From The Principal's Desk

4 August 2022

Dear parents, whanau and caregivers,

Welcome back to Term Three of 2022. I hope this newsletter finds you and your family well.

The start of this term has seen us be able to restore the library back to its own space (...again)!  Rooms 10 and 11 have been able to move into their shared learning space of Te whare o Mahi Tahi, i.e., working as one. The teachers, Ms Dougherty and Ms Heughan have worked hard outside of school hours to make the space ready for learning. In talking to the students they have told me they really like their new learning space and prefer it to being in the library. When I asked them why, they said they liked the colours, they liked the size of the space, they like the withdrawal space and they liked being able to be and learn together.

Teachers and students have settled back into their learning and it is lovey to see them smiling and engaged back at school.

We normally start our last New Entrant class in Term 4 but this year we will be starting this up in Term 3. Space is of a premium, as Room 23 is being used. But luckily we are now able to use the back of the library for this new entrant class.

Last week we had 8 cases of COVID reported to school and this week as of Tuesday we had another 6 reported.  There are also more cases of colds and flu with our weather.  Staying at home if your child is unwell is still important and we do thank you for your support in keeping our children safe and well.

Relievers are still hard to find but we are doing well in comparison to other schools at this time.

We have also received an attendance report from the Moe for Term 2 of this year. Compared to other schools we have done really well across all year levels with the number of children attending school, so well done you.

We know that masks can be awkward and inconvenient, however the MOE is still strongly recommending that we wear them at school for our year 4-6 year olds. As a school we are trying to be as vigilant as we can for the health of our children while still promoting fun and going ahead with activities.   

Ventilation is still a key factor along with hygiene practices. It might sound strange with the weather the way it is, but it is better for classes to have fresh air. We are better to have more windows open a little bit rather than a few windows wide open.

If we can be vigilant together and follow guidelines, we can keep each and safe through this cold and wet weather. We look forward to the sunshine ahead.

Our nominations for our Board elections have now closed. The elections will be held on 7 September and on 14 September the new Board takes office. I would like to take the opportunity to say thank you to our current Board, for their governance of our school over the past term of office. Matt Ward, Rita Williamson, Ed Cook, David Hulley, Mark Steel and Roy Sun have all taken on their roles voluntarily and we appreciate all they have done. We look forward to meeting our new Board of Trustees. The elections have come at a good time as we will be undertaking a survey toward the end of this term. This consultation with you will enable us to set our priorities for our future strategic direction.

We also thank the PTA for their mahi this year and look forward to the fundraising events for this term. Coming up is the Athon, a Beats Bingo night, great Xmas presents with our Tea towels and hopefully our special lunch and parent afternoon. Look out for these fliers so you can buy your tickets.

Our year 4 students have had their overnight sleepover at Kelly Tarltons and really enjoyed it. As did the trip to the Botanical Gardens. Children were able to participate in a variety of activities e.g., with harekeke (flax) and I know the teachers enjoyed seeing children flourish in these learning environments outside the school.

I was able to watch the students participate in the EPro8 challenge at Farm Cove this week. We had a year 5 and a year 6 team and they worked hard to solve each stage of the electronics, engineering and design challenges. Another situation where our children learn so much more than just the academics or the content of these subjects. They learn about team work, time management, problem solving, delegation, collaboration, following instructions and working to deadlines; skills that will see them succeed in life.

I know that many of you may be wondering what happened to Mr Harder’s beans! He was unfortunately beaten by Room 21 but did come in a strong second, with Mrs Mellor and Room 4 coming in third.

It has been a great start to Term 3 and we look forward to navigating the rest of this term. 

Colleen Margison
Principal/Tumuaki

Learning to Navigate our Changing World

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