Tuesday 6 December 2016
Thursday 17 November 2016
Meeting
Parents of English Language Learners at Oaklands
November 2016
Dear Parents
Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday 23 rd November from 9.00
– 9.30am in the staffroom. Mrs Martin will be at the meeting to discuss the Multicultural Celebration
in Term 1 2017. If you have any ideas for discussion please be prepared to share them. We will also mention the school gala. We have several new families that have joined the Oaklands community, so if you and your family are new to our school, please feel free to come long and meet other families.
Preschool children are welcome to come with you.
Please sign in at the office before you come to the staffroom.
Mrs Martin and I look forward to meeting you all.
Kind regards
Kathleen Kingston
Teacher Aide
November 2016
Dear Parents
Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday 23 rd November from 9.00
– 9.30am in the staffroom. Mrs Martin will be at the meeting to discuss the Multicultural Celebration
in Term 1 2017. If you have any ideas for discussion please be prepared to share them. We will also mention the school gala. We have several new families that have joined the Oaklands community, so if you and your family are new to our school, please feel free to come long and meet other families.
Preschool children are welcome to come with you.
Please sign in at the office before you come to the staffroom.
Mrs Martin and I look forward to meeting you all.
Kind regards
Kathleen Kingston
Teacher Aide
Friday 23 September 2016
Farewell
Thank you to all those parents and children who have wished me well in my retirement. I have enjoyed my time at Oaklands and although I leave today, I will always remember the parents, staff and children that I have met and worked with. It has been a highlight getting to know so many new families through our parent meetings and I know you will continue to support your children and their schooling. Enjoy the holidays with your children. My very best wishes to you all.
Wednesday 14 September 2016
Raising children bilingually - free public lecture
Thursday 15 September 5.30 - 7.00 pm.
I am sorry that this is such late notice but I only heard about this meeting today. It is a free lecture and discussion for parents and caregivers who are raising children with two or more languages. You do not have to register. Refreshments will be supplied. It will be held at the College of Education, Dovedale Campus, Otakaro Building L1.
Check out:
http://www.education.canterbury.ac.nz/languages/ or una.cunningham@canterbury.ac.nz
Wednesday 7 September 2016
Many, many thanks
This morning I was very privileged to be farewelled by the wonderful parents of our English language learners. Thank you for the wonderful card and all the kind messages and gifts - I appreciate them very much. I was also humbled by the speech that Kathleen gave - the fact that she spoke completely in Maori was incredible, but I know how hard she has been studying Te Reo. I felt very honoured.
As you all know, I will be retiring at the end of this term - I will miss you all - but it is time for me to spend more time with my family and pursue some of my other interests. I appreciate the support you have given me, Kathleen, and your children by attending our meetings, being such a big part of our Multicultural Day and supporting our school in the many ways that you do.
Some of you have talked to me about your child's class for next year. Please check today's school newsletter, as there is an item in there that will give you some important information.
As you all know, I will be retiring at the end of this term - I will miss you all - but it is time for me to spend more time with my family and pursue some of my other interests. I appreciate the support you have given me, Kathleen, and your children by attending our meetings, being such a big part of our Multicultural Day and supporting our school in the many ways that you do.
Some of you have talked to me about your child's class for next year. Please check today's school newsletter, as there is an item in there that will give you some important information.
Friday 26 August 2016
Our final meeting for Term 3 will be on Wednesday 7 September
It is hard to believe that we are already thinking about our final meeting for this term! As the parents who were at our last meeting know, this next meeting will be my final one as I am retiring at the end of the term after nearly five years at Oaklands School. I would love to say good bye to as many of you as possible, so please come along to the meeting in R14 from 9.00 am on Wednesday 7 September. It has been a privilege to meet and work with so many of you and I appreciate all the ways in which you have supported your children, me, Mrs Kingston and everyone here at Oaklands School.
The following note is from Michiko Ward - she has asked that it be included on our blog. It is a lovely note and I really appreciate her writing to you all. We thought it best to include it on our blog so that as many of you as possible know about what Michiko and other parents are organising.
The following note is from Michiko Ward - she has asked that it be included on our blog. It is a lovely note and I really appreciate her writing to you all. We thought it best to include it on our blog so that as many of you as possible know about what Michiko and other parents are organising.
Hi everyone,
As you all know, this will be the last ESOL parents meeting with Chris.
Hope lots of you can join in to have a good chat with her as well as to enjoy shared morning tea.
Please bring a small plate of food if you can. (Don't feel like you have to. The most important bit is to come and see her!!)
To those who are new to school, Chris has been an amazing teacher and supporter for both kids and parents.
And we couldn't make the Multicultural Day so successful without her (and Kathleen, of course!)
You will also find a great group of parents at the meeting who came from all sorts of back grounds, so come and join in!
Looking forward to seeing you there :)
Kind regards
Michiko (Mother of Leo Rm 8 & Luke Rm 16)
Monday 1 August 2016
Term 3 will be another busy term.
Term 3 promises to be another busy term. The school calendar is full, so make sure you check what's on in the weekly newsletter which comes out every Wednesday.
Flags
As you know, we like to acknowledge all the different countries that our students come from by flying the flag of the country's national day. This term we will be very busy flying flags from 12 different countries. Where possible, Victor and Honor, our cultural ambassadors, fly each flag on the exact day, but sometimes this is not possible because of holidays, weekends, or two countries sharing their national days. Below is a list of the national days being celebrated this term:
The first meeting this term for the parents of our English language learners will be held on Wednesday 10 August in R14 from 9.00 - 9.45 am. Please join Mrs Kingston and I for a chat and a cup of tea or coffee, and, as always, pre schoolers are welcome. Don't forget to sign in at the Office before you come to R14. Several new families have joined our Oaklands community, so please feel free to come along and meet other people. You are all welcome.
Flags
As you know, we like to acknowledge all the different countries that our students come from by flying the flag of the country's national day. This term we will be very busy flying flags from 12 different countries. Where possible, Victor and Honor, our cultural ambassadors, fly each flag on the exact day, but sometimes this is not possible because of holidays, weekends, or two countries sharing their national days. Below is a list of the national days being celebrated this term:
- 4 August - Cook Islands
- 14 August - Pakistan - the flag will be flown on Thursday 11 August
- 15 August - South Korea - the flag will fly on Friday 12 August
- 15 August - India - the flag will fly on 16 August
- 17 August - Indonesia
- 19 August - Afghanistan
- 24 August - Ukraine
- 2 September - Vietnam
- 7 September - Brazil
- 30 September - Botswana - this is in the holidays so the flag will fly on 21 September
- 1 October - China - this is in the holidays so the flag will fly on 22 September
- 3 October - Germany - this date is also in the holidays so the flag will fly on 23 September
The first meeting this term for the parents of our English language learners will be held on Wednesday 10 August in R14 from 9.00 - 9.45 am. Please join Mrs Kingston and I for a chat and a cup of tea or coffee, and, as always, pre schoolers are welcome. Don't forget to sign in at the Office before you come to R14. Several new families have joined our Oaklands community, so please feel free to come along and meet other people. You are all welcome.
Friday 10 June 2016
Our last meeting for Term 2 and follow up from our last meeting.
Our final meeting for this term will be held on Wednesday 29 June in Room 16 from 9.00 - 10.00 am. There will be an opportunity for you to ask any questions that you may have after the meeting with Mrs Martin about the new teaching and learning model that we are undertaking at Oaklands. We had a lively discussion at our last meeting and I hope that you have had time to think about what was discussed. There may now be other questions you want to ask or ideas that you may want to share. Remember that the new buildings will reflect ideas from the school community, so make sure you have your say. As always, pre schoolers are welcome.
I hope you have had the chance to go to the school library following Mrs Ward's invitation at our last meeting. There is a great choice of books available for your family and you are welcome to borrow them.
I hope you have had the chance to go to the school library following Mrs Ward's invitation at our last meeting. There is a great choice of books available for your family and you are welcome to borrow them.
Thursday 12 May 2016
Welcome to Term 2.
The new term has begun with warm weather and the leaves changing colours. Surely, we will get the cold, wind and rain soon!
A warm welcome to new families. It is great to see so many new students and their families joining our Oaklands community.
Our next meeting for the parents of our English language learners will be on Wednesday 1 June, which is in Week 5. At this meeting Mrs Caroline Martin, Deputy Principal, will be talking about collaborative teaching and learning and what that means for all of us at Oaklands School. Education is in the process of exciting change so if you want to know more about it, please come and talk with Mrs Martin. The meeting will be in Room 16 from 9.00 - 10.00 am. As always, preschoolers are welcome. Tea and coffee will be available.
During Term 2, several of the countries our families come from will celebrate their national day. We will continue the custom of flying the flag of the particular country on its special day. However, if the national day falls in the holidays or the weekend, we will fly it on a day close to the original day. The flags of The Netherlands and South Africa flew last Thursday (5 May) and Friday (6 May) respectively, as both countries had their national day on 27 April, which was in the holidays.
Flags to fly this term are:
A warm welcome to new families. It is great to see so many new students and their families joining our Oaklands community.
Our next meeting for the parents of our English language learners will be on Wednesday 1 June, which is in Week 5. At this meeting Mrs Caroline Martin, Deputy Principal, will be talking about collaborative teaching and learning and what that means for all of us at Oaklands School. Education is in the process of exciting change so if you want to know more about it, please come and talk with Mrs Martin. The meeting will be in Room 16 from 9.00 - 10.00 am. As always, preschoolers are welcome. Tea and coffee will be available.
During Term 2, several of the countries our families come from will celebrate their national day. We will continue the custom of flying the flag of the particular country on its special day. However, if the national day falls in the holidays or the weekend, we will fly it on a day close to the original day. The flags of The Netherlands and South Africa flew last Thursday (5 May) and Friday (6 May) respectively, as both countries had their national day on 27 April, which was in the holidays.
Flags to fly this term are:
- Samoa - 1 June
- Great Britain - 6 June (flag will fly at Oaklands on Tuesday 7 June, as Monday is a holiday)
- Russia - 12 June (flag will fly at Oaklands on Monday 13 June)
- Philippines - 12 June (flag will fly at Oaklands on Tuesday 14 June)
Our Cultural Ambassadors, Honor Cloake and Victor Song, do a great job of ensuring that the appropriate flag is flown each day.
Thursday 31 March 2016
Multicultural Day Activities at Oaklands
Finally, our Multicultural Activities movie for you to view!!
Wednesday 30 March 2016
Last Meeting for Term 1.
Our last meeting for this term will be on Wednesday 6 April from 9.00 - 10.00 am in Room 15. You are welcome to come and hear Mrs Jan Hall, Deputy Principal, speak to us about Assessment at Oaklands School:
- what assessments are done
- why they are done
- when they are done
- who does them
This is a subject many of you wanted to know about, so please come and hear Mrs Hall speak. As always, preschoolers are welcome to come with you.
Please remember to sign in at the Office before you come to Room 15.
Wednesday 23 March 2016
Do you know about Plains FM 96.9, the radio station?
There is a great radio station - Plains FM 96.9 - which you might be interested in listening to. It shares the interests and views of the many different communities of Canterbury. It is Canterbury's only community access station where the community creates radio programmes for broadcast and as podcasts in their own way and in their language of choice! You can hear and enjoy news, music and cultural programmes in various languages eg Samoan, Irish, Filipino, Japanese, Indonesian, Chinese and Vietnamese. Have a listen - perhaps there will be something of interest for you.
Sunday 28 February 2016
Thanks to you all.
To all the parents who helped make our Multicultural Day so successful - thank you so much. The effort you all put into making your activities so interesting meant that the children had wonderful learning experiences that they will remember for a long time. I appreciate your willingness to go into different classes and share your knowledge and enthusiasm with our students. Without your input, our activities morning would not have been as successful as it was.
The support you also gave to the Multicultural Assembly is also much appreciated. Thank you to those of you who participated in, or organised, assembly items. The performances were great and very much enjoyed by everyone.
Mrs Kingston and I look forward to continuing to work alongside you to ensure that your children have positive learning experiences at Oaklands.
A selection of photos will be appearing shortly.
Thursday 25 February 2016
Saturday 20 February 2016
Important reminder - Our Cultural Celebrations are this week!
Cultural Week is coming up and there are some fun things planned for everyone to enjoy.
This week is an opportunity for us all to celebrate the different cultures we have at Oaklands School. All children are encouraged to bring a game, song, story or activity from their home country that they can share during the week.
This week is an opportunity for us all to celebrate the different cultures we have at Oaklands School. All children are encouraged to bring a game, song, story or activity from their home country that they can share during the week.
The blog below is a reprint of a previous blog to remind you of what is happening this week.
On Tuesday 23 February, we are having a shared lunch in the classrooms. We would like each child to bring a small plate of food from their home country to share with their classmates. We have over 20 different cultures at Oaklands and it would be great to see a variety of food in the classrooms.
On Thursday 25 February, we encourage all children to wear the national costume of their country or an item of clothing from their country. In the morning, parents of our English language learners are taking activities from their home countries with the different classes. The parents have worked very hard to make this a fun morning and we know the children will enjoy what the parents are offering.
In the afternoon, starting at 1.40 pm, we are having a Multicultural Assembly, to which you are invited. A variety of items from different countries will be presented by parents, children and friends of our school.
We hope families will take the opportunity to wear their national costume to our assembly and help make this occasion a very special celebration.
Tuesday 16 February 2016
Culture Club with Mrs Kingston
Each Tuesday at morning play, Mrs Kingston meets with Kakano students and they all do some activities together. They celebrated the Chinese Year of the Monkey by drawing great chalk pictures on the playground.
Monday 8 February 2016
Cultural Week 22 - 26 February, 2016
Cultural Week is coming up and there are some fun things planned for everyone to enjoy.
All children are encouraged to bring a game, song, story or activity from their home country that they can share during the week.
On Tuesday 23 February, we are having a shared lunch in the classrooms. It is hoped that each child will bring a small plate of food from their home country to share with their classmates. We have over 20 different cultures at Oaklands and it would be great to see a variety of food in the classrooms.
On Thursday 25 February, we encourage all children to wear the national costume of their country or an item of clothing from their country. In the morning, parents of our English language learners are taking activities from their home countries with the different classes. The parents have worked very hard to make this a fun morning and we know the children will enjoy what the parents are offering.
In the afternoon, starting at 1.40 pm, we are having a Multicultural Assembly, to which you are invited. A variety of items from different countries will be presented by parents, children and friends of our school.
We hope families will take the opportunity to wear their national costume to our assembly and help make this occasion a very special celebration.
All children are encouraged to bring a game, song, story or activity from their home country that they can share during the week.
On Tuesday 23 February, we are having a shared lunch in the classrooms. It is hoped that each child will bring a small plate of food from their home country to share with their classmates. We have over 20 different cultures at Oaklands and it would be great to see a variety of food in the classrooms.
On Thursday 25 February, we encourage all children to wear the national costume of their country or an item of clothing from their country. In the morning, parents of our English language learners are taking activities from their home countries with the different classes. The parents have worked very hard to make this a fun morning and we know the children will enjoy what the parents are offering.
In the afternoon, starting at 1.40 pm, we are having a Multicultural Assembly, to which you are invited. A variety of items from different countries will be presented by parents, children and friends of our school.
We hope families will take the opportunity to wear their national costume to our assembly and help make this occasion a very special celebration.
English lessons for adults
Some of you were interested in finding out about English lessons for adults. I contacted South West Baptist Church, as they are the group that advertise these lessons. Below is the information that was sent to me. Good luck if you decide to follow this up.
Wigram English
Harvard Community Lounge, Corsair Drive
Thursday 9-11am
Starts February 4
Contact Maewyn 338 8078 maewynmoore@gmail.com
Halswell English
Te Hapua Halswell Community Centre (Hao Room), 126 Halswell Road
Wednesdays 9-11am
Starts February 10
Contact Helen 322 8843 helen_lewthwaite@hotmail.com
Both of these classes meet during school term time, and cost $4, which includes morning tea.
There are also English classes offered at St Marks Presbyterian Church on Withells Road. These are held on a Monday during term time, from 9:45-11:45am and cost $3 per session. Their classes restart on February 15. Their church office contact is 358 5443.
Friday 29 January 2016
Welcome to 2016
Welcome to another year at Oaklands School. I hope you had a very happy holiday and had time to rest and also to spend time with your family. Several new families have joined Oaklands School and we welcome you all.
Next week is our first week back at school and on Wednesday, 3 February, our parent group will meet in the Library (Room 7) from 9.00 - 10.00 am. We would like to welcome new parents and to finalise the timetable for our Multicultural Day on Thursday, 25 February. Many of you have volunteered to take activities on that day, but we have room for more!! Even if you are not able to take an activity, please come on Wednesday and have a chat and a cup of tea or coffee. As always, preschool children are welcome. Mrs Kingston and I look forward to meeting you all. Please remember to sign in at the Office on your way to the Library.
Next week is our first week back at school and on Wednesday, 3 February, our parent group will meet in the Library (Room 7) from 9.00 - 10.00 am. We would like to welcome new parents and to finalise the timetable for our Multicultural Day on Thursday, 25 February. Many of you have volunteered to take activities on that day, but we have room for more!! Even if you are not able to take an activity, please come on Wednesday and have a chat and a cup of tea or coffee. As always, preschool children are welcome. Mrs Kingston and I look forward to meeting you all. Please remember to sign in at the Office on your way to the Library.
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