secure and comfortable when settling into the school environment.
After around six weeks of school when your child has settled in, I will make contact and arrange a time that suits you to come and discuss your child’s transition into school and answer any questions that you may have. We encourage you to pop in regularly to visit.
The school is required to hold a copy of your child’s birth certificate and a copy of the immunisation details from your child’s Plunket Book. Please drop these off at the school office at your earliest convenience.
Ngā mihi
Miriam Chibaya
Room 1 Classroom Teacher
SCHOOL VISITS
At Turakina School we have school visits for new entrants. These take place over several weeks to allow your child to become familiar with their new classroom. 9:00 am until 12:45 pm Monday to Friday are the best times for visits to take place, although we are happy to look at afternoons if that may suit your family better. You are welcome to talk with me to organise extra times or days to suit. Your child should bring a healthy snack for morning tea and lunch if they would like to join the other children for a play at lunchtime.
Parents need to stay on the school grounds during the child’s visits. You are welcome to stay in the class with your child on the first visit but I encourage you to leave your child on later visits to allow your child the opportunity to develop independence and a rapport with the classroom teacher. Parents can wait in our staffroom when not in the classroom. Our Principal Leigh McKay would be happy to meet with you during this time also.
These visits assist greatly in the smooth and happy transition into school.
Ready For School:
Step by step guide to enrolling your child:
Things to bring: | ||
1. Enrolment | When your child turns 4 please pre-enrol so we know you’re coming. Complete an enrolment available from the office. We are required to check birth certificates and immunisation records of New Entrant children. These items must be sighted by our administration staff in the office prior to your child’s first day at school. You are also welcome to meet with the Principal and teacher and have a tour around the school. This is a chance to ask any questions you may have and look through the classrooms. |
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2. Pre-Visit | In the 6 weeks prior to your child turning 5, they will be invited to join the New Entrant class for visits. This will help your child learn the school routine, build an understanding of expectations and start to develop friendships. Parents need to stay with their child on these visits. |
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3. The First Day of School! | Bring your child to the classroom before school. Stay until your child is settled -try not to prolong the “goodbye” - any upsets don’t last long - please feel free to ring if you are concerned as to how your child is settling. A stationery list is attached to this handbook. Please ensure your child/children have stationery ready to start within the first week of school. |
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Preparing for School: Here are some skills you can work on at home to prepare your child for starting school:
What this may look like: | |
Encouraging Independence: | Developing independence is an important goal of the first year at school. You can help by: • Getting dressed in the morning and ready for swimming by themselves. |
Recognising Their Name: | •Writing their name is helpful |
Pencil Grip | • Colouring in |
Writing | • Talk about the sounds different letters make |
Reading | • Listening to and telling stories |
Oral Language | • Vocalising their needs e.g. ‘I need to go to the toilet’ |
Mathematics | • Basic counting to 10 and beyond. |
Other helpful skills | • Handling Scissors |
THE SCHOOL DAY
9.00am The bell rings for children to start the school day. By this time all children should have unpacked their bags and put their book bag in the box. Please encourage your child to do these things for himself/herself.
9.00 both classes meet and start the day together with ruruku, pepeha and waiata
930-10.45 Learning through play.
10:45 am Morning Break.
11.15am The second session begins. 12:45 pm Lunch. The children are supervised while eating. They are then dismissed to play for the remainder of the lunchtime under supervision. 1:30 pm The afternoon session begins. 3.00pm Home time. We get ready for the bus at 2.55 pm and are on the bus by 3.00pm.
CURRICULUM AREAS
Reading: Your child will bring home a book to share with you. Please write the date and the name of the book in their reading log. Any comments you wish to make can also be made in the reading log.
Books that are sent home should be easy reading and are chosen from the child’s book box. It is a time for you to celebrate your child’s success. Your child may bring home the same book for a few days at a time, or they may bring home a different book each night. Some of the early books the children read for guided reading in class are based on phonics readers called ‘Better Start Literacy.’ This is a structured reading approach based on learning the sounds of letters. As they learn these sounds a variety of texts will be introduced.
My aim is to develop in children a love of reading, and support them on a learning journey that will enable them to become independent readers. You will also be able to help by assisting your child to learn the names and sounds of the letters in the alphabet.
Parents can help children learning to read by reading to them, discussing stories and encouraging children to join in.
Your child will get a set of high frequency words and phonics to learn to read. There is a note in their homework book each week with any events coming up.
Golden rules for listening to your child read: Whatever stage your child is at, these golden rules for listening to your child read will apply.
Praise, Pause, Prompting
• Praise:
o Makes your child feel good about reading.
o Makes him/her try harder.
o Lets him/her know what he/she is doing right.
• Praise:
o Looking at the picture.
o Effort, willingness and interest.
o Looking at how a word starts.
o For thinking about sentences.
o Reading in an interesting way.
o When they correct their mistakes.
• Pause:
o Give your child time to work things out for himself/herself.
o Remember to praise efforts made.
• Prompting: At the early stage of reading, children will use memory and pictures to help them read. They will make mistakes (after all, they are not readers yet). They will be keen to show you what they can do so please praise their efforts.
The purpose of reading is to gain meaning and enjoyment. Ask your child one or two questions about the story at the end to encourage discussion of the text. If your child is making a lot of errors, please let me know.
Writing: Children are encouraged to write as soon as they come to school. Written language time involves a range of experiences aimed at providing children with the tools they will need to write. Some of these are:
• Oral language activities and games.
• Teacher modelling writing daily.
• Real experiences to provide ‘springboards’ for speaking and writing.
• Reading and listening to lots of interesting books in a variety of genres.
Children are encouraged to become independent in their writing, attempting words for themselves. As they grow in reading skills, they will know more about writing. Children build up a bank of words they have read or heard to use in their own writing.
Mathematics/Numeracy: Maths in Room 1 is based predominantly on Numeracy. The emphasis is on children working with, and developing, an understanding of number through a wide variety of activities. The children also develop their numeracy skills through our investigation program.The programme focuses on children developing appropriate mathematics language so they can explain their mathematical understanding.
Investigation Learning:
The classroom is set up to invite students to investigate. There are small areas with draped fabric,different table heights,a tinkering and woodwork table, a cafe and materials organised to cater for students' strengths, interests and inquiry into learning.
Open ended investigation nurtures a child’s holistic learning and perseverance skills - manawanui. This style of learning grows confident,inquiring, creative,open thinkers, with high level thinking skills. Nathan Mikaere Wallis supports this in his research about what 3-7 year old children need.
Key Competencies and Values
By engaging in a combination of self-directed and intentional teaching using an investigation style of learning, children develop skills in persevering,concentrating and solving problems, qualities as determined by the New Zealand Curriculum as strong predictors of academic success.
LIBRARY:
We visit the school library on a Friday. Students are encouraged to borrow two books. They are able to have them at home for the following week. I encourage children to bring them back to school prior to our next library visit as they must return their books before new ones can be issued.
HOME SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP
Homework books are sent home Monday to Thursday. There may be little notes celebrating your child's success as well as information and reminders about the coming week. We also encourage parents and whanau to join the Seesaw app. This app is an easy way to see what the children are learning through the week.
COMMUNICATION with HOME
- NEWSLETTERS
School newsletters are sent home every second Thursday and can be accessed through the Skool Loop NZ app.
- SKOOL LOOP NZ app
Access the school calendar, notices and newsletters.
- Seesaw app where parents and whanau can view photos of their child engaged in learning.Every student at Turakina School is set up on an App called ‘Seesaw’. This App gives students and teachers the ability to record their learning in many formats (photo, video and voice recording ) and share it with their parents, caregivers and extended whanau in real time - sometimes even as the learning is occurring. Essentially Seesaw is student-driven digital portfolios. Your child/ren’s work is kept private and is only viewed by you and their class/teacher. Teachers use Seesaw as a way to share progress and achievement in learning in relation to the curriculum. These updates are twice yearly and replace formal written reports. Seesaw is one way of increasing student engagement and allows parents to regularly keep up to date with what is happening in class and feedback to their children.
ASSEMBLY
Assemblies are held every week on Friday at 2:15pm. Our assemblies are formal occasions. The seniors lead the assembly with the National Anthem. Learners are recognised for their learning with classroom certificates and Principal’s awards.
LUNCHES
We encourage students to bring a healthy morning tea. Turakina School is part of the free Healthy School Lunch programme which provides each child with lunch each day.
GARDENING CLUB
Gardening Club is every Tuesday afternoon 1:30pm-2:30pm. The gardeners are students from Rooms 1 and 2 supported by parent helper Kelly.
FINALLY...
I am really looking forward to sharing the adventure of learning with your child/ren and your family.
Miriam Chibaya
Junior teacher at Turakina School