Term+One+Newsletter

 Term 1 Newsletter

Dear Parents and Caregivers

Welcome to Team D! The students are settling in well to their new classes, with work standards and uniform looking very positive overall. We are sure your child has come home with lots of news about their new teacher and students in their class.

Testing Initial testing, to establish baseline data about your child, has been completed, This was necessary to set up effective classroom programmes so that learning can be maximised.

Homework Classes will be set homework each week. Teachers have discussed their expectations with their own classes. A high standard of content and presentation is expected by all students. If your child has any problems with homework, they need to discuss this with their teacher prior to the due date. If your child is unable to meet the deadline for homework and has a reasonable excuse, please let the classroom teacher know either via email or a note.

Meet the Teacher It was good to see some parents up for our meet the teacher evening. Our next time to meet will be our Student Lead Conferences on the 7th, 8th April. We look forward to seeing you then.

Congratulations : To Miss Rachel Taylor who got married on Sunday 9th March and is now Mrs Guy.

Following is a summary of the focus for each subject area in Team D this term.

English English programmes in Team D this term will be focusing on report writing and reading a range of non-fiction texts. Students will also be learning to effectively communicate information by combining texts and images in static images, or info-graphics. Approximately 20 minutes each day is set aside for independent silent reading. Students are encouraged to bring a novel from home or the library to read during this time. Spelling programmes are also set up and running.

Mathematics Students will be learning elements of Geometry and Measurement through a house design task. Specific teaching of how to draw nets, calculate areas and perimeters, draw and construct 3-dimensional objects will take place in order to prepare students for the design task. They will also be taken through the design and costing process of a building project.

Health and Physical Education BBI's health programmes are based on the Lions Skills for Adolescence programme. This term's unit focuses on entering the teen years, and preparing students for the journey ahead, which entails goal setting, changes they will go through, and getting to know class members. Physical Education will see students participating in co-operative games as part of getting to know each other and work together as a group to achieve a common goal. Beach Safety is a major focus for Health at the beginning of this term, with our trips to Bethells Beach. Thank you very much to all those parents who volunteered to come along and help on the day.

Technology: ICT ICT is an integral aspect of learning at BBI. Computers and other technological equipment are used as tools to help learning where suitable. Students will be setting up their e-portfolios over the next few weeks, which can be viewed at bbi.knowledge.net.nz. As these are password protected, you will need to ask your child to log in to show you what they have done. A wiki has been set up for Team D, called teamdstuff.wikispaces.com. Over the weeks, teachers will begin adding to their class pages. Students can access online tools and activities that can help them in various aspects of their learning. Some classes have started posting homework tasks onto this space already. Please take some time to visit and explore our wiki.

Communication Communication between home and school is essential, and email proves quick and effective for discussing small matters. Please provide your child's teacher with your email by sending a blank email to their email below with your name in the subject so they can save it to their address books.

Kind regards

Team D Teachers

Room 13: Mr Johnathan Daniels: johnathan@bbi.school.nz Room 14: Mrs Carol O'Meagher: carol@bbi.school.nz Room 15: Mr Aaron Nixon: aaron@bbi.school.nz Room 16: Mrs Rachel Guy: rachel@bbi.school.nz Room 17: Mrs Anne Burgess (Team D Leader): anneburgess@bbi.school.nz RETURN TO HOMEPAGE