Kia ora e te whānau, welcome to our Week 6 newsletter. And a special welcome to two students and their families who have joined us this week - Allegra in Kōkopu and Athena in Inanga.
Last week was Maths Week, which we celebrated with a collection of games and challenges throughout the week. Students had fun trying to find the hidden rocks with maths questions, taking part in the whole school Kahoot won by Timmy, and cheering on the teachers through challenges - most impressively Mrs Burnett who bounced a tennis ball on a racquet 39 times in a row!
Important Upcoming Dates
- Friday 29th August, 9:10am - Whole School Assembly
- Wednesday 10th September - Voting closes for Board Election
- Friday 19th September - Last Day of Term
Maths Curriculum
Last week's Teacher Only Day was for our teachers to meet with our local schools and receive professional development from the Ministry of Education on the new Maths Curriculum. There has been a lot of talk in the media about this new Maths curriculum over the last 12 months, so I thought it was time to share some more information.
The new structure of the NZ Maths Curriculum can be seen in the diagram below:
By combining what children need to understand, what they need to know, and what they need to do, students build both a strong grasp of mathematical ideas and the practical skills to apply them. This approach helps them succeed while also showing how maths and statistics can be meaningful and useful in real life.
The Conceptual Understanding part means: students learn maths and statistics by making connections between ideas, looking at concepts in different ways, spotting similarities and differences, talking about their thinking, and making sense of mathematical information. Whilst Procedural Fluency means: students learn how to choose the right methods for solving problems and use them in flexible, accurate, and efficient ways. This isn’t about simply memorising facts or steps — it’s about knowing what to use, when to use it, and why.
This is why you would find a wide variety of activities taking place over a week of Maths lessons at Nukumea. There would be explicit teaching taking place where the teacher models the process, guides students through practice, and then supports them as they try it themselves. But there would also be hands on activities, individual practice, collaborative tasks, and maths discussions. All of this is aimed at students not only growing their maths knowledge but developing a positive relationship with maths so they feel confident approaching any task.
Mitey Update
At Nukumea, we grow learners who show whakapuāwai – they flourish, grow, and help others thrive. Part of this is building Mana Tangatarua, the fifth and final part of the Mana Model : the confidence to navigate the world with openness, empathy, and integrity. This is a key element to the Mitey programme that we implement in classrooms.
Tamariki with Mana Tangatarua:
- Work well with others
- Are open to new ideas and ways of doing things
- Make decisions with courage and honesty
- Respect people’s names, cultures and stories
- Know they have something to offer – and that others do too
- Embrace difference and grow from it
How whānau can help at home:
- Celebrate your culture and language
- Talk about values and doing what’s right
- Encourage curiosity about others and discuss different perspectives
- Role-model empathy and listening with an open mind
- Remind them that every person has value, and that we all grow when we learn from each other, even if it looks different for each person.
By growing Mana Tangatarua, we’re helping build the Mitey mental wellbeing skills that support our tamariki to thrive! Watch this video to learn more about the Mana Model and the Mitey Programme.
Library
Our library is well utilised by all of our students. Classes visit to issue books each week and it is open at lunchtime every day from 1pm. The standard issue time, set by our library system Accessit, is 14 days. After this time, if a book has not been returned, an automated email will be sent out to families notifying them that the book is overdue. Books can be returned at any time, either to the returns box in the library or to the classroom teacher. Please do not return books directly to the shelves. When this happens, the book doesn't get scanned back into the system and it will continue to be identified as issued to the student who last issued it. Students are unable to issue a book if they have an overdue book.
If at any stage you are receiving emails about overdue books you believe have been returned or you are unable to locate, please get in touch with Sarah Burnett and she will endeavour to locate the book in the classroom or the library if that is where it could be found. Any books that are lost and unable to be located will incur a replacement cost. Thank you for your support in looking after our lovely library books!
Learning Assistant Wanted
We have a fixed-term, part time position available for term 4 to support the transition to school of a new student. This position starts on Monday 6th October and will finish on Friday 12th December. The hours will be Monday - Friday 9am - 12:30pm. If you or anyone you know might be interested in this role, please email Sarah at sarahb@nukumea.school.nz to discuss further. A job description is available on request.
Credits:
Created with an image by Rynio Productions - "We need you on a bulletin board"