Nga mihi nui ki a koutou katoa – warm greetings to everyone
Kia ora, Nameste, Talofa, Konnichiwa, Guten Tag , Gidday, Vannakkam, ni Hao, Kia orana, Hola, Salam, Sa wat dee kha, Dia Dhuit, Goeie Dag, Bonjour, Hello, (please let us know the greeting in your language if it is not here)
Towards 2023:
Next year is galloping towards us at an incredible pace! We are currently deciding on classes and year group mixes that will be the best for our students and their learning.
In 2023 we will not be having a bilingual class as there were not enough enrolments to create the class. We will continue to offer bilingual next year providing we have a staff member capable of running it. All of our teachers are increasingly integrating te reo throughout the day as normalised practice, so all students are improving on their te reo knowlege across the whole school.
With the roll out of the new ‘Curriculum Refresh’ we have decided to organise our teams into Junior – years 0, 1,2 3 and Senior – years 4, 5 and 6. This is because the refreshed curriculum has bench marks at the end of year 3 and at the end of year 6. Because of our numbers, some year 3 students will have to go into the senior team. Please note that these students are NOT streamed on ability. We take lots of things into consideration when placing your child in a class. ALL children are taught where their level is, so academic ability is catered for wherever our students are placed. There will be some teacher changes in level as well.
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there is a personal conflict between your family and the teacher (e.g. this teacher is our neighbour and we socialise together)
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if you wish your child to be separated from another child for social reasons (e.g. my child is becoming overly dependent on Jimmy, please place them in separate classes.)
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for your child to be placed WITH another child, as that then dictates the other child’s placement and only that child’s parent has that right
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based on your child’s perceptions of a teacher (e.g. my child wants to be in this teacher’s class because she’s nice or she does lots of sport etc.). All of our teachers are professional practitioners
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for “the male teacher”
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for any particular class because you perceive that there will be “harder” or “easier” work on offer. None of our classes are streamed, each learner is catered to from their own skills and abilities.
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We always make sure that your child has at least one friend with them in their new class
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We also juggle gender counts, ability levels, social groupings, special needs, siblings/cousins and teacher-fit to ensure a good mix in each class
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If you request a certain teacher or class for your child we may not be able to place them with their friends or with the correct ability group as your request would hamper us from doing so
Cluster Athletics:
Congratulations to the team who went to Cluster Athletics yesterday. They were amazing sports people and I have had multiple adults comment of the fantastic behaviour and positive attitudes of the team. Our children were polite, supported each other and even congratulated children from other schools. Thank you to the parents and teachers that assisted in making the day run smoothly!
Is it Bullying?
This week I have been dealing with several incidents that occurred last week after athletic sports which have highlighted to me an unsettled and unacceptable culture of disrespect and in one of these cases bullying in our school. I have spoken to the whole school at assembly, met with parents, interviewed all students and met with Regan Framp (our local police officer). We have unpacked what bullying is with the students. Bullying is certainly a word that parents seem to like to shout from the rooftops, so I have included the image for you to unpack as well.
One of the hardest things for us is the lack of communication. If it is a case of students being rude or mean, please see your child’s teacher for help. If it is a case of bullying, please make an appointment to come as see me as soon as possible. It is not OK to say nothing and hope it goes away! Rest assured we always take bullying seriously and will deal with it.
How can parents help?
Being a Keyboard Warrior and posting your frustration on social media DOES NOT help your child.
Being in the Car Park Mafia and having a good complain at the school gate DOES NOT help your child.
Come in and have a conversation with me. I will listen and I will act. I always gather the facts from all sides of the story as often as a parent you will only get one perspective on the matter. If, after a while, the issue starts up again let us know and we will continue to deal with it again. These problems sometimes take a couple of times before children learn. Let us do our job by communicating clearly and in a timely manner with us.
Please also bear in mind that while you have one side of the situation, there are other factors involved. I sit with the big picture. I cannot share with you the personal issues of another child and their whanau but trust that I will be working with them. All behaviour is communication and there is always a reason to unpack behind every incident. No child is “bad” or “naughty” simply for the sake of it. When we find out what the root cause is, we can deal with it more effectively.
Stars of the week:
Ka rawe te mahi to Ruby Leslie and Greer Sandford.
Congratulations to these outstanding young girls. They were nominated for the Fred Hollows Award which recognises yr 6 students who show passion, integrity, kindness and are active in their community. We acknowledged them at our school assembly and shared with the school how special and important it is to be nominated for this award. You girls will go far! We will miss you next year!
Athletics Results:
Here are our school athletics results. Bear with us while we make up the certificates. It’s a very big job!
Social Media:
It has been bought to my attention that some of our tamariki have social media accounts and that this is causing some social issues between them. PLEASE TAKE CAREFUL NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING ADVICE published in the Herald. In particular, the ages restrictions. Our children do not have the maturity to be able to manage this level of social interaction yet.
1. Engage in open discussions
Parents should sit down with their children and learn about technology together. Work out a plan for monitoring, and how to behave safely. Find out more about applications such as Facebook and Instagram on their websites.
2. Meet minimum age requirements
Parents should not permit children under the minimum age requirements to register on social networking sites. The minimum age requirement is 13 years on most social media sites including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For information on minimum age restrictions see the website.
3. Teach respect for others
Teach children to respect others when using social media, including posting, sharing, tagging and commenting on information. Examples of respectful behaviour include: check before sharing photographs of other people online; treat others as you would want them to treat you; and not to post “funny” material that could be hurtful for someone else.
4. Information is not easily removed
Online activity can become a permanent digital footprint of a young person’s life. It can affect a young person’s reputation and how they are perceived by future employers.
Information is not easily removed once it has gone public. While removal can be achieved, deleted posts remain available for viewing once they have been copied and shared.
5. Share less detail
Sharing less personal information can reduce the risk of identity theft. Children should refrain from posting sensitive personal information online, such as phone numbers, addresses or IRD numbers, which can assist predators or perpetrators of identity theft. From time to time, parents should check that their children’s personal details are not in public places online.
6. Learn about privacy settings, user settings and content filters
Encourage your children to use privacy settings wisely, and to understand the dangers of sharing sensitive information in a public setting. Find out more information about security features such as encryption and the importance of having a security PIN on a smart phone, on the OWLS website.
It is important to protect your family computer through up-to-date antivirus software and firewall settings. Use a child safe search engine, and internet content filters like Google’s SafeSearch filter to change browser setting to prevent adult content appearing in search results.
7. Beware of Predators
Children should take care before accepting “friend” requests – it’s easy for people to pretend to be someone else online. Parents should remind their children not to interact inappropriately with people they do not know, and not to meet online “friends” in the real world unless accompanied by an adult.
8. Deal with bullying
Discuss parameters around behaviour and the impact the online world can have on real world friendships. Parents should encourage children to let them know about any online or text bullying, and discourage their children from responding to it.
Staff Changes:
Camps next year:
Sports:
REMINDER: We need ALL sports uniforms returned to school now thank you.
RIPPA RUGBY
Reminder the fees $12.50 needs to be paid to the school office now for the children who are in teams.
SWIMMING
Swimming is starting up again this term. Students who do not bring their togs will take work to another classroom to complete so that they do not disrupt the swimming lesson. Please remind your child to put their togs and towel in their bag. Last year 131 people drowned in New Zealand and 152 people were hospitalised due to water incidents. We are surrounded by water in Aotearoa so it is very important that our children learn to swim and stay safe in the water. It is part of our curriculum and therefore compulsory.
Calendar:
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Have you got our app downloaded for all current communications?
Other Notices:
School Account Details:
Account payments can be made directly to our school ASB account using online banking. The account number is: 123155 0134517 00
Details:
Remember if you change address, get a new cell phone number or email address to notify the school so we have up to date records. The office needs your up to date email address so the newsletter can be emailed out – thanks.
LUNCHES:
We are part of the governments healthy lunch programme. Children are provided lunch everyday. If they have any allergies, please let the office know so that allowances can be made. Children still need to bring a drink bottle (water only please) and morning tea every day.
Absences:
Reminder – if your child is absent either text, phone and leave a message, or fill in an on-line absent form. We also are required to fill in the reason they are away, so remember to include this in your message – thanks. IF CHILDREN ARE SICK PLEASE KEEP THEM AT HOME.
Car Parks:
Please use the car parks provided at the front or back of the school. No vehicles are permitted on the school grounds except for staff or service vehicles.
Nãku i runga i aku mihi ki a koe – Yours with thanks
Richelle McDonald
and our team – Nikkole, Korkz, Gemma, Tanissha, Steven, Pip, Julie, Maureen, Heather, Mary, Bridget, Sarah and Linda.
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