#10 Newsletter 2025

Have something to share? Get in contact with one of our Across School Leaders – we would love to hear from you!

[email protected] 21st Century Learning

[email protected] Structured Literacy

Literacy Podcasts and (Short) Readings

The more we know about literacy education, the more empowered we are to deliver best practice instruction and programmes into our schools and classrooms. Keeping ourselves informed so that we understand why we are doing what we do and making the changes that we are making is so important. When we are informed we feel greater motivation and conviction for what we are doing and can better support others as well.

It’s hard to find time as busy teachers to read and view information, so I have selected a few podcasts and a good, short article below.

Listening to a podcast while you are walking, driving or relaxing is an easy way to keep up to date.

Dr Reid Lyon discusses the SoR

Dr Stephanie Stollar – Responsive SL

Anita Archer & Louisa Moats – The Science of Reading and Teaching

This discussion paper by Dr. Ian Hunter is worth a read:

You will have to click the download button and enter your details to get a free digital copy.

To Write is to Think – A Discussion Paper by Dr. Ian Hunter

In his latest discussion paper, Writer’s Toolbox creator and best-selling author Dr Ian Hunter synthesises 50 years of research to reveal the powerful brain connections between writing and thinking. Hunter challenges conventional wisdom that writing merely reproduces pre-formed thoughts. Instead, writing is shown to sharpen, deepen, and amplify human cognitive power.

Cracking the Code to Learning

This term, our Year 5/6 students have dived into the fascinating world of ancient languages, secret codes, and spy communication. They’ve explored everything from hieroglyphics and runes to Morse code and tap code, learning how people throughout history have used clever ways to send messages in secret.

A huge highlight has been our Rune and Hieroglyphics Decipher Hunt, where students worked in teams to decode secret messages written in ancient alphabets. Each clue led to another and required strong collaboration and communication to crack the codes together. Once the final clue was decoded, they received parts of a jigsaw puzzle. They had to work with other teams to put the puzzle together and solve the ultimate challenge.

This hands-on activity not only made learning exciting but also strengthened their ability to solve complex problems as a team. Along the way, they learned to persevere when faced with challenges and discovered the value of combining different strengths to achieve a shared goal.

By exploring historic communication systems like Morse code and tap code, students have begun to understand how people sent secret messages before modern technology. These activities are helping them build essential skills such as problem-solving, creativity, and attention to detail — laying the foundation for becoming future-ready learners who can approach challenges with confidence.

Hauora and Te Reo Māori

Let’s take time to use Te Reo Māori in our health, especially in Te Wiki o te Māori.

The five pillars of Te Whare Tapa wha – learn them in both languages:

Print these bookmark pictures below and glue them back-to-back: link here

Important Health words: hauora hinengaro

Today we meet together as a Kahui Ako to get PLD on the maths curriculum. How great it is that we can do this together and all get the same messages to inform our teaching and take the learning back to our tamariki.

Maths Week

Lots of wonderful things have been happening in our schools for Maths Week. Here are some of the things that have happened at Orewa Beach School.

Maths Week has been a fantastic success at Orewa Beach School, with the whole school community, including staff, getting involved in the fun!

The estimating continued on Wednesday as teams of teachers competed in the Centipede Ski Challenge, with each class guessing how long it would take the fastest team of teachers to ‘ski’ 5 meters.

It hasn’t all been about estimation, though. Many classes have been hard at work creating beautiful artworks based on our maths knowledge, such as tesselation art or fraction ice-cream sundaes.