Tūī Syndicate is our Year 4 to 6 syndicate. Composite year 4/5 classes are located in the lower area of the school. Year 6 classes are in the lower rooms of the two story block adjacent to the office. As students enter Tūī, they have an increasing range of roles and responsibilities within the school e.g. Sports Leaders, Peer Mediators, Road Patrollers and Ngā Rangatahi o Ngaio members, MacAttackers, Junior Journalists, Coding Club and the Enviro Team.

Tūī Syndicate has a Tuakana/Teina model based on developing relationships between our children and helping prepare them for future leadership roles within Tūī Syndicate. 

Planned experiences through Education Outside the Classroom programmes (EOTC) help develop resilience and confidence in our learners. Our school’s ROCKET Values form a basis for these and are central to all our learning in Tūī. One highlight for our Year 6 students is Forest Lakes Camp. Pedal Ready is also an integral programme planned each year. These programmes help increase confidence and provide challenge.

Communication with Whanau and continually developing children’s well-being are essential to our core practice. As year 6 akōnga grow and venture off to intermediate, our teachers recognise that this is an essential time for support and guidance. It can be a time of apprehension and change. Our teachers liaise with families and contributing schools to help support transition of students to intermediate school. 

Below you will find important information about our Tūī Syndicate Team.

Tūī Teachers

Chantal McKee

Ruma tekau (Room 10) Tui Team Leader

c.mckee@ngaio.school.nz

I teach in a year 6 class and am also the team leader of Tūī. I have been at Ngaio School for around 6-7 years. I would also like to introduce Poppy to you. She is an eight year old spoodle who is a Canine and Friends Pet Therapy Dog. She plays an important role in our school, teaching children to feel safe and reassuring them. I have 2 daughters, Jessie and Toni. Your child may know Jessie, as she is a teacher assistant at Ngaio. My husband Phil and I love to spend time in our caravan and of course try to take Poppy with us. I have coached and umpired netball for many years with my girls. Who knows, I may see you on the sideline at a sports event, as I love to support our ākonga through sport.

Poppy McKee

Poppy is a Canine and Friends Pet Therapy Dog. She has many talents, and often seeks out children that may need a cuddle or reassurance in their day. She is very placid and loves to lie with children on the floor. You will often see her at the school sports or around the playground walking with children. Poppy has been known to shake children’s hands at Year 6 graduation and is often a huge favourite in the Leavers Book. She is fondly referred to as Ngaio’s School Dog.

Sam Jenkins

Ruma Tekau mā rua (Room 12)

s.jenkins@ngaio.school,nz

I’m thrilled to once again be teaching year 6, this time in Room 12. I’ve been here at Ngaio since 2018 and love the school and wider community. I like to get involved in lots of different extracurricular activities like Enviro Club, Artsplash Dance, and Wearable Arts. I’ve lived in Wellington for a while now but home is down south in Dunedin, where I visit regularly and often do road trips through Central Otago with my dad. In my spare time I like getting out into nature, playing and watching football (Liverpool is my team), reading and writing, and playing games.

Megan Palmer

Rūma Rua tekau (Room 20)

m.palmer@ngaio.school.nz

I have been teaching at Ngaio School for many years. I'm excited to be moving through with the current Kākāpō cohort into Tūī syndicate next year. Recently I have been working part time while studying for my Masters of Education. I have an 8 year old and a 13 year old and I live in the local area. Both of my kids are very sporty so I spend a lot of my time on the side of a sports field or taxiing them around. Other than that I enjoy trail running and I always have a book or two on the go.

Jack Yorke

Ruma Rua tekau mā tahi (Room 21)

j.yorke@ngaio.school.nz

I'm thrilled to be the teacher for the Year 4/5 class in Room 21 this year at Ngaio School. It's a pleasure to continue my teaching career here, collaborating with a remarkable and supportive team. I’ve been calling Wellington my home for several years and I love to explore the stunning natural beauty that surrounds us. On a rainy day you’ll likely find me sipping on a coffee in town.

Hayden Trass

Ruma Rua tekau mā rua (Room 22)

h.trass@ngaio.school.nz

I have been teaching in the Tūī team at Ngaio School for eleven of the past 15 years. I have a passion for teaching a variety of subjects. When I am not at school I love to spend time with family and friends, and to travel. I am interested in history, geography, art and architecture. I also love learning languages and enjoy practising Chinese, Thai and te reo Māori. I am a little bit famous for my dogs, three cavaliers called Frankie, August and Pippa.

Louisa Marks

Rūma Rua tekau mā toru (Room 23)

l.marks@ngaio.school.nz

I'm delighted to be part of the Tūī Syndicate next year. I have been at Ngaio School since 2021. During this time I have taught years 3 and 4 and I am very much looking forward to teaching a year 4/5 class. I aim to foster a positive and encouraging learning environment where my students feel well supported. My husband and I live locally and have three teenage children. In my spare time I enjoy immersing myself in my garden and I also love to walk, read and spend time with family and friends. I am looking forward to another fantastic year at Ngaio School and getting to know my new class.

Amy Hickling

Ruma Rua tekau mā wha (Room 24)

a.hickling@ngaio.school.nz

I have been a part of the Tūī team for the past two years and I’m excited to be a part of it next year! I’ve lived in Wellington for the past ten years or so and originally hail from Taranaki/ New Plymouth, so I often pop up there during school holidays. I enjoy walks, reading and a bit of tennis if the weather is nice. I’m looking forward to meeting my class for 2024 and getting to know all of the new students in team Tūī.

Tūī Syndicate Information

Teacher Release

All New Zealand teachers are entitled, as part of their Collective Agreement, 15 hours (3 days) per term of Classroom Release Time (CRT). From term 3 this will increase to 20 hours per term (4 days). Part time teachers are timetabled to work in the classrooms during this time.

Teachers are also released for various other work related reasons, for example attending professional development courses, attending meetings or supporting sports events.

Where possible we utilise our pool of part time teachers who are known to the children and familiar with Ngaio School’s routines and expectations. At times however, we employ relief teachers who may not be known to the children. This is most often for sick cover when our part time teachers are already booked, or if several teachers are being released at once.

Our team leaders also have regular release to carry out their syndicate leader responsibilities and some teachers with allocated responsibilities also have a small amount of release time to carry out their roles.

You can check out our part time teachers in the Our Team section.

Syndicate Dates

Please refer to website calendar

Syndicate Hui

Unfortunately all Tūī huis are postponed until further notice, due to the flood damage in our gathering space.

Syndicate Programme - Termly Overview

Term 2 Inquiry – I am a Scientist (Planet Earth and Beyond)

This term we are excited to be visiting Space Place and the Botanical Gardens. All Tūī Classes will travel by bus and will have practical activities based on our topic Planet Earth and Beyond. The children will be able to:

  • Investigate Earth systems
  • Appreciate that water, air, rocks and soil, and life forms make up our planet and recognise that these are also Earth’s resources.
  • Interacting systems
  • Investigate the water cycle and its effect on climate, landforms, and life.
  • Astronomical systems
  • Investigate the components of the solar system, developing an appreciation of the distances between them.

Writing & Reading Focus Term 2

Reading: 

Our reading programme provides reading to, with and by children on a daily basis. Monday to Thursday the children participate in a structured reading programme: They will have instructional reading in small groups focusing on aspects of literacy and vocabulary and building a greater understanding of the world around us. Children will develop reading comprehension through discussing genres, structures, language features, meanings and ideas in a range of texts. Children will be encouraged to read a wider range of authors/texts through Author studies and having a variety of literacy shared and read to them. All Tūī students will have a reading challenge where they record reflections and share their thinking with others. Children will develop their oral language through sharing their learning with others, reading poetry and speaking Te Reo in a variety of settings.

 

Writing:

Classes are involved in regular writing activities covering a variety of genres including, explanation, infographics (information that may have text boxes, headings, diagrams, blurbs, captions, bullet points), scientific reports, non fiction descriptive writing and writing through drama (through the lens of a scientist/explorer). 

 

This term our students will be engaged in writing opportunities where our focus will be on consolidating the children’s knowledge of: 

  • consonant sounds, blends, and vowel sounds
  • common spelling patterns, understanding syllables, looking at suffixes and prefixes and building an increased understanding of how these occur in a variety of words.
  • punctuation – using capital letters, full stops, commas, question marks, and speech marks consistently 
  • grammatical conventions, e.g. correctly formed sentences, consistent use of tense, subject-verb agreement, consistent use of pronouns, and correct use of prepositions.

Mathematics Focus Term 2

Ākonoga participate in a structured mathematics programme Monday through Friday, where they have opportunities to work in both whole class and small group sessions with their teachers, engage in Maths Talks, problem solving and task board activities.

 

This term will be be covering the following aspects of the Mathematics curriculum through Number, Space and Measurement:

 

Mātauranga tau | Number

In our number system, each place value is a power of 10, and this continues infinitely.

Multiplication and division problems can involve equal groups, rates, comparisons, combinations, part-whole relationships, areas, and volumes.

 

Know how to: 

  • Add and subtract whole numbers and decimals to two places
  • Know how to multiply two- and three-digit whole numbers
  • Divide whole numbers by one- or two-digit divisors
  • Find factors of numbers up to 100

 

Mokowā | Space

Two and three-dimensional shapes have consistent properties that can be used

to define, compare, classify, predict, and identify relationships between them.

Shapes can be rotated, reflected, translated, and resized. Viewing objects from different angles gives different perspectives.

 

Know how to:

  • Classify two-dimensional shapes and prisms using their spatial properties

to justify my classifications.

  • Perform and describe rotations, reflections, translations, and resizing on

two-dimensional shapes and simple geometric patterns.

  • Use simple scales, the language of direction (compass points), distance (in m, km), and turn (in degrees) to locate and describe positions and pathways.

Ine | Measurement

Angles are a measure of turn and can be measured in degrees.Know how to:

  • Describe an angle using the benchmarks 90 degrees, 180 degrees, and 360 degrees.

Te Reo & Kapa Haka Term 2

Te Reo Māori

Our focus this term integrates te reo with our science unit, using a variety of sentence structures to discuss celestial objects. Students will use a range of adjectives to describe appearance, and ordinal numbers related to planets. Traditional stories (pūrākau) related to Māui will be investigated, integrating vocabulary to describe position.

 

Kapa Haka
Each Monday morning our children have Kapa Haka with Hemi Prime. Our children learn waiata, karakia, haka and poi. Preparation will begin for the St Brigid’s Kapa Haka festival to be held on Saturday September 14.

Digital Technology Focus Term 2

The Digital Curriculum will be integrated with literacy, numeracy and discovery throughout the ‘I am a Scientist’ topic. Students will develop their research skills. They will be taught command functions for efficiency. They will also look at identifying key words and paraphrasing in text to be able to research. These keywords will link to develop vocabulary through reading and writing. 

The children will have Increased confidence in using the google suite and will save work accordingly. They will share docs and develop their presentation skills through slides (adding links, referencing and use skills learned in infographics in literacy to present their learning digitally. 

Children will be using Seesaw to share learning with families. Hapara will be used to save and access work on the children’s google drive and workspace.

Children will explore basic coding functions on ‘Scratch’ and will present their learning to buddies in class throughout this term.

 

Many students in the Senior School are involved in MacAttack, Coding Club and Junior Journalists.

MacAttack

Children are continuing to develop their digital fluency by using a range of creative apps and outputs. They are doing this while working with our external provider (Danny). MacAttackers are also brilliant leaders for our younger year levels.

Junior Journalists

After a busy start to the Junior Journalists, we are getting ready to begin our own news reports. The journalists will be creating their own scripts, forming questions, developing voice overs and interviewing students throughout the school.

Physical Education Focus Term 2

Ākonga will participate in the school cross country and have daily fitness activities throughout this term. Please ensure your child has appropriate clothing and footwear for physical exercise each day.

Ākonga will participate in a skill based net and wall games unit. and  will participate in teams and use collaborative skills.

Key Competencies Focus Term 2

Key Competencies we will be focusing on this term are ‘Using language, symbols and texts ‘and ‘Thinking’.

Using language, symbols, and texts

Using language, symbols, and texts is about working with and making meaning of the codes in which knowledge is expressed. Languages and symbols are systems for representing and communicating information, experiences, and ideas. People use languages and symbols to produce texts of all kinds:

  • written, oral/aural, and visual
  • informative and imaginative
  • informal and formal
  • mathematical, scientific, and technological.

Students who are competent users of language, symbols, and texts can interpret and use words, numbers, images, movement, metaphor, and technologies in a range of contexts. They recognise how choices of language, symbol, or text affect people’s understanding and the ways in which they respond to communications. They confidently use ICT (including, where appropriate, assistive technologies) to access and provide information and to communicate with others.

Thinking

Thinking is about using creative, critical, and metacognitive processes to make sense of information, experiences, and ideas. These processes can be applied to purposes such as developing understanding, making decisions, shaping actions, or constructing knowledge. Intellectual curiosity is at the heart of this competency.

Students who are competent thinkers and problem-solvers actively seek, use, and create knowledge. They reflect on their own learning, draw on personal knowledge and intuitions, ask questions, and challenge the basis of assumptions and perceptions.

Library Visits

Each week we visit the library and children are able to choose 1-2 library books to take home and enjoy. The books are then returned the following week.

 

Harakeke

Room 10 (Chantal) Thursday 10-11am

Room 12 (Sam) Wednesday 11:30-12.30pm

 

Rātā

Room 20 (Megan) Monday 10.15-11am

Room 21 (Jack) Friday 11.30-12.30pm

Room 22 (Hayden) Tuesday 10-11am

Room 23 (Louisa) Thursday 11.30 – 12.30

Room 24 ( Amy) Friday 9.15-10am

Enviroclub

Enviro Club is an opportunity for students to learn about the environment and their role within it through both information and hands-on sessions.

Children are invited to opt in to the sessions they find interesting.
Enviro Club also offers leadership roles within the school, such as recycling, composting, and running sessions with younger students.
In term 1 we will be focusing on the Arb and how the students, as kaitiaki, have a responsibility to look after our environment. We will also be working to improve our composting system across the school with the aim to reduce and reuse organic waste.
This term the Arb will be closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays to give it time to recover, and students will be checking to see how the Arb is coping with the children being back.

Home Learning

Students are encouraged to read widely to develop their accuracy and fluency. Students employ a range of comprehension strategies to monitor their reading for accuracy and sense and reading at home is the best way to support this.

The ROCKET Challenge is an optional home learning programme.

The purpose of the Tūī ROCKET Challenge is to:

  • recognise the learning children already do outside of school, and to encourage them to extend themselves in these areas
  • challenge children to try new things 
  • encourage children to contribute to your family, school and community  
  • enable children to discover, develop and showcase their talents. 

You can find out more about the ROCKET challenge here.