Remuera Primary School

Starting School 2024

Dear Parents/Caregivers,

Welcome to Remuera Primary School.

Starting school is an exciting and important step in your child’s life and also your own!

At Remuera Primary School we look forward to working with you and your child to make
this important stage a rewarding and positive one. Not only is it a new stage in your child’s
life, but it is also the beginning of your partnership with the school.

We value the tremendous amount of learning your child has already done with you, and
your child’s first teacher. If you would like to help in your child’s class please see the
teacher so they can arrange a suitable time for you to come in.

Our teachers are committed to meeting the needs of all children and plan the school’s
programmes to ensure that all children's needs are developed, and their special attributes
valued.

We believe in the importance of learning to read and write, and the development of
numeracy skills, and this is reflected in the strong programmes we offer. We also ensure all
areas of the curriculum are addressed and developed as part of our day to day
programme.

We have an open-door policy and value the communication between home and school
– we see it as an integral part of your child's learning. Please feel you can approach any
of our staff if you have concerns. The person who knows your child the best at school is
their classroom teacher and they will be more than happy to help clarify matters. As
Deputy Principal, I am also available should you wish to discuss matters further.

Once again, welcome to our school. We look forward to working with you and your child.
We hope that you make the most of the opportunities to get involved in the many parent
activities we have at Remuera Primary School.

Yours sincerely,

Lindsey Mackrill
Deputy Principal
lindseym@rps.school.nz
 Starting School
The Classroom
In our Year 0/1 block, we have a total of 6 classroom areas within a modern learning
environment. Your child will have a classroom teacher who will be the first point of contact
if you have any questions or worries about your child’s learning, wellbeing or behaviour. In
some of our areas, there may be up to 2 classes, depending on the time of year. Our
environment is built to support this system and we find that this is the best practice to meet
the diverse needs of all our learners.

The First Day

On your child’s first day at school, please pop into the office before going to your
classroom to let Kim or Sharon know you have arrived.

Please ensure your child has the following items ready for the first day at school

● Personal articles named

● Sunhat (compulsory Terms 1 and 4)

● Healthy lunch box and drink bottle (clearly named and filled with water)

● A big smile!

Can I stay with my child on their first day?

Most children are more focused when they are away from their parents, and it is important
they begin to understand the routines of school from the beginning of their school journey.
If you stay for the first day, children often think that this is the ‘norm’ and expect you to
stay every day after that.
While it may be hard for you to leave if your child is upset, most children settle very quickly
once their parent has gone. If a child does not settle, we will contact you.

HANDY HINT: setting up playdates and providing opportunities for your child to make new
friends with the children at school is a great way of helping them settle into school.
 Structure of a Day

8.30-8.55am Children arrive at school Classroom doors are open from 8.30 am
and get themselves and teachers will be in the room to greet
organised for the day. the children.
Children will need to bring their book bag
into the classroom along with their drink
bottle.
They can then choose something to do
before school starts.
8.55 – 11.00am The first block of the day The first 2 hours of most school days will be
begins. dedicated to 2 of the 3 core curriculum
subjects – Reading, Writing or Mathematics.
Teachers work with small targeted learning
groups during this block, within a learning
through play environment.
11.00-11.40am Break 1 The first 10-15 minutes of this time will be
supervised for eating. The main meal of the
day should be eaten during this break.
There are duty teachers in the playground
throughout both breaks to ensure that the
children are safe and happy.
11.40am-1.25pm School continues. The core subjects (Reading, Writing and
Maths) are continued, along with Inquiry or
P.E.
1.25-2.00pm Break 2 Children may have something else to eat,
followed by a play in the playground.
2.00-3.00pm School continues. The school day continues with Inquiry or PE
and other play opportunities
3.00pm School finishes. Children line up with their teacher by the
door and are sent out one at a time at the
end of the day. You wait for your child’s
class on the astroturf. Please let your
teacher know if someone different is picking
up your child.

HANDY HINT: you will find that your child is probably very tired when they first start school.
We suggest that you initially cut back on after school activities to avoid over-tiredness just
while they get used to the new structure.
 Our Curriculum Design
All children start school with very different skill sets and they have all developed at
different rates. They have also been exposed to a wide range of experiences that have
supported their understanding of the world around them. We know this makes each child
unique. We have designed our curriculum to meet the student’s needs and also to
prepare them for the changes they will experience with starting school.

Learning Through Exploration

This type of learning allows each child to manage themselves and provide opportunities
for hands-on learning to develop key skills. All the activities that are planned for in our
environments are carefully designed by the teachers to extend and support all learners'
needs. Children also work in small groups (daily) with the classroom teacher on Reading,
Writing, Phonics and Maths skills linked to the level they are learning at.

Our Learning Environments

Our learning environments are set up each day to create wonder
and motivation towards learning. Children have opportunities to
select some learning activities at their own pace, this helps to
develop self- management and perseverance. This is monitored by
the classroom teacher through observations. Across each area of
learning, there are opportunities to develop foundation skills for
learning (skills needed for Reading, Writing and Maths).

The Use of Technology

We believe that a range of tools should be used to support children’s learning but to
produce learning rather than consume (sitting playing on an iPad). Children in Year 0/1 will
use iPads to enhance their learning. The school also subscribes to Reading Eggs. Your child
will have a password and log in, in their home learning book. These are a few apps that
we feel are the most beneficial to students’ learning.
 School Entry Assessments

Foundation Skills
In the first 5 weeks of starting school, each child will be assessed in the Foundation Skills for
learning. There are five areas of skills that children need to develop to ensure their
Reading, Writing and Maths develop at a good speed. These areas are:

- Speaking and Listening Foundation Skills

- Phonics Foundation Skills
- Moving Foundations Skills (gross and fine motor control, these movement skills are
needed for the physical nature of writing)
- Maths Foundation Skills
- Reading Foundation Skills

After 5 weeks, the teacher will arrange a meeting with you to go through the Foundation
Skills assessments and share the goals with you. This is a great opportunity to ask questions
about your child’s learning and how you can support them at home.

Learning Updates
Each child’s learning journey is carefully mapped out and their weeks in school are
tracked. At 10, 20 and 40 weeks, a learning update will be shared with you to indicate if
your child is on track with their learning. At these points, if there are any concerns the class
teacher will arrange a meeting with you to discuss the learning update to see how we can
work together and support your child moving forward.

Learning Progressions
All the children’s Learning Progressions (goals) will be visible on HERO so you can see what
your child is working on and what they have achieved. The teacher will refer to these
progressions in meetings with you.

Writing Journey Book

Each child when starting school will have a writing journey book that tracks your child’s
progress in writing. In the first five-week learning meeting, this will be shared with you. It will
then be sent home for you to record a message and share in the enjoyment of writing with
your child.
 The Home/School Partnership
Remember that your child’s success at school is dependent on the home/school team
working effectively together, so we look forward to working with you over the next few
years

You can support this partnership by:

● Communicating with the school if your child is going to be absent - please follow
the link on the HERO App.
● If your child is late to school (they arrive after the 8.55 am bell) you will need to sign
in at the office (ipad on the desk).
● Keeping up to date with what is happening at school by reading the newsletters
and the weekly messages by class teachers (posted on HERO). Event details are
available through the HERO app.
● Email the teacher if you have any questions or concerns.
● Informing the teacher if something is happening at home that may impact your
child’s behaviour e.g. the death of a relative, the loss of a pet
● Attending Parent/Teacher meetings.

We will support this partnership by:

● Letting you know if your child is struggling or needing further support.
● Sharing your child’s achievements with you.
● Holding a meeting after your child has been at school for 5 weeks to inform you of
how your child has settled into school and the Foundation skills for learning.
● Being available to meet with you if you would like to ask questions or discuss
progress. Please email your teacher to make time to do this.
● Informing you of upcoming events via HERO.

HERO is the one place for all our communications. To personalise your experience, your
unique Hero account has been created using the email address that you provided to the
school. Simply set your password to get started!
1. Search for ‘Hero” in your app store and download. or visit https://go.linc-ed.com
2. Select “New user” Your account will be set up by your school using the email
address that you provided when you enrolled your children, use this address to
request a password. Please note: each contact must have their own email address.
3. Enter your email address and click the “Request Password Link”
4. Check your email! If one doesn’t arrive, ensure the school office has your correct
details on file.
5. Follow the secure link and enter a password.
 How You Can Support At Home
After a long day of school, your child will probably be tired. Therefore we try not to give
too much home learning at this stage.

Social Skills
● Arrange playdates to help build your child’s relationships with other children
● Stay a little bit longer after school to play on the Year 1 playground
● Talk through how they are feeling about certain things happening at home or at
school and give these feelings a label and some strategies for when they feel
sad/upset
● If they are falling out with friends remind them what to do and remind them they
must tell an adult
● Talk to your child about respecting each others space and how we don’t enter into
other people’s spaces

Fine/Gross Motor Skills

● Make sure there are lots of opportunities at home to practise painting, colouring
and cutting skills. These skills will help your child hold a pencil and begin to form
letters
● After school/at weekends spend some time to play games outdoors to practise
kicking, hitting and throwing a ball as well riding a bike

Literacy
● At the weekends, children will take home their poem book to read through with you
and practice important skills such as rhyming, fluency, reading with expression etc.
● Talk to your child and extended their vocabulary, giving them the meaning of new
words
● Practise segmenting and blending words e.g. d o g = dog.
● They will need to practise learning the alphabet letter names and sounds at home,
your child will have a home-learning book with these assigned names and sounds
● When they are ready to start reading, your child will receive a reading book once a
week. The book will have been read by the child in a small group with the teacher.
It is important that they read it at home with you as well.

HANDY HINT:
Remember to praise your child for their efforts and make reading enjoyable.
Keep reading to your child, even after they start reading for themselves. This is invaluable.
 Reading & Writing words
Remember that all children learn at a different pace and it may take some time
before a word is remembered. Praise them for their efforts and help them when they find a
word hard.

Ideas for learning words:

• Practice writing the words by using ‘Look, say, cover, write, check.’ Get your child to
look at the word, say it out loud, cover it up and try to write it without looking, then check
to see if they got it right.
• Look for the words on your child’s home learning sheets.
• Use magnetic letters to make the words on your fridge.
• Write the words on post-it notes and place them around the house.
• ‘Write’ the words on concrete using a paintbrush and some water.
• Write the words in sand.
• Use play dough to make the words and then read them.
• Play ‘My Pile, Your Pile’ - cut the words up into flashcards. Show your child each word, if
they get it correct then they can add the word to their pile. If not, then it’s yours! Count up
how many words they have correct at the end of the game.

Letter Names and Sounds

It is important that your child knows both the letter name and the corresponding
sound.
• Please note the focus is on identifying the letter name and sound for lower case
letters, not capitals.
• For further support with the correct pronunciation of letter sounds, YouTube
has many videos you can watch. Try typing ‘Jolly Phonics letter sounds British
English’ into the search engine.
• Once your child has solidified their knowledge of the letter names and sounds,
they may receive other sounds such as digraphs and word families to practise as
part of their home learning.

Holding a Pencil
In order to write with fluency, children need to learn to hold a pencil correctly. There are
some physical differences in children’s hands and fingers which cause some variation in
the way children hold a pencil. In general, however, they should hold the pencil between
the thumb and forefinger with the middle finger supporting the pencil from below. This
makes a “three-point grip or tripod grip”. Talk about the correct pencil grip when
spending time with your child, but be patient. It takes time to establish new habits.
 Handwriting and letter formation
In order to write with fluency, children also need to form the letters correctly, starting at the
right place and moving in the right direction. Below are the shapes that we teach for
each letter, and where to begin for correct letter formation.
 Restorative Practice
Restorative Practice is a relational approach to school life based on equality, dignity,
mana and the potential of all people. The focus is on building positive, respectful
relationships across the school community and offers best-practice techniques to restore
relationships when things go wrong. This is a move away from the more traditional
retributive focus (punishment or wrongdoing) and moves towards seeking repair in the
harm caused by a child’s actions. The Restorative Practice approach to problem-solving
recognises that misconduct harms people and relationships and those involved in the
problem also need to be involved in finding the solution.

Restorative Practice Mindset:

Punitive Responses Restorative Response

Focus on Punishment Focusses on accountability, healing and
needs

What rule has been broken? What happened?

Who is to blame? Who has been affected?

How?

What is the punishment going to be? What needs to be done to put things right?

This also offers a consistent and sustainable approach to manage positive, respectful
relationships within the school and it provides a system for when children make the wrong
choices around their behaviour.
Following a restorative approach to behaviour management has the following positive
impacts:
● A calmer school environment
● An increase in the engagement and learning of students
● Growth in relational and problem-solving skills
● Improves attitudes and relationships across the whole community
● A consistent approach that is transparent to the community

RPS Restorative Practice Matrix

 Remember the most important gift we can give any child is through
shaping who they are as a young person. This shaping leads to the best
academic outcomes. We want children to feel happy and safe at all
times so that they can be the best they can be.