Kia ora koutou

I hope you have all been enjoying the warmer weather over the last fortnight.

News back from both camps out this week are very positive; it does not appear that enduring lots of rain on the Abel Tasman has dampened the spirits of our Class 11 students. Class 10 students came off the Whanganui River yesterday and I have heard very positive feedback form the teachers accompanying them about the success of their trip.

You will have heard a lot in the news media about the Governments move to structured literacy in all schools this year. Structured literacy is not a programme, but rather an approach to language acquisition and the skills of writing and reading. here at Raphael house, we have been using a structured literacy approach since 2021, and we feel the approach we are using fits very well within a Waldorf approach to teaching and learning.

Over the last few years, we have significantly invested in both curriculum resources and teacher and leaning Support assistant training to support this approach. With the new initiatives from the government, we have been offered further training at no cost to the school, and we have taken up this offer.

This means that next week (Week 5) Lisa and Angelique will be attending a 3-day structured literacy training course and there will be relievers in classes 1 and 3 for those three days.

In Week 8 Tanya, Purdy, Rose, Louise and Claire will be attending a 3-day structured literacy training course for teachers working with older students. Because this will mean teachers out of Classes 4-7, we will be running some special programmes over those 3 days with some relief teachers.

Have a great week everyone.

To truly know the world, look deeply within your own being; to truly know yourself, take real interest in the world. Live through deeds of love and let others live understanding their unique intentions: this is the fundamental principle of free human beings.

Rudolf Steiner