Nga mihi nui ki a koutou katoa – warm greetings to everyone

ILE (Innovative learning Environments):

This week the teachers and some board members are heading to Wairakei and Waipahihi to look at their solutions for collaborative teaching and innovative learning environments (sometimes called MLE – Modern Learning Environments). It is an exciting time for us as we begin the next round of property funding for our school next year. We are beginning to plan for the future, thinking about what learning environments are best for our children.

Many of the modern learning environments being built today promote and support a range of pedagogies including delivering, applying, creating, communicating and decision-making. Modern learning environments support strengths-based teaching and can offer students and teachers flexibility, openness and access to resources. Providing teachers with an open, flexible learning environment can lead to the development of a robust, continuously improving community of practice.

Modern learning environments that align better with what we know about the brain and student learning can facilitate traditional pedagogies such as direct instruction if needed, but they typically offer students and teachers much more:

• Flexibility: the ability to combine two classes into one for team-teaching, split a class into small groups and spread them over a wider area or combine different classes studying complementary learning areas.
• Openness: modern learning environments traditionally have fewer walls, more glass and often use the idea of a learning common (or hub) which is a central teaching and learning space that can be shared by several classes. They provide opportunities to observe and learn from the teaching of others and be observed in return.
• Access to resources (including technology): typically a learning common is surrounded by breakout spaces allowing a range of different activities, such as reading, group work, project space, wet areas, reflection, and presenting. There is often a mixture of wireless and wired technology offering access as and when students need it, within the flow of their learning.

Working in an open, flexible learning environment where inquiries are shared, interventions devised collaboratively and reflections based on both self and peer observations, leads to a more robust, continuously improving community of practice.

By Mark Osborne

Turf:

It was a bit of a surprise yesterday to have the turf layers turn up but we are excited to finally be getting this done. The children are very interested in watching the process! I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this project – Southern Trust, First Soverign, Sport Bay of Plenty, The Whanau Group, The Pet Day Committee, and the BOT. Please bear with us while the work is being done and stay off the court areas. Thank you.

Stars of the week:

Congratulations to Marley who had a great day yesterday and produced some quality work for Miss McIndoe. Great writing Marley and lovely quality setting out in your book too!

Well done to Amy and Emma for their quality writing at the end of last week too. I love it when children come to see me with things they are proud of!

Sports: Cricket

We need 10 children for a team and registrations are due this Friday. Please contact the office if your child wants to play or you are a parent who can take the team and help.

If your child is interested in playing cricket and entering a team in the CBOP Festival of Cricket, please phone the school and leave their name before Friday 27th October. They must be year 4, 5 or 6. If there is enough interest (and a parent willing to coach!) I will enter a team.

Give your cricket skills a whirl! Register now to enter the CBOP Festival of Cricket. Teams including Year 4, 5 and 6 students will play 8-a-side matches with a maximum of 10 players per squad. Teams can be mixed gender.

When: Tuesday 7th November (pp Thursday 9th November)
Where: Smallbone Park, Rotorua
Who: Year 4, 5, 6 students
How much: FREE
Time: 9.15am – 2.30pm
Entries Close: Monday 30th October

WEETBIX TRI:

For more information go to https://registration.tryathlon.co.nz/Home/Event/19

If you are keen to enter as part of a school team, let the office know.

Thank you:

A big thank you to the teachers this week. I have managed to cram an amazing amount of work for them into a short week with school visits, peer coaching (including them videoing each other!), an extra staff meeting, preparation for athletics, assessments, and reports are ready to start writing. I am thankful that I have such a flexible and motivated team around me. Make sure you appreciate how hard they work for your children too!

Nãku i runga i aku mihi ki a koe – Yours with thanks

Richelle McDonald

and our team –Jill, Margaret, Susannah, Esther, Rachel, Julie, Maureen, Heather, Tina, Mary, Kim, Ross & Emma.

Calendar:

Thurs 2nd Nov  Althetics Day

Tues 7th Nov     CBOP Cricket
Tues 7th Nov     Maths Quizz
Tues 14th Nov     Orienteering
Tues 21st Nov     Cluster Athletics (Reporoa Schools combined) pp Thurs 23rd
Wed 22nd Nov     BOT Meeting 11am
Wed 29th Nov – Fri 1st Dec     Year 3 & 4 Camp

Wed 6 th Dec     CBOP Athletics
Fri 8th Dec     Reports go Home
Sun 10th      Weetbix Triathlon
Wed 13th Dec     BOT meeting 11am
Fri 15th Dec     Triathlon
Fri 15th Dec     Last Day of Term 4 – 3pm Finish

Reminder:

Download the calendar app – all community notices will be transferred onto this app as they come in.

Clothing:

Another reminder about our lost property pile. We are doing a big push this term to name your child/rens clothing.  You are welcome to come down and check the lost property box for lost clothing at any time. At the end of each term all lost named clothing will be returned and the rest will be sent into town.

Head Lice Check:

The local nurses will be coming in to the school within the next month, before swimming,  to do a head lice check. If you do not want your child to be checked either send a note or txt the school this week – thanks.