Kia ora whānau! Students have settled back into classes now, and are enjoying the learning and experiences they have each day. As I meet with each team’s teachers during the week, I can see how the planning of the inquiry units gives students the opportunity to explore and inquire into different concepts, perspectives and themes in local and global contexts, and across time. For example, the Year 2 students had the opportunity this week to visit Howick Historical Village, dressed in clothing from the 1800’s, to experience life, school and toys from many years ago. The visit was a great success, with the students loving the “old” toys, and we are all so thankful for the chance to take these trips outside of school again, after not being able to for the last couple of years.

We will be having our next 2nd Hand Uniform Sale this Saturday, 14 May from 10.00-11.00am outside the junior block, opposite the Courts.

There have been a number of children arriving at school between 8am and 8.30, and even some who are in the school grounds before 8am. Please try to arrive at school between 8.30 and 8.55am each day, as this is when the classrooms are open, and teachers are in their rooms. We also have road duty teachers from 8.30 to 8.55am, to assist children to cross the road or be dropped off safely. If your child is in the school grounds prior to 8.30, there are no teachers on duty, so if an accident occurred, it could be dangerous.

As we come to the end of week 2, Term 2, the colder weather has begun to make itself felt. As the students move into wearing their school jumpers and warm socks and shoes, please ensure that all items of clothing are clearly named, especially those purchased from our second hand uniform sales, as these often still have the names of previous owners attached. If an item is clearly named, it will be returned to its owner. Please also ensure that your children’s footwear is in uniform colours, with black shoes, and navy or black socks/tights. We are seeing quite a bit of pink in footwear lately as well as sparkly hair accessories. These are great for the weekends, but please keep to school colours during the week.

Just a reminder: By now you should have received your child's online ordering photo access key via email from Photolife. Orders need to be placed by midnight on Sunday 22 May 2022 to get free delivery to school. Any orders made after this date will include postage costs to your home address.

Tonga was hit hard by a life-changing natural disaster. As the dust settles we want to help support the Tongan community in the next phase of their relief.

Check out this week’s episode of Milford School TV by clicking the link below.

Our Learner Profile Attribute for the first two weeks of Term 2 is being an Inquirer. This means that we are curious and enjoy new learning. We ask questions and try to find out new things. This week the recipients are: Millie and Ollie (Room 13), Summer and Miller (Room 15), Deborah and William (Room 16), Anton and Mariam (Room 17). Congratulations to these inquiring learners.

This week in Room 16 we have been learning about the letter o and the short sound it makes. We thought of: on, orange, ostrich and octopus. We used our cutting and glueing skills to make a picture of an octopus .

On Tuesday the Year 2 team had a wonderful trip to Howick Historical Village. The children, teachers and parent helpers got into the spirit and dressed up as if they were from the 1850s. The children got to play outdoor games, explore toys from the past and learn all about the uses of Victorian household items and the differences between original Victorian appliances and those used in the 21st century.

In Year 3 we have been about electrical circuits as a part of our Unit of Inquiry, ‘How the World Works’. We have learned that for electricity to flow through a circuit, we need a source of electrical energy, a conductor and a device to use the energy such as a lightbulb. We have made simple circuits using wire, a battery and a lightbulb and have investigated how conductors and insulators affect a circuit. We have completed experiments with balloons, potato clocks and battery-powered fans. We are looking forward to learning more about electricity at MOTAT next week.

The Gardening Club tamariki planted root vegetables this week. Root vegetables, such as carrots, radishes and beetroots don't need too much nutrients in the soil to grow. They were perfect to plant into the garden bed that used to be the 'Potato patch', since the potatoes had taken alot of nutrients out of the soil. The children made small 'trenches' in the patch using their fingers and gently sprinkled some seeds into the soil. We also did our regular weeding and watering jobs to maintain healthy gardens.

This week we learned that blubber is a type of fat that keeps marine animals warm in the freezing Antarctic climate. This protects them, helping them survive on the ice and in the Southern Ocean. In this experiment, the blubber glove put a layer of fat between our hand and the ice water. We observed if the blubber glove stopped the ice water from lowering the temperature of our hands.

This group of talented learners came to my office to share a dance they had choreographed and practised themselves. They said that the song (Waka Waka - This Time For Africa, by Shakira) was one of their fitness songs, and they had enjoyed it so much they made up the dance. They have decided to make up a dance for every new song each week so I am looking forward to seeing them again! Being balanced is about understanding the importance of balancing different aspects of our lives—intellectual, physical, and emotional—to achieve well-being for ourselves and others. These motivated and creative learners are certainly enjoying a balance in their school lives! Want to check out the ten attributes of the Learner Profile in PYP? See the attached photo. Chat to your children about the attributes and see if they can name times they showed an attribute in the way they thought, spoke or acted.

This week room 1 and room 20 spent part of the morning sharing learning games and activities. This included maths games, literacy, and building/ construction. This was a fantastic opportunity for both classes to share knowledge and experiences, discover new creative ways of looking at resources and enjoy time getting to know each other!

Catalogues were sent home this week, BUT if you didn’t get one don’t despair please check with your classroom teacher or the office to get your copy. Orders need to be placed by Tuesday 17 May.

Pink shirt day is on Friday 20 May! Wear pink for anti-bullying and stand up for yourself and others!

The Yummy sticker promotion is set to go again for 2022, time to get crunching and collecting stickers. Last year threw us all some curved balls, but this year we are excited to be celebrating our 25th anniversary of running this promotion for schools. Everything is basically the same as previous years, sticker charts are the same and available on our website. One thing you may find, is some Hailstone Hero apple bags. We had a wild spring storm hit us in Hawkes Bay, damaging a significant amount of our apple crop with hail. Although these look funny, they still taste yummy. The official cut-out is not on these bags, but you can collect the round bar-code sticker as 10 points. These are Yummy apples but branded Hailstone Heroes and available in both New World and Pak’n Saves.

Holy Moly Arts and Craft, along with sKids, will be running after school art sessions on Monday afternoons in Term 2.

Fun Languages, along with sKids, will be running after school Spanish classes on Wednesday afternoons in Term 2.