Horizon Primary School: Years 0-6

Horizon Primary — Jan 31, 2025

Building Strong Foundations for Our Young Learners

What a fantastic beginning to the year across all our teams! The Explorer, Adventurer, and Discoverer teams have settled into their learning spaces and are full of enthusiasm for the exciting experiences ahead. This week, students have been exploring their classrooms, learning new routines, reconnecting with friends, and making the most of our creative spaces.

Term One Theme: Love
This term, we are focusing on the value of Aroha (Love), which will serve as our lens for exploring the school values of Faith, Hope, and Love. Students will reflect on questions like: What does a great Horizon student look like? and How can I contribute positively to our school community? In the last weeks of the term, we’ll also explore the meaning of Easter through the lens of Love.

Focus Areas for Learning

This term, we are diving into a variety of exciting learning opportunities. In mathematics, our students will begin by exploring place value and numbers, laying the groundwork for more complex mathematical concepts. This strong foundation will support their growth and confidence in problem-solving and number operations as the term progresses. In literacy, we continue with our Structured Literacy program, which focuses on developing essential reading and spelling skills. Through this approach, students will engage with targeted instruction to improve their phonemic awareness, decoding skills, and comprehension. We are also excited to continue with The Grammar Project, helping students strengthen their understanding of grammar rules and sentence structures to enhance their writing abilities.

The Discoverers team are looking forward to meaningful discussions around Te Tiriti O Waitangi and the creation of a shared class kaupapa—a set of principles that will guide us in fostering a safe, fun, and educational learning environment for everyone in the Discoverers classes. It also ties beautifully into our Social Sciences theme of Whanaungatanga, which emphasizes building relationships, connection, and a strong sense of belonging within our school community. Our Year 6 learners are an integral part of our Mana Tamariki Leadership Program, where each student will have the opportunity to step into a leadership role and contribute to various aspects of school life.

This term, we’re thrilled to have all the primary teams meet at Snells Beach for water safety sessions. On high tide days the students will walk to the beach for swim-safe lessons and physical education activities. The walks will also provide a chance to learn about road safety and put these skills into action. We still need parent volunteers, so please get in touch if you’re able to help!

Discoverers Surf Trip – 28th February
The Discoverers, joined by the year seven and eight team, will head to Omaha Beach for a special Surf Education and Skills on 28th February. This trip will focus on water safety, basic surfing skills, team-building activities, and beach games. It’s a wonderful opportunity to build connections across the school and enjoy learning in our natural environment. where the children will learn essential water safety skills, basic surfing techniques, participate in team-building activities, and enjoy beach games.

Important Reminders for Parents

To support our tamariki’s learning and well-being, please remember:

Pack a healthy lunchbox with minimal sugar
Ensure your child has a Brain Snack, Morning Tea, and Lunch every day
Include a filled water bottle in their bag each day
Students must bring a suitable hat to school each day to ensure we are being ‘sun-smart’.

Our popular lunchtime ‘wheels days’ have been extended to 5 days a week this term so our learners have the opportunity to bring their skateboard, scooter, rollerblades and bikes each day of the week to use at lunchtimes. Please remember our students must wear a helmet during these lunch times.

We are looking forward to a fantastic term of learning, growth, and community-building. Thank you for your continued support, and we can’t wait to see all the wonderful things the tamariki will achieve this term!

We always encourage parents and whānau to pop into our classrooms to say hello before or after school and see some of the amazing work our tamariki are doing.