Newsletter 2 Term 1, Week 4 2020

Newsletter 2 Term 1, Week 4 2020

I think the summer of 2020 will go down well and truly as a fizzer! However, despite the rain, wind and fog, all of our learners are settling into their new programmes with enthusiasm.  Our teachers are already noticing strong evidence of learner agency, such as self-managing behaviours, striving for excellence and successful gardening skills. When students rush up to share their writing and art work at lunchtime, you know you’re onto something good! Ka pai to our school community – we’re off to a great start. Just a reminder – some students still need to bring their wide brimmed sunhats to school to be able to play outside in term 1, sun or no sun!

Jan Otene (Principal)

Delicious treats from our school gardening club who work with Lynnda and Tony Bouzaid

Community Engagement

Our first community event of the year was a huge success, with many parents able to attend last week’s Meet the Teacher Evening. Thank you for recognising that making connections with your child’s teacher and other parents is a valuable step towards creating successful home & school partnerships. The statistical data we gathered from this event will be used to help us to find ways of reaching out to our community over the next few months, especially within the different groups that we have in our school. You may have been contacted already about joining a group to strengthen your community voice. If you have any suggestions for making more connections we’d love to hear from you. In the meantime, if you have any comments you’d like to share about the Meet the Teacher Evening format, please let us know.

Whero parents and teachers in action at the meet the Teacher evening last week

NEXT COMMUNITY EVENT – 3-WAY CONFERENCES

Parents and children will have the opportunity to meet with their class teachers to share their dreams and aspirations for the year ahead. This is the start of a very important relationship that will enhance learning and success for your child. Please book your interview online at www.schoolinterviews.co.nz using booking code vnqrt. If you need to arrange an alternative meeting time, please see your child’s teacher.

Scholastic Book Fair

Remember the Scholastic Book Fair being held in our school library next week (see flier below for opening hours).  Come along, browse through the latest books and purchase at excellent prices.  Every sale benefits our school and funds raised go towards new books for our library.  Cash sales and credit card only (no EFTPOS).

If you are unable to get there in person, simply complete the order form on the back of the catalogue sent home earlier this week for your child to return it to school on fair days. Thank you for supporting our school in this way.

Please see poster below for details.

BOARD NEWS

ERO Review Team

Jan and her team have successfully led our school through a very intense scrutineering by the ERO team last week. 5 reviewers were onsite and as part of this process they observed classrooms, met with the Board, teachers and management team, as well as checking paperwork, such as school policies, compliance and a mountain of data and evidence provided by the school. The Board was in awe of the dedication that Jan and her team undertook to showcase our school in the very best light. We will receive a draft report within a month or so, with the final report published and shared with our community in approximately 3 months. Early indications are that it will be a very positive read!

Community Consultation

This year, as part of our strategic plan, your Board is focussing on building community connections. The first area that we are looking at is to identify the sub-groups within our community who may benefit from meeting and share ideas. We are currently looking at creating a Māori focus group, along with other groups to support those where English is a second language. We currently have at least 12 different languages being spoken in our homes – it is so exciting to be a part of such a diverse community where we can learn from one another.

The second community consultation that we are undertaking this term on Wednesday 11 March is to gain parent voice about what you would like to be included in our school curriculum. This will include an interactive discussion to create the Rewa Rewa Graduate Profile – what do you want your Year 6 child to look like when they leave our school? We need the help of a graphic artist to draw a Rewa Rewa kid, if there is anyone out there who can help us! An RSVP flier was sent home yesterday inviting you to this event, please check the website if you have not received this. If you want your voice to be heard or just want to understand more about the school’s curriculum this is a MUST DO.

Students and their talents

We like to showcase our students and the many talents that they have. This week’s star is Alana.  Alana has been driving a junior dragster since the age of 7 and just recently won a qualifying round for reaction times – 0.010 seconds! At this Friday’s 9.45am school assembly she may be showcasing her car and will be sharing footage of her latest achievements – Go Alana!! Parents are welcome to attend our fortnightly assemblies.

Help Request

One of our Rewa Rewa family’s needs to drop off their 2 children at 7.30 am each day. If you are able to assist with looking after them and getting them to school each day, please email office@rewarewa.school.nz. This would be a private arrangement between the 2 families without the school’s involvement.

Home & School Parents Committee

We are a group of dedicated parents and caregivers who work together to make a difference to our school, providing things that support our learners and school community, such as fundraising for shade sails and the new adventure playground.  There are also one-off events for adults in our community, such as speaker events, quiz nights and Entertainment Books.

We meet once a term in the staffroom and would love to see you.   You can help as little or as much as you wish – many hands make light work.  This is a great way to meet other parents and making a contribution that matters.

Next meeting 6pm, Wednesday 18 March.

Welcome To…

We welcome Eden, Kash, Zach & Jeremiah and their families to Rewa Rewa, we hope you enjoy your time here with us. Congratulations the two newest additions to our school family – a baby brother for Curtis and a baby sister for Ollie. Great to have parents supporting our future school growth!