With only 3 weeks to go, we still have lots to do! 

We are looking forward to everyone finishing their Ako Bases and selling them at the Food and Craft Fair. As you will have seen in the Newsletter, we are holding our Fair on Thursday 28th September in the afternoon. 

At the end of this term we will also be farewelling Lisa McWilliam. Lisa has been a very big part of Merrin School for a number of years. We will be holding a special School Assembly on the last day of school in the hall from 11am to farewell her and celebrate her new job at Westburn School in Term 4.

Reading

During reading time, some groups have been focusing on identifying main ideas, whilst other groups are looking at figurative language within their text;

• Identifying the main idea of a text, whether fiction or non-fiction, supports comprehension of the text. Students have learnt that, in the majority of cases, the main ideas are presented in the first or the last sentence of a paragraph. The rest of the paragraph provides the detail to support the main idea.

• Figurative language focus, has been to define the concepts of; similes, metaphors, hyperbole and personification. Discussions were based around every day examples, highlighting the fact that these are part of every day life. This understanding will then be applied to the texts we have been analysing.

Please continue to discuss your child's reading experience with them, the books and authors they enjoy alongside the things they have found a challenge. 

Also another reminder to ensure your child has a Reading Folder and that it comes to school every day. We are still finding there are students who are not bringing these consistently and this is now impacting on their reading.

Maths

Please ensure you are checking with your child about what they are learning at school. This term we have encouraged them to be more self directed in their learning and they are all working at their own pace through the Prime Maths Books.

Library

Please remember to bring back your library books each week. There are a few outstanding books from some students and Lisa Stanger, our librarian, has sent notices home to cover the cost of replacing them. Please check with your child.

Upcoming Events

Remember it is our Whānau Hui on Wednesday 13th September at 5.30 - 7.00. If you have not replied to the invitation, please get this to us asap for catering numbers.

Have a wonderful weekend

Tania, Nicky and Tania