We have been a busy hub in Harakeke so far this term! We have been focusing on:
*Art
- completing portraits either in Picasso style or using foreshortening
(optical illusion making some parts of our body look closer than others)
*Performance
- for our official school opening all students took part in at least
one performance, with most students being involved in several, including
street dance, guitar, tuned percussion, Chinese dance, World Cafe
maths, library activities, singing and many more! We also performed a
wide variety of items for our school concert after the official opening.
*Creative electives - choosing from a range of activities such as creating dioramas and print making
*Language learning: Te Reo Maori and Mandarin
*Developing our understanding and performance of our powhiri ceremony
*Maths and literacy learning
*Music - tuned percussion, singing
*Learning
conferences: all students spent between 30-45 minutes with one of the
Harakeke teachers talking through their three matrices (maths, reading,
writing). This discussion then led to the creation of a personal
learning treaty (PLT) for each student, including a series of goals
chosen by the student, using their matrices to identify their next
learning steps. Students then talked through the matrices and their PLT
with their parent/s, and these documents have been shared with students
and parents so that they can be continually viewed and updated.
Now
that our art unveiling and school opening ceremonies are behind us we
can move into the more settled part of our term. The learning
conferences and creation of PLTs have been extremely useful in helping
to inform our planning for the rest of this term.
Focus areas for Weeks 5-10:
*Maths:
Specific skills based work through workshops, Snappers and World Cafe
Maths. For information on World Cafe Maths please see our Harakeke blog
- scroll down a little way to find an explanation of it. Snapper maths
involves short videos we are creating to explain specific skills. To
view Snappers we have created thus far please see the ‘Snapper’ link at
the top of our Harakeke blog.
Our Snappers will not only be about maths skills, they will be created
for all learning areas. We have just begun to create them, so there are
only a few to begin with...watch this space! Maths will be personalised
for all students with workshops, activities and snappers developed for
groups of students needing specific instruction or skill development. We
are currently spending time showing the students how to use their maths
matrix and PLT to identify their next learning steps and then choose
particular activities/websites/materials/textbooks to achieve their
learning goal.
Specific
maths areas we will be focusing on: fractions, division and
multiplication skills and strategies, problem posing and solving.
Below is a collage of Snapper maths work:
*Literacy:
Matariki module - students are reading and analysing books and
information about Matariki (Maori New Year). They share their learning
in a variety of ways, including retelling the story orally and in
written form. Students will then be researching a range of Maori legends
explaining Matariki and presenting their learning in a variety of
forms, culminating in a Harakeke video telling the story of Matariki,
along with a range of legends. They will then be exploring and
researching explanations of the Matariki stars from other countries and
cultures.
We
are also developing our narrative writing skills, including giving and
receiving feedback from peers. Students are practicing using their
reading and writing matrices and their PLTs to ascertain the particular
skills they need to focus on when reading and writing. Creative writing
is also an ongoing task for all students.
*Inquiry:
Students are continuing with their inquiries from last term (such as
creating lunch orders made for students by students, exploring 1-1
devices at school and ordering senior literacy resources). These
inquiries will be completed by the end of Week 6, with proposals, where
necessary, written and presented, and actions taken across the school.
For
Weeks 7-10 a variety of different inquiry work will then begin,
including beginning a travel plan for the school (a group of students
investigating how students travel to school, exploring how
environmentally friendly our travel habits are to/from school and
looking at any actions we can take to increase sustainable and
environmentally friendly travel) and exploring our school and its
features.
Food tech: Amaria
Picard will begin working with our school lunches inquiry group to
start creating school lunches prepared and cooked by students one day a
week. This module will include planning, costing, purchasing, storing
and cooking the lunches. Amaria will work with this group for 5 weeks,
and then she will start the same module with another group of students.
All Yr 4-6 students will complete this food tech module with her by the
end of the year.
*Active learners:
We will continue to focus on students becoming active, self-directed
learners through developing their understanding and use of their
matrices and PLTs to inform their learning choices. All students will be
directed to continually access and use their matrices to ensure their
focus is on their next learning steps in reading, writing and maths.
Every Friday students spend an hour reflecting on their learning,
reviewing their PLT goals and identifying what they have done to achieve
their learning goals. They are also asked to inform teachers of the
workshops, Snappers or 1-1 guidance they now need to achieve their
learning goals.
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