Term 1, Week 8

Room 4 Newsletter:  Term 1, Week 8

Monday 21st March, 2016

Well done to everyone for a tremendous effort during the School Triathlon last Monday afternoon. There was excellent commitment and organisation from everyone, and everything went very smoothly. Congratulations on some very good results in 

Room 4.

 Important dates coming up:

*Thursday 24^th March – Holy Thursday Easter Liturgy – 12 noon in the Church.

*Good Friday 25^th March – School closed.

*Easter Monday (28^th) and Tuesday (29^th) – School closed.

Scripture Reading Eisteddfod 2016

Over the next few weeks, Room 4 students will have a range of scripture made available to them, and there will be opportunities in class to discuss criteria, write, practise and present their scripture. Scripture eisteddfods will be presented in class at the beginning of Week 11, the last week of term. An Eisteddfod Assembly will be held on the last Thursday of term. For those who would like to support their child in their own choice of scripture reading at home, here are some notes to get you started:

·     Your scripture reading can be a parable, a psalm, or a reading from Scripture.

·     There should be an Introduction of 15-20 seconds to outline the main idea or theme of the scripture reading and to explain why you chose it or why you like it.

·     The scripture reading itself should be 1- 1.5 minutes for Year 4 students.

·     The Introduction and Scripture can be written or typed onto cue cards to make delivery more effective.

·     Practise reading clearly, make good eye contact with the audience, and use expression in your voice.

Spelling: This week we will be working on the short ‘u’ sound. It sounds like the ‘u’ in ‘up’ or ‘tub’.  A spelling task will be attached to the hard copy of this week's class newsletter.

Regards, Markelle Ward J

Term 1, Week 7

Room 4 Newsletter:  Term 1, Week 7

Sunday 13th March, 2016

WALT:  We are learning to be aware of how our words and actions affect others:

We are focusing on discussions and activities about working together to show positive behaviour and actions. Encouragement, teamwork, trust, restorative chats, and compassion – these all remind us to show self-control and a positive attitude. 

Keep up the good work Room 4.

Important dates coming up:

*Monday 14^th March – School Triathlon 12 noon – 2.30 pm. Check out last Wednesday’s newsletter for full details.

*St. Patrick’s Day – 17^th March.

*Monday 21^st March – Anniversary Day – School closed.

*Thursday 24^th March – Holy Thursday Easter Liturgy – 12 noon in the Church.

George the Bear:

Gabrielle was lucky enough to be the first to take George the bear home last weekend. Here are some photos of George doing some fun things.

Spelling:

This week we will be working on the short ‘o’ sound. It sounds like the ‘o’ in ‘frog’ or ‘box’. 

Fill your spelling words into the hard copy of the newsletter in your homework clear file. :)

Regards, Markelle Ward J

Term 1, Week 6

Room 4 Newsletter:  Term 1, Week 6

Sunday 6^th March, 2016

Thank you to the Room 3 and 4 students who participated in the role-play of the ‘Prodigal son’ at the Parish Family Mass on Saturday evening. I was so proud of them presenting this item after only two practises with Roly during the week. They practised excellent oral language skills including reading/speaking in front of an audience (the congregation), using a microphone, working together to share parts, and using expression in their voice. Well done Keira, Annajhay, Nicolas, Adam, and David, and to Bobbie, Rhianna and Jacqui who did a great job of bobbing up and down with the signs!

Room 3 and 4 children also did the Prayers of the Faithful and Offertory at the Mass. J

Important dates coming up:

*Monday–Thursday this week: PAT testing for all of Room 4 – Reading Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, Maths, and Listening Comprehension.

*Thursday 2.15 pm – CHOIR in Room 4.

*Friday 11^th March – Assembly 2.10 pm led by Room 2.

*Monday 14^th March – School Triathlon 12 noon – 2.30 pm.

*St. Patrick’s Day – 17^th March.

*Monday 21^st March – Anniversary Day – School closed.

*Thursday 24^th March – Holy Thursday Easter Liturgy – 12 noon in the Church.

Frans Du Plessis

Frans has sent us ‘George the bear’, his special friend who will take the place of Frans in Room 4 with us, for the time that Frans is in hospital. Our job is to keep George busy doing all the things that we do, like learning, playing, going out in the weekends etc. Then we report back with photos and stories on a google doc that Frans, his teacher, and his family can follow. Frans can also contact us this way when he feels up to it. This is an excellent initiative from Frans’s teacher and we are enjoying having George. Gabrielle was lucky to be the first to take George home for the weekend. The photo is of George presenting his oral book report to the class last week, with help from Sully and Annajhay. Can you spot George?

Regards, Markelle Ward J

Term 1, Week 5

Room 4 Newsletter:  Term 1, Week 5

Sunday 28th February, 2016

Thank you to Mrs Laidlaw for teaching in Room 4 on Thursday and Friday while Mrs Eastwood and I were at a conference. I can’t wait to put the students’ wonderful art up for display.

Important dates coming up:

*Wednesday 2^nd March – afternoon: ICT (computer) time in Room 4 with Mrs Flannery.

*Saturday 5^th March – Parish Family Mass at our Alexandra Church – starting with games at 5.30 pm, picnic at 6pm, and Mass at 7pm. Some Room 4 children will be presenting a small role play at this mass.

*Monday 14^th March – School Triathlon 12 noon – 2.30 pm.

*Monday 21^st March – Anniversary Day – School closed.

Publishing:

The published stories are still coming in by email and I am most impressed with the children’s commitment to this task. Thank you so much for your support with this – some are being done in class if keyboarding at home is not possible.

Frans Du Plessis

You will have learned from the school newsletter that Room 4’s new student Frans will be in Christchurch Hospital for quite some time after his recent diagnosis with leukaemia. On Wednesday last week we posted the first of our parcels from Room 4 – a class set of homemade cards. We hope Frans enjoys these, and we continue to keep Frans and his family and extended family in our prayers. If you have any practical ideas for how our class can support Frans in an ongoing way, please don’t hesitate to let me know. We can put Compassion into action every day.

Spelling:

This week we will be working on the short ‘e’ sound. It sounds like the ‘e’ in ‘beg’ or ‘pen’. There is a short activity attached to the hard copy of the class newsletter for the children to do for spelling homework this week.

Have a great week. 

Regards, Markelle Ward J

markelleward@stgerards.school.nz