Manawanui Week 4

A great session today discussing social situations - both the positive and more challenging times.  We acknowledged that we can not control what others say and do, but we can control how we respond to these situations.  We discovered that is important to recognise our feelings as they are important, and that we can express those feelings using I statements.

 

NZ Gifted National Conference coming up!

Angela Stanley (Learning Support Teacher) and Lynne Dunn (GATE Coordinator) are really looking forward to attending the amazing wealth of presentations at this upcoming conference.  

Details here if you are interested.  

Changes in this week's Timetable...

	MONDAY	TUES	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY
B 1	Mathletes Team 5		Ext(reme) Writing Team 4	Manawanui
B 2	Ext(reme) Writing Teams 1-3, 5		Mathletes Team 4	Roxy5 Film
3	3AB: Roxy5 Film 2.00pm Mathletes Tm 1 2.20pm Mathletes Tm 2		D-Lex

I have a funeral on Tuesday but another staff member will take the 

Girls Engineering on Tuesday afternoon.

                                                                                    Mrs Dunn

Manawanui update

Just to share some of our learning...

• We took a look at friendship circles and how mobile people can be within these circles

• And, we had fun with using GAIN MATES to discover commonalities between us all
• Greeting
• Ask questions
• Interest - show it
• Name - use a person's name
• Make sure you listen - show you accept them and their ideas
• Attend and pay attention and spend time
• Tell something about yourself
• Express warm feelings
• Share experiences

Mathletes

The Mathlete groups met up last week (except for Team 3 Mathletes - they will be meeting up once they get back from camp next week).

As well as discussing what the Mathletes programme will look like, assessments were done to discover any gaps and the next learning steps for the topic that each Team will be focusing on.

For Teams 1 & 4:   Number Knowledge and Strategies
For Team 2:            Statistics
For Team 5:            Number and Geometry

Teaching clinics and learning experiences will begin for these four teams next week.  The timetable each week could be different due to camp preparations, so please check out the timetable, to the right, each week.

Ext(reme) Writers: Letter to Parents

Ext(reme) Writers from Teams 1, 2, 3 and 5 are taking part in the Readers and Writers Schools Day for Year 7-13 students on Thursday 8 March.

Here is the letter to parents.  Please have your return slips in ASAP.

Update

A busy week so far:

• meeting Teams 1 and 2 Mathletes

• Prepping Teams 1,2,3,and 5 Ext(reme) writers to the trip to the Readers and Writers Schools' Day as part of the NZ Festival of the Arts

• Team 4 Ext(reme) Writers - lots of learning with Poetry Poker and ABC Questions (focusing on a using a variety of sentence starters).

• Teaching Clinics for Roxy5 on characters' motivations and problems and the purpose of supporting characters PLUS a visit with Ms Fa'a to the AV studio
• what effective teamwork shown by these students - working in teams of 10 is a new experience for many but the demonstration of active listening and considering others ideas has been exceptional!  

• Sadly, Girls Engineering after school group as canceled today due to the weather.

Coming up this week...

• Meeting Teams 4 and 5 Mathletes
• Manawanui Get-together - Thus Block 1
• Kid Lit try-outs - Thursday at 12.20pm 
• Athletics - Friday at Nairnville Park 
• Last week for Student Librarian Applications and House Leader Applications + + +

Remember to check out the school announcements each day to keep up with 

all the great things going on at Raroa!

'Meet the Teacher'

It was great to meet so many families yesterday. 

If I didn't get a chance to meet you due to the wait, please drop me an email and we can make a time to get together.

Lynne Dunn
G.A.T.E. Coordinator
l.dunn@raroa.school.nz

Roxy 5 Film Comp teams are underway!

Absent: Wills

Find out more on our Roxy Blog

Manawanui Meeting

Each week, a group of our wonderful GATE students meets to get to know each other and chat about settling into Raroa. Some students are new to Raroa and some are Year 8s returning to support our newbies! 

This group is called Manawanui 

- discovering ways to better cope with change and challenge.

This week, we focused on creating connections with people we don't know well and tried out these STEPS:

Smile

Tone of voice

Eye contact
Posture

Space

During the week, the students are going to try out some of the STEPS as they meet new teachers and students.

  

Welcome to the GATE blog for 2018!

What is this blog for? 

A place to celebrate and share your GATE learning.  

It is also somewhere to share links, ideas and inspirations with each other, the Raroa community, your families and beyond. 

  

Can I make a post?   

Absolutely!  Just email (or see) Mrs Dunn l.dunn@raroa.school.nz and share with the post you would like to make.  

Who can comment?
Anyone!  Especially you, your families and friends.  
We LOVE feedback!

Why is the blog called 'Springfire'?

The blog is named after a tree called 

'Metrosideros Springfire', similar to the Pohutukawa.  

It is a broad spreading tree, with abundant bright flowers and native to the Pacific Islands. Known as the Pioneer of the Pacific, it produces thousands of tiny seeds that can be held aloft on the slightest breeze and dispersed long distances. 

Not only that, the seeds are incredibly hardy, tolerating strong winds and most soils.  But they can be susceptible to damp sites. 

Our GATE students are the future pioneers of the Pacific: 

bright, broad, hardy yet sometimes vulnerable, 

ready to spread across New Zealand and beyond, 

discovering their place in the world, 

embracing challenges on the journey. 

SPRINGFIRE!