On Monday 11 February, we said our goodbyes to one of our DP`s, Kathryn Collins, at the young age of 38. K. has been at Lynmore for 12 years, first of all as a teacher from the UK, in a year 3 class, then Senior teacher, then AP and this year she would have been one of our two DP`s. K. was a big-hearted, smiling, positive person, who was great to be with. She loved music and took the choir here at school for several years. Her organisational skills were impeccable, as was her appearance and demeanour. She was blessed with great people skills, which are so important to have in management, always mindful of how decisions would affect people - the staff, in particular. She was so resolute in her determination to fight the bowel cancer she was diagnosed as having, in January, 2011. An operation followed by chemo, help for some months, however, in July 2012, it came "roaring back". Intensive chemo prolonged her life for the rest of 2012, however, she passed on, on 28 January, 2013. K had a faith and faced her end with amazing courage. The world is slightly dented, with her passing. Kathryn did leave us at Lynmore, with a legacy. From her, I learnt to put on a happy, smiling face, even in dior times, to live simply, being part of a wonderful whole, having fun and enjoying the company of others, striving to improve my learning and in particular, my teaching. Every Daffodil Day, the last Friday in August, for the last 22 years, I have dressed up as a Daffodil, along with my mate Jules, and raised funds for the Cancer society of NZ. I have a photo of friends who have passed on from this disease, on my green dress. I will have another photo on my dress come August this year.

One of our D.P.`s has passed away and our year beginning is a sad one.   We will say goodbye to her next week at her funeral.   Her presence, her work and her wonderfulness will be so missed by all here at Lynmore Primary School.

We will carry on and we will remember so many things which she did with and for the Lynmore community - in particular, the choir.

Our love and sympathy goes to her husband and daughter and the rest of her family.

Haere ra Mrs Collins.

 Go to this website and help us to get more trees

 http://supergreendiscounts.com/sid/134048

 

Great stuff!   Our bacteria are growing brilliantly in our petrie dishes containing agar.    Scion provided the equipment to assist the development of science in primary schools.   How cool is that?   The kids are sketching the bacteria and making observations.   some of the sketches are amazing so will get them to take some shots and put them on this blog.   I`m stoked at how they are discovering, asking questions of themselves and anyone who is listening.    It`s so exciting.   Watch this space!

Off to a great start today, with the kids, doing some Science work.    Obtained Petrie dishes, with agar, from Scion, and the kids are growing some bacteria/viruses in their very own P.dish.   Great book, called "Gross things from your head to your toes" by Pauline Cartwright (Pearson publishing) is full of brilliant illustrations about the different "things" we have in different areas of our bodies.   We are growing bact/viruses from "snot", "spit", "ear wax" and "thumbprint".   We have encased them firmly closed, with very sticky clear tape and placed them in a hot water cupboard.   Watch this space for further entries.   Great kids I have the pleasure of working with.   Can`t wait for the term to unfold!

W.W.

As I work with students, using plastocene to make letters and words and sculptures to represent, I fascinated, still, by how they go about their tasks.   The interplay of "life`s events" amongst some of them, underscores their learning.   Some have great oral skills and verbalise why they do what they do and how they are learning.   Isn`t this great?   I`ve got to say, it is such a refreshing and exciting experience, to be part of the learning package.   I can never underestimate the innate interest and developing ability of students, their trust in me and their open-ness to embrace what is happening for them.   The letters, made from plastocene, demonstrate underpinning challenges for some of the students, with mixed letter shapes (upper and lower all in together, reversals and up-side-downs).   However, working through these, with the students, you can assist them with sorting these old learnings to demonstrate how they can master it all, with some tools of thinking.

The trigger words, are different.   The learner devises an image for words such as, a, the, am, at to name a few.   The difficulty for a lot of learners is the lack of visual attachment for such words.   Nouns have an associated visual link, however other parts of speech don`t, so the learner creates one.   There are many trigger words and we are not surprised to find them in the all of the early sight words we hope they will learn and recall quickly.   Not so for some.   Some of the sculptures are masterpieces and the students want to put so much detail into them, however, I have cajoled and co-erced them into compromising - one work of art and the others are basic.   I`ll pop some on this blog to show you how they are going.

I have introduced the Davis Dyslexia tools of Release, Dial and Focus with some of the students, with whom I work. 

Some have shown that they are useful and are using them.   For most of the students, they are working their way through the mastery of the alphabet - upper and lower case.    Exciting... 

Davis Dyslexia Rocks!   Just come back from a 4 day course on the Davis Dyslexia programme and I`m so delighted with what I have learned.    Great tools I can work with dyslexic students at Lynmore school, where I work.   I`m excited about this new learning and what it can offer to dyslexic thinkers.   Roll up, roll up dyslexic thinkers...come to Lynmore, Rotorua, NZ.

Assessments to find base-line data!   Done so many running reading records, I bet i`m faster than the tutors!   As always, I`m amazed and delighted at listening to a kid read.   It is one of my all-time favourite things...the youth in the voice, the confidence in the explanations...or the inquiring lilt in the voice.   I LOVE it.    I have the best job in the world.   I`m delighted to be back at work.   Bring it on Lynmore.

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