Click here to see our Video Newsletter Term 2 Week 4.
Coming up…
Friday 19 May – Pink Shirt Day. Please bring a gold coin donation
Friday 19 May – Years 3-4 Swimming at AUT Millennium
Tuesday 23 May – New Date for Parent Interviews
Thursday 25 May – Whole School Cross Country
Friday 26 May – Travelwise Park and Walk Day
Friday 26 May – Cross Country Save Day
Monday 29 May – Class and individual school photos
Thursday 1 June – Northern Dance Competition
Friday 2 June – Sports Cafe, 1:45 pm in our staffroom
Tuesday 6 June – Year 2 MOTAT Trip
Wednesday 7 June – Year 1 MOTAT Trip
Thursday 8 June – East Coast Bays Rippa Rugby Festival
Friday 9 June – Jammies in June – Wear your pyjamas to school and bring some to donate
Friday 9 June – Understanding Education in NZ. Friday 9 June, 9 am – 11 am, in our school library
Monday 12 June – Cluster Cross Country
Tuesday 13 June – East Coast Bays Rippa Rugby Save Day
Wednesday 14 June – Cluster Cross Country Save Day
Thursday 15 June – Website refresh Cafe, 1:45 pm
A message from our Tumuaki
Teaching and Learning Mairangi Bay School
We shared an overview of the current New Zealand Curriculum last week. It specifies eight learning areas: English, the arts, health and physical education, learning languages, mathematics and statistics, science, social sciences, and technology. Five key competencies also weave across the programme. They include:
- Thinking
- Relating to Others
- Understanding language, symbols and text
- Managing self
- Participating and contributing.
We also learnt that The New Zealand Curriculum sets the direction for teaching and learning yet is a framework rather than a detailed plan. While every school curriculum must be aligned with the intent of the NZC document, schools have considerable flexibility when determining the detail through a localised curriculum approach
Reading and Writing at Mairangi Bay School
The Literacy Learning Progressions Framework is a professional tool for teachers. It describes and illustrates the literacy-related knowledge, skills, and attitudes that students need to draw on in order to meet the reading and writing demands of the New Zealand Curriculum from year 1 to year 10. The Literacy Learning Progressions alert teachers to what students need to know and be able to do at specific points in their schooling if they engage with the curriculum’s texts and tasks and make the expected progress.
Our Year 0-2 teachers use the phonic connect programme to develop reading strategies. Our teachers from years 3-6 at MBS and across our Cluster schools (Kāhui Ako) are using a new approach to teaching literacy called Structured Literacy. This is to help all our students develop their spelling, reading, and writing skills by helping them understand the relationship between letters and sounds in English. Our teachers have now undergone training in Structured Literacy and are using it as a new approach in their classrooms. This means they will implement very focused lessons and activities on letters and sounds. It also means that the books that learners are reading are focused on decoding the sound and letter combinations, and we are keeping these books in the classroom.
What is Structured Literacy?
Structured Literacy is an evidence-based approach to teaching reading and writing, which focuses on fundamental skills necessary for reading success. This comprehensive and systematic approach includes the following:
Phonology: the study of the sound system of a language
Sound-symbol relationships: the connection between letters and the sounds they represent
Syllable patterns: the way sounds are organised into syllables in words
Morphology: the study of the structure of words and their component parts (such as prefixes, suffixes, and roots)
Syntax: the rules that govern how words are organised into phrases and sentences in a language
Semantics: the meaning of words and how they are used in context
Structured Literacy aims to help our students at MBS develop the skills required to read and write with accuracy and fluency and build a strong foundation for lifelong learning. Structured Literacy was developed for students with dyslexia or other language-based learning disabilities, but it benefits all. Structured Literacy instruction is explicit, cumulative, and multisensory, meaning it teaches skills in a clear and structured manner, builds on previously learned skills, and engages multiple senses to reinforce learning.
How can you help at home?
Please continue to read to your child, as it is so important that they hear and enjoy good-quality stories. If you have any questions, please contact your class teachers to find out how you can help at home.
Property Updates
At the end of Term 1, the Ministry of Education property manager met with the Principal and our Property Advisor to review the work currently completed in our 5YA property plan. This includes the damage to the hall and tiger turf junior playground during the recent storms. They are pleased with our current progress. The hall roof repair has been logged with MoE, and we are now awaiting MoE contractors to complete the job. The stump on the junior playground has now been removed, and we are awaiting the turf to be repaired in the coming weeks. The roof between Rooms 11 and 12 is also a concern, as a piece of plastic sheeting has been removed due to high winds, causing a leak. Our site manager is in the process of repairing the roof to mitigate the slippery surface. Thank you once again to our whānau who participated in our Community Working Bee. Our site looks clean and refreshed with endless guidance from our Site Manager – Mr Loader. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
Notices
North Harbour Rippa Rugby Session
Thank you to North Harbour Rugby for coming in to run a free Rippa activation session with our students once a week. We still have two more sessions for the students to enjoy.
Firewise
This week the Year 1 and 2 tamariki at Mairangi Bay School have been learning about how to be Firewise. In class we have been looking into what starts fires, how we can prevent them, the importance of smoke alarms, and how we can plan to escape safely. On Wednesday & Thursday this week we were lucky enough to get visits from four talented firefighters. Together they shared their knowledge and skills and answered the many questions we asked. We saw firsthand the equipment that they use in fires. A definite highlight was the flashing lights and noisy sirens as they left our school grounds!
Travelwise – Park and Walk, Friday 26 May
Next Friday, 26 May, our MBS Travelwise team has organised a “Park and Walk” morning. This essentially promotes parking your car somewhere not too far away from the school gate in a safer area (drop zone) and walking the remaining distance to school. Its purpose is to reduce traffic congestion around the school and to improve the safety of everyone outside the school gate.
Our school is a TravelWise school.
We encourage you to walk your children to and from school as it:
Helps improve the fitness and health of you and your child
Gets your child to school awake, alert and ready to learn
Keeps the school gate area clear of parked cars so it is safer for everyone
Helps your child to learn road sense skills and become familiar with the community
Is good for the environment and reduces your carbon footprint
Is a great social activity for friends and Whānau
Is free and easy.
We will be meeting and parking in the car park adjacent to Mairangi Bay Beach Volleyball Club on Ramsgate Terrace. Departure time from the car park will be at 8.30 am, which will give us plenty of time to get to school. The Travelwise mascot, Max the Pukeko, will be there to welcome you and accompany you on your short walk up Mayfair Crescent, then along the walkway to Galaxy Drive. You will arrive at the lower entrance to MBS, where you’ll be welcomed with a hot cup of Milo. We also heard a rumour that our Principal, Mr Janes will be walking with us, which would be very cool indeed! Our team is looking forward to walking to school with you and your child.
Understanding Education in NZ – 9 June, 9 am
Kāhui Ako Newsletter May 2023
Please see this link for our latest Kāhui Ako Newsletter
Rangitoto College Chinese Night dress rehearsal
Our families are again invited to the Rangitoto College Chinese Night dress rehearsal.
We do not require families to register in advance, but you will need to sign in on the night.
There is no cost for this.
Date: Week 4 Thursday 18th May
Time: 7 pm
Location: Rangitoto Auditorium
Reminders
Parent/Teacher Interviews
The new date for the cancelled parent interviews will be Tuesday 23 May. Your time slot will remain the same.
Pink Shirt Day – Friday 19 May
Mairangi Bay School is joining the movement on Pink Shirt Day (Friday 19 May 2023), and encouraging our staff and students to Kōrero Mai, Kōrero Atu, Mauri Tū, Mauri Ora – Speak up, Stand Together, Stop Bullying!
Bullying in Aotearoa is a real problem. We have the third-highest rate of school bullying out of 36 OECD countries and one in five workers feel discriminated against or bullied at work. Those bullied are far more likely to experience mental health issues.
Pink Shirt Day works to reduce bullying by celebrating diversity in all its forms and supporting schools, workplaces, and communities to be safe, supportive, welcoming, and inclusive for everyone.
To celebrate this important kaupapa we’ll be having a wear pink, non-uniform day on Friday 19 May. We’ll also be fundraising to support Pink Shirt Day with all proceeds going to the Mental Health Foundation so please bring a gold coin donation along.
You can learn more about Pink Shirt Day here: www.pinkshirtday.org.nz
Jammies in June – Friday 9 June
Wear your pyjamas to school and bring some pyjamas to donate.
For more information, please click this link.
Community Notices
