Kia ora, Talofa, Kamusta
Thank you all for a great term. We have exciting things happening next term. We continue to develop the outside and inside of our classrooms to make our school more and more exciting and a great place to be.
We are working through the development of our ‘whare tapere’ / performing arts area, maintenance and upgrades throughout the school through the holidays and after, so keep your eyes peeled for the improvements. Noting this, please excuse the mess you may see on Friday in preparation for maintenance over the break!
While the information below regarding Term 4 class changes really only affects Rooms 1 and 2, I feel it is only appropriate to update our whole community.
Kidsbase – This will now be in the library in the morning and Room 7 afterschool due to Room 4 being a classroom.
Classes – Term 4
Due to a faster than expected roll growth, we have needed to make the seventh class to ensure our students get the learning they deserve. A smaller teacher to student ratio allows more quality time with the trained expert in teaching, it assists with things like noise level, ability to get help when required and more space to move.
This move was only going to take place if we found a quality teacher to do it. Fortunately, we have had Sarah Hook doing regularly relieving here. She is a fantastic teacher and students who have had her, love her style. We look forward to her joining the team for the term.
Here is a bit more about Sarah Hook:
Kia ora koutou St Anne’s whānau,
My name is (Ms) Sarah Hook, and it is an absolute pleasure to be introducing myself to the St Anne’s Catholic School community. I have already had the delightful experience of teaching most of your tamariki at some point over this past year in a relieving capacity throughout the school. Since returning from 3yrs teaching in the UK, I have relieved now at a wide range of diverse Christchurch primary schools but no other school has captured my heart in quite the same way as St Anne’s.
I adore words and if I could, I would eat books for breakfast, lunch and dinner; literacy is both a strength and a passion of mine, and if truth be known, I read children’s’ books for my own personal pleasure. As a child, maths used to frighten me but now I relish the connections, sense-making, discoveries, flexibility and problem-solving approaches; these have become another key strength in my teaching programme. Additionally, having a scientist for a father and a botanist for a husband as well as my own music teaching background means I have many strings to my bow. I look forward to sharing these strengths with the children of Room 4.
When I am not in the classroom or stuck nose-deep in a book, I like to: play the flute; crochet; weave; walk; grow flowers; throw darts (don’t look too closely at our living-room walls) and practice yoga. And of course last, but definitely not least, I am the parent of two rather rambunctious boys: Riley (12yrs) and Thomas (9yrs) and the wife of a rather less rambunctious (thank goodness) but equally wonderful husband, Paul.
As well as looking forward to deepening my connections to my Room 4 students, I also look forward to meeting all the whānau and extended whānau of the St Anne’s Catholic School community over the next coming term. It is truly wonderful to be offered a classroom again and the opportunity to dive into a learning journey with my very own students.
Ngā mihi
Sarah Hook