Dear Parents
We have had a great beginning to the term with plenty more happening throughout the next 8 weeks.
Speeches
Children would have worked on their speeches over the holidays and these will be heard in class over the first few weeks of term. The school finals will be held on Friday 13th August. Parents and families of those children involved in the finals will be invited to come along and watch.
Topics
‘Way Back When...’ is our major focus for this term. We will be further investigating what life was like in the past while exploring the concepts of time and change. We kicked this off last term with a trip to Howick Historical Village which has certainly enthused the students and teachers.
Life Education has once again be visiting our school during the first two weeks of term. Our Syndicate has been looking at food; how it fuels our body, where it comes from and how much we should be eating of different types of food.
Parent Interviews
Parent interviews will be happening tonight. We look forward to discussing your child’s report and progress at school and setting some goals for the remainder of the year.
School times
Each day children should arrive at school no earlier than 8.30am. The time before 8.30am is valuable for teachers to prepare for the day ahead. If your child must be at school earlier than this please encourage them to stay out of the classrooms until 8.30am. Children need to be at school and prepared for the day no later than 8.50am.
Stationery
Please ensure that children have all their stationery and that it is clearly named. Throughout the year, pencils and erasers are lost, it is essential that these are replaced so that valuable learning time won’t be lost. Children must remember to bring their book bags every day to be issued books for home reading and also to help ensure effective communication between home and school.
Allergies
Just a reminder, we have several children in our syndicate with severe allergies, the most common of which being allergies to nuts and eggs. Please discuss with your children the importance of keeping their lunch to themselves.
Recorder
Our recorder playoff was a fantastic way to end Term Two. It is important that children practise at home 5 minutes every night. Remember to bring recorder and booklet every Friday.
Homework Online
This term some teachers are beginning to get spelling lists up on to the school website (www.belmont.school.nz). Hopefully this will help children who might be away on a Monday when homework for the week is prepared. We will be looking to get basic facts sheets up later in the term if you need to print off additional copies. Check out www.spellingcity.com to have some fun with their weekly spelling words. They can enter their words for the week, learn them, have a test and play some games with their words.
This term will be a busy but very exciting one, especially with the show happening towards the end. This will be a great opportunity for the children to be looking ahead and thinking about how they could be involved with Performing Arts in the coming years.
We thank you for your continued support. Please feel free to contact us if you have any concerns or to celebrate achievements.
Yours sincerely,
Peter Thorne, Rosey Cooper, Lindsay Dobbinson, Mandy Carwell-Cooke
Middle Syndicate teachers