Kia ora koutou,

We had a lovely Powerful Learning Hui last Friday where each learning environment shared highlights from the term, including artwork, camp photos, and a News Bulletin about Kiwiana Learning. Powerful Learning is a long-standing term we use at Puketaha School, and it represents learning that focuses on our 6C’s and Values. Parents are always welcome to attend these assemblies, which usually happen in week 7 or 8 of each term. The dates are put into our school calendar once the date is confirmed and this is visible in the app. 

Next Friday, April 5th, our teaching staff will engage in Professional Learning with an outside facilitator from Liz Kane Literacy. The staff will engage in a workshop, focusing on Structured Literacy. Structured Literacy is a teaching approach that explicitly teaches children the ‘code’ of the English language and has an emphasis on phonemic awareness and alphabet knowledge to improve reading, spelling, and writing skills. This is a strategy we have already started implementing across the school and we look to grow our collective professional knowledge further. 

The school will remain open on Friday while these workshops take place, as we have the means to supervise students over the day. We will be running an alternative programme however to help us manage this. Our Year 7 and 8 students will attend their Technology lessons as normal. 

As we move into the Easter extra long weekend, we hope you all enjoy some time with your family and we look forward to seeing the students back on Wednesday. 

Ngaa mihi nui,

Nyree Olliver