Freedom Friday Enrichment Programme

Freedom Friday is an opportunity for our tamariki to explore new skills and activities alongside children from across the school. The programme runs on Fridays from 9.30 – 11am, in 8 to 10 week cycles. At the start of each new cycle, children select their top three choices from a range of options. Then they are placed in one of their choices. Past options have included Forest School, cooking, wearable arts, vex robotics and many more.

We like our Freedom Friday Programme to reflect our current students’ passions and interests. If you are able to help with an option, we would love to hear from you.

Science, Sustainability and Garden to Table with Dianne

Island Bay School’s sustainability programme aims to teach children the science of sustainability.

In the Garden to Table programme, children are taught about the food value of the vegetables we are growing and eating, and how the minerals, vitamins, fibre and protein content bolster our health and help protect us from disease.

They also learn where the vegetables and fruit originate from. Tomatoes, pumpkin, kumara, corn etc came from South America originally and spinach from the Middle East – most likely Persia or modern day Iran. We cover the basics behind why we organically grow all of our food and use only natural fertilisers such as blood and bone, dolomite, sheep and chicken pellets and compost how this ensures that the food we grow is healthier than that grown in a chemical environment.

We also look at how to control pests naturally, using nets and homemade organic sprays where possible.

We are working with Wellington City Council’s Waste Heroes Programme to deepen our practice and knowledge around waste management and sustainable practice for our homes and in our community.

Our science programme is woven through regular classwork, but each class also gets a dedicated slot twice a term to explore other aspects of science.

Our juniors and middle school look at concepts such as:

• Is there a dark side to the moon?
• Do we always see the same side of the moon? How do we know?
• Why doesn’t the moon fall down?
• Why is the moon covered in craters?
• Have we seen the far side of the moon?

The senior school looks at concepts such as whether we can terraform the Moon or Mars. What does it take to terraform the Moon or Mars? What does terraforming mean? Can we change the Moon and Mars’ atmosphere or do we need to look at other ideas to confront this challenge.

We are also looking at the Gateway Programme, the Moon settlement programme and the long term project to take us to Mars in the not too distant future.

Contact Dianne Lee, our specialist Science and Sustainability teacher for more information.

Art with Kristy

Students visit the art room once a term to work with our visual art specialist, Kristy Holly, while the classroom teachers have their classroom release day.

Over their schooling at Island Bay School students take part in a range of art experiences including ceramic work, printmaking, painting, textiles and sculpture.

Students are introduced to a variety of artists and art movements, from both a local and international setting.

The artworks that the students create are displayed around the school and updated regularly on Kristy’s blog.

See what they’ve created here www.artwithkristy.com

School Sports

As part of the NZ curriculum, our students have physical education sessions woven into their weekly programme. These include swimming lessons (usually at Kilbirnie Aquatic Centre), gymnastics, cricket, hockey, Pedal Ready and more.

Some of these activities are taken by the class/hub teacher, and some are taken by external organisations. Children will need to bring/wear appropriate gear when their class/hub is participating in these sessions.

During the year we hold a number of whole school sports days. All children participate, and we usually spend some class time training in the weeks leading up to the event. These events include:

• Cross Country
• Swimming sports
• Athletics

These events are part of the Primary Sport Wellington programme (see their website) which links to Southern and Interzone competitions. Generally the top 5 children in our school competitions at each level (Y4-6) attend Southern Zone sports, followed by Interzone and Regionals, depending on placings.

We often require parent help at these events for marshalling, supervision and sometimes transport. This is advertised in the school newsletter.

Contact our Sports Specialist teacher, Alice Domett-Doyle for more information about these events.

EOTC Week (Education Outside the Classroom)

Usually held in Term 4, Education Outside the Classroom is an opportunity to get involved with learning experiences we wouldn’t be able to offer inside the classroom.

For example, a day at forest school which allows kids to practice their innovation and resilience.

It is a stepping stone towards camp in years 5 & 6 and an opportunity to work with different kids in different learning spaces.

School Camp

New Zealand is a unique country with easy access to the coast, rivers, mountains and lakes. Most New Zealanders interact with this natural environment – living in it, working in it and playing in it. This special focus on life outdoors is used to enhance the learning of children and to prepare them for this lifestyle.

Camp is part of the school’s outdoor education programme which is a key area of learning in the Health and Physical Education curriculum.

Camp provides a range of experiences in outdoor and community living not available in the regular school environment.

Attitudes

• Enjoying the challenge and excitement of new experiences;
• Having self-esteem and the confidence that goes with it;
• Sensitivity to, and respect for, the strengths and weakness of self and others;
• Resilience and coping with changes and challenges.

Skills and dispositions:

• Decision-making + problem-solving;
• Taking responsibility for self and others;
• Developing resilience, independence and interdependence;
• Relating to others including working as team members, managing self, participating and contributing (Key Competencies)

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Whole School Community Events

Fish n Chip evening
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Hub/Class Community Events & the Parent Link

We want to make it easy for the kids and families in a hub to get together outside of school and school-run events – as a hub group, as small groups and as individual play dates. Our aim is to build and foster community and a sense of connectedness and belonging to our school community.

Each learning space (hub or classroom) has a ‘parent link’ person who organises an initial couple of group get-togethers and coordinates a class/hub email contact list. Signing up to the list is optional, and means you consent to having your email address shared with other parents in your class/hub.

The job of the Parent Link is to provide the contact list and organise a few whole hub social get togethers – eg a fish n chip evening at the park. The idea is that it’s low key and casual, rather than a structured event. Another part of the Parent Link job is to help out – if you, or someone you know of in your hub could do with some support – maybe they have a new baby, or a death in the family, please feel free to email your Parent Link directly and they can help sort out a meal roster from within the hub etc. COVID has certainly highlighted the benefit of having a supportive community!

Your job is to make use of the contact list. For example, if you’re going to the movies in the holidays, why not email the group and invite any other families who are keen, to turn up to the same session. Or maybe your child is doing a particular holiday programme – you could email the group and let other parents know, so they could send their child too. Or maybe your child has asked for a playdate with little Johnny – feel free to use the contact list to get in touch with little Johnny’s parents to sort out a playdate.