Term 4 Week 5
Principal's Message
Measles Outbreak
As you will have heard in the news, there are currently measles cases in areas of New Zealand, including Wellington.
If you or your children are yet to be vaccinated an appintment can be made on this site https://app.bookmyvaccine.health.nz/
The first symptoms of measles are similar to other respiratory illnesses, such as a cold, COVID-19 or flu (influenza) which means it can be hard to know you have measles.
Symptoms of measles are:
- fever (a temperature of at least 38°C)
- cough
- runny nose
- sore, red eyes
- rash.
The rash develops 3 to 5 days after the other symptoms. The rash appears as pink or red spots or bumps which start on the face before moving down the rest of the body. The rash may be more difficult to see on darker skin. The rash is not usually itchy. It can last for a week or more.
A key feature of measles is that a fever is still present when the rash develops.
Measles symptoms usually start within 10 to 14 days after you are first exposed to the virus. They can start anytime between 7 to 21 days.
if you suspect your child has measles please keep them home from school and seek advice.
Zoo Trip
Last Friday we had a fantastic trip to Wellington Zoo. Thank you to Sharyn, Deborah, Deepa, Neelam, Alice, Rumi and Mel who joined us for the day.
The children had chance to explore the zoo in smaller groups as well as have a guided lesson from the zookeepers.
Official Closing Mass and Event
Thank you to those families who have complete the online survey letting me know whether they intend to be at our official closing Mass and lunch.
The timetable for the day is:
11.30am - school hall opens
12pm - Mass
1pm - opportunity to look around the school, particularly for people who haven't been for a while, and also look at photos and memorabilia displayed in the hall
1.30pm - lunch - during lunch there will be an open mic for people to share their thoughts and memories
November is also the date of the Brooklyn Festival so you might wish to head up there afterwards.
Faith News
Wednesday Mass
Please come and join Room 2 for Mass this Wednesday morning at 9am in Room 3.
Parish Newsletter
This week’s Parish newsletter is available here
Brooklyn Library Visits
This term we will resume our termly visits to Brooklyn Library. If your child wishes to borrow a book during the visit they need to bring their personal library card with them. We will return books on the next visit if they are brought back in time. Books not brought on the day of the visit will need to be returned by yourselves. If you would like to leave your child's card in the classroom between visits then teachers will find a safe place to keep them.
Room 1: 20 November
Room 2: 06 November
Room 4: 13 November
Absences
If your child is sick or unable to attend school for all or part of the day, please either send a notification via the school app (skool loop), email the school office on office@stbernards.school.nz or phone 3899377 by 9.00 a.m. so that your child's absence can be accounted for.
Children who are late need to report to the office in case they have been marked absent by the teacher who takes the roll first thing in the morning.
If an absence is planned for a special reason, a note or telephone call to the school in advance is appreciated. In cases of prolonged absence, e.g. a family trip, a written note is required.
Room 1 Learning
In writing Room 1 has been learning about labelling diagrams and maps. We have labelled parts of a plant and geographical features on a map.
We used the beautifully detailed map from the picture book Tiny Owl on the Ramshackle Farm to find and label mountains, rivers, forest, waterfall, rocks and paddocks.
We loved labelling so much that we wanted to add MORE labels!! We found bridges, a street light, tents and houses, power lines, flower gardens, a windmill a gate and bridges. It was such a detailed map that we were inspired and wanted to draw our very own maps with lots of details!
We think they look great and we are very proud of them!
Ms Parsons was very impressed with our map reading skills at the zoo on Friday too.
Room 2 Learning
Room 2 has been learning about 3D shapes as the final part of our geometry unit. We’ve been learning to identify and describe different solids such as cubes, prisms, pyramids, and cones.
We explored the nets of these shapes, carefully folding and constructing them to see how flat patterns transform into 3D objects. Along the way, we investigated the difference between a pyramid and a prism — noticing how their faces, edges, and vertices are arranged in unique ways.
This hands-on learning helped us strengthen our spatial reasoning, problem-solving, and understanding of how 3D shapes are built. The class loved seeing their paper creations come to life!
Room 4 Learning
Acrostic Poetry
Room 4 is focusing on writing different forms of poetry. Last week our focus was on acrostic poems. An acrostic poem is a fun poetry form that can be written about any topic. It is a poem where letters within the lines of that poem (at the beginning, middle, or end) spell out a specific word. That word is reflective of the topic or theme of the poem. The one rule of an acrostic poem is that a word must be spelled among the beginning, middle, or ending letters of a line. An acrostic poem does not have to rhyme, but it can. It also does not have to follow a specific syllable count. Below are selected examples of acrostic poems about camp.
Homestead was large
Over excited children
Mr Small knocking on windows
Eating dinner with friends
Sprinting around the homestead
Tons of chaos
Eating lots of food
Amazing cabin groups
Dessert was great! Inigo
Horseriding with Bo
Orienteering in the bushes
Many memories shared
Everyone having fun
Stinky Carlton kids staring at us
Tasty food supplied
Everyone screaming and running
Abe and Erin wearing matching Messi shirts
Dessert finished in 5 seconds! Erin
Flashlight shining in the dark
Outrunning Cam during hide and seek
Roaming place to place looking for Cam
Eating roasted chicken for dinner
Sprinting and screaming in the darkness
Tagging people who were playing ‘infection’. Joan
Flashlight shining in the dark
Over the barbed wire
Running away from Cam
Everyone was hiding in the forest
Sprinting and screaming in the dark
Tree climbing everywhere. Jacob
Amazing shooting skill
Repeatedly getting a score of 18
Completely obliteration everyone except Abe
Hitting my hat with an arrow
Everyone is having fun
Really intense activity
Yellow is the most common section hit. Quinn
Camp was enjoyable
Activities were fun
Mason broke his arm
Playing football against Cameron. Mason