Te Wheke
Nau mai haere mai
Welcome to Te Wheke
Te Wheke is a vibrant class of 21 Year 3/4 students. As the eldest class of the Junior School, we are taking on many responsibilities to help support our younger tamariki, and it has been wonderful to see our Te Wheke students thriving while taking on these extra roles. In the morning, we lead the Karakia for all our junior classes, we look after the sports equipment at break times, we collect the lunches for our Junior School and clean up our Learning Through Play area at the end of the day.
Our four school values are weaved into everything we do so that these practices become intrinsic to how we go about our day to day learning.
● Whanaungatanga – Building Positive Relationships
● Ako – Practice in the classroom and beyond
● Kotahitanga -Working together in unity
● Manaakitanga – Values and virtues – integrity, sincerity, trust
What’s Happening in Term One – In Our Backyard
The Schoolwide Topic Theme for 2022 is Navigators. Our Junior Classes will be focused on Our Backyard as we observe and investigate the creatures who visit our Learning Zone. These activities include helping to build a Lizard Lounge Garden and observing caterpillars change into Monarch Butterflies in class.
Learning Through Play
The Learning Zone has been enriched with the recent arrival of a new sandpit/stage, a wonderful stone pit, two water troughs, three beautiful, planted gardens and two tanks to collect rainwater for our activities.
The three Junior Classes (NE to Year 4) are enjoying this shared space as they explore new learning around The Sciences, Health and PE, and The Arts. Learning through child led discovery and authentic learning experiences encourages decision making, problem solving, communication and negotiation skills.
The teachers also provide ‘PROVOCATIONS’ to encourage talk about what is going on for the learner and lead into new learning and the development of new vocabulary which can be extended through reading, writing and maths.
Garden to Table
We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to be participants in our Garden to Table programme this year. For the past two years the Year 5&6 and Year 7&8 classes have been involved in the programme, and this is the first year that it has been extended to the Year 3/4 age group.
Every Tuesday morning from 9:15-10:15 our students take turns participating in either the kitchen making kai for everyone to share or in the garden planting seeds and tending to the upkeep of our plants. Our tamariki have absolutely loved being a part of this programme so far and we look forward to continuing to develop our skills in both the kitchen and garden.
Students need to ensure they bring running shoes or gum boots to participate for safety.
Library
Our library day is Wednesday and your child is able to take out 2 books each week. Our computer records the books issued to each child and will not allow further books to be issued until these are returned and scanned back into the system. Students are encouraged to take their library books home.
Homework Expectations
Children in Te Wheke can spend approximately 20 minutes each night reading their reader with you or a book of their choice. As they are getting older and becoming more independent, we do not require Te Wheke students to complete a reading log. Nightly reading should be seen as an opportunity to enjoy books together.
Communication
Te Wheke is using Class Dojo as our primary means of communication with whānau. This is where we share photos and stories about the learning happening in class as well as general information about what is happening around the school. You can also use Class Dojo to add any home learning your child does to their portfolio, as well as to contact us. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or concerns about your child’s learning.
