Welcome back everyone!

Kia ora koutou

Welcome back everyone.  A special welcome to the following students who have joined the Cotswold Learning Community in recent weeks:

• Kairi McShane
  
• April Hogan
  
• Sophia Forrest
  
• Josias Arrambide
  
• Aidan Williams
  
• Isla Wray
  
• Kohen Heppelthwaite
  
• Sophie Arrambide
  
• Claire Lau
  

Our children are learning a range of skills and abilities (key competencies) to help them to do well in life. There are lots of things parents can do to help their child develop and use these. The world our children live in is very different to what it was like when we were growing up and is continuing to change. It is no longer enough to just learn “facts”. No-one knows exactly what life will be like for today’s children when they become adults, but we do know that they will need to develop a range of key competencies, so that they can adapt and function well in the world. These key competencies are:

• Thinking
  
• Using Language, Symbols, And Texts
  
• Managing Self
  
• Relating To Others
  
• Participating And Contributing
  

These key competencies are an important part of our children's learning at school. They are included in the New Zealand Curriculum and are woven into all the teaching that takes place.

During Term 2 we will be focusing on “Managing Self”. Students who manage themselves are enterprising, resourceful, reliable, and resilient. They establish personal goals, make plans, manage projects and set high standards. They have strategies for meeting challenges. They know when to lead, when to follow, and when and how to act independently. Click here to view the indicators (rubric) for Managing Self that students use to monitor their development in relation to this competency.

This week our Year 6 students, staff and a number of parents are at Waipara for school camp. This is a wonderful opportunity for these students to experience activities outside the classroom that reinforce learning by enabling students to make connections between what they have learnt in the classroom and the world beyond the classroom. Education Outside The Classroom experiences also give students opportunities to demonstrate the key competencies identified in The New Zealand Curriculum; particularly managing self, relating to others, and participating and contributing. We look forward to students sharing their experiences with us when they return to school.

A reminder we are holding our next full school assembly on Friday 25th May, 2018 starting at 9.10am. We’d love to see you there.

Ngā mihi Nui 

STEPHEN HARRISON

Principal