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That's Progress

That's Progress


While American small fries enjoy their summer vacations, Kiwi kids are still hitting the books (actually, they're "mucking around," watching movies between lessons because a 2-week school holiday starts after today and the kids are hopping around like fleas). I can't resist sharing the kids' mid-year progress reports for a few reasons:
1) What mom/mum doesn't like to brag about her kids?
2) The reports won't always be this positive.
3) If I've done anything right on this trip, it was to enroll Fiona and Finley in a good school. Admittedly, even that was a fluke, thanks to a Google search. I'm still claiming it. En Zed has a literacy model teachers from other countries study, so educators here must be doing something worth copying.

Finley Stanelun, Year One
Reading, Listening and Viewing:


-Finley enjoys reading time and likes to discuss books he has read with the group.
-He is now confident to attempt unknown words independently.
-Finley is building up a knowledge of word patterns such as consonant and vowel blends.
-He is learning to re-read and self correct when it doesn't make sense.


Future Focus:
-To continue to build up his bank of high frequency words
-To continue to work on retelling a story in sequence and with detail


Writing, Speaking and Presenting:
-Finley writes several sentences independently.
-He can spell some high frequency words from memory.
-Finley can use a word card to locate basic words.
-Finley is beginning to include more detail in his stories.


Future Focus:
-To read through his writing to hear if it makes sense.
-To use his Letterhand knowledge to help with his spelling approximations.


Mathematics and Statistics:
-Finley is solving simple addition and subtraction problems by counting all of the objects in his head.
-He can rote count to 109 and read any number up to 100.
-Finley is able to skip count in 10's to 90.
-He can count backwards from 20.
-He can identify symbols for a half and a quarter.


Future Focus:
-To skip count in 5's to 100.
-To say the number before and after a given number to 100.


Term One and Two Learning Experiences/Curriculum Enrichment
Whole School Activities: 
Swimming/Pool Safety, Triathlon, Backyard Bash, Star Dome, Cross Country
Out of This World [theme for Term 2]:
-Construct a box model of a rocket - Technology/Visual Arts
-Matariki and Maui and the Sun legend - Taha Maori/Science
-Kidpix and Spore computer programme - Technology/ICT
-Various space activities - Science
-Descriptive stories on space - Written Language


General Comment:
Finley is a confident and cheerful class member. He has settled happily into school in New Zealand and has made new friends. He is showing an interest and enthusiasm for the activities we do in class. Finley is eager to learn and to share his ideas. He enjoys participating in class discussions.


[Sample of Finn's writing: 1) "I like the rain on my roof pecis I like shplig and plash with Mum." (translation: "I like the rain on my roof because I like splashing and playing with Mum."  2) My Dad Did up in hevin. We wr por. We loved him. He is owes in or hrt and mom went to spocenwohseten. We wr crien. We cod hr." (translation: "My dad died up in heaven. We were poor. We loved him. He is always in our hearts and mom went to Spokane, Washington. We were crying. We called her."


Finley, at school with his robot
Fiona's up next...

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