Thanks to those of you who have sent in a class photo - it's not too late if you haven't done this yet.
Redwood
School - Room 3 Information 
My name is Michelle Morpeth and
I am very happy to be teaching your children.
I have been teaching at Redwood School for 15 years with a couple of
short maternity breaks. I have 22 years
of experience as a teacher both in New Zealand and the UK and have been trained
in Reading Recovery. My passion is in the
teaching of Literacy and I particularly enjoy getting children started on their
journey as readers and writers. I’m really looking forward to working with and getting
to know the children and parents in Room 3 this year. I am very lucky to have
Kim Hearps as my regular teacher aide in the class working between the hours of
10am – 2pm daily. As Syndicate Leader I
will have several release days during the term to tend to administrative
matters and Miss Jo Montague will be our regular release teacher, providing us
with amazing art lessons.
Photo
Please can you send to school
(or email me) a photo of your family that can be displayed in our class as part
of our ‘Getting to Know You’ topic. If I
could have these by Wednesday next week, that would be great.
Here
is a general outline of our daily timetable:
Maths, Writing - mornings
Reading, Oral Language - middle
session
Handwriting, PE, Art, Topic work
- after lunch
Please make sure your child is
here, ready to start school at 8.55am.
Children need a few minutes to unpack their bag, greet their friends and
get settled, so the ideal time to arrive is between 8.30 and 8.45am. Please do
not send your child to school any earlier than 8.30am as I may not be in the
classroom and your child may not be safely supervised. The roll is called first
thing in the morning and any absences are reported to the office promptly. If your child is late, or going to be absent,
please notify the office.
Morning routines include
answering the morning question, putting book bags into the drawer and taking
down their chair.
Book
Bags
It is very important that the
book bag comes to school every day.
Notices and any other things coming home will be in the book bag, so
please remember to check it. Children are not allowed to bring reading books or
library books home unless they are in their book bag.
Homework
Reading – Monday - Thursday
Please take the time (10
– 20 minutes) to read and discuss with your child when they bring a book
home. This will usually be the book they
read with the teacher and it is important to reinforce what they have learnt in
class. They will usually get a new book 4 - 5 times a week and may also receive
a Word Ring to help with their high frequency word knowledge. Once your child
is reading turquoise level and beyond they may not get a book each day as we
focus on deeper comprehension strategies and may read a book over several
days. In this case we expect that your
child is reading for pleasure and that you have a story you can read with them
and discuss. Your child may end up with several books in their book bag. We
encourage this and hope they revisit them.
Please make sure your child stores these books in their book bag for
safe keeping while at home.
On a Friday our child
will bring home their ‘Home Book’ which will have a combination of poems, songs
and games for you to share over the weekend.
Please make sure this comes back to school the following Monday.
Spelling
When assessments have
been completed your child will come home with a Spelling Rocket. This is worked
on at the child’s and your own pace and once learnt can be brought back to
school for testing and a new rocket given.
Maths
Students are encouraged
to use Mathletics regularly and tasks will be set to meet the needs of your
child. You may find Rainforest Maths an easier site to use in the early stages
and you can get to this via Mathletics.
Lunches
We try to encourage healthy
lunches. Please make sure that lollies,
chocolate, chocolate bars, and fizzy drinks do not make their way to
school. Nuts, fruit or veges are a good
substitute. We encourage children to eat quietly, sensibly and neatly, and to
take home what they don’t eat.
Toys and News
I would prefer it if
children did not bring toys to school.
It is not necessary for children to bring something to share for news,
they can talk about an event or describe something that they have at home. If they are desperate to show something for
news it needs to either stay in their bag during the day or be placed behind my
table. Your child will have a news day that will be determined shortly.
Library Time
We visit the school
library on Fridays at 11.45am. The children are allowed to take two books home
and can have these for two weeks. Most
children however prefer to get a new book each week. Please make sure the books
are put into the Library box by Friday morning.
Parent Helpers
I would love a parent to
help us return and issue books during our library time, please let me know if
you are interested. I would also love to
have a kind person to help me with returning reading books to the book room.
Hats / Clothing
Please ensure your child
has a suitable sunhat – one with a brim.
Caps are not suitable. They will
need a hat at school everyday during term 4.
Please make sure your
child has a raincoat or jacket in their bags.
The unpredictable Wellington weather can often see us dripping wet
unexpectedly.
Please name clothing,
especially those items that get removed often.
We have a removed
clothing basket in the room. If you are
missing an item please look their first, then try the lost property in the
hall.
I hope that this
information is useful for you. I am
available for brief chats, before and after school (although Monday and
Wednesday afternoons, and Friday mornings, I have meetings). If you would like to talk in more detail, we
can make a time to meet, or if you wish to contact me via email you can reach
me at michellemorpeth@redwood.school.nz. I welcome the opportunity to meet you in
person, and to keep you updated on your child’s progress.
Thank you for your time,
Mrs Michelle Morpeth
