The Garden to Table (G2T) Project The Garden to Table team are well underway with the garden developments and now they have started turning the old op shop, in the Board owned classroom behind Pod 3 (and next to the Kids Club), into a fitted out kitchen for the G2T programme. We are looking at a grand opening, and formal blessing of the Garden to Table area, on Wednesday 30th November at 2pm. What a great job Jo and Debbie, our lead team, are doing in getting this wonderful facility up and running ready for all classes to be involved in 2023. They are still looking for volunteers to help constructing the tunnel house. The framework is up and help is needed with the plastic cover and then the planting can start. If you are able to help please email jor@wanaka.school.nz or debbiek@wanaka.school.nz. Thank you to Pablo Varley for laying the tiles. This week's update I hope you all had a wonderful long weekend and your children were looking beautiful for the photos today. I am in Palmerston North with my daughter awaiting the birth of granddaughter number two, so will be working from up here for the next week or so. This is only the second school photo I have missed ever in the 47 years I have been in education and it seems weird! I hope if they put in an insert it is from 20 years ago or is digitally enhanced! Tomorrow the Year 6s are off to the Clued Up Kids day and the year 3 and 4s have cricket coaching. Room 1 is off to the Wao hui between 11am and 1pm and it is the Year 5 camp meeting for parents at 5pm in Pod 8. On Thursday it is Shake Out, and Year 5 and 6 cricket and the Year 1 and 2s have their cricket coaching on Friday.
New roles for teaching staff for term 4 Katie is now on maternity leave awaiting the birth of her baby so Emma Stewart is taking on her Classroom Release role in Kelly's room on a Thursday and Jo Parr is releasing Kylie and Anne on alternate Fridays. Kirsty officially started up her new entrant class last week and what a cute bunch they are. Jill is relieving in Kirsty's part time roles (for Robyn and Casey) and also does a day in Andrena's room. We also welcome two teacher trainees into Pod 3, Paige and Ella.
Our school roll is currently sitting on 561 with another intake of new entrants due in week 5 of the term. We start next year with the same number we started this year, around 470, and we are currently considering school organisation for next year. In line with what Nathan Wallis said (and many educationalists also believe) about the benefits of keeping children together with a teacher for a second year, we are hoping to keep our Year 3 and Year 5 students with their current teacher in 2023. Where it is possible of course, with changing teacher placements for 2023, and whether it is beneficial for each individual child. We will be continuing with composite Year 3/4s and Year 5/6s next year as this allows us to have some consistency of peers and students in pods. If you would like to learn more about composite groupings please see the information below. As always if you have information to pass on about your child's class placement (i.e. child they don't get on with or children they do) please email the classroom teacher or the DP for your child's pod (Kerry - Pod 7 and 8, Jennie - Pod 4 and 5 and Jason - Pod 1 and 3), or of course you can contact me on wendyb@wanaka.school.nz.
Composite Classes Every year we have some composite classes at Wānaka Primary school. If your child is younger you may ask - will my child be able to keep up? If they are older - will my child be held up? By composite classes we mean putting two consecutive year-groups together in one class. The key to understanding composites is realising that growth is determined in stages and not by ages. Composite classes do not mean your child will get work that is too hard or not hard enough. A child can be older or younger in a composite classroom but their maturity, physical needs, social needs, academic needs and behaviour are uniquely their own. Some have needs in certain areas, but not in others. An example is that although all 7 year olds may be the same age, it is unrealistic to expect that they are all at the same level of ability in reading or in PE, even if they are all placed together in one class. It is far better that they be grouped according to need, thus they will gain confidence and skill by working with their peer ability level. There is no hard and fast rule that says a straight year level class will meet a child’s needs any better than a composite class. Even within the same class, children will be at different learning levels. New Zealand teachers are trained in identifying this and are renowned the world over for extending those who learn more quickly and supporting those who are slower. Unlike other countries where whole-class teaching is often the norm, NZ teachers are trained to teach in ability or targeted groups. Straight classes require as much group teaching as composite classes because this is the hallmark of good teaching. There is no difference in the range of abilities present in a straight class compared to a composite. The good thing about composite classes is that it draws attention to individual needs and development and facilitates individualised or personalised learning. Older students are not held back in composite classes. There is no one curriculum level per age group in NZ. It is not as simple as Year 1 learns at Level 1, Year 2 learns at Level 2; the NZ curriculum is set up in developmental bands which range from 1-3 years per level. Invariably students in any one class are all at different permutations of these curriculum bands, whether they are in straight classes or composites. Separate programmes are used, in most curriculum areas, for the different groups of students according to their level of development or ability level, as well as whole class instruction where appropriate, for example drama. Composite classes can provide significant benefits to both the younger and older students in the class. Older students can benefit from helping younger students in cooperative learning situations. The younger students have the opportunity of enhanced learning experiences where they are ready for it. Research, both in New Zealand and overseas, has shown no detrimental academic effects from composite classes, but many additional benefits. A major review of international research into multi-age classes was undertaken by Veenman (1995). He investigated 56 studies in 12 countries including Australia, looking at the cognitive and non-cognitive effects of multi-age and single-age classes. He found that with respect to attitudes towards school, self-concept and social adjustment, students can be advantaged by being in multi-age classes instead of single-age classes. They are more confident, can operate better as part of a group, are more assertive, become more independent learners and better problem-solvers. They also make friends outside of their standard age-groups. In later life, if we have a one year age difference with someone this becomes of no consequence. Anderson & Parvan (1993) analysed 64 research studies in the US and Canada and found that schools with composite classes were most likely to benefit students from all circumstances and all ability ranges. They noted that longitudinal studies show that the longer the students are in a composite programme the more likely it is that they will have positive attitudes and high academic achievement. Ultimately, whether children are in composite or straight-age classes, it is not the age combinations that matter. What matters is the quality of teaching and learning and the learning relationship between the child and the teacher, and also between the whānau/family and the school. | 
