Kia ora koutou
As educators, we are always reviewing our practise, and are open to learning. One of the things we have been talking about lately is learning through play. In our junior class we have a ‘play based learning’ approach. There are a number of reasons why we do this, and one of them is because of the brain development of children who are between 5-7 years old. Not all children are ready for formalised learning when they start school, and majority of children benefit from a play based approach.
As a Mum of a 5 year old, who has just started primary school, I know how scary it can be sending your children off to school, and always wanting what’s best for them. There are some great articles written by Nathan Wallis, who is a Neuroscience Educator, and I recommend you have a read. In these articles, he talks specifically about children’s brain development between the age of 2-7 (he also has research and articles for older students). Here is the page on his website about play based learning - https://www.nathanwallis.com/. Two of the articles that are very relevant are Building Brains, and Learning to like school. I have listened to Nathan a number of times on courses, and listened to his interviews, and I always learn something new. He has a great radio interview on his website as well.
Nathan talks a lot about letting children play. He explains that a child’s brain at 5 is not ready for formal learning, and that reading and writing shouldn’t be a major focus, it’s more about learning to love learning, learning to like school, to build relationships with their teachers, to build resilience, to navigate their emotions. He explains how it doesn’t matter if your child can write their name when they start school, or read numbers, it’s more about them loving learning, as by seven or eight, it often evens out, and children are then at a similar developmental stage anyway. Here is a quote from one of his articles:
“Setting up for success at school,” says Nathan, is about “supporting your child to develop their confidence in their ability to learn”. Nathan cautions parents about fixating on their child’s progress with reading. As Nathan says, reading will come easier when your child is a little older. The thing to avoid is your child developing the perception that they are stupid or naughty, that they are not trying hard enough.
This quote really sits well with me. I know it is hard as a parent when you are not at school with your child, and don’t see every part of the day. Sometimes the only things you see are how well your child reads to you at night, or is their handwriting neat in their books. We have a balanced approach in Paemoana. There is play, and there are also opportunities for children to start learning in other ways when they are ready. We are able to meet the individual needs of our students.
We try and share snippets of our day on social media for you to see, and we have opportunities through our three way learning conferences and assemblies for you to see your child’s learning, but also feel free to chat to their teachers, or pop into the class when you can. Sometimes it may seem quite busy in the junior class….but trust us, there is so much learning going on, in so many different ways. We have 3 year levels in each class, and we are lucky with small class sizes that we are able to differentiate as much as we can to meet the needs of each of our students.
Our doors are always open to our community. If you ever want to talk further about this, or about learning in general in our school, you are very welcome to make a time to come and see me.
Ngā mihi
Maree Lucas
Tumuaki/Principal
principal@omihi.school.nz
School Notices
Welcome to new students
Welcome to Delilah who has started in Paemoana, and Rilee, who has joined our Tūpari class.
Small School’s Cross Country
Congratulations to everyone who participated in our cross country. We know it’s not everyone’s favourite event, so it was great to see those that still gave it a go, and showed resilience and determination to complete it. Congratulations to the following place getters in their age groups:
1st - Alex, Hugo, Walter
2nd - Harry, Emma
3rd - Arlo, Michael, Penny
The top 6 place getters in year 4-8 go to Kowai, so these children will be representing Omihi - Alex, Hugo, Harry, Arlo, Michael, Jack, Theo.L and Fergus.
Support Staff Week
Last week was about celebrating our Support Staff. We had a lovely morning tea to say thank you to Sharryn, Trudy, Bryleigh, Yo, Fi and Emma and for all they do at our school.
Principal Awards
Congratulations to Stanley, Jess and Theo.L who received Principal awards in term 1. Congratulations to Skylah, Ze’ev and Charlotte who received one this term.
Omihi School 125th Jubilee - Friday 12th September
We invite you to our 125th Jubilee. There will be a school tour, decade photos, and an afternoon tea between 12.30pm - 2.30pm. Then drinks, dinner and speakers in the evening at the Omihi Community Hall. Registrations open on Monday 16th June, and these will be on www.iticket.co.nz. Please help us spread the word, and let any previous students, staff and community know. If you have any old photos you would like to share for the event, please send them to Fi Williams - fiphil@xtra.co.nz or 027 286 5772.
Second hand uniform
If you are interested in buying any second hand uniform, please get in touch with Bryleigh. We have a range of second hand items in stock.
Playhouse Theatre
The Playhouse Theatre are coming to perform ‘The boy who cried wolf’ at the Omihi Community Hall on Friday 6th June. We will be attending, alongside Waipara, Waikari and Greta Valley School.
Kowai Cross Country
The Kowai Cross Country is on Tuesday 3rd June at Broomfield School. If your child has qualified for this, we will send you the details. We ask that parents please transport their children to the race.
Whole school trip to the Christchurch Art Gallery
On Tuesday 10th June we are heading to the Christchurch Art Gallery on a whole school trip. Our inquiry topic for this term is Art History so this will be a great way to finish our learning. This will be a whole day trip, as we will head into the Botanical Gardens for an early lunch before the Art Gallery. We will be taking the school bus and the community bus, and are looking for some parent helpers. Please let Georgie know if you are available.
Attendance
It is important for students to attend school. It is a legal obligation that your child is at school. It is our responsibility to follow up if a child is not at school. Here is some guidance for parents and caregivers from the MOE. If your child is not at school and we haven’t heard from you, either their teacher or Bryleigh will be in touch with you. Each term we will send home letters to any parents who’s children were at school less than 90% of the term. Bryleigh will send these out this week.
Own clothes day
This is on Friday 13th June, and we ask that children please bring along a gold coin donation that will go to the SPCA. This was a charity chosen by our senior leaders.
Community Notices
