Newsletter Week 8 Term 3 2020

From the Principal

Spring has sprung families. Cold mornings and some lovely days. Summer is on it’s way…. I think I may be too late for getting ready for togs so will be investing in big towels!

I had a lovely visit from two young ladies from Room 4, to share their diagrams and labelling of wetas. Bella Mawson and Maisy Freeman did a great job. We now have weta houses, courtesy of the amazing Matua Chris, and many eyes are watching to see if we get any tenants. Personally, having had some up and personal encounters with said creepy crawlies, I am more than happy to provide hotels for them to move into!

Our PB4L focus this week was to reinforce the bus expectations. We have also amended the supervision of the students after school, who have to wait for the second bus, to ensure their safety. Bus behaviour is something that can be variable, so your support in talking over the expectations of sitting properly on the seats, and acting sensibly so  as not to distract the driver, would be appreciated.

With all assessments completed now teachers are analysing the data to inform their teaching and learning for the rest of this term, and next term. Groups may be changed, learning goals revised, and deliberate acts of teaching organised. The assessments we carry out are specifically for checking levels and gaps in learning.

The Helping Hands are in the throes of organising for Show Day, and of course our major fundraiser of the year-GUY FAWKES. We are crossing our fingers and toes that this event takes place as planned. There have been so many cancellations due to COVID-19, it’s time we got a break!. As mentioned before in previous newsletters, HH are looking for new members to join them. If you would like to help our wonderful group of ladies to raise funds for our marvellous school, please come along to their next meeting. You can contact Mrs S at school to get any answers to questions you may have.

The Board update policies on a regular basis, and the latest one is our Complaints and Concerns Policy and procedure. The policy and flow chart are on the Board page on the website for easy reference. I want to commend our Board of Trustees for all the work that they do behind the scenes. I especially want to say thanks to Jason Kerrisk for his efforts with our property works, Betsy Tipping for the policies , Jeanette Mabin for attending NZSTA professional development and feeding back to us, Chris Rhodes for his boundless energy and exciting ideas for the school, Jo Tischik for the voice for our special needs students and Sheila Russell for her awesome leadership. We are very lucky to have such a dedicated group of people supporting the school for it’s future.

I have an update on Mrs Salt. She has just had her cast taken off, and is having a scan again shortly. Unfortunately it looks as if the healing process may not be complete. We wish her a speedy recovery and successful recuperation.

Happy birthdays this newsletter to Tilly Brackenridge and Neveah Sylva. I hope you had wonderful birthdays girls

I would like to give students a gentle reminder not to bring their toys to school. The school takes no responsibility if they go missing, and we have had a few issues with toys being taken . Can you have a chat with your children about leaving their toys at home please. It has also come to our attention that some students, mainly Year 7 and 8, have been bringing cell phones to school, and leaving them in their bags. This is definitely not acceptable, and again the school will take no responsibility if they are lost, taken or broken. There is no necessity really for any student to have a phone at primary school. However, as with anything, we can make exceptions for valid reasons. if you feel that there is a vital need for your child to have a phone at school, please do the following:

1. Write a letter to me ( Principal-Cherylene Neels) explaining why your child is required to have a phone at school, and
2. Instruct your child to hand in their phone at the beginning of the day, and collect it before they go home

Any phones that are found to be in bags, or in use, without permission,  will be taken by the teacher and kept on the teacher’s desk until the end of the day. We do not want to encourage the use of phones for texting etc during the school day.

Lastly I would like to say a huge thanks to you parents, and the teachers,  for the success of the Parent/teacher Interviews yesterday. I have had some very positive feedback from parents with the longer interview time, and the information that was shared. The teachers also felt more refreshed and able to conduct meaningful learning conversations due to not teaching all day, and then doing interviews.

Well that’s it for now. Have an awesome rest of the week!

Events

Tomarata School Cross Country 

Place: Farm next to Tomarata School

Date: Tuesday 15th September

Start time: 9.50am – If you have returned a parent helper marshal slip thank you very much. Please be at the farm gate by 9.30am. You will be given a station to stand at and directions.

• Students wear sports clothes and sneakers, bring a big lunch, a drink bottle with water, a warm jacket and a change of clothes.

Important Notice – Spectators/Parents/Whanau please use social distancing guidelines. Stay in your family group and find a place to view your children on the field spaced apart from other family groups. On completion of your child’s/children’s race you must exit the area.

Senior students will lead juniors around the course. Flags and marshals will be placed throughout the course.

Approximate start times: 

Please Note:

The Netball/Touch Tournament   CANCELLED

Miss McGuinness

Reminders

Netball/Touch Tournament  18th September CANCELLED

Sausage sizzle  tomorrow  $2 each Y 7 & 8

Daffodil Day  Friday 11th September  Gold coin donation. dress in yellow

We would like to thank Bayleys Wellsford for their sponsorship