Children as teachers

Ko ã tãtou tamariki ngã rangatira mo ãpõpõ
Mã te tiaki, mã te ropiropi ka puta te oranga ki a tatou katoa.

“Our children are the leaders of the future. By caring for them and fostering their learning, we assure future life for all”

This TED talk offers an inspiring perspective on why we should trust our children as leaders and teachers, sharing the responsibility for leading learning.

End of term updates - Happy holidays.

School Photos
We want to express our thanks to Karen Talbot who gave up her time to help us out with our 2018 school photos. We now have updated class and individual photos on record for all the children. Many of you will have received a class photo emailed out with school reports towards the end of last week. Shortly we will be in touch with information about getting hold of individual, family and class prints if that is of interest.

Farewells
On Friday we farewelled Rebecca and Kirk Thomas from our school. We want to thank them for the energy and commitment that they have brought to our school and the students. We will miss them, including Lucas and Owen, and wish them all well for the overseas journey they will shortly embark on.

Building Project
The new toilet block is now underway as is the renovation to Rooms 1 and 2. We expect the projects to run quite smoothly and hope to be in a position to give you updates as they arise. While Rooms 1 and 2 are now out of bounds for children, access to the toilets in behind will remain available through the two side doors. Children are also not allowed in behind the construction fences that are now on site, and are encouraged not to through balls and other sports equipment into that fenced off area.

Hillary Outdoors
In week 2 of term 3 our Year 7 and 8 students will be heading to Mt Ruapehu for a week long experience at Hillary Outdoors. We are excited about the many challenges and experiences that our students will face, not to mention the parent supporters who will be joining us. Opportunities to develop and enhance PYP attitudes including confidence, cooperation, empathy and tolerance abound at this unique outdoors experience. Look out for updates early in term 3.

Talk for Writing
The teaching team are looking closely at a strategy called 'Talk for Writing' to help students build their literacy skills in writing. "Talk for Writing is powerful because it enables children to imitate the language they need for a particular topic orally before reading and analysing it and then writing their own version." (http://www.talk4writing.co.uk/about/). Quite simply it is work based around an understanding that if a child can speak an idea, then they can write it. We continue to seek avenues for building literacy in writing across the whole school.

We look forward to seeing you again in term 3. Enjoy a happy and safe holiday break.

Ngā mihi nui

Chris Bell
Principal

SPCA benefits

Kaia, Chloe, Amorangi, River and Sam Roessler handing over the donation money raised from the recent mini market day run by Rooms 3 and 4. Representatives from the local SPCA office visited the school for our final term assembly last Friday. They shared how the money raised would help local animals, and were extremely grateful for the donation. 

Hikoi to Kororipo - Rooms 3 and 4

Rooms 3 and 4 recently visited the Kororipo Heritage Park for their unit of inquiry called "Where we are in place and time". The purpose was to compare and contrast the Stone Store, Kerikeri Mission House (Kemp House) and the Rewa's village display of Māori homes from days gone by. Students also looked into the building materials used, the purposes of the construction and the lifestyle of the community living there originally. 



Our lunch up on Kororipo Pā told the story of the Kororipo Village which was also the meeting place for Ngāpuhi tribe - a place for food, water and safety from any enemies, but also for trade and education from the British missionaries.

Students Lines of Inquiry included:

• Factors that constitute a home
• How homes reflect family values
• How homes reflect local culture
• Factors that determine where people live

Te Awa shared his experience of the visit through action he took at home. Here he explains what he enjoyed.

Once again a big thanks to parent helpers. Without you we wouldn't be able to take advantage of these learning experiences for our children. Mauri ora!

Cross Country Success

Senior Cross Country

The Kerikeri and Districts cross country for senior primary and intermediate students was again held at Kapiro Farm, Takou Bay this year. The day dawned sunny if not a little cool as the convoy of cars and excited runners headed to the venue. The early sun was tantalising but not a reflection of the cold and wet conditions that awaited the runners once competition got underway.

All who raced on the day did so with guts and determination. The farm circuit was a major challenge with plenty of up hill, and mud to contend with. Bay Academy students performed really well. Podium finishes went to Kaia Derbyshire 3rd in the 8yo girls, Keira Featherstone 1st in the 9yo girls, Bosco Robinson 1st in the 9yo boys, Felix Reilly 3rd in the 10 yo boys and Isabella Robinson 1st in the 11 yo girls. We were very proud of all those who entered and put themselves out there on a tough day. Thanks to teacher Sam Roessler for organising to get the students there and back, and her cheering the runners along. A big thanks also to the parents who came along in support, and a special mention to our friends at Springbank School who shared their gazebo with us during the heavy downpours. We'd also like to acknowledge Dave Kirkland from Kerikeri Primary for his organisation and encouragement for the event once again this year.

Junior Cross Country

The Kerikeri and Districts junior cross country was held again at Bay Academy this year. This event was for runners between the ages of 4 and 7 on January 1st 2018. This was once again well supported by our local schools with lots of family and whānau support. We were lucky enough to enjoy a beautiful day and running conditions were perfect. We want to congratulate all runners who participated and make a special mention of Mikaera Porter for his 1st placing in the 7 yo boys.

Thanks to all the teachers, staff and students who played their part in the setting up the course, welcoming all our guests, serving refreshments and making the event such a success. 

Communications Survey - Results to date

Celebrating Science at Bay Academy

Scope of Science Learning

In science, students will develop their observational skills by using their senses and selected observational tools. They will gather and record observed information in a number of ways, and they will reflect on these findings to identify patterns or connections, make predictions, and test and refine their ideas with increasing accuracy.

Students will explore:

• the way objects and phenomena function,
• parts of a system, 
• complex cause and effect relationships,
• change over time, and recognise that change may be affected by one or more variables,
• the impact that the application of science, including advances in technology, has had on themselves, society and the environment. 
• ethical and social issues in science-related contexts.

Students will communicate their ideas or provide explanations using their own scientific experience and that of others.

(extract from: Science Scope and Sequence, International Baccalaureate, Primary Years Programme)

Purpose/Learning focus:

Recently your child has begun their science project in class. The science project’s objective is to give every child hands-on experience using the scientific method and engage in their own interests and passions in a meaningful way.

The emphasis of this project is not on winning anything, but on having positive and authentic learning experiences. Sharing is essential to the experience for our students, as is challenging students to take risks, grow in confidence and become more knowledgeable. We believe that authentic action is the natural outcome of a project driven from passion and interest.

Parent Guidelines:

You can help motivate your child by simply taking an interest in the project. By all means help organise, proof-read work, ask questions, challenge and discuss ideas, and supervise experiments. But please, do not do any of the work for your child. They will present their science project in the BOIIA Celebration of Science. Parents, Whānau and people from the community will be invited to engage with students and their projects.

We have chosen not to participate in the Top Energy Science Fair in 2018. We believe that student inquiries are too restricted by the ‘one size fits all’ approach to presenting learning in a strict, inflexible approach on science boards. While our student inquiries will be structured according to good scientific method we want to offer our students the flexibility to present their research publicly in a method most appropriate to their findings.