A Parent's Guide To Room 3
Before School Routines
There is a list on the inside of the front door
reminding your child of what I expect of them before school everyday.
Days to Note
Your child will need their swimming gear on
Tuesday and Wednesday for class sessions and Thursday for their lunchtime swim.
Our library day is Thursday. Your child is allowed to have three books out
at a time. I encourage the children to
get one or two decent chapter books and a picture book they can read to you or
a sibling for fun.
Our Timetable
Some children especially like to know what the day
holds. I list our daily timetable to the
left-hand side of the whiteboard so the children can prepare themselves for the
day. There are often major or minor
changes depending on curriculum and assessment focuses, whether or not lessons
get carried away, sports days and other school activities etc.
Communication
Feel free to check your child’s workbooks before
or after school. I look forward to
working with you and giving your child an awesome year that they won’t forget.
There will be
parent interviews during the year, once at the end of term 1 and once at the end of term 3. There will be a written feedback at the end of term 1 and an full end of year report.
Parent Help
If I ever need parent help I will ask via
e-mail. Please make sure I have your
e-mail address. Don’t forget to update
me if your address changes throughout the year! mr.e@pahoia.school.nz
Homework
Your child will bring home their homework book
every Monday night. Each week there will be a new sheet to complete consisting of spelling words, a reading log and an optional topic based activity. Please note that "optional" means it's your decision if your child is to complete it, not theirs.
Please see or e-mail me if you would like my support in motivating your child to complete their 'optional' homework or if you need anything clarified.
Homework books are due back Friday mornings,
finished or unfinished.
Reading
The children will be tested as soon as possible and grouped
accordingly. Please persevere with me
for a few weeks until I have been able to fine-tune these groups as
needed. The level of the reading material and the frequency they bring books home will depend on their reading level. I will be outlining my expectations for you child in their homework book. Please come and see me or e-mail me with any
concerns.
Spelling
Your child will have a set list of words to learn
during the week. The amount of words in
the list and difficulty of the words depends on how they scored in a recent
test.
These books containing the lists can be downloaded here
It does get tricky when children are “between
books,” for example scoring 8/16 in Book 6 then 10/20 in Book 7. I would be reluctant to push the child in the
example above onto book 7, having obvious gaps at Book 6 level. In this case I recommend testing your child
on two Book 6 lists and then making one list from the errors of the two. This obviously will be more time consuming
for you but would help your child complete Book 6 faster during the year.
Reward/Discipline Programme
I want Room 3 to be a positive environment that
your child can thrive in. I use a tick
chart where the children and I can see who has been on-task and well behaved in
class. Ticks can be awarded for
individuals or groups.
Children can also lose ticks but this is usually
for things like failing a desk inspection.
Children also lose a tick when they need to leave the classroom to go to
the toilet. This gets them thinking
about their time management. They do not
get in trouble. They just rub a tick off
and leave Room 3. If your child has
medical issues related to toileting which makes this system unfair please tell
me and your child will be exempt.
The children who display negative behaviour write
their name in the box at the bottom-right of the whiteboard. This is only a warning and carries no
consequence. If the same behaviour
continues, or the child chooses to do something else wrong, they are to put a
cross by their name. A cross by their
name means that they loose time off their next playtime or lunchtime. We discuss their actions and I clearly
restate the expectations I have of their behaviour. The box is wiped clear at the end of each
day.
Camps
Pahoia Survivor is fast approaching! You child has brought home a detailed notice
regarding this.
Later in the year, Room 3 and 4 will be teaming up for an overnight camp at Aongatete Lodge. Details
to come!
Personal Belongings
Valuable items can be brought in at your
discretion but become the sole responsibility of your child. Any topic related items that I have requested
and are brought especially for use in a class lesson or for a classroom display
I will take full responsibility for.
Please name everything!
Please…
If your child is to be absent from school, please
phone the school office to notify Juanita.
A large part of her morning is wasted, spent phoning households who
haven’t done this. Juanita is in the
office from 8.30 each morning but you can leave an answering machine message or
e-mail her before then at juanita@pahoia.school.nz
If your child leaves the school grounds with
family during school hours for an appointment etc. please tell their teacher or
the office so the school knows your child isn’t missing.
