Welcome to Team Piwakawaka

Team Piwakawaka consists of Parekereke and Uenuku. We are made up of amazing Year 0-3 students. We have a strong emphasis on settling into school life, developing positive relationships with others, becoming self managers and learning as an action. In Team Piwakawaka we support a positive transition from Early Childhood Education and Te Whariki pedagogy while our students explore and discover through Purposeful Play. We support collective responsibility and collaboration through cross grouping our students in Reading and Phonics.

Mathematics and Statistics in Team Piwakawaka (Year 0-3)

Mathematics and Statistics is taught a minimum of four times a week. Learning sessions are approximately 40 minutes. Mathematics and Statistics programmes consist of clear learning intentions, enriched activities followed by students articulating success criteria and next steps. Students are grouped according to needs, taking into consideration current data and classroom evidence. The programme consists of whole class number warm up, teaching groups, follow ups, maths games, Mathletics, play based numeracy activities and reflections on learning. Number and Algebra make up a 80% focus with strand 20% focus.

Literacy In Team Piwakawaka (Year 0-3)

Daily 6 / Reading Programme:

Daily 6 is a literacy structure that allows for differentiation in the classroom and provides consistency. It is an integrated literacy instruction and classroom management system for use in reading. It is a system of six literacy tasks that teaches students independence. Tasks involve reading to self, reading to others, work on writing, listening to text, word work and making designing (making table). Daily 6 is timetabled four times a week.

The Making Table combines oral language, turn taking and social interactions through exploration, discovery and invention (And loads of cellotape).

Guided Reading occurs during Daily 6 time and supports students in developing reading proficiency, is focused on their specific needs and accelerating their progress. Students take home a reader book Monday to Thursday in a book bag. Students also have the opportunity to read online books through Sunshine Classics and withdraw books weekly from the school library.

Phonics:

Glenbrook School follows Yolanda Soryl’s Phonics programme. The Phonics programme is differentiated and students are cross grouped amongst the team. The focus is on learning letter names and sounds, CVC words, blends, and digraphs.

Handwriting:

Handwriting follows the ‘Casey Caterpillar’ story developed by Barbara Brann. The focus is on teaching children how to form letters. The story of ‘Casey Caterpillar’ provides a context for children to identify basic shapes that will later become the foundations of letter formation. Handwriting is taught a minimum of two times a week.

Magic Words:

Magic Words is a programme targeting high-frequency words. The emphasis is on instant recognition of high-frequency words. At Glenbrook, Students reading on the colour wheel are tested and given sight words to practise at their appropriate level. Students take a copy of their current Magic Words home each day and are tested regularly to check progress. Magic Words can be administered by a teacher, Teaching Aide, other staff member or parent helper.

Writing Programme:

Writing in Team Piwakawaka is taught a minimum of four times a week. Learning sessions involve clear learning intentions with students co-constructing success criteria and next steps. Writing has a focus on recount writing with other genre incorporated.

STEPS is included in reading and writing programmes as a literacy tool to develop vocabulary, spelling and language structures at the individual student’s level.