June 10, 2021
Kia Ora, whanau,
Welcome Vito Matisse, our new boy to A6. He will be starting school this coming Monday, 14th of June.
We are half way to our Term, there are 2 important things that will be helpful to your child..... firstly, support them with their poem recitation. They chose a poem they wished to do, they will be tested this Tuesday, 15th of June. They will recite them individually to the class. I will choose 2 winners that will compete with A4 and A5 classes. Please make sure their voice is loud, words are clear and actions well delivered. This is a competition for all new entrants and Year 1, a trophy will be awarded for the winner and a certificate for the finalist. Make sure they memorise their poem well and I will practice and help them with stage presence. Finals will be on the 23rd of June, Wednesday on Week 8.
Secondly, I noticed the sight words are not encouraged in home reading. Tomorrow, Friday I will test them in Spelling on their sight words--- I, a, am, an, and, is are, in, on, the, this, can. Every Friday will be Spelling day. Your child might be reading well to you, however, they are good in memorising the text. The most important thing is reading the print, recognising the letters that make the word. They will encounter these words over and over as they go up levels and also will use them in writing. It is indeed essential to know them. I will do a running record this coming week, please help and support them this weekend. I will send 2 previous books they already have read to practice them over with sight words.
For children that need support with fine motor skills and good grip in writing-- these are some exercises that will help ---colouring hard with no white space and not going over the line is a good one, cutting paper, tearing paper and scrunching paper and punching holes, these help hand muscles to be strong and stable. Keep doing these exercises everyday for 15 mins. If you like more exercises, please see me.
Thank you, and have a good weekend.
Mrs. Cochrane
