Newsletter 6, Term 2 Wk 9 2022

How lovely that our nation’s first Matariki Public Holiday gave us time to just reflect, connect and celebrate. I feel that as a country we are starting to think more about what is really important – family, friends and our special place in the community. Our children have been learning in their classrooms about what it is to be a person who lives in NZ – no matter which ethnic group you connect with, together, we belong to a unique country called New Zealand. How lucky are we. We encourage parents and caregivers to visit our classrooms and walkway area to view your children’s art work for Matariki. Remember – wear a mask at all times when inside and please use sanitiser whilst we remain at ORANGE setting.

In the meantime, school holidays are nearly upon us. We ask that you keep an eye on our school and grounds and report anything untoward to the local police station. Have a well-deserved break!

After School Care – Temporary Change of Venue

Please note during the last week of this term and the first week of next term, all students attending the Y’s ASC programme at Rewa Rewa School will be based in Ahi classroom (Charlotte Hill’s classroom), whilst hall renovations are completed. We are looking forward to no more leaks and upgraded lighting in the hall!

CURRICULUM NEWS

Meet the Teacher Evenings

Thank you to all parents and caregivers who attended 3-Way Conferences this term. These remain an important part of our Reporting to Parents schedule, where we share ‘just in time’ information about your child’s mid-year progress and achievement. This week a Survey Monkey will be sent to those parents who have offered to provide feedback on how things are going and how we might improve. I know that each teacher has spent many hours over the last two terms posting curriculum progress, as well as preparing information to share at interviews. So far, verbal feedback has been extremely encouraging – thank you.

The Resilience Project (TRP) Curriculum Hui  – 6pm, Tuesday 5 July

We invite all parents and caregivers to attend the 3^rd Curriculum Hui that we have held this year. Next week the TRP team will be visiting us from Auckland to introduce the Wellbeing programme that we are using to support the Health curriculum. The Resilience Project delivers emotionally engaging programmes and provides evidence-based, practical strategies to build resilience. At this meeting, we will also be sharing for the first time, our school’s TRP data (compiled by the University of Melbourne), which shows how our students are currently feeling about themselves – some surprising outcomes!

Please RSVP to office@rewarewa.school.nz no later than today if you would like to attend.  Free childcare is available only to those who RSVP.

In the meantime, we invite you to explore the TRP site at https://theresilienceproject.org.nz/parent-and-carer-hub/

STEPS Literacy Programme 

Some of our students are currently using the STEPS Web online programme to further develop their literacy skills. If your child is using this programme, you can also access this at home – great timing with the holidays coming up. Just ask your child’s teacher to show you how to access the site so that your child can share their great learning with you.

ENRICHMENT OPPORTUNITIES

CAM Kiwi Competition (Canterbury University) Yr 5 – 6

For the first time, we have students choosing to participate in this competition for Mathematics, Science and English which we are very excited to be offering.

Otago Maths (Otago University)

Six of our Yr 5 & 6 students are participating in this algebraic maths Yr 7 & 8 competition this year.

EPro8 Challenge

Our Yr 5 & 6 teams are busy developing their problem-solving skills using the EPro8 kits that the school has purchased. Students are constructing machines with movable parts, including pulleys and electric circuits for inventions such as a dog catcher. Charlotte Hills is loaning her dogs to see if it works.

Padnell Crescent Driver Antics

Very recently, two students and a grandmother of one of our local schools were knocked over by a car, right outside their school gates. Fortunately, no one was killed. It could very easily have been outside our school, as careless driving antics continue. The patrol team and I continue to be gobsmacked by driver behaviour. Last week a parent parked on the yellow lines next to the pedestrian crossing with their child opening the passenger door on the driver’s side, just as a vehicle approached. Were there plenty of legitimate parks available on both sides of the road? YES.

As from next week, all adults on road patrol will be asked to take photos of offending drivers and vehicles to be published in our newsletter and we will forward these to our local constable for follow-up. I will NOT have an accident outside our school. PLEASE – THINK about your actions and the potential consequences of them!

Sport

At Rewa Rewa School we pride ourselves on being able to offer a wide range of sporting opportunities each year. Next term, Easyswim Gymnastics, as well as Badminton lessons, will be offered to all students.

Newlands Kapa Haka Festival

This long awaited, popular event will be happening once again in term 4 – watch this space!

Caring for Our Environment – Arbor Day –  5 June

Thanks to the great connections that our Gardening Club Co-ordinator, Lynnda Bouzaid, has within the community, we have been gifted trees for planting on our school grounds. Last week Ahi class helped Lynnda to plant 13 trees onto the lower bank. If you would like to help develop our gardens for future generations, please contact Lynnda (tonyandlynnda@gmail.com).

BOARD NEWS

Covid-19 Risk Analysis

As part of our duty to remain prepared, we have finalised our Draft Risk Management guidelines for how we intend to manage current and any future Covid-19 outbreaks at our school. We will be sending the draft home this week as part of our community consultation process.

Board Elections – 7 September 2022, Term 3

Our current Board members are on the final countdown before elections next term on 7 September – 1 last meeting to go. All parents/caregivers are eligible to vote in this online election and contact details have been provided to our Returning Office. For those putting their names forward for election, we suggest that you start preparing a written paragraph or two about why you would be the ideal candidate for this very important team! We will be publishing these blurbs soon, along with photos, so that voters can learn more about you! Closer to the election date, once we have confirmed nominations, we hope to hold a Meet the Candidates evening where you can mix and mingle.

Mid-Year Data

The Board has been presented with mid-year data and variance goal summaries for reading, writing and maths, as well as the new Resilience Project data. We can see that absences from school are continuing to impact on learning progress. It is really important that when school is open, ALL children are attending regularly if they are well and have no flu-like symptoms.

PROPERTY UPDATES

Hall Roof Upgrade – starts in the last week of this term. Please note that trucks and vehicles will be in operation on school grounds during the holidays!

LSC Office – this space is nearing completion for our LSC, ORS and Librarian team.

Torque IP will be undertaking an audit of lighting, ventilation and acoustics in all classrooms during the holidays. Any upgrades will be paid for by the MoE.

Gutters and Drainage improvement has been approved – we are now awaiting a start date.

Top Field Development – we have just been granted $60,000 from the WCC towards developing a bike and athletics track on our top field for community use. At the moment, we are scoping the project, but we know we will need community support with concrete laying, digging, signage and building skills in the near future, as well as contacts for organisations/sponsors for things such as a storage container, seating, picnic tables, lighting, shade, bikes and helmets. We will soon be calling on those interested in helping, but in the meantime, please email office@rewarewa.school if you would like to put your name on this list and let us know how you can help. After visiting a number of local schools with existing tracks, a common theme was the importance of community support!

Jewellery Found in Hau Class

Last week there was jewellery found in Hau Class.  If this belongs to you or someone who was dropping off your child, please come to the School Office to claim this.

We welcome Elijah and Braxton, along with their familes, to Rewa Rewa School.  We hope you enjoy learning with us!

Tuesday 5 July            6pm

Thursday 7 July          7-8.30pm

Thursday 26 July        9-10.30am

Wednesday 7 September

Friday 11 November

Curriculum Hui – The Resilience Project

Newlands Intermediate Open Evening

NIS “School in Action” morning

Board Elections

NIS Orientation Morning – pre-enrolled Y6s only

Term 2

Monday 02 May – Friday 08 July

Term 3

Monday 25 July – Friday 30 September

Term 4

Monday 17 October – Thursday 15 December (School closes at 1pm)

Mon 24 October—Labour Day, School Closed