Kia ora koutou katoa,
I would like to extend a warm welcome to new families who have joined our community this term. Welcome back to everyone else.
As per our 2024 Strategic Plan we are now being guided by a framework called Te Whare Tapu o te Ngakau Maori. This will incorporate and replace the Toolkit.
See the goal ( Ngakau) above .
We are also committed to improving attendance of all learners.
This is a government requirement and means ākonga ( learners) are expected to be at school every day that they are well, and stay until 3 pm.
Please inform the office if your child has an appointment that requires them to leave early . Otherwise, ākonga ( learners ) need to stay until 3pm.
It is not the job of the office staff to discuss this with you, however, Pippa and leadership and teachers will.
You may have heard the recent government announcement regarding Literacy teaching and learning.
In Term 1 2025, all state schools will teach reading using the proven structured literacy approach.
“Structured Literacy is about getting back to basics and teaching children to read by using sounds and phonics to understand words.”This Government has set an ambitious target of getting 80 per cent of Year 8 students to curriculum level by 2030, and teaching structured literacy is a critical part of how we plan to get there.”
The rollout includes a $67 million commitment as part of Budget 2024 to support:
- Professional development on structured literacy for teachers.
- Books and resources for schools and teachers.
- Introducing phonics checks to assess student progression.
- Additional support for students that need it.
Hamilton East School have taught reading using The Structured Literacy Approach since the beginning of 2022. We have also provided resources and books to support this programme that is based on research. All reading programmes assess student progress. HES also provides programmes of additional support for learners who need it. Of course we would welcome further funding to support these programmes.
From Yoshie Akasaka- Room 2
This week we celebrate New Zealand Sign Language Week. Let's celebrate this beautiful language together.
Kōrero Lane has launched the second season. You can learn simple signing by just watching a short episode! This year, the theme of the NZSL week is "An Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere". Have a go at learning the NZSL alphabet and finger spelling your name. Here is a little challenge, when you see me at school, see if you can finger spell your name to me, of course I will help you!
Just like the history of te reo Māori where Māori tamariki were not allowed to speak te reo at school in the past, NZSL went through a very similar past when children who were Deaf/hard of hearing were not allowed to use NZSL at school. They were made to sit on their hands in class and learn the spoken language.
For people who use NZSL daily, it is about keeping the deaf culture and maintaining and promoting the use of NZSL. It is also about deaf people's access to all areas of our society which can be hard at times. I always say to students that if we know some NZSL, we will be able to communicate with people who are deaf/hard of hearing, it will open up more opportunities to communicate with others just like learning another language.
Ngā mihi,
Pippa Wright,
Principal
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