School Newsletter - 24th May 2023

A Message from the Principal

The media has made much of the declining results in Primary Education over the past 5-10 years as measured by international OECD based testing. This year Kohimarama School students will participate in TIMMS and PISA testing in term 4. The testing will be in the Sciences area and will be measured across the Year 5 student cohort.

I am pleased to report that in recent national standardised testing towards the end of term one, students at Kohimarama School continue to achieve highly across the Year 4-8 cohorts. A focus on continued high achievement will enable our students to have coherent pathways in place for their secondary/tertiary education..

The following graphs demonstrate the distribution of results across Reading Comprehension, Vocabulary and Mathematics from term 1 2023..

Reading Comprehension

Reading Vocabulary

Mathematics

These results are from the beginning of the school year with some new students added in and all students in new year groups. Staff use these results to plan learning that will support and enhance each student's development over the next six months. 

The same round of testing will be undertaken again in Term 3. We expect to see that students will have added to their knowledge, skill and understanding (we call this their +1) and that this will be reflected across these year groups. i.e. we have all students who have demonstrated acceleration in their learning.

Parent meeting Wednesday 31st May at 7.30pm for Hillary/Snell (Yr4-Yr8) Team parents  

As you will be aware we are a full Primary School which means we go all the way from year 1 to year 8. Every year we run a parent meeting to help inform our families of the intermediate years programme at Kohimarama School. We hope that all our parents from year 4 to year 6 will attend to learn about the amazing opportunities afforded the students who remain at our school and the preparedness of these students for moving onto college life. We look forward to seeing you there on Wednesday the 31st of May at 7.30pm in the hall.

Demystifying the Learning Hubs

The majority of New Zealand’s school buildings were built between 1950 and the 70s. Since then, teaching practice and student learning needs have changed significantly. New technologies and building materials allow for new, vibrant and well connected learning spaces. All students deserve to be taught in these new modern learning environments, and benefit from new teaching methods. The Innovative Learning Environment (ILE) was introduced in 2010.  

                                                                     Source: Ministry of Education

Kohimarama School is working with the Ministry of Education for the provision of a permanent set of learning areas (classes). This work commenced last year and is due to be completed in the next few terms. 

As per the Ministry of Education requirements, schools are being designed as an Innovative Learning Environment (ILE). This refers to the buildings and learning spaces.  Long gone are the days where students are sitting in the same place all day every day and doing the same thing at the same time with the same teacher.  

Classroom environments with purposely designed rooms, flexible furniture, digital technology are obvious changes to see, but behind all of this are years of thinking and research focused on how learning has changed, plus a determined focus on preparing these learners for a world that will be vastly different from the one we see today.

The future of Learning across the World

 There are enormous changes within our world and our societies and today’s learners will live in a yet uncharted planet which is difficult to imagine.  

The emergence of new technologies and their exponential rate of development dramatically change the way we live, work and carry out our day to day living today.  Our current students will enter into jobs that haven’t even been thought of yet and they will face a range of unknown problems. Children can now learn anywhere, anytime from anyone, and are no longer just reliant on teachers, parents or the library for information.

It is no longer enough for students to just learn facts and information. They need to know how to use this learning to solve problems, create and enhance our lives and provide flexibility to be able to pivot, as the world is doing. To thrive in this changing world, they need to know how to access knowledge, communicate well, be creative thinkers and collaborate. Widespread consultation led to our new vision and values.  

Please see the FAQs section below about Learning Hubs at Kohimarama School.

My child is not suited to an ILE

Innovative Learning Environments (ILEs) cater for the differing needs of our students. You will see furniture that is of different heights e.g. kneeling benches, tables with stools, wobble stools etc. There are designated areas to better facilitate the learning and activities that students are engaged in.

Without a desk, won’t it be bad for their posture?

What is bad for children’s posture is probably sitting at an uncomfortable desk all day in the same position. By having a wide range of furniture at different levels, children can choose what suits them best. Instead of sitting for long periods of time, children get up and move around a lot more. They work in groups, in pairs and individually. Children love having a choice of areas to work in and to find areas that help them learn best depending on what they are doing.  

We have also invested heavily in ergonomic furniture. 

Are ILEs noisy?

Naturally it would be easy to assume that more students = more noise, but this is not the case in our areas.

ILE’s are designed with new building materials and new technologies specifically to reduce noise.  Our classes have been designed with acoustic wall linings, speaker systems, smaller “breakout spaces” etc.  There are a range of areas that students may work in now that offer quiet reflective areas, group areas, buddy areas etc

MOE studies involving decibel readings have shown that the noise levels are no different to a single cell classroom environment.

In our ILEs we have also noticed far higher levels of engagement and enjoyment within these environments.  

It is also important to point out that learning is social, and enhanced by discussion, collaboration and group work.  No longer is a class working in silence said to be “highly effective” (because for many students the work is either too hard or too easy)

What are some of the benefits of collaborative learning environments?

• More frequent interactions with teachers
• Greater differentiation of the class programme to support all learners
• Increased collaboration between classmates and teachers
• More detailed analysis of each child’s learning needs through the different perspectives of teachers
• Greater chance of each child forming a strong relationship with at least one of their teachers
• Teachers use their strengths, passions and expertise, bounce ideas off each other, problem solve, support and challenge each other to provide personalised learning opportunities for all children. Two or more heads are definitely better than one!
• Greater social development with more peers to interact and work with
• Greater opportunity for students to work in a setting that suits them, due to different spaces within the learning environment

With the number of students within the class, I’m worried that my child may get lost or overlooked..

We find the opposite of this with 2 or 3 teachers working together to support the learning.  In a traditional single cell class, teachers are required to work solely with the whole group of children in their class.  

In a collaborative teaching environment, teachers can work with varied group sizes depending on the needs of learners. There are more options to utilise teacher strengths and a greater chance for every learner to form a stronger connection with at least one of their teachers.  There is an enormous amount of structure and planning to ensure that every child is catered for.  Because there is more than one teacher, there is greater ability to cater for needs and different groupings.

Students seem to be doing different things. Is it a ‘free for all’ or ‘laissez faire?

Absolutely not.  Allowing greater student ownership/flexibility of learning involves much greater systems/structure from the teachers. Students will be able to meet more regularly with teachers.  

Your child will be encouraged and supported to become a self-regulated learner. Self-regulation is a skill we all want and one of the goals of the New Zealand curriculum. We will be closely monitoring all your child is doing.

What is the impact for children if they leave our school and the high school is a more traditional environment?

We believe our students will thrive because they will be more collaborative, confident, stronger thinkers and able to manage their own learning. There is a real mandate for secondary schools to be moving towards ILEs from the Ministry and this is starting to happen. All new schools and rebuilds are developing ILEs because it is recognised that this is the most effective schooling approach.

Friday 2nd June – Grandparents Day

Grandparents and special older friends are invited to visit their grandchild’s classroom in the morning. Grandparents are welcome from 8.55am to 10.30am. Morning tea will be provided in the hall from 10.30am to 11am.

Yummy Stickers

If you buy ‘Yummy’ branded fruit, collect the stickers or bag labels and we can exchange them for new sports equipment. Go to the Yummy Stickers page to print a collection form. Or you can find printed collection forms in the office. We appreciate your support.

Reminder for the year 4, 5 and 6 parents

A friendly reminder that we have an information evening for you all on Wednesday 31st of May at 7.30pm. At this meeting we will be going over how we prepare students for their college years and just what our intermediate years programme looks like.
We hope that all our parents from year 4 to year 6 will attend to learn about the amazing opportunities afforded the students who remain at our school through to year 8 and the preparedness of these students for moving onto college life. We look forward to seeing you there on Wednesday the 31st of May at 7.30pm in the hall.

Have you registered your intent to enrol your preschooler?

We are taking registrations for children aged 3+

Click here to register your child.

Trivia Night Postponed to 3 November

Save the date - Gala Dinner & Auction Night - 2 September 2023

We need volunteers to help us with Sponsorship. If you have or know local businesses that could benefit from exposure to the school community through the gala evening, we want to hear from you!The Gala committee needs help with arranging prizes and sponsorship for the Auction held on Gala Night. 

If you are interested or know of businesses that might be willing to sponsor and help our school to fundraise for things such as improvements to the playground and other benefits for our children, please contact us! kohiptasecretary@gmail.com

Certificates & Awards

Congratulations to these outstanding students from Hillary Team and Snell Team:

• Room 11 – Aiden R, Freddie C
• Room 12 – Oliver D, Huxley W, Orlaith S, Ted T
• Room 13 – Louis G, James L
• Room 14 – Isabel G, Sam M
  
• Room 15 – Lilly B

• Room 18 – Khoi D
• Room 19 – Connor B
• Room 20 – Kaylie P
• Room 21 – Baz L, Cathy L, Lara D
• Room 22 – Acacia G, Liv D, Jessie L
• Room 23 – Alice G, Theani T, Evalina F

Caught Being Good - "Greenies"

Yeeha the sun is shining today, so much more fun outside playing.  Our students are playing well together and showing our Kohimarama Way Values.  Well done to our three champions this week:

• Sophia                Rm 11               for Committed                     Selwyn
• Aria                     Rm 13               for Committed                     Selwyn
• Felix                   Rm 23               for Committed                    Colenso

Bay Suburbs Football Tournament

On Thursday May 18 Kohimarama School fielded three teams in the Bay Suburbs Football Tournament at Glover Park in Glendowie, a Yr 6 boys team, a Yr 6 girls team, and a Yr 5 boys team.
Our Yr 6 boys team were third in a very closely contested grade, with placings ultimately determined by goals for and against.
Many thanks to the parents/staff who assisted with coaching, managing and transport, and to our four Yr 8 learners who refereed.

Sport Results

Flippa Ball & Mini Polo Results

• Year 3/4 Kinas
  Loss 2-5. POD Sasha M
• Year 3/4 Sharks
  Win 3-2. POD Alex H, Emilia A and Ella A
• Year 5/6 Blue Bottles
  Win 6-0. POD Scarlett F

Basketball Results

• Year 6 Clippers
  Win 36-2. Hugo T                                                                                                                                                          

Community Notices