Kia ora whānau. It has been a fabulous week having all the students back, not only in their classrooms but this week back with our amazing specialist teachers. Our students are very lucky that our school provides these extra teachers, and I am sure you are aware, especially if you know anyone else with children at another primary school, that this is something special to our school. We do this as we value these aspects of the curriculum alongside the core learning areas. We also know, from a variety of research, that spending time engaged in Music, P.E., and STEM with passionate, experienced teachers, not only develops skills in those areas, but that these skills develop important characteristics they will need in future. Some of these characteristics are: creativity, improved academic performance, motor skill development, confidence, decision-making, perseverance, focus, accountability and collaboration.

We are delighted to launch our new communication and reporting system, HERO. HERO will replace ETAP, SchoolLoop and SeeSaw. Kindo stays as our financial system.

The Hive is a wonderful collaborative learning space that has two teachers and 44 children. We love how we have so many opportunities to work and collaborate with others. As a way of creating a positive environment at the start of the year, we embarked on a piece of shared art, where the children worked together to create something amazing. We were inspired by Grant Arendse and the collaborative art that Room 11 created last year.

This week's Learner Profile Attribute was Caring. Congratulations to the following tamariki for being awarded the certificates in our Year 1 Hui today. Lilia and Christian in Room 14, Miller and William from Room 15, Layla and William from Room 16, and Luke and Mitchell from Room 17.

Our ESOL students have been working very hard in unpacking their Unit of Inquiry vocabulary. They have learnt lots of tricky words and will use them in their spoken and written English.

“Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.” (O. Fred Donaldson) For the Year 1s at Milford School, Learning Through Play is a time to explore new things, ask questions, be imaginative and make new friends. All four Year 1 classes came together and enjoyed some loose-parts play out on the field. Some children created pictures using items found in nature, some built a 'spa pool' using blocks, some started a 'bonfire' using fallen branches..... Look at our happy smiles!

If you drive down Auburn Street in Takapuna you will see an amazing site, our wonderful digital mural! This amazing mural was a collaborative project with Eke Panuku and the Pupuke Kāhui Ako, led by talented artist, Emma Jane Ormsby, ex Pupuke Kāhui Ako and Westlake Girls student. It involved the work of 66 students artists from across our 9 schools.

Thanks to everyone who has brought in their used oral hygiene products for recycling. After more than a year we are ready to send another box of used oral hygiene products to TerraCycle in Australia, where they will be recycled and upcycled into usable products. It takes a l o n g time to collect 7kg worth of oral hygiene waste, so please remember to send your items to school with your child. Items can be passed to your child's teacher, or brought to Room 19.

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 22 February.

In an ever-changing and fast-paced, technology-addicted world, it can be difficult to guesstimate what skills our children need in order to prepare them for an uncertain future.

Classes will be held at St Paul's Anglican Church on Mondays from 3:15 to 4:45pm. Students registered will gather outside the back gate by 3pm where our teachers will take them to the church for the classes. Parents will pick them up from the church after their session. See link below to enrol.

Get your kids excited about technology with these after school lessons or weekend sessions.

When was the last time you gained an appraisal or indication of value of your home? Or perhaps you are looking to buy?Jessica is part of the award-winning Harcourts Cooper & Co #1 Milford office. Being a former teacher at Milford School, Jessica knows the community well and has a personal focus on providing A+ results for families in the North Shore who are looking to buy or sell.

Please note that the following advertisements are from external sources / businesses and are intended to be informative for the reader. This does not imply that they are endorsed by Milford School.