Interhouse Soccer Final

Final is this Monday between Sheppard and Rutherford. 12.50pm on the school field.

Curriculum Coffee Group

A successful get together today, thank you to the 12 or so parents who turned up. Here are the 2 things I said I would put onto my blog:

Link to the NZ Curriculum

Below is the Vision for Swannanoa School as stated in the school charter. The consultation for this was done about 2 years ago. Leave a comment about your thoughts.

Our values:

People value people

o Self respect and respect for others

o Responsibility and accountability

o Achievement through team-work

o We have a strong sense of virtues, values and culture

o Diversity is accepted

o Friendship is valued

Teaching and learning is our focus

o Learning is meaningful

o We develop habits for life

o Children are extended and their strengths are built on

o Assessment and reporting is focused and meaningful

o Achievements and contributions are recognised and rewarded

o Exploration, and innovation are encouraged

o Teaching is responsive to the needs of the individual

Our children thrive in a school supported by a caring community

o We support the school by supporting each other

o The contribution of the Community is valued and recognised

o We are actively inclusive and welcoming

o We are open, honest communicators

o Past Pupils and Community Members are our role models

o We care for the people and places in our district

Subtraction a Problem?

Try one of these cool web based learning activities to improve the recall and understanding of subtraction facts, something to appeal to any child:

Fun 4 The Brain

Some Home Learning Help

Graphic organisers are used in classrooms to assist children to organise their thinking whether it be creative or linear. Check out the link below for some ideas. I know sometimes as part of our home learning tasks students are asked to review current events or review books amongst other things. Try using one of the tools at the site below as a fresh approach: Exploratree Thinking Guides

Curriculum Coffee Group-Wednesday, August 26, 2.20-3pm

The new curriculum and 21st century learning are no doubt terms you have heard before but need more clarification of. Over the coming term I am going to hold afternoon coffee groups in Room 8 on a Wednesday afternoon from 2.20pm until 3pm. This will be an opportunity for you to come in and learn about how education has changed and will continue to change for your children.

The sessions will be informal, I will aim to start discussion and hopefully gauge some of the things you think are important for your child in their education. My aim will be to provoke discussion so we may look at some of the more controversial issues facing education at the moment. I will also present any information requested whether it be about reading, technology, mathematics or anything else. We may also sample some of the technology being used in the classrooms (including web 2.0 tools such as blogs and wikis) so you are familiar with it. The content of sessions will be very much guided by the wants of the group.

Attendance is open to any parent/caregiver and we will do our best to cater for pre-schoolers if you have them with you. You don’t have to come every week, just when you can make it. I have chosen this time to work in with after-school pick up. Coming along to these sessions can and will make a difference to what happens at Swannanoa School so come along and learn more about what we do and where we want to head.

Year 7/8 Rakahuri Sports

Thanks to Brad and Thomas (R7) for putting this I-Movie together.

High Achievers

Sarah (R10) and Alex (R8) achieved Distinctions in the ICAS Science exam as Hayley did in the Computing exam. This places them in the top 5% of all students who sat the exam.

Finlay achieved a High Distinction in the Computing exam, putting him in the top 1%!!

Brilliant effort to you all.

Cantamaths Teams Well Done

On the night at the Town Hall

Practice afternoon on Tuesday

What a great night we had at the Cantamaths competition on Wednesday night. Well done to all the students who participated. Our Year 7 team did particularly well finishing with 90 points and in 10th place out of 80 teams. The teams were; Alex J., Jeremy, Robert (R8) & Alice (R7)-Year 7. Hayley, Pien, Alex B. & Olivia (R8)-Year 8. Well done to you all.

Raising Children

Here is a link to some books by Nigel Slatta who is currently on TV Wednesday night with the 'Politically Incorrect Parenting Show'. I have missed it unfortunately but I have heard it has been very thought provoking.

Nigel Slatta Books

Let me know if you read any.

Academic Achievement

Well done to Hayley (R8) who achieved a Distinction in the ICAS computing exam. This places her in the top 10% of students who sat the exam.

RAKAHURI SPORTS DAY, Y5/6

North Canterbury Development Football Squad

Here are 5 boys who have made the North Canterbury development squad for soccer. Well done Cody (R2), Ben (R5), George (R5), Mackenzie (R1) and Lochie (R5).

Matthew (R1) made the North Canterbury 10th Grade Rep team.

Swannanoa Country Fair Meeting

Our Country Fair is set to happen on Sunday, March 14 in 2010. We need a few more helpers! Can you help. The meetings are casual and productive and you will making a significant difference to your child's education at Swannanoa School.

Our first meeting is: Tuesday, August 11, 7.30pm at the Bloxham's residence.

Call Colleen Bloxham (bloxham@xtra.co.nz) on 312 6628, Steve Taylor (steve@taylormadeinsurance.co.nz) on 310 6866 or Rachel Styant (chickyr@hotmail.com) 312 0505 for more info and directions.

Healthy Kebabs-R9

I just love it when I am invited to see some hands on learning. Here are the Room 9 children creating some healthy fruit kebabs. This was a follow up to their visit to the Life Education van.