Welcome to Panitahi Room! We have 19 wonderful and curious Year 2 tamariki who love learning! Panitahi room is taught by Mr Ben Morgan and supported by our amazing teacher aide Bev and our release teacher Mrs Karla Rosewarne.

Structured Literacy:

In Panitahi we follow a Structured Literacy approach for the teaching of Reading, Writing, Handwriting and Spelling. Structured Literacy focuses on 'phonemic and phonological awareness, and alphabet knowledge' which provides our tamariki with the skills they need to read, spell and write with confidence. Phonological awareness relates to the tamariki's capability to make/break words, identify how many sounds in them and where they are. It also allows tamariki to identify how many words in a sentence, syllables in a word, how to hear and produce rhyme and delete/substitute sounds. The tamariki are also taught to recognise individual words, onset sounds, rime and both individual letter-sounds in a word and two or more letters that work together to make one sound. They learn to read using the Sunshine and Kākano decodable texts. Each day your child will bring home a book to read which practises the letters and sounds that have been taught at school. Thank you for supporting your child on their reading journey!

Te Reo: 

At Midhirst School and in Panitahi class we have a passion for Te Reo Maori. We not only enjoy the language but also learning about Maori history, legends, culture and kaupapa/traditions. As a school we have a goal to be using up to three hours of Reo daily. Each morning we start with 30 minutes in as full immersion as we can be. We love using visuals, waiata and kemu to keep us engaged and to further our learning and understanding. Part of our journey is normalising and revitalising Maori language. While we have specific, explicit set times when we focus on language, we also aim to integrate across all learning contexts and use it both within and outside of our kopa ako. We hope that when you enter our classroom you hear our wonderful korero. 

                               Kapa Haka:

This term we are lucky to have Whaea Rae hold Kapa Haka sessions both with our Junior and Senior school. Whaea also takes a special select bunch of students for a more in depth Kapa Haka session and this group will perform as well. We love the way she makes waiata engaging and fun for us! 

                               Swimming Term one: 

During last term, Panitahi was swimming everyday.  Our swimming sessions were in the afternoons and on Monday we have swimming with our Instructor, Skye at the school pool. Panitahi also had instructional swimming lessons at Wai o Rua every Friday. The aim of our swimming sessions is to improve the students confidence in the water and teach them basic swimming skills. Swimming sessions are a great way to enhance the social, emotional and physical wellbeing of your child.

School TRYathlon

On Thursday 10th April we held our School TRYathlon. It was an amazing day and our students had a great time participating in this event. A huge thank you to Miss Wisnewski for organising this event for our Kura.  It was great to see so many parents and whānau at school supporting their children. 

Central Taranaki Rural Schools’ Athletics 

On Wednesday the 9th April, the Midhirst Junior Syndicate attended the Central Taranaki Rural Schools' Athletics day at Ngaere School. The tamariki had a great day and really enjoyed being able to particpate in a variety of athletic activities. It was an amazing event and it was great to see so many of our whānau come along to support our kura. 

Junior Syndicate Assemblies 

Our Junior Syndicate assemblies are energetic, purposeful events that help foster a strong sense of community and personal development. Students come together to sing, promoting connection and building self-assurance.

These sessions also feature social learning opportunities, where students explore important life skills such as empathy, effective communication, and collaboration. A much-anticipated moment in each assembly is the awarding of KAHA wristbands and certificates—celebrating those who consistently demonstrate kindness, helpfulness, and a positive attitude.

These gatherings are a vital part of our school culture, nurturing an environment where every student feels valued, supported, and inspired to be their best selves.

Junior Discovery:

Discovery Learning develops key competencies through activity-based, child-directed learning. It is an opportunity for tamariki to direct their own learning and practice social skills within fun, hands-on activities.  In our Junior Syndicate Discovery Time sessions we have a range of activities for our students to choose between with more activities being added each week.  Our tamariki are given opportunities to engage in a variety of activities which include; arts and crafts, dress ups, play dough, block building, Lego  puzzles and much more! At times they will be working independently to develop their self-management skills and at other times they will be working with a buddy or small group to build their social and cooperative skills. During these sessions our tamariki will have the opportunity to feed forward and feedback, decide on activities and lead the discovery time sessions. 

The role of the teacher:

• drawing on curriculum knowledge to recognise the learning within play

• providing sufficient opportunities for students to engage in play

• participating in meaningful learning conversations with children that stretch their thinking  

• understanding and supporting the development of specific skills and knowledge that students need

• facilitating social interactions.

2024

                                   Pet Day (Term 4):

On Friday 18th October we had our annual Pet Day. This was an amazing event and was greatly enjoyed by our tamariki and their whānau. The tamariki loved seeing all the animals and really enjoyed creating a variety of artworks to put on display for this day.

                           Tabloids Day Term one: 

Tabloids is a great whānau event that the whole school participates in! Our fantastic school leaders learn the activities and help our younger tamariki to rotate around and get them involved! It is a great way to build tuakana-teina relationships and to bring the Midhirst School community/whānau together! Who could forget our first house competition of tug of war too?!