What we are up to in our Curriculum Areas
Maths / Pāngarau: We are very lucky to be continuing our professional development with Lucie Cheeseman in Mathematics in 2024. Ākonga will continue to engage with their trios as maths detectives, and be bold in their problem-solving skills. We will kick off 2024 by diving deep into the strand of measurement, incorporating a mixture of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division knowledge. The NZ Maths website has helpful tips and ideas for supporting your child’s maths learning at home. We encourage you to visit this website to support your tamariki with their maths learning this year.
Literacy / Te Reo Matatini , Mātauranga Māori, Science / Pūtaiao, Art / Toi: This year, we will integrate our learning to provide opportunities for our ākonga to deepen their understanding of new learning. We are starting Term 1 by looking closer at Connection - who are we connected to, our class, our team, our country, and our world. Ākonga will be encouraged to think about the provocation ‘Are we all the same.’ We will look deeper into Waitangi Day, and other special celebrations. Ākonga will have the opportunity to make connections with those around them, and think about what makes them who they are. We hope to have a whole school International/Culture Day, where ākonga can showcase their learning about culture and identity. We are also hoping to include a MERC Experience that connects with this. More information will come out during the term.
Te Reo Māori: We are continuing to integrate Te Reo Māori more holistically within the learning spaces. Using the New Zealand Histories Curriculum, students will gain a greater understanding of new words, sayings/instructions, sentence structure, stories, waiata, and history, so they can be a more informed member of Aotearoa. We utilise our expert teachers to guide us and deepen our Te Reo Māori knowledge, and to strengthen our Kapa Haka and Māori Student Voice. If Te Reo Māori is one of your passions, we would love to include you in our journey. Please contact David Brake at david.brake@hobsonville.school.nz
Health and PE / Whakaako Tinana: We are very pleased to be offering our ākonga a wide variety of sports and skills this term. Our team will be running a weekly TGFU programme to enable our ākonga to learn new skills. This term will be based around swimming technique, team building activities, fundamental movement, and small ball skills. We also have a sports leadership group, which will be starting mid way through Term 1. Our teachers nominate ākonga from their class for this group.
It is a school expectation that all ākonga participate in class swimming lessons run by kaiako in the school pool. The classroom teacher will share specific swimming days with the ākonga. There are also opportunities for free swimming at morning tea break times for Y5/6. The days will be confirmed as the term progresses. Ākonga need to bring their named swimming togs, goggles, and towels in a bag. We advise bringing swimming togs daily.
Encourage your child to listen to the sports tournaments advertised in the Panui ō te ra, so they don’t miss out on the trials for both Norwest T-Ball and Swimming.
MERC Experience: Year 5 students will be attending from Wednesday 10 April-Friday 12 April (Week 11). We have booked for two nights, meaning the students will have two and a half days of instruction, participating in archery, abseiling, and water activities. We do not doubt that our students will love this experience, and we know they will be provided with many opportunities to step outside of their comfort zone and try new things. The expectation is for all students to attend.
Garden to Table / Maara ki te tepu: All groups of students will have the opportunity to learn different kitchen skills by participating in cooking and baking in the kitchen. They will also get the opportunity to further develop their gardening skills, and help take care of our school garden. Students will be planting, learning about what is in season, and using these produce as part of their kitchen recipes.
Kaitiakitanga (Guardianship/Protection practices and values) and Maramataka (Traditional Maori Lunar Calendar) are an important focus within all our Garden To Table sessions.
In our Garden to Table sessions, all students will be learning about how we can take care of our environment by reducing our waste. We at Hobsonville School want to reduce our waste. We will be promoting Waste Free lunches every day of the week. This encourages all students to bring no waste to school and to empty their food out of their individual packets. This will help our school reduce its overall amount of rubbish in our bins, and rubbish that is left outside during break times.
In Term 1 for Garden to Table, there is a donation of $5.00 per child, to help cover the costs of the materials, garden supplies, and pantry items.
Music / Waiata: Hayley Yoon will be working with each class for two days during the term as part of our teacher Classroom Release Time organisation. Hayley Yoon has experience in and passion for all the Arts; including music, drama, dance, and visual art. There are also opportunities for Marimba, Choir, Recorder, and more with Hayley Yoon.
Lewis Eady will also be conducting music lessons for various instruments during the school week. Information and enrolment can be accessed through their website.