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Photo by Studio Four

Middle School Update 

Sarah Rickards —

Rude, Mean or Bullying - What's the difference? 

Quite often we find it tricky to define 'bullying'.  Hopefully this will help us to understand the difference, and  to clarify situations your child may find themselves in at school. 

Rude: accidentally doing something mean or hurtful such as pushing in line, burping out loud or bragging about something. 

Mean: saying something mean or hurtful on purpose e.g. making fun of what someone looks like or what they are wearing, insulting someone’s intelligence or ability, saying or doing something unkind after a fight with a friend. 

Bullying: CRUEL BEHAVIOUR DONE ON PURPOSE OVER TIME THAT INVOLVES AN IMBALANCE OF POWER. The three  p's -  it's done on purpose, it is a reoccurring pattern of behaviour or an imbalance of power. 

If you would like to know more read " The 8 Keys to end bullying" or visit http://signewhitson.com/tips-strategies/

Thanks - Cross Country was heaps of fun and we hope that you enjoyed coming to see us compete. Thanks for your support. 

Coming up ... Swimming Sports are on Tuesday 20th June. We will all be heading to the pool in Henderson for a fun day of competition.  We would love some parents who are willing to get in the pool to help us. Please email your home group teacher if you are keen. More information will come home soon.


Learning Studio 4

Some of you have had a wonderful trip to the zoo or several over the past few terms (Please check the window if you have put your name down to help). This term, we are using our trips to learn how science uses nature to solve problems. Nature has been solving problems for millennia, so it makes sense to learn from nature if we want good ideas.  This science is called biomimicry. Bio means living and mimicry means imitate, so we imitate living things to design solutions for our problems.

Here are some websites you can visit with your kids:

Asknature.org

Biomimicry.org

We hope you enjoy learning about how scientists work as we observe animals, collect data and draw conclusions. Scientific literacy involves a lot of these skills. It also involves using maths and literacy to find further information and analyse that information. To help support your child, you can visit the local library to find books on animals or look up documentaries to watch about zoologists and their work.

Learning Studio 5

Farewell to Caitlin - LS5 would like to extend a huge thank you to Caitlin, one of the teaching adults we have been privileged to have working with us in our studio. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to the children you have worked with during your time here at Westmere School. The children and teachers will miss you! We wish you all the very best as you move into a new career!

Science in LS5 - We are keen to do a few science experiments next week. Please could you send in any spare jars (with lids) to help us with these experiments. If you would like your jar returned then please write your name on it.

Learning Studio 8

We are loving our Te Reo classes with Whaea Jane every week. Details of what we are learning are on our Home Learning sheet. We are finding that learning a different language requires a LOT of focus and bravery to practice out loud!

LS 8 are off to the zoo for our last catch up visit on Wednesday 14th June. We will be learning about animal adaptations. We are looking forward to learning from the Zoo Educators.