Welcome to the Junior Hub

‘Te piko o te māhuri, tērā te tupu o te rākau’
‘the way in which the young sapling is nurtured, determines how the tree will grow’

We have two ends to our Junior Hub.  Pūkeko and Matuku.  The teachers in Pūkeko are Janine Wood, Holly Miller and Samantha Anderson.

The teachers in Matuku are Sarah Burt, Madison Hawke and Neriza Barlin.  Michelle Gordon is the Team Leader for the Junior Hub.

Our team also includes some wonderful teacher aides and release teachers, who support our children with their learning. As a collaborative teaching team, we share responsibility for all of the students and their learning.

Learning Programme

When children start in the Junior Hub, as New Entrant 5 year olds, they will begin in one of our Kōhanga (Nests), our focus is on settling them into school and making sure they are happy and comfortable. We do this by getting to know your child and building a genuine relationship with them. The teachers also work to support new children to learn the routines and to make friends.

When we see children are happy at school and ready for learning, they will be placed in small groups for Literacy  and Mathematics instruction throughout the week. Placement in these groups reflects what students can already do and what they need to learn next. Your child will be mostly working in a group of children with similar learning goals. These groups are flexible as learning develops at different rates for each child.

Alongside our Structured Literacy and Mathematics is a strong focus on learning through play, we call this time HEART Zones.

HEART Zones are an important part of the learning we do in the Junior Hub. 

HEART Zone activities support a smooth transition to school, as many of the activities will be familiar to the children from preschool/kindergarten settings (e.g. playdough, construction, arts and crafts, role play, dress-ups, etc). HEART  Zone activities provide an opportunity for children to develop collaboration, creativity, problem-solving, thinking, self-management and oral language skills and experiences. At HEART  Zones time we place emphasis on our School HEART Values of Hauora, Explore, Aspire, Respect and Taonga (Treasure) and these are what we reflect on, use to set goals, and to celebrate our successes.

Please always feel free to contact any of us with any questions or concerns that you may have.

We look forward to working with you and your children this year.

Under the New entrant page there also needs to be some changes.

INFORMATION FOR NEW ENTRANTS

Wigram Primary School – Te Piki Kāhu

At Wigram Primary School children are able to start school from the day they turn five years old. We have many children who start on the first Monday after they have turned 5, that way they often have other children starting with them and we are able to provide a shared transition time.   We are happy to help you as a parent to determine the best start date for your child. Legally all children need to be enrolled in a school before they turn six.

If you as a parent are wanting to have a look at the learning space your child will be in and have an opportunity to ask any questions, (prior to enrolment or once you have enrolled, but before your child has their visits), you are welcome to book an appointment with the New Entrant Teacher. To book an appointment or to find out more information about your child’s transition to school please email the Junior Hub Team Leader,  Michelle Gordon mgordon@wigramprimary.school.nz

School visits

To achieve a successful transition to school, it is very helpful for your child to have some familiarity with the school, their teachers and with our learning space. We recommend that three visits are appropriate for most children, but are happy to facilitate more visits if necessary.

Approximately one month before your child’s fifth birthday, the Team Leader will contact you by email to arrange suitable dates for these visits. At this time you will also be sent a copy of the Junior Hub class information booklet. The information booklet contains further information about how to prepare for starting school, how the learning space works, how to purchase uniforms and stationery etc. We most commonly schedule visit days for one day a week for the three weeks before a child starts school. Friday is our usual “visit” day, however, we are able to be flexible based on work schedules, etc.

• Our usual structure is having a first visit that runs from 9.00 – 10.00 am, where you, as a parent, stay with your child to support them as they become familiar with the space. School begins at 8.55 am and you are welcome to arrive a little early so your child can get to know their new environment and you have a chance to talk with the teachers. For this first visit, you don’t need to bring anything for your child.
• The second visit runs from 9.00 – 10.45 am, where you drop your child off and pick them up at the end of the visit. Please provide a water bottle with some water in it and a small fruit or vegetable snack for your child, as the children have a snack at around 10.00 am.
• The third visit runs for the whole morning from 9.00 – 12.30 pm, so your child is able to experience staying for a longer period of time, including morning tea. For this visit, your child will need their water bottle, a small fruit or vegetable snack and something small to eat for morning tea (e.g. crackers, more fruit, biscuits, etc). Your child does not need to wear their school uniform for these visit days, however many children do.

Parent appointments:

If you, as a parent, are wanting to have a look at the learning space your child will be in and have an opportunity to ask any questions, (prior to enrolment or once you have enrolled, but before your child has their visits), you are welcome to book an appointment with the Team Leader. To book an appointment or to find out more information about your child’s transition to school please email the Junior Hub Team Leader, Michelle Gordon  mgordon@wigramprimary.school.nz.

What to expect at Wigram:

At Wigram Primary School we work in collaborative teaching teams. In our Junior Hub Space, we have teachers who share joint responsibility for all of the learners. When the children start school, they enter one of our Kōhanga (nests). We focus on building relationships and friendships, learning school routines, children managing themselves and their belongings, social skills and feeling happy and settled at school. To aid the transition to school we have an emphasis on learning through play, as well as more structured learning groups for developing literacy and numeracy skills. Academic learning is a part of our programme in the Junior Hub, but is not our sole focus. We want to ensure we look at the children holistically, and that our programme responds to their interests, and emotional and social needs, as well as academic learning. While the children are in the Junior Hub the teachers work to ensure we set them up for success for the rest of their time at Wigram Primary School.