From The Principal's Desk

 9th March 2021

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

What a term this has been. As a nation we have had to learn resilience, not only through COVID but also through the America's Cup. We have had to navigate our way through some torrid situations, but we have proved we can do it. Working together as a team we have so much power and when we utilise our strengths and that of those around us, we can achieve so much.

Thank you for your support and your understanding through this term. We are looking forward to a great term 2. Things won't return to "normal" but I feel confident that we can build on the things we have learnt about ourselves and each other as we move forward.

Thanks to our community and to our PTA, we have raised enough money to build our Covered Outdoor Area (COLA) which is and will be a great celebration (especially when it is finished). The first concrete has already been laid and the footings are in!

Money that you contribute to and raise during the school year, as part of the fundraising money donated by the PTA, goes towards our school funds. These funds help us run our great school and allow us to have the extra benefits, like our learning assistants, which the Ministry of Education (MOE) do not pay for. Over time we are then able to afford something like our COLA or repair our sunken senior playground, which the MOE does not pay for. So we really do appreciate your contributions and support. We also appreciate all the hard work the PTA put into their organisation of events and activities. We are excited about our new COLA facility and are looking forward to its' completion.

We have learnt a lot about each other and our trip to our local Guang Shan Temple was an example of this. The staff at the Temple shared that even the mondo grass that grows between the pavers is soft and cushy and example of being strong and resilient because it bounces back. Amongst their talk they also mentioned that whatever the hierarchy, every person has a worth that can shine forth. Our children filled in hearts of things they would like to try to achieve and they can be seen in our Mellons Bay School tree at the Temple along with aspects of 3G, 4G that they pinned to the wall. 

 We have managed to learn about ourselves and others at camp and on trips, at fun days and even our junior students are learning about our local bush today as they walk through and down to our taonga Mellons Bay Beach.

We do not encourage cell phones at school for our age of children. Watches now also have this capability, can we please stress that phone calls home need to be made through the office or made after school, as with txt, to support these watches being used responsibly. We are also aware that watches can also indicate heart rate, steps etc, however we do not want these to distract from the key learning happening in the class. If this is the case your class teacher will probably give you a ring to let you know about this.

In term 2 the Launchpad programme begins at school. You have the option to opt in or not. If our numbers of those not attending get too big we may have to consider these ratios and the running of the programme for next year.

We are really pleased that our year 6 camp can go ahead for next term.

Thank you for your understanding too of our Teacher Only Days. We have been granted 8 of these by the Ministry and we appreciate that organising things at home has already been tricky with COVID. We have had 3 of these days and our fourth day will be next term Friday 4th June. These days have been great for the teachers to receive professional learning and development to continue to get better at what we already do.

On behalf of all the staff we wish you a great break.

Te tiaki i a koe ake, kia ora, kia ora…take care of yourself, and stay safe and healthy. 

Ngā mihi nui

Colleen Margison

Principal

Learning to Navigate our Changing World

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