A look back over the week that was.

Reading

We learn a lot of reading skills during reading time. These skills can usually be broken down into "decoding" or "comprehension".

Decoding strategies are all about HOW to read, figure out unknown words, etc. While comprehension is all about UNDERSTANDING what we read.

In Year 2 it is important that both of these skills improve together, as there is very little point learning how to read if we don't understand what we are reading, and vice versa.

Writing

In writing this week Mr Horn's class was preparing for our assembly next Monday and writing about how long it takes for rubbish to decompose.

Miss O'Loughlin's class were writing about how we collaborate.

Mr Morehu's class were writing about bullies and creating scary stories.

Maths

Maths Whizz certificates have begun coming out on Fridays. To be eligable to earn a certificate you must complete at least 4 progressions in the Tutor mode of Maths Whizz. Once you have your name goes into a cup and one person per maths class is pulled out and earns themselves a certificate for their effort.

Congratulations to Ngaire, Tiffany, and Lenny who earned this weeks certificates.

Sign Language Week

We have been learning to sign our own names and sing the national anthem using New Zealand sign language to celebrate NZ Sign Language Week.

Integrated Topic

This week we have been continuing our exploration of the things the Earth gives us that we need to live. We have looked at the Water Cycle, as well as the life cycle of a plant, we have planted seeds and looked at how they grow. We have also been investigating the impact of rubbish in our water and how long it takes to decompose.

Bully Free Week

We have been doing a bunch of activities around being bully free, these will continue next week, but first we had to identify what a bully is. These are the criteria we came up with:

- They repeat the bad choice multiple times

- They target a particular person

Upcoming Events

- We are hosting assembly on Monday from 2pm!

- Pink Shirt day is on next Friday, find any pink in your wardrobe and wear it to school to show your support for Bully Free Week. We will be having a drone photo so the more pink the better.

- Mr Horn is on ICT release on Tuesday

- Miss O'Loughlin is on Leadership release on Thursday

- Worm Farm trip is on Week 4. If you are able to come as parent support please let your child's Whanau teacher know as soon as possible

- John Parson's Cyber Safety Presentation is on Thursday evening at Hillmorton High School Hall from 6:30-8:00, it is a must see presentation for anyone with a child entering into the world of ICT and the internet.

- Mr Horn is off to Canada  on the 24th of May, he will be away for three weeks.