Kia ora Waitetuna Whaanau,
A year on from Covid lockdown since last Matariki it is fitting to see how far we have come as a school. The board and staff having been looking at what has been achieved in our annual plan, what we are working towards next and what might need to be changed and adjusted. We have packed the year already with wonderful learning experiences and
opportunities for our tamariki. As we reflect on achievements, a change of season tends to bring a growth mindset to the forefront once again, as we lock in our next steps. Redefining what our school local curriculum looks like and not looking at change for change sake, but letting our students know that they are the impetus for change, is essential. I am reading a book called “Reduce Change to increase improvement.” It talks about going slowly and
doing ‘multiple loops’ - relooking at what we are doing and where we are going, what is working well for our students and what needs to be changed. Keep me informed of your thoughts on our school direction. Matariki is a special, and fitting time as we make it to the shortest ‘day’ of the year. We hope you can join us for a Matariki shared kai - Thursday 8th July - 12.30pm - We invite all your whaanau to come and join us.
As we head into the last two weeks of term 2 we thank you for your continued support of staff and your wonderful children. We also thank you for the support of our Staff only day on Monday and the Paid Union Meeting on Tuesday afternoon. If you are able to pick up your child at 12.40pm on Tuesday this would be very helpful. Supervision will be provided if you are unable to do so. Waitetuna Way this week goes to - Finn Bateman & Danielle Marquand for Gratitude, celebrate your own and others success.
Tree Felling - unfortunately the two liquid amber trees out from the decking are now considered compromised and have to be removed. This will be done in the school holidays. My whanau and I will be splitting the wood and selling it for a koha, as the board have said we can donate these funds to Fiji with their devastating Covid situation. On behalf of my family, we humbly thank them for this. If you would like some firewood then please
email me. At this stage it will be available for pick up on Wednesday afternoon, 14th July, which is the first week of the school holidays. The wood is Liquid Amber and is a reasonable quality firewood.
Ki-o-rahi(Senior room) and Waikato museum permission slips are out.
School Van
Our school van is well used. It is important that if your child regularly uses this service and is not needing it on any given day, then please inform the school of this as soon as possible, as others may be on a waiting list for it’s use.
Your child’s report will come home on the last day of the term. This shows where your child is working within the New Zealand curriculum and you will see progress in relation to their placement in the curriculum levels from last year. We have replaced the dot with a tick as this is much more visible. Next term you will be able to discuss your child’s progress at the learning conferences. This is a three way partnership so your child is included in this. The
report is also complemented with their online posts through Seesaw(Whole school) and
Google classroom (Middle and Senior room).
It was great to hear such excellent feedback about the students who attended tough guy/gal representing our school and themselves so well.
Alert Level 1 – all of New Zealand excluding Wellington region
If you have anyone in our community who was at one of the locations and at the times specified on the Ministry of Health website, will need to follow the relevant instructions which will include staying at home and getting tested for COVID-19 (five days after last exposure to the confirmed case).
For those people in a household with someone identified as a contact or close contact, they should follow the advice provided by health authorities for that individual. If unsure what to do, contact Healthline (0800 358 5453) for guidance.
Everyone else will need to continue to follow the public health requirements we are very familiar with, at all alert levels:
Stay home (or go home) if you are unwell.
If you have cold, flu or COVID-19 symptoms, stay home and call your doctor or Healthline on 0800 358 5453 to see if you need a test.
Wear face coverings on public transport and domestic flights, and you are encouraged to do the same when travelling by taxi or similar.
Keep up your good hygiene practices (washing hands, cough/sneeze etiquette).
Keep track of where you have been.
Further guidance about COVID-19 is on the website here:
The following websites continue to be the best source of information regarding COVID-19 in New Zealand:
Ngaa mihi nui,
Amanda and staff