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Photo by Sarah Gilbert

Middles News

Sarah Gilbert —

The last two weeks have just flown by! Book week has inspired us to read, read, read and Kaikville was a great success with many life long learning opportunities!

It was wonderful to see so many of our parents come and visit us during our Kaikville market day. Children have learned a range of new skills from servicing bikes, cooking, stage makeup, booking systems and of course earning and managing money. Financial literacy is a vital skill for adult life and some children were able to save 75% of their earnings which means they get a trip to Moana Pool. It can be hard for children (and adults too) to look past the temptation of things you can have right now verses saving for a greater reward. Hopefully children will have a greater appreciation for how hard their families work to support them and be more thoughtful when asking for treats.

This week we have celebrated book week, with teacher swaps, buddy reading, a special assembly, a dress up day and an afternoon with some of our parents. Having our parents come in and share stories was fantastic. The children loved hearing older stories and talking about their family favourites. Included in the New Zealand curriculum is a statement that children should read for enjoyment. We encourage you to continue sharing family favourites, perhaps make time to visit the public library, and ensure children are returning school library books so they can issue more. For their enjoyment children must have time to choose their own books. The more books they choose, the more they read which improves confidence and ability. Thank you very much to all the parents who came in and read with us!

For now it is time to get back to business as usual until our next major focus which will involve our dancing shoes!