Kākāpō Syndicate (Years 1,2&3)

Kākāpō Year 1 classes are located in Rooms 1,2 and 3.

Kākāpō Year 2/3 classes are located in the upper floor of the building adjacent to the office.

The Kākāpō team fosters self management, supporting akōnga to become increasingly more independent and resilient as learners. The curriculum is  integrated, with student voice and personal interest driving learning experiences.

Below you will find some information about the Kākāpō syndicate.

Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher (kaiako) at any point during the year. 

Kaiako are in their classrooms from 8:30am in the mornings so the best time to discuss any issues or concerns with them is between 8:30-8:45am. Kaiako are more than happy to meet with you at other times.

Kākāpō Teachers

Michelle Pontifex

Rūma ono (Room 6) Kākāpō Team Leader

m.pontifex@ngaio.school.nz

Kia ora koutou,
I am Michelle and I’m proud to be part of our kura whānau. With over 20 years of teaching experience, I am deeply passionate about supporting our tamariki to thrive. Ngā ākonga are always at the heart of what I do, and I strive to create a positive, manaakitanga-filled environment where they feel empowered to ako, grow, and succeed. In addition to teaching, I am privileged to serve as the Team Leader of Kākāpō. I love working collaboratively with my team and whānau to ensure our learners have the best opportunities to shine. Teaching and leading are both roles I truly treasure, and I feel incredibly lucky to do what I love every day.

Tessa Gatenby

Rūma whitu (Room 7)

t.gatenby@ngaio.school.nz

Kia ora,

I’m Tessa and I am delighted to be back teaching in the Kākāpō syndicate this year. I’m looking forward to getting to know some new faces and building positive connections with the tamariki as we learn and grow throughout the year. I’m going into my sixth year of teaching at Ngaio School and I’m excited to work within such a fantastic team. I believe creating and maintaining reciprocal and effective relationships with students is a crucial aspect of teaching, and I work hard to make sure every child feels valued in the classroom. I’m a Wellington local and thoroughly enjoy being part of the Ngaio community.

Christina Johnstone

Rūma rima (Room 5)

c.johnstone@ngaio.school.nz

Kia ora koutou,

Ko Christina tōku ingoa.

I feel privileged to have been teaching at Ngaio School since 2015. During this time I have taught from years one to four. I am thrilled to be part of the Kākāpō Syndicate again this year teaching years two and three. I am passionate about creating a positive, engaging and supportive learning environment where ākonga can flourish as individuals and love being part of the Ngaio community.

Thomas Searancke

Rūma waru (Room 8)

t.searancke@ngaio.school.nz

Kia ora,

I am Thomas, and I am excited to be joining the Kākāpō Syndicate at Ngaio School. I began teaching in 2018 and since then I have taught years two through six. I look forward to getting to know your children and helping them thrive in their learning.

Bronwyn O'Halloran

Rūma tahi (Room 1)

b.ohalloran@ngaio.school.nz

Kia ora koutou,
Ko Bronwyn tōku ingoa.
A warm welcome to a new year and an exciting learning journey at Ngaio School. I have had 30 years of teaching experience and have held a variety of roles from teacher, senior teacher to assistant principal. I have been teaching at Ngaio School since 2015. This year I am excited to be teaching our youngest students and building a strong foundation of learning as our newest learners begin their education at Ngaio School. I am also a mum to two young boys/men. I love to spend family time with my husband and 2 boys at Waikanae Beach, walking the beach and having time together making fun memories.
I look forward to knowing and making connections with all of the Kākāpō families.

Elise Chan

Rūma toru (Room 3)

e.chan@ngaio.school.nz

Kia ora,

Ko Elise tōku ingoa.

It’s lovely to return back to Ngaio School after having such a warm welcome in 2024. During my time teaching, I have enjoyed working with all year groups from Year 1 to 6, however, I am particularly passionate about teaching junior students. I look forward to another exciting year working alongside the Year 0/1 tamariki and creating a safe and supportive environment where they can all thrive and have a positive start to school.

Karen Doogan

Rūma rua (Room 2)

k.doogan@ngaio.school.nz

I really love teaching. It is a special joy to work with tamariki as they start their schooling years. Young learners have a particular energy and enthusiasm that I enjoy. It has been my privilege to be part of the Ngaio School staff and community for many years. I have always thought my own children were fortunate to attend this wonderful school and I work hard to ensure that the tamariki I teach, have the opportunity to thrive here too.
Outside of school I enjoy walking, gardening and spending time with family.

Kākāpō Syndicate Information

Teacher Release

At Ngaio School, we are fortunate to have a team of experienced and passionate release teachers supporting our ākonga and kaiako. Classroom Release Time allows our teachers to focus on planning, assessment, and leadership responsibilities while ensuring continuity of learning for tamariki.

  • Donna will cover Michelle’s leadership release once a week and CRT every second Tuesday. Donna will also teach in Christina’s class every Thursday.
  • Gretel will cover Tessa’s Digital release and CRT every Tuesday.
  • Julie Rogers will cover Thomas’ CRT every second Tuesday.
  • Alison will teach in Karen’s class every Friday.
  • Kathy will support Elise, Karen and Bronwyn during their release time.

Our release teachers are dedicated professionals who embody the values of our kura and are committed to maintaining a positive, engaging learning environment for all tamariki.

Please feel free to contact your child’s whānau teacher at any point during the year. Teachers are usually found in their classrooms from 8:30am. The best time to discuss any issues or concerns with them is between 8:30-8:45am. If you would like to make a different time to touch base just flick your child’s whanau teacher an email.  

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

Syndicate Dates

Please refer to website calendar

Brain Break

Brain Break – Keeping Our Ākonga Energised!

Our morning learning block runs from 9:00 to 11:00, so we have a short Brain Break to help keep tamariki focused and energised. During this time, children can enjoy a small snack of fruit to refuel their brains. Please send a small container with cut-up fruit or vegetables for your child to eat during this break. This helps support their concentration and learning throughout the morning. Thank you for your support.

Syndicate Hui

Kākāpō Hui will be held in Rūma 6+7 at 9:10am. Whānau of the hosting classes are invited to attend. 

Week 4: Friday 27th February – Rūma 6 + Rūma 7

Week 6: Friday 13th March – Rūma 8 + Rūma 5

Week 8: Friday 27th March –  Rūma 1 + Rūma 3

Syndicate Programme - Termly overview

Inquiry

I am a Healthy Hero – He Toa Hauora Ahau 

Level 1 – Year 1 + 2

Health and Physical Education – A1 Personal growth and development

Students will describe feelings and ask questions about their health, growth, development, and personal needs and wants.

Science – Living World

Life Processes – Understand the processes of life and appreciate the diversity of living things.

 

Level 2 – Year 3

Health and Physical Education – A1 Personal growth and development

Students will describe their stages of growth and their development needs and demonstrate increasing responsibility for self-care.

Science – Living World

Life Processes – Recognise that all living things have certain requirements so they can stay alive.

Writing & Reading Focus - Term 4

This term in literacy, our focus will be on developing key skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Here’s what your tamariki will be learning:

Oral Language

  • Listening and Speaking: Developing oral language skills to communicate clearly and effectively, and using language purposefully in various contexts, e.g. Pitopito kōrero (news).
  • Te Reo: Strengthening listening and speaking skills in te reo Māori through everyday conversations and classroom activities.

Writing

  • Create meaningful texts by developing and organising their ideas.
  • Use planning, drafting, and editing to strengthen their writing.
  • Spelling and vocabulary knowledge is built through:
    • explicit teaching of phonics,
    • high-frequency word recognition, and
    • learning common spelling patterns.

Reading

  • Personal Reading: Encouraging tamariki to select and read texts independently for both enjoyment and learning.
  • Instructional Reading: Using the Better Start Literacy Approach (BSLA) to build structured literacy skills and deepen understanding.
  • Shared Reading: Engaging with oral narratives to develop comprehension, fluency, and an appreciation of stories.
  • Reading Comprehension: Exploring a variety of texts to understand genres, structures, language features, and deeper meanings.

Phonological Awareness and Spelling

  • Focusing on phonics through the BSLA programme.
  • Learning essential spelling lists, high-frequency words, and spelling patterns.
  • Building vocabulary with a “word of the week” and practising dictionary skills.

We are excited to see your tamariki grow as confident readers, writers, and speakers throughout the term.

Mathematics (Pāngarau) - Term 4

At Ngaio School, we follow the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum for Mathematics and Statistics. In the early years (New Entrants to Year 3), the focus is on developing confident, curious learners who can explore, reason, and problem-solve using mathematics in real and meaningful ways. Our teaching is hands-on, with a strong emphasis on talk, collaboration, and using concrete materials to build deep understanding.

Across Years 0–3, children experience all strands of mathematics:

Number and Algebra

  • Developing strong number sense through counting, subitising, and place value.
  • Exploring addition, subtraction, and early multiplication/division through patterns, grouping, and sharing.
  • Learning to use strategies flexibly, explain thinking, and make connections between numbers.
  • Beginning to notice patterns and relationships that form the building blocks of algebraic thinking.

Geometry and Spatial Reasoning

  • Recognising, naming, and describing 2D and 3D shapes, and exploring their attributes.
  • Building spatial awareness by composing and decomposing shapes, and identifying symmetry.
  • Predicting the results of simple transformations (turns, flips, slides) and using maps, grids, and directions to describe positions and pathways.

Measurement

  • Comparing and ordering objects by length, area, mass, volume, and capacity.
  • Beginning to use standard units such as centimetres, litres, and kilograms.
  • Exploring concepts of time (days, weeks, hours), reading simple clocks, and using calendars.
  • Using measurement in real contexts such as cooking, construction, and nature investigations.

Statistics

  • Asking and answering questions by collecting data (e.g., favourite fruit, eye colour).
  • Sorting and organising data into tables, tally charts, pictographs, and simple bar graphs.
  • Beginning to interpret what data shows and share findings with others.

Probability (from Year 3 onwards)

  • Exploring chance events in everyday contexts (e.g., rolling dice, weather).
  • Using simple language such as “likely,” “unlikely,” “certain,” and “impossible” to describe outcomes.

Te Reo & Kapa Haka Term 4

Te Reo Māori

This term will be exploring the pūrākau of Kupe me te wheke.

As part of our I am a Healthy Hero inquiry, ākonga will be exploring body parts, foods, and feelings in Te Reo Māori. They will be learning to express themselves using simple sentences, such as “My hair is…” and “My eyes are…”, helping them build confidence in speaking and understanding Māori language in meaningful, everyday contexts.

Kapa Haka

Each Monday morning all Kākāpō ākonga have Kapa Haka with Matua Hemi Prime. During this time they learn waiata, karakia, haka and poi.

Digital Technology Focus Term 4

In authentic contexts and taking account of end users, ākonga make decisions about creating, manipulating, storing, retrieving, sharing and testing digital content for a specific purpose, given particular parameters, tools, and techniques.

Evaluating Digital Content

Ākonga will analyse and discuss existing resources to evaluate their effectiveness and create a success criteria. The idea is that students need to make purposeful decisions about the digital content they create. To help them do this, examples are provided for students to evaluate. From students’ evaluation a success criteria can then be built so that students know what they are trying to achieve when creating their digital content.

Physical Education Focus Term 4

Daily Fitness: Each day ākonga will have the opportunity to improve their basic fitness through participating in a range of physical activities and cooperative games. 

Week 1: Athletics Day 

Week 2-5: Cooperative Games 

Focus: Fun, participation, and developing fundamental movement skills through a range of engaging activities involving running, 

jumping, and throwing.

Week 6 & 7: Ākau Tangi Trips

Graduate Profile Term 4

Graduate Profile – Ngaio Ākonga are Resilient

  • I take measured risks, have a go, learn from mistakes and maintain a positive self-image.
  • I am willing to take risks, try new things and I have a growth mindset.
  • I learn from mistakes, embrace challenges with determination and perseverance, and ask for help when I need it.

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, in time for new books to be issued. Please help your child to remember their library books each week, so they can return them and get new books issued. The library is also open during lunchtimes for children to independently issue and return books.

 

Library Timetable

Monday: 

  • Rūma 6+7 Michelle and Tessa

Tuesday:

  • Rūma 8 Thomas

Wednesday: 

  • Rūma 5 Christina

Friday:

  • Rūma 1 Bronwyn
  • Rūma 2 Karen
  • Rūma 3 Elise

Home Learning

Reading

At Ngaio School we use the Better Start Literacy Approach in our first two years of school. Your child will bring home a variety of language tasks to practise. These tasks can vary from guided books, independent books, word building games or phonics games to help your child practise their decoding skills. 

Please click here for more information about how you can help support your child with their literacy at home.

Poetry Books : Each week your child will bring home a poem in their poetry book to share with you. 

In years 2 and 3 students continue to be exposed to a broad range of texts and vocabulary and reading widely at home helps to reinforce the reading strategies introduced at school. Poems and reading books are sent home regularly and students are encouraged to select their own reading books for personal enjoyment.

Library Books: Each student will have the opportunity to select and share one or two books from our wonderful school library with their whānau.

Spelling

In the year 1 classes we work to develop the children’s spelling knowledge through both phonic knowledge, word building, rhyming words and securing the skills to spell new words.  

Twice a year (Term 1 and Term 3) the children will be tested formally on their spelling vocabulary and the data will be sent home so you are able to support your child with words they have not yet secured.

This continues in year 2 and by year 3 akōnga have their own individual spelling programme based on results from Essential Word testing. Akōnga have five words to learn each week, are tested by a buddy on Fridays, then new words selected.

New Parent Information Booklet