Newlsetter 2, Term 1 Week 6
Wednesday 06 March 2024
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TRAFFIC REMINDER!
Please slow down when driving up or down Padnell Crescent and do not turn into the staff carpark or use the RTLB & Newlands Childcare carpark for school drop-offs/pick-ups. Thank you.
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Our thanks to Hau class and their teacher Kiera King for updating our WELCOME wall and showing the many different languages that students in our school can speak. We invite you to come and look in the walkway to see if you can identify the countries we come from! Thank you to our parent community for your participation in school events this term – whether attending the Meet the Teacher evening, helping with our gardens or the Bike Track, dropping off yummy treats for staff morning teas, attending new parent meetings or sports events – your commitment makes such a BIG difference towards building a sense of belonging in our community!
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School Powhiri to Welcome New Families
As I type this newsletter, I can hear our senior classes practising their welcome chant in readiness for the school powhiri. How heartening to hear everyone proudly joining in and speaking Te Reo with such confidence. Under the watchful eye of Whaea Danielle, we are learning about the tikanga (protocols) behind a powhiri so that we can welcome new students and their whānau, as well as new staff. Our knowledge about the waiata, chants and karanga used for these occasions is really blossoming. We’d love to have both new and existing families join us for this uniquely NZ occasion. The powhiri will be held 10am, Wednesday 20 March. A flier with full details will be sent home later this week.
The Bike Track
Yes, it is coming along! Just a few more truckloads of soil and then we can complete the skills track and painting. Our huge thanks to those who have donated free truckloads of soil over the last few months and to Jamie Miritana and his whānau for their time and equipment last weekend to move the soil to the right place – awesome work!!!
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We would also like to thank Paul from BikeOn NZ for their extremely generous donation of 100 brand-new bike helmets for student-use at school. We are now looking for someone to organise sponsors to create a bike and scooter fleet, so that all students can access this wonderful resource and develop their riding skills. If you are interested in helping with this initiative, please email office@rewarewa.school.nz to let us know.
Term 1 Curriculum Programmes
We have had a very busy start to the new year. Activities have included whole-school sports rotations, stuctured literacy, kapa haka, maths, clubs such as library and choir, the Goodtime music van, ki o rahi at the local park and science experiments. Our teachers are working hard to ensure that we offer a wonderful balance of quality learning, including time for literacy and maths, growing positive wellbeing and having fun together.
This Friday, the Goodtime Music Academy team is putting on a show at 1.30pm in the Hall. This is just one of the extracurriculuar opportunities available at our school. Parents are very welcome to attend this session to see what these private lessons, available onsite once a week, can offer to music-loving students at our school!
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Some of the fun social games that our students are participating in each Friday
Community Engagement – Meet the Teacher Evening
It was lovely to see many of our families attend this event, along with their children. Our huge thanks to the board for funding free sausages for each RRS student who attended and to board members Tanya Radford, David Novak and Ian Svela (Staff Rep), for manning the BBQ. Board members enjoyed meeting you all!
Meet the Teacher Attendance Data
Thank you to those families who let us know that you were unable to attend – some families have since made contact with their child’s teacher, which is great to hear. To those who did attend, thank you for your positive feedback about how valuable you found this evening.
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Very tasty selection of sausages on offer!
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Attendance at School
Whilst we appreciate that overseas holidays are a valuable time for families to connect and relax, we do ask that, where possible, these are undertaken during school term holidays. We are concerned at the high number of children who have yet to start back at school this term, particularly those who need support with learning to communicate in English. The Ministry of Education requires schools to report on students with an unjustified absence of more than 5 days in a row, which includes holidays during term time.
Student Leaders
Our congratulations to the first team of Yr 3-6 student leaders for 2024 – Ada, Arush, Hayley (absent), Maryam, Samantha and Yassein. They are wearing the new bike helmets and are eager to try these out on the track soon! Last year’s student leaders raised enough for 2 more bikes for our fleet, which we will be purchasing soon. This year’s student leaders are already planning ways that they can make a difference in our school.
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Student Leaders ready for action!
Health & Safety Reminders
Shoes – if your child cannot tie their own shoelaces, please teach them how to do this or consider alternatives such as velcro or buckles. There have been a few children fall and hurt themselves, as they have tripped on concrete due to untied shoelaces. It is also important that students shoes are suitable for physical activity – Crocs look cute, but are causing scraped knees because they are difficult to run and jump in.
ERO Partnership
Rewa Rewa School recently received notification that we will begin our partnership with an ERO team this term. The board and staff will be working hard to meet the many assurances and checks required by the Ministry covering policies, curriculum and systems. We feel very confident that due diligence is exercised across all these areas at our school.
2024-25 Strategic and Annual Implementation Plans
This document is our guiding document for the next 2 years. In 2023 your principal and board, along with the staff, updated these to meet new legislative requirements. The 2024-25 plan is now available on our website and we encourage our families to familiarise themselves with these, so that when ongoing consultation is sought, you are able to fully engage with this.
Our 3 key goals for the year ahead are:
- Giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi
- Building the capabilities of our teaching team to promote student progress and achievement, in particular through Maths and Literacy
- Develping strong wellbeing practices to support our students, staff and community
New Policies
Due to regulations introduced by the new Minister of Education, two new policies will be implemented in all primary schools by the start of term 2. These are:
- Cellphone Policy (including devices such as smart watches). If students bring these to school, the devices will be handed in to their teacher for safekeeping and returned at 3pm.
- Reading, Writing and Maths Policy. The new mandate from the Minister of Education is that schools will timetable at least 5 hours per week of Reading, Writing and Maths. Currently, our school provides well above this number of hours. We integrate these key areas by using a balanced programme which encompasses all 8 curriculum areas.
All parents/caregivers are able to access our policies on our Schooldosc site. Please email office@rewarewa.school.nz for login details.
Letter from the Board Regarding Learning Spaces
A letter from the board was emailed to every parent/caregiver Wednesday 21 February, with a paper copy going home in schoolbags that day as well. If you did not receive this, please check your spam folder, as well as check bags/book bags. Our IT provider has undertaken to upgrade the school’s certifications to ensure that bulk emails are not perceived as spam in future.
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Welcome to An, Audrey & Mārei, along with their families. We hope you enjoy learning with us!
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Enrol for Goodtime Music Lessons at Rewa Rewa School
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Get ready to ignite your child’s musical passion! Goodtime Music Academy teaches at Rewa Rewa School and is offering award-winning, in-school music lessons, freeing up after school school. Dive into the world of music within a vibrant group setting with the following instruments offered: drums, guitar, keyboard, ukulele or our ‘Intro to Music’ course. The excitement doesn’t stop there though – your child will have the chance to shine in our thrilling concerts.
Click here for enrolments and enquiries or call 04 568 2237. Spaces are limited, so be quick!
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The FREE KiwiSchools Connect app for Rewa Rewa School is available in both the App and Play Store. Download it now to access all the features of our website via your mobile device.
Scan the QR code below to download:
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Powhiri to welcome new families and staff
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Thursday 01 February—Friday 12 April
Tuesday 06 February—Waitangi Day, School Closed
Friday 29 March—Good Friday, School Closed
Monday 01 April—Easter Monday, School Closed
Tuesday 02 April—Easter School Holiday
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Monday 29 April – Friday 05 July
Monday 03 June—King’s Birthday, School Closed
Tuesday 04 June—Teacher Only Day, School Closed
Friday 28 June—Matariki, School Closed
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Monday 22 July – Friday 27 September
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Monday 14 October – Tuesday 17 December (School closes at 1pm)
Monday 28 October—Labour Day, School Closed
Tuesday 29 October—Teacher Only Day, School Closed
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