Teacher Only Day, 31 August

This is to advise you all that the school will be closed for the day on Monday 31 August as the staff will be having a day at school undergoing professional development.  School will return as normal on Tuesday, 1 September.  So, it will be a long weekend for your children and maybe you too.  Let's hope the weather is warm and sunny.  Spring is on its way!

Kākano Culture Club

Mrs Kingston runs the culture club each Tuesday at morning break.  Students enjoy a variety of activities such as exercises using equipment and chalk drawing on the playground things that are found in the garden.

Chinese Immersion Day, 6 September

The Chinese Immersion Day looks as if it will be a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon!  Hopefully, I will see some of our Oaklands families at Avonhead School on 6 September.  I am expecting it to be a great afternoon.

Remember to let the organisers know if you want to attend - the email address is at the bottom of the notice below.

Flags Flying at Oaklands in Term 3

As you are aware, we have students from many different countries and ethnicities attending Oaklands School.  We endeavour to focus on each different country that is represented by raising the flag of that country on its national day.  The coming weeks are very busy for national days and we try to raise the flags on the exact day.  However, if the day falls on a weekend or in the holidays, or more than one country shares the same national day, we raise the flag on a date close to the actual one.  So, next time you are come into the school, see what flag is flying and also see if you can identify the country it belongs to.  To help with this, the list below outlines which flag will fly on which date this term:

• Cook Islands - Tuesday 4 August
• Taiwan – Monday 10 August
• South Korea – Wednesday 12 August (actual national day 15 August)
• India – Thursday 13 August (actual national day 15 August)
• Pakistan – Friday 14 August
• Indonesia – Monday 17 August
• Afghanistan – Wednesday 19 August
• Ukraine – Monday 24 August
• Vietnam – Wednesday 2 September
• Botswana - Thursday 24 September (actual national day 30 September)
• China – 25 September (actual national day 1 October)

Ideas

At our last parent meeting, we talked about encouraging children with writing at home.  We talked about how it was not necessary for children to write out their home reading book, but if they want to copy words and draw pictures about the story, then let them.  We also talked about ways you might like to support your children's writing:

• Have different sorts, colours and sizes of paper available for writing on
• Make a pair of suitable sized scissors available for children to cut the paper into different sizes or shapes
• Different writing tools eg coloured pencils, pens, crayons, felts, whiteboard markers, etc all make writing exciting and allow variety
• A stapler, hole punch, stencils, selotape can all add details to the different sorts of books that children could make
• Children love to show and display their work for others to see, so you could have a wall space or a notice board at home for this
• Magnetic letters and a magnetic board allow children to experiment with moving letters to make words 

Some parents also wanted to know what sorts of websites and apps are available that they could use at home with their children.  There are many available - some you may find more appealing than others.  I have included some here from the list that was handed out to parents, but this is by no means a definitive list:

Websites:  

·       Type into Google - ESOL resources for children aged 5-8 in reading, writing and maths - many, many websites are available eg:

·       ESOL Kids' Lab

·       ESL Kids' World

·       Study English Today

·       KIZ School

·       English 4 Kids

·       Starfall

·       Learning English

·       Studyladder

·       The 50 Best ESL Resources ...

Apps:

· Bobble Write - good for students who are learning to write the English alphabet

· Zubadoo stories - series of traditional tales eg The Three Little Pigs

· Educreations - you can take a photo, add text, draw using your finger and record your voice

· iTalk - is like a dictaphone and is great for children to read a story then play it back and hear how it sounds