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NAU MAI KE TE RUMA KIWI
NAU MAI KE TE RUMA KIWI
Welcome to Kiwi Class
Welcome to Kiwi Class
Colleen Barr-Waaka
Year 1-3 Teacher
Welcome to Kiwi Class: The Superhero Headquarters!
Welcome to Kiwi Class: The Superhero Headquarters!
Kia ora koutou and a massive welcome to the junior room!
My name is Colleen Barr-Waaka, and I am so excited to be leading our wonderful Year 0–3 students. This year, Kiwi class is transforming into a Superhero Headquarters, because our biggest rule is simple: learning is a fun, epic adventure!
We use our superhero theme to supercharge student learning and achievement. By tapping into their imaginations, every child discovers that mistakes are just "plot twists," challenges are missions to conquer, and hard work unlocks brand-new abilities. This playful, high-energy environment keeps our little heroes deeply engaged and excited to soar across every single part of the curriculum!
Unlocking Literacy Powers (With 'The Code'!)
Unlocking Literacy Powers (With 'The Code'!)
Every superhero needs the right gadgets and training. This year, we are diving headfirst into Structured Literacy, utilizing the fantastic Liz Kane 'The Code' program. Think of it as decoding secret messages! It breaks reading and spelling down into fun, manageable steps, giving our kids the ultimate tools to unlock language and become confident, lifelong readers. Alongside this, we make numeracy an absolute blast with interactive math missions and games.
Training for Life's Adventures
Training for Life's Adventures
Beyond the academics, Kiwi class is a bustling training ground where we focus on building the ultimate superhero toolkit - our Key Competencies:
Thinking Outside the Box (Creative problem-solving!)
Relating to Others (Using the ultimate power of kindness and teamwork)
Managing Self (Learning how to be an independent superstar!)
Understanding Symbols & Texts (Making sense of the world around us)
Participating and Contributing (Lending a helping hand and saving the day in our community!)
Through active learning, collaboration, and plenty of laughter, we are helping our littlest learners develop a strong sense of who they are and what they can achieve.
Capes on, team - we can't wait to share this year of curiosity, big breakthroughs, and heroic growth with your tamariki (children)!
Highlights from Kiwi Class
Highlights from Kiwi Class
Firewise Week at School: Learning How to Stay Safe!
We’ve had an action-packed Firewise Week, learning all about how to keep ourselves, our school, and our homes safe in an emergency!Here’s a look at what our tamariki have been up to:
News from Kiwi & Classroom
LearningThrough our Firewise lessons, Kiwi class have been learning key safety habits, like remembering that matches and lighters are tools for adults, not toys, and learning to "Get down, get low, and get out!" if there’s ever smoke.
Whole School Fire Drill
Practice makes perfect! We held a full school fire drill so everyone knows exactly what to do, where to go, and how to safely evacuate our buildings to our meeting area quickly and calmly. Everyone did an incredible job!
Firewise at Home – How You Can Help!
Fire safety doesn't stop at school. Here are a few quick things you can check with your family at home this week:Test your smoke alarms: Press the button to make sure the "beep, beep, beep" is working!Pick a Safe Meeting Place: Decide on a clear spot outside (like the letterbox or a tree by the driveway) where everyone meets if you ever need to get out.Practice your Escape Plan: Map out two ways out of every room in the house.
Crafting Mini Fire Engines!
In anticipation of our upcoming Fire Truck visit, our students have been getting super creative in the art room! Check out these fantastic mini fire engines they made using recycled materials, paint, and plenty of imagination.
NAU MAI KE TE RUMA Kākāpō
NAU MAI KE TE RUMA Kākāpō
Welcome to Kākāpō Class
Welcome to Kākāpō Class
Rose Illsley
Year 1-4 Teacher
Interim Principal
Welcome to Kākāpō Class!
Kia ora koutou and a massive welcome to our whānau!
I’m Rose Illsley, and I’m excited to be leading our amazing Year 4–8 learners this year! If you’re searching for a classroom that’s bursting with energy, genuine curiosity, and dynamic hands-on learning, you’ve hit the jackpot.
In Kākāpō Class, we ditch the "one-size-fits-all" approach and put your child's unique strengths front and center. We are all about celebrating individuality—creating a supportive space where every single student feels empowered to stretch their wings, tackle new challenges, and crush their goals at a pace that works for them.
What does a day in Kākāpō look like?
What does a day in Kākāpō look like?
It is dynamic, hands-on, and never boring! Our daily schedule is a awesome mix of:
Focused Teacher Sessions: Structured, small-group time with me for deep dives into literacy and numeracy.
Learning Rotations: Keeping our minds active and moving.
The Perfect Mix: A healthy balance of both online digital adventures and offline, hands-on activities.
Our daily structured literacy routine seamlessly embeds Liz Kane’s The Code to build strong, confident readers and writers across all learning levels. By integrating explicit handwriting instruction, daily fluency reading, spelling patterns, and dictation, we ensure that every component of literacy reinforces the next.
To support our diverse learners in an inclusive classroom, we use a Mild, Medium, and Spicy framework for sentence level application, allowing every student to engage with the same core spelling concepts at a level that appropriately challenges them:
Mild: Focuses on applying current target spelling words and phonics patterns within clear, simple sentence structures.
Medium: Adds extra "oomph" by introducing conjunctions, moving students from simple to compound sentences.
Spicy: Extends our academic writers to apply advanced vocabulary, complex sentence structures, and higher-level grammar.
This tiered approach ensures every child experiences success while continually building automaticity in spelling, fluency in reading, and depth in writing.
Our daily mathematics program relies on a structured, multi-modal approach that pairs PR1ME Mathematics books with daily skills sheets to make thinking visible and track progress. We seamlessly blend offline hands-on tools with online learning platforms, ensuring students develop deep conceptual understanding alongside digital confidence.
Small-group, structured teacher table time provides targeted instruction on new problem-solving strategies, while peer collaboration plays a vital role in our classroom dynamic:
PR1ME Math & Skill Sheets: Explicit, sequential skill-building complemented by daily offline practice to keep learning transparent for both teachers and students.
Online & Offline Integration: Using physical manipulatives for hands-on discovery paired with targeted digital tools to practice automaticity.
Structured Teacher Table Time: Guided, small-group instruction focused on breaking down complex word problems and teaching strategic mathematical thinking.
Peer 'Experts': Empowering students with strong mastery to share their strategies, fostering a collaborative culture where children learn from one another as well as adults.
By recognizing individual strengths and encouraging peer teaching, we empower every student to take ownership of their mathematical journey and reach higher levels of achievement.
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