We are very happy to be fully staffed again this year with awesome teachers and support staff. We are sad to be saying goodbye to Heather Vermeulen this term. She will finish with us on the 14th of February. Heather has been at Reporoa Primary School for a very long time as both librarian and Teacher Aide. In recent years she has taken our ESOL (English as Second Language) students for extra tuition which has been very valuable. We will be thanking Heather next week before she departs. Keep an eye out in your inbox and on facebook for more information! Becky will be picking up the library part of Heather’s position. We are also happy to be welcoming Abbey Polyblank to our team. She will be covering some teacher aide work and also the afternoons in the office. Maureen Johansen will still be working mornings in the office. 

I am pleased to say that we have had a wonderful start to the year. The students are happy and using their REPS visibly in all situations. The staff have commented many time already about how settled and engaged the students are. 

I also trust that you had an enjoyable Waitangi day with your whanau. It certainly was a hot one! In reflecting on the purpose for Waitangi Day, I tautoko (agree/support) the words of Leanne Otene, president of the NZPF (New Zealand Principal Association). She writes…

Whether you had the privilege of attending the celebrations at Waitangi itself, participated in local events, or tuned in through the lens of your television, one thing remains abundantly clear – Waitangi Day serves as a platform for the realization and enactment of a profound partnership between Tangata Whenua and Tangata Tiriti.

Waitangi Day is not just about festivity; it is an invitation to deepen our understanding of te Tiriti o Waitangi through open dialogue and active listening. The korero exchanged during this time creates a space for our nation to learn, grow, and forge stronger connections . The Whakatauki, “Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua.”- I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on my past – reminds us that our relationships with the past play a pivotal role in shaping our future.

The recent happenings at the Waitangi Treaty grounds serve as a poignant reminder to all who call Aotearoa home. They highlight the importance of acknowledging our shared history and working collaboratively towards a future that reflects the values of collectivism, respect, and partnership. As leaders in our schools let us continue to honour the spirit of Waitangi, Te Tiriti and strive for a more inclusive, understanding, and harmonious Aotearoa.

Ngā Manaakitanga,

Richelle

Uniform: Our uniform expectations are clearly set out on our website. If you are unsure, please take a look. We are sharpening up on our expectations in this area as things slipped last year. If your child is not in correct uniform, a note will be sent home reminding you of the expecation. A phone call will follow after a few days if things have not been sorted. If you are struggling to get the correct uniform, get in contact as we are likely to be able to help out. Please name all uniform clearly.

Sunhats: In term 1 and 4, sunhats are part of our uniform. These must be the school sunhat.Please name hats clearly.

Shoes: We had a lot of bright crocs covered with Jibbitz last week. These are not uniform. Thank you to all of the parents who rectified this over the weekend and made sure their child came to school in black shoes. I was impressed that the message got home with such clarity!

Bus: A friendly reminder that we do not change any bus plans based on what children tell us. We need you to ring the office and let us know in plenty of time before the end of the day please. Teachers are spending a lot time valuable time after school phoning parents to check where their children should be. This also holds the bus up from getting to the college.

Swimming: It is very hot! The children love to go swimming, so please make sure they have their togs. Swimming is also a very important part of our curriculum. New Zealand is surrounded by water so your child needs to be able to be confident in and around the water to prevent accidents. 

Attention span is the key to effective learning. Therefore, it plays an important role in the learning process of a child. The amount of time a child spends listening and understanding the information shared by the teacher during a class affects how much the child has taken from the lesson. Further, using that information in exams and life beyond. Students, particularly young ones, often struggle with staying focused for long periods of time. Students can spend over a quarter of the time distracted, unable to focus on the teacher or the current task. Shorter lessons, however, keep student attention higher.

Taking short breaks to relieve the ‘stress of trying to pay attention’ can help focus better. Regular breaks throughout the school day are not simply downtime for students. Such breaks increase their productivity and provide them with opportunities to develop creativity and social skills. 

You may have also heard that the Ministry of Education has been directed by the current government to ensure an hour of Reading, Writing and Mathematics is taught each day. While we always did this at RPS, it was quite integrated and not so rigidly timetabled. Our new timetable allows us to show evidence that this happens. Note – Friday’s have a lot of diverse and different activities. They all include a lot of Reading, Writing, and Math as does Inquiry Learning which makes up the 3 hours for Friday.

Our Current timetable is…

Lunch Procedures – please read carefully so that you understand how lunches in schools work. Your child needs to be 100% in or 100% out of the lunch provision.

Healthy Lunches are provided by Ka Pai Kai everyday that students are at school. These lunches meet the Ministry of Educations requirements for the Healthy School Lunches programme. We are encouraging children to eat these as often children will not try the food because their lunch boxes are full of junk food that is more appealing to them (and full of sugar which effects behaviour in the afternoon!).

Please only provide one or two healthy snacks for morning tea as your child gets lunch provided.

• Karakia Kai is said before starting.
• Children sit with their lunch sensibly and with their class group.
• Only children who have been taken off the KPKA list (communication from parents to the office) will be able to eat from their lunch box immediately. They are not catered for through KPKA.
• ALL other children receive a KPKA lunch as they are financed for this through MOE funding and lunch is provided for them to eat. 
• The KPKA lunches are given out to each child, leaving the container free for rubbish. Any surplus (from those who are away) is taken to the fridge and/or freezer in room 7.
• After children have taken 5 bites ad still don’t like the food, they may ask the teacher politely if they can have some alternative food (from their lunch box or from the R7 fridge). 
• Children eat the ‘main’ meal provided (sandwich, hot food etc) before receiving the ‘treat’ food (fruit, biscuit etc).
• Children sit for 15 minutes. If they have finished, they have polite dinner table conversation with their peers. Students don’t wander, play or do jobs for staff during this time. It is eating time.
• Teachers let the students go when the time is over and their area is free of rubbish.
• ALL KPKA rubbish is put inside the delivery boxes.
• ALL rubbish that is not KPKA must be put back in students’ lunchboxes. We are trying to discourage packet food (much of which is not healthy) and will not cater for the removal of packet rubbish from home. 
• Lunch bought from home is encouraged to also meet the healthy food guidelines. NO JUNK FOOD PLEASE! (Lollies, sugary cakes, high additive/colour added foods such as twisties, 
• Water or milk are the only drinks allowed.

We use a variety of methods to communicate with you, but we need you to do your bit and make sure you receive that communication.

School Newsletters – get emailed via an automated system every second Wednesday and are held in the school website. We must have your correct email address. To see all newsletter you can go to the website  https://www.rep.school.nz/category/newsletters/ 

If you do not receive the newsletter email, make sure you phone the office and let us know what your email address is. The newsletter has important information in it and we need you to keep up to date with what is happening in the school. It is not helpful when parents don’t read the newsletter and the complain that they were not informed. We do provide a paper newsletter on request.

Text and Phone – We will text and/or phone when there is an issue or to clarify something important, or if we have not heard why your child is away. It is vital that we have your correct phone details for health and safety reasons. Please text and/or phone and/or fill in the website page for us when your child is away.

Facebook – Our school has a facebook page which we post news and events. If you use facebook, be sure to follow us! https://www.facebook.com/ReporoaPrimarySchool/

SeeSaw – All classes use SeeSaw as a way to share student progress with home. Make sure you sign up and keep interested in how your child is doing at school. An email will come out at the beginning of the year inviting you to join.

Website – Our website contains all basic information about how we operate at Reporoa Primary School. We aim to keep this as updated as possible. If you need information, check out the website first. www.rep.school.nz

HERO – Our attendance, reporting and assessment details are kept in the HERO SMS (Student Management System). This means mid-year and end of year reporting is done online and available to you at any time.  Information will be available prior to the mid-year reporting stage on how to view.

We also send team newsletters out and important reminders through HERO. Download the app and you will get a notification, otherwise it will go into your email in box.

Policies and Procedures – All of our policies and procedures are online and available to view by going to  https://www.schooldocs.co.nz/ . Click ‘search for your school’ and type in Reporoa. Our user name is reporoa and our password is pukeko. Each term we will ask you to review a policy online for us.

Swimming

Swimming is compulsory for all our tamariki as part of our curriculum, so please encourage your child to bring their togs. We are not looking for the fastest swimmers, we are looking for PROGRESS in the water which comes in many forms.

Rotorua Basketball Association

Please see flyers attached for basketball programs running in Term 1. They have a facebook page if you want to keep in the loop.

Reporoa RazorBack League

Please see the flyer attached for information. We also have 2 league 9 competitions running through the kura in term one. They are also on Facebook if you would like to reach out.

Up and coming sports events this term

Rotorua Touch Association

Putting the panui out there to any whanau wanting to play touch this term. Grades are Year 0-4 and then year 5-8. Entries close on Monday 12th Feb. We did try and get this started in term 4 last year, however we did not receive the numbers to make a team. First grading game will be held on a Saturday, after that games will be held on Tuesday afternoons for year 5-8 and Wednesday afternoons for year 0-4. Contact me via email if you are interested and we can try and pull a team together. Teams will need a coach, I am happy to do the managing side of things. 

Tanissha McNeil

[email protected]