PLEASE remember to contact the office by 9 am, if your child/ren will be absent from school. You can do this in the following ways:

HERO: Via the app it will send a message to the office (click on the child)

EMAIL: office@templeton.school.nz

PHONE: 03 349 7045 (you can leave a message if out of office hours)

TEXT (ONLY): 027 727 9753 (The school cell phone)

You can also let the office know ahead of time if you’re planning a trip away so we can enter your child’s absence for that time. If we don’t hear back the reason for their absence, they will automatically be marked as TRUANT after 5 days.

Uniform update - January 2023

Kia ora koutou Templeton families, whānau and friends,

We are looking forward to working alongside Mainland Uniform as we tranistion our school into our refined uniform over the next three years.

Our key considerations were focused on functionality and costs. The uniform will be phased in over a two to three year period. This will allow our whānau to maximise the use of any existing uniforms that they have purchased for their children. We have retained the colour scheme of red (whero) and black (pango). The branded uniform items will be on all of the tops and these can be purchased from Mainland Uniforms.

All uniform bottom items will be plain black (trackpants, shorts, skirts, skorts and leggings). These can be purchased from Mainland Uniforms or other suppliers.

The subtle adjustments in our uniforms are the polo shirts and the introduction of a softshell jacket. Polar fleeces, cotton sweatshirts and hats will also be available.

Our Year 0 to Year 6 children will wear a red polo with fine black piping on the sides and the new school logo. This design is very similar to the existing plain red top.

Our Year 7 to Year 8 rangatahi will be able to purchase a Senior polo. This is red with black panels on the side and will have ‘Senior’ embroidered on the shirt next to our school logo.

Again our community will have two to three years to transition into this new uniform. You can see the new uniform design and our updates in the Term 4 newsletters dating back to Friday 23 September. 

Please note that the current brand on the uniform only features our school name 'Templeton School - Te Kura o Rātā'. This is to keep consistent with the past polo embroidery. We are in the process of updating our school's logo as part of our planned school redevelopment. To save on costs for whānau and in keeping our uniform consistent moving forward, the decision was made to only have our school name on the polo shirts and other tops.

I am very much looking forward to seeing the children back onsite next Wednesday when we officially start the 2023 school year.

Noho ora mai nā (Stay well, take care of yourself)

Nick Pratt 

Principal - Tumuaki

Templeton Primary School - Te Kura o Rātā

We believe that regular two-way communication between home and school is essential.  Teachers report on individual student progress to inform parents and promote partnerships in the learning process.

It is our intention to provide clear, meaningful information about your child's learning, progress and achievement.  This information sharing can be used to support learning both at home and at school.

All families have the opportunity to meet with their child's teacher twice a year in a formal setting.  

We hold learning conversations at the end of term one.  The focus for this conversation is based on the student information sheet parents are asked to fill in mid-way through the term.  Teachers use the points from these as a conversation starter as well as discussing how the child has settled into learning for the year and the next learning steps.

In term two we update our assessment data in Literacy and Numeracy.  This has examples of learning across a variety of curriculum areas (that is added throughout terms 1 and 2) as well as informing parents about the level their child is currently working in reading, writing and maths.  The online report has a graph to refer to, this displays the level children are working at in relation to the expected level for their year group.  The online report also has a variety of assessment information collected in semester one (terms one and two).

During the same week, this data is updated, we hold Learning Conferences for each child.  This is a 3-way conference.  In the Middle Learning Team and Intermediate Learning Team, the children present a curriculum area to their parents explaining what they have been working on, what was successful and what they will continue working on.  Teachers will discuss the progress that has been made in core curriculum areas, highlights from other areas and what are their next steps in learning.  At this meeting, parents are also provided with a paper summary of the online report. 

At the end of the year, we once again update our assessment data so parents can see the progress their child has made throughout the year.  Further learning examples and assessments are updated throughout semester two (terms three and four) to share with parents.  A general comment is also added summarising the year.

Please feel free to speak with your child's teacher throughout the year on the progress that is being made.

The Junior Learning Team and Middle Learning Team also use Seesaw as an informal way of sharing learning that happens on a daily basis.  We think about this as looking through the window at everyday learning.  This may also help to prompt conversations about the learning that is happening at school.

A Celebration of Learning book is used in the Intermediate Learning Team.  This holds paper copies of learning completed throughout the year.  These are shared at the mid-year learning conference and sent home at the end of the year. 

Chromebook Information for Parents - 2022

Please click on the above link to open some slides put together by our Digital Technologies Lead, Ali Stewart.  Please contact ali@templeton.school.nz if you have any questions.

At Templeton Primary School there are high expectations for pupils to become effective communicators in a variety of ways; through visual, oral, reading, writing, listening and speaking literacies.

Classroom literacy programmes are in line with the NZ Literacy Progressions and are integrated across all learning areas.  The NZ online curriculum offers an informative WEBPAGE for parents to refer to - please note that this page refers to the National Standards that no longer apply in schools, however it does give an insight into the aspects covered at different Year levels.

Reading and Writing at TPS

In the Junior team the focus for literacy is to build up letter sound knowledge (phonics), spell high frequency words and apply this to our writing.  We encourage oral language to begin our writing so children realise the sequence of words and how letters sound.  We apply these phonic skills to reading, focussing on decoding new words by sounding out letter sounds.

To meet the Templeton Primary School expectations your child will be learning to:

• show they can plan what they want to write about through talking, drawing or perhaps in words

• link their writing to their everyday experiences

• use many words they know from their reading

In the Middle team, students are exposed to all genres of writing where they learn to write to persuade, inform or entertain.  They are becoming more aware of writing for an audience and having a purpose to their writing.  In reading, students are reading a broader range of texts and shifting their focus from 'learning to read' to 'reading to learn'.

To meet the Templeton Primary School expectations your child will be learning to:

• write with purpose, to persuade, inform or entertain

• plan their ideas in detail

• re-craft their writing to suit the intended audience

In the Senior team, students are more independent in applying their skills to write specific tasks.  They consistently consider audience and purpose when writing and striving to learn through their reading.  Children at this level are reading and writing across the curriculum, unlocking new information and creating new understandings.

Writing at Home

Make writing fun

• let your child see you writing

• encourage them to write - shopping lists, birthday cards, postcards, email friends

Give your children reasons to write

• Write to each other.  Write notes to your child and leave them in interesting places, like their lunchbox.  Ask them to write a reply.

• help them email, text or write to family or friends

• work with them to put labels on special things - like the door to their room

Maths Information Evening Resources

Basic Facts Deliberate Practice

Tonight we discussed the need for deliberate practice of the Basic Facts.  This is a three week (or so) block of intensive maths focussing on the basic facts.  The idea is to supercharge the recall of basic facts  (- and it could only take 7 minutes a day -) so your child will be able to explore other maths strategies or use their knowledge in lots of different situations.

Deliberate practice has three phases.

Pre Action: Start with asking:

What is your goal for the day? (think about small bites - "I will focus on the 7 and 9 times tables" rather than "I am going to know all of my times tables" How will you know you have achieved it? Are there any obstacles you need to overcome?

Action

Engage in the deliberate practice (these could be anywhere between 7 - 15 minutes). The resources shared by the teachers are listed below - if you are unable to print these yourself please contact admin@templeton.school.nz with your child's name, class and the resource you would like printed.

Post Action: Finish off with:

• What have you got better at?

• How do you know?

• What will you do to make progress tomorrow?

Have a think about the environment that has been set up for the deliberate practice.  Provide a;

• Focussed area (maybe big enough for two)

• Free from distractions

• Have a conversation about how to refocus (this could be as simple as a couple of deep breaths)

Please remember deliberate practice is tiring and should be done in bursts rather than a whole term of the same thing - like everything variety is the spice of life.