Principal's Kōrero

And just like that we are halfway through the term! It has been another full fortnight at Lyttelton Primary School, with lots of exciting opportunities for our tamariki (children) to learn and grow from.

This week, our kura (school) has been participating in Walk and Wheel to School week. It has been fantastic seeing so many of our community being active on their way to and from school, with several tamariki caring for our environment by picking up any rubbish they saw along the way. Our bike, scooter and skateboard parking zones sure have been full!

On Thursday, we held a fire drill practice.These are a regular requirement of our Health & Safety procedures at Lyttelton School. When staff and students participate in these types of activities we are ensuring everyone understands and knows what to do should an emergency occur when we are at school. We would encourage you to talk with your child/ren at home about what to do in an emergency and to work with them to create and practice your own household safety plans. Links here to Fire and Emergency - Create an escape plan and Get Ready - Make a household plan resources.

Last Friday, Francie, I and 7 of our Harakeke students visited Lyttelton Kidsfirst Kindergarten to make connections with staff and their tamariki in supporting our transition to school programme. Read more here.

In addition to these events, our tamariki have been involved in the following curricular activities over the past two weeks;

• Totara Technology at Christchurch East School
• Kapa Haka lessons
• Whānau Group Wellbeing Time
• Student Leadership - read more here & meet our 2024 Student Council

Our PB4L (Positive Behaviour for Learning) focus for the next fortnight is on our school value of Manaakitanga - Caring for our school equipment & environment. Students will be learning the importance of taking care of their belongings, respecting school equipment including sports gear and ways we can be kaitiaki to our environment. 

Upcoming events:

Yellow Day - Friday 15th March
Year 3 Scooter Skills - Friday 15th March: Bring scooter & helmet
PCT Challenge - Monday 18th March
Zones Swimming Sports - Monday 18th March
Sail GP - Saturday 23rd & Sunday 24th March

Paid Union Meeting - Lyttelton School Board has been notified that the teachers in our school will be attending a Paid Union Meeting on the afternoon of Thursday 21st March to discuss next steps in their collective employment agreements. This is an entitlement as part of their Collective Agreement. In order for teachers to attend this meeting we request were possible parents collect their child/ren at 12.30pm. Limited supervision will be available for those requiring it until 3pm. Please register your child for supervision by phoning the school office. 

New Government policies…You will no doubt be aware of the Government's push for an average of one hour of reading, writing and maths per day as part of their 100-day plan. As a school we are incredibly well placed for this new legislation with these requirements already in place. Our teachers already deliberately and purposefully dedicate time to teaching these core skills. Teaching techniques like investigations, collaborative learning, and games continue to be used so students stay engaged with their learning. Learning to read, write, and do maths is important in everything we do. Daily teaching has been shown to lift student progress, when coupled with a high-quality curriculum taught using evidence-informed teaching practices.    

How you can help at home:

To support the learning they do at school, you can help your child develop reading, writing and maths skills by: 

• having your child read to you 
• reading to your child and talking about books and stories 
• encouraging your child to share what they think about a book (or video game, podcast, or movie), and being positive about the material they are reading, listening, or watching 
• letting your child see you enjoy books, audiobooks, podcasts, games, movies, or videos in your first language 
• encouraging your child to write, and talking with your child about what they are writing  
• showing your child that you write for lots of reasons too, such as replying to an email, filling out a form, or writing an invitation or letter 
• involving your child in activities where you use maths (for example playing games with cards or dice, grocery shopping, cooking, and DIY activities) 
• encouraging your child to share how they solve mathematics problems (they may use different mental or written strategies to the ones you were taught) 
• being positive about your child’s reading, writing, and maths experiences, and praising their efforts.

You may also be aware of the Government’s push for ‘Phones away for the day.’ I am pleased to say that cell phones and other digital devices don’t tend to be an issue for us at school, with our tamariki following our school expectations about keeping phones in bags during the school day. A copy of our policy for cell phones can be found on School Docs (Username Lyttelton, Password Respect). We ask that any communication with your children occurs through the School Office during the day so that our tamariki do not need to access their phones during the learning day.

Whānau Support -  We continue to have the support of the Mana Ake services so please contact Emily or your child's teacher if you require additional support.

Professional Development - Staff are learners too! 

Emily, Rowena and I attended the Mathematics Workshop delivered by Rob-Proffit White. We have begun sharing our learning with the whole staff with a focus on Rich Routines in maths and revising our Long-term / weekly planning systems. Can you solve our second Whānau Maths Challenge? - Fun with Maths Challenge #2

Last Thursday, to support our ongoing work of the Positive Behaviour for Learning framework, Dinah and Nina attended the Tier 2 workshop. 

To support our Te Reo acquisition, Kate and I are completing Te Ahu o te Reo Māori, this year. Te Ahu o te Reo Māori aims to grow and strengthen an education workforce that can integrate te reo Māori into the learning of all ākonga and students in Aotearoa New Zealand by 2025.

Last week, staff engaged in our 5 week review process. The 5 week review process is a regular and established team led collaborative process that supports teachers to inquire, problem solve and learn together to improve professional capabilities to positively impact the learning and achievement of all our learners. Key interventions for learner support are identified, implemented and reviewed throughout the year as part of this process.

Finally, we are still on the hunt for someone to lead our Family Hub (PTA) this year as Chairperson. If you think this might be you, please, please reach out to me for a chat. As a school we massively rely on the fundraising support from our Family Hub and the community connections and partnerships that it creates. We really couldn’t do without it and so really urge you to think carefully to see if you might be able to support the school in this space. Read more here.

Have a wonderful weekend with your whānau and I look forward to seeing you all on Monday for the start of week 7.

Ngā mihi nui

Jenny

Tumuaki / Principal