Health -

All students will take part in the Keeping Ourselves Safe programme in the middle of this term.

Keeping Ourselves Safe is a comprehensive child abuse prevention programme for schools, developed in conjunction with NZ Police. Its purpose is to:

teach students a range of safe practices that they can use when interacting with other people, both online and face to face
teach students how to recognise the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships, and encourage students who have been or are being abused to seek help
prevent abuse by making parents and teachers more aware of their responsibilities to help students avoid abuse.

We work with our Community Constable, Tania Wansink, to deliver this programme. Tania is hosting a parent information meeting on Thursday 15th August at 9:00 am in the school staff room. You can also access parent information here: KOS Parent Information

Inquiry Learning Area - Social Science

The Big idea: The ideas and actions of people in the past has changed the lives of others.

Lines of Inquiry:

Identify the challenges people face and the courage they need to persevere
Discuss people who have impacted on society
Describe the difference/similarities between people who made a difference in the past and today

Literacy -

Reading:

In Year 4 most of our students are now reading to learn rather than learning to read. In the early years, children move through reading levels at a relatively quick pace and have usually developed strong decoding skills. However, in Year 4 the focus is on comprehension, vocabulary, reading pace and being able to use text material in a variety of ways. There is also not the same number of levels as in the early years so children are likely to spend longer on one level, as more time is spent on the content.

Your child can read either to you, another family member or a friend. Please read and discuss the book to consolidate their understanding. It is a good idea to ask your child questions about what they have read e.g. Who are the characters? Where was the story set? What happened in the beginning/middle/end? This is to encourage a deeper understanding of what has been read. Comprehension and understanding text is a major part of our reading programme this year.

Our students will not always bring home the book they are working on in class. They have the option of choosing a school journal, reading a chapter book from home or a book they have chosen from the school library. Reading and library books will not be sent home if your child does not have their book bag at school.

Writing:

This term the children will be introduced to report writing, using the structure: Title, Introduction, Paragraphs, Conclusion.They can also include diagrams, charts and a glossary. We will also revisit narrative writing to enable students to show their imagination and creativity.

Spelling:

Our students learn spelling through a Structured Literacy approach

Handwriting:

Students will learn how to form letters correctly.

Oral Language:

Students share their ideas, thoughts and opinions. Share their work with peers, small groups and the class. Give constructive feedback to help their peers improve their written work.

Te Reo:

Our school follows a structured learning program from year 1 through to year 6. We have set aside a time for this each week to help our students improve their Te Reo.

Library Day:

Tuesday- Nikau W and Nikau C, Thursday - Nikau K

Maths -

Number:

Please help your child to practise their addition and subtraction basic facts to 10, moving to 20, and 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x and 10x multiplication and division facts. Online programs such as Steve Storm, The Tables of Doom, and Studyladder help support the children with their maths.

Other Maths Strands: Measurement

This term we will focus on Time and Money.

Time estimating time intervals and working with units of time (minute, hour, day, week, month, year), including telling time on digital and analogue clocks.

Give change for money and represent sums of money.

Specialist Subjects - Friday:

PE:

Focus: Net/Wall Games and Run, Jump, Throw

NZ Curriculum Key Concepts:

Participate in creative and regular physical activities and identify enjoyable experiences
Develop a wide range of movement skills, using a variety of equipment and play environments
Develop a wide range of movement skills, using a variety of equipment and play environments
Identify and discuss obvious hazards in their home, school, and local environment and adopt simple safety practices

Music:

Focus: Learning dance and songs from our islands in the South Pacific (Tonga, Tuvalu, Samoa, Tokelau, Rarotonga and Fiji) and learning to recognises similarities between each.

NZ Curriculum Key Concepts:

1: Practical Knowledge: Timbre and Rhythms of different peoples.

2: Developing ideas: Trying different endings and beginnings. Rewriting songs.

3: Communicating and Interpreting: Creating a safe place to express oneself.

4: Understanding context for different purposes and cultures. How do you know this song is from this culture just by listening?

Art:

Focus: Extending their knowledge of colour, through looking at famous artists and exploring different techniques with wet media. Exploring mixed media techniques.

NZ Curriculum Key Concepts:

Practical knowledge through exploring wet and dry media techniques and materials
Developing ideas through creating their own individual artworks with inspiration from artists
Understanding context through exploring artists and why they make their work.
Communicating and interpreting through exploring the purpose behind an artwork.

In this issue

Nikau Team Reminders