Newsletter 5, Term 2 Week 6 2021

When Rewa Rewa School first appeared on my radar four and a half years ago, I wanted to know what the school was all about and what it represented.  All schools teach curriculum, but it is what lies beneath what is taught that makes the real difference.  At Rewa Rewa School we don’t just talk, we do.  Students and teachers are consistently given opportunities to apply and use R.I.D.E. values in their actions, words, the way they nurture friendships and of course, how they apply these values to their learning.  Employing and encouraging Respect, Integrity, Diversity and Empathy takes courage and responsibility.  Not every day is perfect and not every friendship will be easy, sometimes learning is challenging and we wonder if we will ever get it. As well, self-regulation is hard, probably hardest of all to master, but being part of a community means we must practice applying these values and skills to be an asset to our whanau, our kura and our wider community.

One of the ways our wider community recognises students who are applying these values to everyday life is through a Community Citizenship Award. Malcolm Sparrow from the Wellington City Council came to visit Ahi class and shared with our tamariki why it is important to be part of a community and how we can support others.  This will be the seventh year the Wellington City Council has run the Wellington North Primary Schools’ Citizenship Awards and having been part of this over the last 4 years, I can say it brings me immense pride to stand next to one of our Year 6 students as they receive the award for “leadership, citizenship, and contribution to school life”, our R.I.D.E. values in action.

Speaking of action, over the past 2 weeks students have enjoyed putting their new floorball skills to the test.  When I popped in to watch the juniors in the hall they reminded me of ice hockey players – they showed no fear and were straight in there trying to hit the ball!

You may recall from our last newsletter that we were able to hold our Rewa Rewa cross country event in week 2 of this term.  Following this, we have had several students represent the school at both the Northern Zones and Amesbury cross country events: 5 first place-getters from Years 4-6 to the Northern Zone Cross Country and 15 students (Years 1-3) to the Amesbury Cross Country. They had a great time and are keen to participate in the upcoming years! Congratulations to Clara for coming 5th in her race at Northern Zones and Curtis for coming 1st in his race at Amesbury.  Thank you to all the parents and caregivers for supporting their tamariki at these events.  We appreciate that life is busy, so thank you for making the time.  At the safety briefing before the Juniors headed off to their event, I reminded everyone of how we demonstrate our R.I.D.E. values, eg. if someone fell over, check they were alright, and if they were, to run!  Well, this young girl did exactly that! How proud her mum must have been, I know I was. At Rewa Rewa School we don’t just talk, we do.

Northern Zone Cross Country event

Amesbury Cross Country event

We are fortunate that Lynnda Bouzaid continues to organise our Parent Tutor Programme, supporting our children’s reading development.  We would love to hear from volunteers who could commit to an hour and a half or more per week.  Sessions run 9:15-10:30am, Mon-Thu and full training will be given, ongoing support is provided.  You would be listening to children read and helping them improve their comprehension skills.  This is a hugely rewarding opportunity, so please email office@rewarewa.school.nz if you are able to help.

Many thanks to Schrödinger’s Books in Petone for the prize pack of books that Claire our Librarian won for us in a Lucky Draw – we are indeed lucky to have some lovely new books for our library.

Thank you to all who participated in the Pink Shirt Day fundraiser.  We would like to thank Miranda Zander for offering her photography skills on the day.  Money raised will go to support InsideOUT (supporting rainbow youth across NZ).  To find out more go to:  https://www.pinkshirtday.org.nz/schools/

We are still looking for 4 people who can assist with Road Patrols on Wednesday morning and Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons.  If you can assist please see Charlotte Hills or email charlotte.hills@rewarewa.school.nz

On a final note, thank you for your trust and commitment to building meaningful relationships at Rewa Rewa School. Our teaching team is fully committed to bringing out the best in your child.  We continue to undertake professional development that supports this drive to deepen our knowledge and understanding, as we did recently on our Teacher Only Day, developing mathematical inquiry communities for the learning of our tamariki.  Another professional development opportunity the Ministry of Education has offered us is around Understanding Behaviour, Responding Safely and staff will be participating in this over the next few weeks.

Reminders:

• The last school assembly for the term will be held at 12:00 pm in the hall on Monday 28 June
• Each Wednesday this term we are encouraging children to bring less/no waste to school in their lunchboxes.  The idea is to look for more sustainable packaging options and ways we can ease the burden of rubbish going to landfills.  When your child is packing their lunch for school on Wednesdays please talk to them about the food packaging and look at what other containers could be used.

We welcome Alistair & Max, along with their families, to Rewa Rewa.  We hope you enjoy learning with us!

Thursday 01 – Friday 09 July

Thursday 01 July                7-8pm

Friday 02 July

Friday 02 July

Tuesday 27 July                 9-10.30am

Friday 22 October

Bee Healthy Dental Service Onsite

NIS Information Evening for Yr 6 Parents

School Reports Sent Home

Matariki Evening

NIS School in Action Morning for Yr 6s

Newlands Cluster Teacher Only Day – School Closed

Friday 12 November         9am-12 noon

NIS Orientation Day

Term 2

Term 3

Term 4

Mon 03 May – Fri 09 July

Teacher Only Day Fri 04 June – School Closed

Queen’s Birthday Mon 07 June – School Closed

Tue 27 July – Fri 01 October

Teacher Only Day Mon 26 July – School Closed

Mon 18 October – Wed 15 Decmber (1pm)

Newlands Cluster Teacher Only Day Fri 22 October – School Closed

Labour Day Mon 25 October – School Closed