Saturday 26 August 2017

Term 3, Week 6

Room 4 Newsletter:  Term 3, Week 6

Sunday 27th August, 2017

Important Dates coming up:
*Gymnastics – Final day this Tuesday at 2.15 pm for Room 4. Sports uniform may be worn.
*Wednesday: Parish Mass in the Church at 9 am.
*Thursday 31st August: Year 3 & 4 Ski Day to the Snow Farm. Yay!!!!!!
*Friday: Assembly at 2.10 pm. Mrs Ward away to Dunedin in the afternoon for a course.
*Thursday 7th September: Parent Meeting for Confirmation, 7 pm at Father Pat’s house.
*Confirmation: 12th September – 6 pm in the Church.

Year 3 & 4 Ski Day to the Snow Farm:
Excitement is growing for the Year 3 & 4 Ski Day this Thursday to the Snow Farm. A notice went home last Monday with all the final arrangements and another clothing list. If for any reason you have not received this notice, and are unable to check our class blog, please contact me as soon as possible.

It is essential that all children have the correct clothing and equipment for skiing due to the unpredictable weather conditions and extreme cold.

Year 5 & 6 Ski Camp last week:
Congratulations to the happy campers who excelled themselves with their skiing and goal-setting last week on the Year 5 & 6 ski camp. For the 3 days that I was at camp with the Year 5’s there was no stopping them! Thank you so much to our wonderful parents, who fully supported your children to do the best that they could do. We sure had to work hard to keep up with them, and in my case, at times I just had to watch in awe from the top of the mountain! We were blessed with amazing weather and everything went very smoothly.



Regards, Markelle Ward

Sunday 20 August 2017

Term 3, Week 5

Term 3, Week 5: Monday 21st - Friday 25th August

I will be away on Ski Camp with the Year 5's between Monday and Wednesday this week. You can follow our progress on the school's Facebook page. It will be a very early start tomorrow morning (Monday) so wish us luck!


Room 4's Year 4's will be in very capable hands back at school. The children have a notice to bring home tomorrow (Monday) regarding their own Ski Day to the Snow Farm on the 31st August, so please check that it makes it out of their school bags.

Have a great week.
Markelle Ward :)

Sunday 13 August 2017

Cross Country

St Gerard’s School Cross Country
Wednesday 16th August
12.00pm – Early Lunch
12.30pm – Leave School and walk together to the course
12.45pm – Walk the Course
Children will walk the course at approximately 12.45pm and races will begin
immediately following this. The race order will be as follows.
1.00pm (approximately) Races Begin
Race order as follows (Distances may change if the course needs to altered due
to weather conditions/mud):
Year 7 & 8 Boys (2 big laps and 2 short laps)
Year 7 & 8 Girls (2 big laps and 2 short laps)
Year 5 & 6 Boys (2 big laps)
Year 5 & 6 Girls (2 big laps)
Year 1 & 2 Boys (1 short lap)
Year 1 & 2 Girls (1 short lap)
Year 3 & 4 Boys (2 short laps)
Year 3 & 4 Girls (2 short laps)
Years 3 – 8 are eligible for the cups. Years 5 – 8 are eligible for selection to
represent St Gerards at the Central Otago Cross Country on Thurs 24th August.
2.30/2.45pm (approximately)
Last race finished, tidy up of area, return to school.

Saturday 12 August 2017

Term 3, Week 4

Room 4 Newsletter:  Term 3, Week 4

Sunday 13th August, 2017

Thank you to all those who attended and participated in our Whole School Mass this morning. In the midst of our busy lives it is important and special to meet together with our Parish community and celebrate our faith journey. We pray especially for all those in our school and community who are mourning the loss of loved ones.


 Important Dates coming up:
*Gymnastics – each Tuesday at 2.15 pm for Room 4. Sports uniform may be worn on these days.
*Cross Country – this Wednesday afternoon. Please come prepared with sports uniform and a good lunch and water bottle.
*Wednesday: Parish Mass in the Church at 9 am.
*Friday: Assembly at 2.10 pm.
*Year 5 Ski Camp: Monday 21st – Wed 23rd August. Another hard copy of the Clothing and Equipment List went home with the Year 5’s on Friday so please make sure packing and planning is well under way. There is a meeting of all Year 5 & 6 students in Room 5 tomorrow (Monday afternoon 2 pm) during class-time to check on the jackets, gloves and ski-pants that children are planning to wear. This is to ensure that gear is fully water-proof which is essential given the changeable and extreme weather conditions.
*Thursday August 31st: Year 3 & 4 Ski Day to the Snow Farm.

Publishing/Writing:
Thank you for the stories which have been coming in steadily all week. We are now going to share these in our writing groups. This will give the children an opportunity to give and receive feedback on their story, and edit it if they choose.

Maths Buddy:
We are fortunate to have a renewed subscription to Maths Buddy for all students. I have included a Parent Information sheet about this in the children’s homework clear-files, as well as their student log-in. Please take advantage of this opportunity by encouraging your child to use the Maths Buddy tasks at home to support their learning.

Your child's Maths Buddy Log-in will be shown on the hard-copy of our class newsletter in their homework clear-files. 

Ski Camp/Ski Day:
The Ski trips are coming round very fast. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any special information you would like us to know regarding the health and wellbeing of your child.


Regards, Markelle Ward

Saturday 5 August 2017

Term 3, Week 3

Room 4 Newsletter:  Term 3, Week 3

Sunday 6th August, 2017

Important Dates coming up:
*Gymnastics – each Tuesday at 2.15 pm for Room 4. Sports uniform may be worn on these days.
*Dance Lesson – Room 4’s second dance session is Wednesday this week from 8.55-11.15 am. Children may also wear sports uniform on this day.
*School Mass – This Sunday 13th August at 9 am. A contribution for morning tea and/or the food bank would be greatly appreciated.
*Year 5 Ski Camp: Monday 21st – Wed 23rd August.
*Thursday August 31st: Year 3 & 4 Ski Day to the Snow Farm.

Publishing/Writing:
The  children’s 6-sentence stories will come home in homework clear files this week to be published. Please support your child to type this up themselves and email it in to me. I encourage the children to edit their stories as they go, so in fact a 6-sentence story may well become a 6-paragraph story, which would be marvellous! Remember publishing work at home ticks lots of boxes for Writing:
*Supports spelling and grammar.
*Encourages keyboarding skills.
*Gives the children a wider audience for their writing (you are the audience).
*Allows the children to add, delete or change detail in their story.
*Presents writing neatly for display.
There is some great writing happening, so go for it….. continue to bring those stories to life!

Dani sharing her story and her goals with Mum at
student-led parent interviews last week.

Gymnastics & Dance:
The children are really enjoying their sessions of Gymnastics with Sharelle Potter (Tuesdays) and their first sessions of dance with Mrs Chamberlain. We even made a link with “right angles”, which we have been studying in Maths. 


Can you see a right angle in the photo? (Well…. nearly a right angle!) 

Regards, Markelle Ward

Week 10, Term 2

Wow, we are at the end of the Term! I have loved teaching the children in Room 4 for the last two terms and I look forward to my last week...