Welcome back for term 3. Students are looking rested and ready for another action packed term. It has been a great start! It is exciting to see the students back in learning mode. It is also neat to see the Olympics in action after an extra long wait. The students looked at how the Olympic values were similar to our Waitetuna Way values - Excellence, Respect and Friendship.
This term we have a huge focus around ‘The Arts’ within our ongoing big idea of Citizenship. Classes are looking at a range of our amazing local and New Zealand artists and their journeys and inspiration. The students will be inspired by their art works to create their own. They are also investigating the best ways to create an online gallery of their own works and research of these. So along with all of the other set activities that happen, this is
shaping up to be another great term.
The Education Review Office (ERO) has been in contact with me and our new Evaluation Partner, Lee Marchoni, will be joining myself and Sue Court (Board chair) next Wednesday morning. We look forward to working with Lee in the new ERO model. I wanted to take the time to emphasize the progress all of our students have made in the first half of the year. I have finished analysing our mid year data and staff have gone through it thoroughly
to look at all of our students individually and in their cohorts and what this looks like moving forward. Learning Conferences are coming up in week 4 as we have such a busy start to the term and we have staff away on Professional learning in week 3, so Learning Conferences are pushed back a week.
Whakatauki for week 1 - Communication in a school setting is very important. Are you receiving the information you need? Do you find the newsletters interesting? Let me know if there is anything extra you need included...
We were excited to welcome Matua X (Paul) on the last day of term. He worked with a group of students to analyse our school rubbish. The students checked out how much of our ‘rubbish’ that we send to landfill should instead be in our various recycling options available at school. Keeping Ourselves Safe programme - this programme starts in week 3.
Shawn, our community constable will be in on Thursday 5th August at 3.10pm to talk parents through the programme. We will meet in the staffroom.
Kitchen Chemistry - This week the Middle and Senior room have been doing some exciting new cupcake recipes with apple sauce, peas, beetroot, chickpeas, corn and they have
then created their own recipes containing hidden veges!
Karioi project, Backyard hub - It was great to have Isabelle, Madeleine and Amber from the Karioi project come and do pest control learning with the whole school on Thursday. More information to come in next week’s newsletter
PTA meeting - Our first PTA for term 3 is Thursday 5th August at 8.30am. Look forward to seeing you all in the staffroom next week.
Learning conferences - our three way conferences with teacher, parent and child will be Tuesday and Wednesday of week 4. These are an opportunity for you to talk with your child and their teacher about your child’s learning. These are a 15 minute time slot. If you would like to talk with your child’s teacher without your child present, please let your child’s
teacher know at the beginning of the conference.
Dates for this term:
PTA Meeting - Thursday 5th August - 8.30am
Keeping Ourselves Safe parent meeting with Constable Shawn - Thursday 5th August - 3.10pm
Rippa rugby - year 6/7/8 teams - Friday week 2
Photolife - Monday 9th August - Flyers have been sent home this week.
BOT Meeting - Tuesday 10th August
First assembly for this term is Friday week 3 - Friday 13th August, 27th August, 3rd September, 17th September
School cross country - Thursday 2nd September
Inter school cross country - Thursday 9th September
BOT Meeting - 22nd September
Waikato full primary cross country 22nd September and Waikato full primary regional speech competition to be confirmed
Kapa haka festival - Friday 24th September
Thank you to Sid at West trees for his great price to remove the trees at our school. Thank you also Sid for lending us your splitter so that the donations from the wood could go directly to sending items to Fiji. And I would like to reiterate my thanks to the board and school community for their support of the firewood to raise funds for Fiji.
Thanks again to Brendan Carroll & Carol Taylor for their sponsoring of the signage on our school van. We think it looks very smart.
Have you registered for the Wind Farm Trail Run? Get in before the 31st July.
Ngaa mihi nui,
Amanda and staff