Staffing News
This term we farewell Jenae Ryan from the junior teaching team and in term 4 we will welcome Guadalupe Salinas to that team. We also welcome Anna Greenfield to our teacher aide team.
Community Events
We are very hopeful that we will be able to hold a school community event next term. This will be dependent on COVID-19 levels over the weeks ahead. We also look forward to reconvening our parent groups, such as the Home & School Parent Group.
Wellbeing Conference
Last week I was fortunate enough to attend a 2-day conference in Christchurch on Wellbeing. Key speakers included Melynda Webber who has been gathering very pertinent data on Māori students and their aspirations as learners and Nathan Mikaere Wallis who spoke about what you can do in the classroom to help students improve their resilience. It was refreshing to mingle with educators from around NZ and share ideas about how to support our respective learners and communities through times of change.
On that note, thank you to our very generous parents who regularly provide food, stationery or school sunhats to assist other families. You are very special people.
I am aware that at the moment we have a few families in our midst who are going through some very tough personal times and might appreciate a thoughtful, timely gesture such as a basket of fruit, home-made baking, cut flowers from your garden or perhaps a meal being dropped off. I wonder if there might be 1 or 2 parents who would like to work together to help make these acts of kindness happen. As an organiser, it would involve being sent a request from school, then ringing a list of volunteers from our school community who could get into action and deliver goods to a doorstep. If you or a buddy/team would like to undertake this valuable role, please call school and speak to Jan (939 0186).
ASC
A reminder that we do not offer a holiday programme currently. We will notify our community if this changes at any time in the future. Please see community notices below and in the last newsletter for other local holiday programmes on offer.
School fees and donations
If you have not yet paid your Activity Fees invoice, we request payment be made before the end of term 4. Your fees payment covers the cost of all special events and trips/visits throughout the year and there will be a significant portion of these occurring in the coming weeks. If you would still like to make a Voluntary Donation, we would welcome your contribution.
Supporting school businesses
Our huge thanks to the Newlands New World team for their generous donation of a Little Gardener kit, including timber, soil mix and seeds to make a new garden bed. Our student gardening club will be able to start planting potatoes and strawberries very soon.
PTP volunteers
Lynnda Bouzaid and her group of volunteers are amazing. Every week they work with students in our school who just need a bit of extra support with their reading – and what a difference it is making. If you have just 1 ½ hours a week that you could offer to support this programme, please contact Lynnda (tonyandlynnda@gmail.com).
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