Dear parents and caregivers,

This evening I've been catching up with an old friend who has set up a network called Honor Sport. In a nutshell, it is an advocacy for sport and community development that believes society should benefit from sport. She told me to have a look at the following YouTube clip:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4X-PctJxIbw


As a 'new' parent, I found it very, VERY interesting! I hope you do too.


Kind regards, 


Mr. Ish

Goal Setting Meetings...

A huge thank you to all parents who attended the goal setting interviews this week. 

After six busy weeks with varied activities and assessments I am feeling as if I am really starting to get to know the fantastic students in Room 27 and am connecting with where they are at with their learning and the pathway they will be venturing along this year.

As I stated in the goal setting meetings, the other key players in each child’s learning are always the parents. Research has shown that for the most effective learning to occur it requires the partnership of students, teachers and parents. The ‘3 legged stool’ analogy demonstrates the need for these key players to have a role or the stool becomes unstable and falls.

To quote Michael Absolum, a leading educationalist, “parents do influence student learning”. I appreciate the role you play as parents and want you to be part of your child’s learning journey.

Swimming Sports...

Well done to all those Room 27 'super fish' who competed in the 2012 St Albans School Swimming Sports at Jellie Park. A special 'THAT'S GOLD' to our winning relay team of Lauren, Roisin, Curtis and Cullen.


Thanks also to Vicki Millard for the fab-tastic photo!

February 22nd One Year On...

After much discussion we have planned a small event to commemorate February 22nd.

At 12.40 children will line up on the netball courts behind their painted room number.Buddy classes will then join together and link arms to make large ‘circles of hope’. At 12.51 we will observe 2 minutes silence and the flag will be lowered to half mast.

Following this, children will return to their rooms to get their lunches and will join their buddy classes for a picnic lunch. They will then be released to play 15 minutes later.

This will see our lunch hour running from 1pm – 1.55pm. We ask that you pack your child plenty of morning tea and fruit to ensure they aren’t too hungry.

We welcome parents to join us for this event.

Homework/Home Learning...

Dear Parents and Caregivers, 


I truly believe that homework should be authentic and personal, and something that will help to positively shape children for their future challenges, hence there'll be no worksheets sent home for homework this year.


Instead, all that I ask is that you and your children add to the mix some solid reading practice and some basic facts work each night over the week. Trust me - by doing this you have all bases covered. 


If you have any questions, please flick me an email:

dean.isherwood@stalbans.school.nz

AquaGym Swimming Lessons...

Today Room 27's swimming lessons came to an end in spectacular style!