7 June
Dear Parents
Our prayers are with the Walsh family this week
Winter is finally here! There are some days I am pleased I work
inside and yesterday was one of them. For winter there are a number of lunchtime
activities being run by the staff;
Chess Mondays @ lunch
in the Library
Lego Wednesday @
lunch in Room 6
Polyfest Thursdays
@ lunch in the Hall
Congratulations to the children who competed in the Zone Cross
Country yesterday afternoon in perfect weather conditions. We had some
excellent results with 12 pupils representing the Zone at the Southland Cross
Country. Thank you to Mrs T.K. (who forgot her gumboots) and all the parents
who helped with transport and also down at Elizabeth Park. The results are:
10 year Boys: 1st
= Justin McLean, 2nd = Cory Foleni, 6 = Shaun Wilkes
10 year Girls: 2nd
Caelan O’Connor, 3rd = Lucy Blue, 5th = Briana Henson
11
year Boys: 1st = Erik
Cahill, 2nd = Ben Henderson, 3rd = Callum O’Connor, 4th
= Alex Armstrong, 5th = Rohan Mackenzie
11
year Girls: 1st =
Nellie Boyle
After a week wandering around Sydney looking at schools and the
innovative ways they use technology, I am pleased to say that the class room
practice in the best schools we saw, was not as interactive and child centered
as I have observed in our own school and other Invercargill school classrooms.
What was beneficial was seeing some of the state and federal involvement,
especially in terms of school management and learning management systems, a
roll out of laptops for all secondary pupils in the state and the use of i-pads
and other devices in classroom settings.
It has also been an interesting week in the education world with
class sizes a topical issue. I have made some observations about this below:
I mentioned a couple of newsletter’s ago that I would include some
of the pro’s and cons of the government’s announcement to increase the class
sizes in schools. Unfortunately I could not find any positives in terms of
children’s achievement.
Also this week has come the revelation that the government has
miscalculated and there is the potential for specialist technology teachers of
year 7 & 8 to lose their jobs.
The class size increases will have a negative effect on our class
sizes next year. The Minister’s sound bite continually talks about quality
teaching which is very important, but as any quality teachers can tell you, it
is more beneficial for all students
if you are teaching a class of 25 rather than 35. The Government’s own target
groups Maori, Pacifica & Special Needs children, will be the very groups most
adversely affected by these changes. Higher class numbers mean less 1 – 1 or
small group work. Our teaching styles have changed to a more child centered
approach rather that a chalk and talk one.
|
Todays Tip –Encourage Learning Efforts
Children are able to
influence the amount of effort they put into their learning, and this is
something that is easily encouraged.
·
Praise
and encourage your child’s ideas.
·
Be
enthusiastic about your child’s school projects
·
Collaborate
with your child’s teacher and attend school functions.
·
Be realistic
about your expectations.
·
Focus on
your child’s strengths not his/her weaknesses.
·
Share
something that would be hard for you to learn.
·
Project
a positive image of your child’s ability in the future.
More information can be found at http://www.incredibleyears.com
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The Government has used the research of John Hattie to say that
class size by itself isn’t the most important thing. The same research also says,
in-class relationships between teacher and children are also very important and
that class size increase is bad policy.
We knew this is a cost cutting mechanism for the Government, but I
am sure there are other areas in the education budget that could be cut before
this.
What can you do:
-
Write to your local MP, John Key or
Hekia Parata.
-
Sign the petition asking for a reversal
of the policy (ask at the Office)
-
Attend a parent public meeting (time
& date to be confirmed).
*REFLECTION ON TODAY’S GOSPEL READING (From Lectio Divina)
OUR PASSOVER LAMB
Today we reflect on the one most profound
celebrations of the church – the Eucharist. We begin our reading with Jesus and
the disciples making preparation to share the Passover meal together. This was,
and still is, one of the most significant dates in the Jewish calendar, the
annual celebration marking God’s protection and deliverance of his people from
slavery in Egypt.
The disciples would have shared this meal
many times with their own families but they would certainly never forget this
particular Passover meal as Jesus gives it a whole new meaning.
The provision of the room where they celebrated
the Passover seems remarkable to us, although we are not told what the
disciples thought about this, only that they followed Jesus’ instructions and
found things just as he told them. The real surprise comes during the meal
itself. When Jesus breaks the bread he tells them ‘this is my body’. When he
hands them the cup he tells them ‘this is my blood…poured out for many…which
seals God’s covenant.’
The gospel text begins in verse 12 with
the reference to the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb. The covenant of God made
with Moses and the people of Israel at Mount Sinai was sealed with the blood of
animals, as we can read in today’s Old Testament reading (Exodus 24:3-8). Jesus
himself now becomes the Passover Lamb (John 1:29) and God seals a new covenant
through the blood of his Son on the cross (1 Corinthians 11:25). At this
Passover meal Jesus institutes the Eucharist by the sharing of bread and wine
and Christians continue to remember his sacrifice and celebrate his new
covenant in this way ever since.
MEDITATION: Enrich your appreciation of
the Eucharist by reflecting on the three other accounts we have of the
institution of the Lord’s Supper in Matthew 26:17-25, Luke 22:7-23 and 1
Corinthians 11:23-34. Consider the significance of Jesus using bread and wine
to signify his presence and consider the importance of being in communion, both
with God and your brothers and sisters rather than just receiving communion.
PRAYER: Come before God with humility and
thankfulness. Thank him for sending Jesus so that you can have your sins
forgiven and come into communion with God and his people. Ask him to deepen
your appreciation of all Jesus accomplished by his death and resurrection.
Wilson McCaskill – Play is
the Way
There
is a free parent evening at Salford School Hall on Tuesday 26th June
@ 7.30pm to hear Wilson McCaskill. Wilson is a brilliant presenter who we have
had at a number of ILT Conferences.
His
theme is ‘moderating behaviour through play and building emotional resilience’.
I highly recommend this to you. Please
let the office know if you will be attending. Any queries to me.
Assembly Times will revert
back to Monday afternoons next week.
Altar Servers
Saturday 9 June 7.00 pm Reuben
Brown & Ben Nind
Sunday 10 June 10.30 am Eli Winders & Max Forde
Children’s Liturgy Cecelia Russell
Achievements
Bridie
Kinney received ‘Player of the Day’ for her Queen’s Park Soccer team recently.
Joshua
Newell received ‘Player of the Day’ for his Under 8 Waikiwi Rugby team
recently.
Corbyn
Shuttleworth got ‘Player of the Day’ for Blues Under 9 last Saturday.
Pita Pit
Order
your lunch on Mondays before June 29th and our school could win a
visit from the Steel players.
Room 9 Class Happenings
Science Galore
The last weeks have been packed full of Science as Room 9 students begun to test the hypothesis each group had written in response to the question they had.
The last weeks have been packed full of Science as Room 9 students begun to test the hypothesis each group had written in response to the question they had.
Static Electricity ~ Mathew, Cameron,
Kayne, Jake, Hannah and Emma got all steamed up when they tried to discover
“Does humidity effect how much static electricity is conducted?” With the use
of a steaming urn and a dehumidifier they are well on the way to coming to a
conclusion. Isabella, Nellie, Samantha and Monique wanted to know “What type of
hair will conduct static electricity the best?” So it was a hair – raising day in our class as we experimented
with the Van der Graff Generator. We tried to find out which type of hair was
affected the most by static electricity. We even washed our hair with the same
shampoo and conditioner the night before so our results wouldn’t be affected by
the use of different hair products.
Batteries ~ Alex, Harry, Finley and
Callum said they have been learning a lot about how electricity is generated.
They wondered if they could make a battery out of fruit. Already they have
discovered they can run an electronic clock with two kiwifruit for hours. Rohan, Ben, Erik and Kayson have discovered
that soil can act as a battery and they have managed to power a sound chip
using 5 different soil samples. Briana,
Caelan and Georgea were shocked to discover that tap water can run an
electronic digital clock for two days.
Solar Power ~ Mike, Liam and Cody
wanted to know how much UV light was needed to power a solar cell after the
speed warning signs on Queens Drive didn’t work last week.
Ella,
Thamsyn and Lucy want to know “If you can power a solar panel with other types
of light?” They are using LED torches and electric light.
Weather ~ This week we
have had Mr Esler in to talk to us about the transit of Venus across the sun
and to help us discover more about the weather. Our heads will really be in the
clouds this week.
Sports Activities Run by
Verdon College Students ~ Sacred Heart School has been lucky enough to have
some Verdon students come and take Rooms 7, 8 and 9 for P.E on Friday
afternoons. They are teaching us the skills and strategies we need to play;
netball, rippa rugby, football, basketball and hockey. Thank you to the Verdon
Students for coming.
We are having so much fun.
Pedestrian Crossing
After
a spate of red-light-runners at the pedestrian crossing this term it has been
suggested that a “crossing supervisor “ role be resumed for the safety of the
children using the crossing before and after school. The most practical and
cost-effective method will be to have parent volunteers supervise the crossing
for about 15minutes before and after school.
If
you would be available to share this role on occasion please fill in the
attached form and return it to the school office by Friday 8 June please.
Name: ………………………………………………………….
Parent/carer
of: ……………………………………………….. Ph No: ……………………………………
E-mail
address:…………………………………………………….
I
would be available for crossing duty on the following days/times:
(please
circle those which apply)
Mon:
AM Tues:
AM Wed:
AM Thurs:
AM Fri:
AM
Mon:
PM Tues:
PM Wed:
PM Thurs:
PM Fri: PM
posted by Sacred Heart School @ 10:23 AM
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