Such a lot of learning goes on in a school relating to all aspects of our tamariki’s/children’s lives. Some of the skills that we need to learn and function in life are an ability to read and write and use maths in practical everyday ways. School is the first place where our tamariki/ children begin to specifically learn these skills. Over the next three newsletters I will focus on each of these basic skills and share information that we use to help us know how well our tamariki/ children are making progress in these areas. This week we look at reading. 

We use an assessment device here at Holy Cross used by many schools around New Zealand called the Progress and  Consistency Tool- PaCT.  This measures each student's progress across a range of skills in reading, writing and maths outlined in the Learning Progression Framework. It is an online tool which teachers have been trained to use over the last 4 years. Twice a year, for tamariki/ children in Year 2-8, teachers will go through an assessment process to monitor progress and identify areas of learning that need support for the whole class or individual children using this tool. We have other tools as well that we use to understand how learning is progressing for every tamariki/ child including Running Records, phonics assessments and a more formal assessment used at the senior end of the school called e-asTTle. All this information helps teachers decide how progress is going for individuals and for the class. 

At the beginning of the year we look at the PaCT information or data from the previous year across all three skills, reading, writing and maths. This helps us to make decisions about what we will focus on in the year ahead and if there are particular groups of tamariki that we want to see make improved progress. 

In 2022, 76% of tamariki from Year 2-8 achieved at or above the expected level in reading. The Ministry of Education have priorities around making sure Maori and Pacific students are achieving well. Of the tamariki who identify as Maori in our school, 77% of these tamariki are achieving at or above the expected level in Reading; 80% of Pacific students are achieving at this level also. 

The table below shows how  reading achievement has been over the past three difficult years. Despite the challenges, our tamariki have maintained consistent levels of great achievement. 

Percentage of Children at and above expectation in reading at Holy Cross School:

Looking to 2023, we want to continue to work on reading achievement in our school. We have adopted a new approach to learning to  read based on New Zealand research out of Canterbury University- Better Start Literacy Approach. This began in R11 and 12 at the end of last year and is now rolling out to Room 7- Year 2. This approach will systematically be rolled out over all Year levels over the next few years. It supports all tamariki but especially those who may find reading a difficult skill to pick up as it has a stronger emphasis on phonetic knowledge and a structured way of building skills. We plan to have some parent workshops this year to help us all build  our understanding of this new approach.

 Our challenge in teaching reading is getting children started in the basics well. We hope this program will make it easier for all our tamariki to pick up those beginning skills and not lag behind, reducing the level of underachievement that is there for some of our learners. 

For more information check out the following websites or talk to your classroom teacher. 

Learning Progression Framework https://curriculumprogresstools.education.govt.nz/lpfs/learn-about-the-lpfs/

Progress and Consistency Tool

https://assessment.tki.org.nz/Assessment-tools-resources/Curriculum-Progress-Tools-LPF-and-PaCT

Better Start Literacy Approach. 

://www.betterstartapproach.com/families

We are enjoying the opportunity to prepare for Lent this year without any of the restrictions of previous years. Shrove Tuesday was celebrated in some classes followed by a whole school mass for Ash Wednesday. It was very special to have members of Holy Trinity Parish join us for this event led by Father Bill, assisted by Room 5. One of our Action items in our Annual improvement plan is to strengthen akonga/ students' understanding of the Catholic faith and traditions through joining with the wider community to celebrate these moments. We look forward to enjoying other gatherings together and provide opportunities for all to participate. 

A focus we are taking here at Holy Cross over Lent is to support Catholic Schools affected in Flood stricken areas of the North Island. We will be having a non-uniform day on Friday 10th March. Children wearing non-uniform are invited to bring a gold coin donation to class. 

One of our school policies is HEALTHY EATING. If we could please keep this in mind when preparing our child's lunch box. Try to avoid foods that are full of sugar e.g biscuits, cakes, processed snacky foods, drinks and go for the more healthy option of fruit, vegetables and water. Also children are to leave lollies and fizzy drinks at home. 

With all the building construction going on at the moment on the school grounds, we would really appreciate it, if you could please supervise your child after school if they are playing in the playground. Let's keep our community safe!

Please save Wednesday afternoon 5th April in your diaries- every term we open our doors to whānau and friends so we can celebrate the learning that has happened in class. 

*Note, this is Meisha’s response to visiting ‘He Tohu’ at the National Library on Friday, 24th February 2023. 

A Glistening Light By Meisha

As my group flooded into the room I slowly followed behind unaware of what they had seen, peering around the corner all I could see was darkness. And within that darkness a glistening glow had erupted from in the room revealing the crowd of people surrounding this light but then I started to ponder. What was the illuminating light that glistened in the shadows that made the room feel a lot more lively?

Perhaps I should look more thoroughly.

I came closer and closer to the mysterious light and to my surprise it was such a fascinating thing. There was a glass barrier of some sort surrounding it. In fact 9 of them actually I think one of them had Te Tiriti O Waitangi inside as we were instructed to gather around the boxes each having 1 treaty inside. I was fascinated by the little buttons on the boxes and the instructor spoke and said ‘they are timed lights which are for if you couldn't see perfectly since the room has only a bit of light but since the documents are light sensitive they are timed so they won't get damaged by the light.’

Interesting. Then I took a look at the women's suffrage petition and noticed something, the people who had come to sign it not only had to write in pen and pencil but also colored pencils and crayons too! All sorts of stationery had been used to sign it, perhaps there were no limits of what you could use. ‘The women's suffrage petition is the most light sensitive since people used crayons pencils and other materials’.

I tried to keep track of the key information but she spoke a bit fast ‘the tears and rips are actually from rats and mice who nibbled on the treaty’ ‘The rats had nibbled on it because it was made out of sheepskin’ ‘183 years ago the treaty had been signed’.

I was trying to focus in the meantime,it was still kind of easy but I was still pacing fast so I could catch up. I already had plenty of information but I kept going even if I had plenty.

Writing really fast I had a thought, it was about a privilege, the privilege was we got to see Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the women's suffrage petition and the declaration of independence because I'm sure none of my family have seen them up close. Inside I felt sparks tingling inside of me. Maybe I was so amazed that I didn't even know how to react. After our time had expired it was time for the next group to come in, before we left we sang Te aroha to the instructor as a thank you. We left the room, this time I proudly walked with the people at the front and all I could feel was many emotions inside of me getting ready to burst out and be amazed with a hint of curiosity.

The document that shaped NZ

My own personal experience seeing Te Tiriti O Waitangi

By Marlon  Year 6, Holy Cross School.

I walked into the dark room. At first, I got a bit of a fright because it was so dark! I was awestruck. There were 5 glass cabinets filled with historic documents. The room made me feel proud to be a New Zealander. As I looked around, I felt a sense of shock. These documents had shaped millions upon millions of lives. He Whakaputanga, Te Tiriti O Waitangi, and the Women's Suffrage Petition. I had been waiting for this trip for ages. He Tohu was just as impressive as I thought.

As my vision cleared, I looked around. The mysterious shapes turned into my classmates. I was really excited now. The educator told us to form a circle. I stood right next to the cabinet with the original copy of Te Tiriti O Waitangi. I looked at all the signatures. The first one was from the British governor. Looking at all the signatures, I wondered what the chiefs who signed it would think about the world 180 years later.

The guide explained that there had been 542 signatures of Te Tiriti O Waitangi, starting with Hone Heke. I wondered if the rangatira knew just how influential they would be on the history of New Zealand. They had already declared themselves a country with He Whakaputanga and later would let women vote with the Suffrage Petition but this would set the laws that decided what New Zealand would be like in the future. I wondered if what we were doing now would change the way New Zealand would be in the future.

I looked around in the cabinets for signatures from Ngati Tuwharetoa (my iwi) but I couldn’t find them. I didn’t know why. I found out later that because of some of the language, (the word ‘rangatiratanga’ is not in the Ngati Tuwharetoa vocabulary) Ngati Tuwharetoa did not sign Te Tiriti. I felt annoyed that my ancestors had been left out of the most important documents in the history of New Zealand.

As we left the room, I thought about it. I had seen the document that shapes New Zealand to this day. I wondered how New Zealand would have turned out had Te Tiriti not been signed. Who knows, maybe New Zealand wouldn’t be a country! To think we came from a humble group of islands that almost no one had heard of to one of the proudest nations in the world, it’s amazing to think that it was all thanks to a piece of paper.

My mystical trip to He Tohu

By Cian. 27.2.23

A moment in time.

When I entered the room I was bewildered by the coolness.  Strangely there was an aura of wonder in the air. It was as if this room was in a different time.  

The roof was curved and the room was dark so you couldn't see the document.

There were the documents preserved in special glass cases and there were buttons you could press to make the cases light up. The lights were a special light that minimize the damage done to the documents. The documents can still get damaged but since people only sometimes press the button they don't damage the documents too much.

I wonder if there really is a mystical aura or if my mind is playing tricks on me.

A wee reminder: school photos this Wednesday 8th March. Please come in full, clean and tidy uniform.

What is Love? (by Hawi from Room 3)

Love is kind and patient.

Love is joy.

Love is respect.

It is NOT being selfish, jealous and rude. Love is NOT thinking your better than everyone. Love is NOT lying, it's telling the truth. It is NOT evil. Love is NOT getting angry fast.

Love is trusting people. Love is accepting others for who they are. Love is being grateful for what you have because God blessed you with it. Love is listening to the speaker when there talking to you and teaching you.

Today I am going to show LOVE by sharing stuff with people when they need it and being patient when people are working with Ben our teacher.

Parish Newsletter

Miramar Central School Food Fair

Marsden's March Open Morning

SAMUEL MARSDEN COLLEGIATE SCHOOL - GIRLS ENTERING YEAR 9 IN 2024 

Marsden School warmly invites families of girls entering Year 9 in 2024 to their first Open Morning for 2023 on Friday 10 March, 8.45am-12pm. Please register at marsden.school.nz/register

Scholarships for entry in 2024 are now open. For more information and to apply, visit marsden.school.nz/about/scholarships/

marsden.school.nz

Marsden, Inspiring Girls

Miramar Night Market

Children's Asthma Study (CARE) recruitment