Welcome to 5C introduction letter

 Dear Parents

 I hope you have all had a wonderful relaxing holiday and are ready for the exiting year ahead. I am looking forward to meeting you and the boys next week. My family and I spent a month travelling around the South Island spending time in Queenstown, Greymouth and Nelson. What an amazing summer we have had!

 This is just a quick letter to introduce myself as your sons’ teacher for 2016 and give you some brief pieces of information about the class. This is my third year teaching at Wellesley and it is such a privilege to be here. My son Max started here as a 5 year old 7 years ago. He has fond memories of his time here and loves the continued connection created by me teaching here. My daughter Rose is 7 and goes to Chilton – she would so LOVE to come here too but can’t!

 The start of Term One is a frantic time for all at Wellesley.
 The following is a brief break-down of some the main events and routines that apply directly to 5C. The main areas of learning this term are:
• Health/PE – Water Safety
• Social Science: Me & My World
• Science: Meandering Moments – A Stream Study
• Reading – Kiwi Corkers – Fairy Tales with a Kiwi Twist
• Writing - Narratives
• Maths – Introductory numeracy and number knowledge

 The classroom programme will also be based around the timetable attached (varying from time to time with the addition of school trips, ICT, visiting performers/speakers, ICAS Exams etc).

 Homework: To complement the classroom programme, the boys will be required to complete regular nightly homework, with a homework sheet given out on Monday, to be completed by the Friday. However, if for any reason it has been a busy week please contact me to let me know if you require the weekend to complete it. It is expected that approximately 30 minutes a night (4 days a week) is spent on this. However, there is flexibility to allow for the boys to be involved in the many after school activities that they frequently partake in. In addition, Maths homework is usually given out each week by your son’s Maths teacher.

 Homework is given for the following reasons:
• To provide an opportunity for parents to share and interact with their son.
• To revise and extend work covered in the classroom.
• To develop your sons’ organisational and time management skills as well as independent work habits.
• The main areas of emphasis will be: - Spelling - English – including reading/writing/language skills - Topic work/Research/Inquiry
• Silent reading and discussion of newspaper items, television news, current events and documentaries are also worthwhile extension activities and should not be overlooked.

 Our homework hint – please let your son carry out their own research and word processing, and simply offer encouraging guidance where needed. Too often we mark work that has been beautifully presented by Mum or Dad at the last minute. This makes it difficult to measure where your son is at, as well as defeating the purpose of the exercise.

 Time management is a key tool for the boys so if you could encourage them in this area (eg: using a timetable) along with ‘brainstorming’ or ‘mind-mapping’ at the beginning of an assignment, it would be most helpful.

 Your son will be given all of their stationery when they arrive at school on the first day. However, it can be useful to provide a pencil case, to ensure that belongings are easily kept together.

 The items provided, does not include additional extras such as colouring pencils etc. These are not compulsory, but you may wish to provide such items if you choose. We do recommend that all stationery is taken home to be named and covering books does aid in keeping them in good condition.
It is also a good idea to periodically check with your son from time to time, that they still have all of the necessary items such as pens, pencils, rubber and ruler, as they can be quite disadvantaged, when attempting to do work and they are lacking some of the equipment they require.

Communicating with me:
My preferred method of communication is via email. I will endeavour to reply to these asap. Alternatively, please feel free to drop into school, write a note or phone me.

 Camp: Week 3, from Wednesday 17th-19th February, this is on the school field in tents. A notice about this will be sent home soon.

 P.E and Sport: 5C will have PE on Mondays and Tuesdays at 9.50. Please make sure the boys are ready for P.E. on Monday. Later in the term there will be swim trails and swimming sports, our swimming lessons this year will be at NaeNae Pool in weeks 10 and 11. Year 5 Sport is held on Tuesday afternoons. Initially this is summer sport and boys will need their PE gear for this.

 Sunhats: These are compulsory for the summer term. The class has a supply of sunscreen, however you may wish to supply your son with his own.

 Upcoming Events: The following is a brief outline of some of the main events happening in Term 1. Please refer to the school calendar on our Ultranet page @ http://wellesley.ultranet.school.nz/WebSpace/4/ for detailed and up-to-date information throughout the year.
 • Parent Evening –Week 1, Tuesday 2nd of Feb: 7:30pm start in the school hall then to our class which is above the library. As this is a very important time that I get to meet you and share more details about the class I would love to see at least one parent from each family there if at all possible. Even if your son has been at Wellesley for a while there are difference each year.
• Goal Setting interviews – Week 2, a note about this will come home shortly. Bookings will be made online.
 • School picnic – Week 2, 6pm Friday 12th of Feb
• Camp – Week 3 Thank you for taking the time to read through this notice.

I look forward to meeting you and working with you and your son during the year. I am committed to supporting your son to meet his full potential and believe open communication between home and school is vital to this, therefore, please feel free to contact me if you wish to discuss anything at any time during the year.

Kind regards
Carolyn Currington