Newsletter Issue 1

Kia ora, Nameste, Talofa, Konnichiwa, Guten Tag, Gidday, Vannakkam, ni Hao, Kia orana, Hola, Salam, Sa wat deekha, Dia Dhuit, Goeie Dag, Bonjour, Καλημέρα, Greetings everyone

It is so fantastic to see our students all back after the term break connecting with their friends and teachers. Although the winter illnesses are taking their toll across the nation we welcomed back 87% of our students on Monday.

Yesterday I attended a virtual hui with Roy Sye, director of Education, and was party to some of the staffing challenges being faced by schools across the country. Teacher sickness, as in all workplaces, combined with the existing teacher shortage and now a shortage of relievers is making it increasingly challenging for schools to stay open to support on site learning. In light of this, I would like to take a minute to thank our incredibly professional and resilient staff who returned after their non contact time (which many of them spent recovering from sickness themselves) prepared, positive and ready for another term of prioritising the learning and wellbeing of our tamariki. So far, I have had the privilege of joining Hubs 3-5 for a small part of the morning. The students too are settled, engaged and looking forward to some of the exciting events coming up each term that you will hear about through your child's hub communications. Thank you also for your support with the mask wearing requirements from Year 4 up - it is great to see the community working together to take care of one another.

New Newsletter Platform

As you can see, we are moving to a new newsletter platform. This platform has accessibility options, including the ability to translate the text for those families for whom English is not their first language. It should eliminate the issues we have had when sharing larger newsletters with multiple images via email and, being digital, also allows us to update any errors, should one be spotted after publishing.

To streamline the newsletter further, community notices will be added directly to the 'Notices and Newsletters' page of our website - you can go directly to this via the button at the end of the newsletter.

School Values Consultation - please get involved!

On Tuesday 23 August we are holding our community consultation for the review of our guiding values. This is part of our Positive Behaviour for Learning work. It is more than 7 years since Bellevue developed our current guiding values; Responsibility/Takohanga, Respect/Whakute, Resilience/Manawaroa, Confidence//Māia and Empathy/Aroha.

We are keen to ensure that our values reflect the hopes and aspirations of our current community so would really encourage your input. We will be offering wine and cheese (as well as non alchoholic refreshments) to get the discussion flowing and to tempt as many of our families to come along as possible! Please pop this date in your diaries and come and join us for an hour from 6.30pm. Supervision for your tamariki will be available if you need to bring them with you.

School Docs - Coming Soon

This term sees the beginning of the move of the Bellevue policies and procedures to a SchoolDocs website. This will take some time, but we anticipate it being up and running by the beginning of Term 4.

The school policies and procedures are the 'guiding documents' for our school. These outline the school's systems and processes in regards to curriculum, administration, employment, health and safety, finance and property. They are regularly reviewed by the principal, the Board and appropriate staff to ensure they reflect best practice and comply with current regulations.

Our SchoolDocs website will be easily accessed through our school website and will provide up to date, transparent and easily accessible information about the operation of the school to our community.

Ngā manaakitanga

Annette

We remain open and averaging 76% of our students still attending school onsite (as at today). We currently have 8 active cases isolating school wide, with one of these being a staff member.

This means that school is still operating under our 'Open' scenario for our provision of distance learning on our (updated for Orange) Community Plan.

Thanks for continuing to let:

annette@bellevue-newlands.school.nz and office@bellevue-newlands.school.nz

know immediately if your child tests positive.

Please continue to let the office know if your child is absent and whether they are:

• unwell
• self isolating - so accessing distance learning
• at home due to family decision - so accessing distance learning

If you have let us know that your child is self isolating or has tested positive, please also let the office know when they return to school.

Please continue to monitor your child and do not send your child to school if they have any symptoms.

It continues to be a priority to take all measures we can to protect our school community from the spread of illness and infection.

Please note the following plan to manage critical staffing levels due to sickness (this works in conjunction with our Community Plan scenarios):

Step 1 - Students and teachers work collaboratively in buddy hubs (Hubs 1&2, 3&4, 5) to cover staff shortage. Please be aware this will mean some aspects of classes may not operate as usual and we will run alternative programmes.

Step 2 - If we are unable to cover staff shortage due to having more than one teacher away with no relievers or being unable to rearrange existing cover in school we will need to close a hub. In this scenario our leadership team will provide cover for classes to enable us to provide a day’s notice to the affected hub families.

Step 3 - In the case of a hub closure, to minimise the spread of covid-19 we will return to operating in our 'bubble zones' (separate play and working areas) and compulsory mask wearing for all adults and students from Year 4 up. Again you will have a day’s notice of this.

Though we are hopeful we will not be required to use these measures, we will continue to keep our families informed of the situation as required.

Haere mai ki te kura o Bellevue. Welcome back to the following students and their whānau. It is great to have you in our Bellevue Learning Community again.

Serena in Room 14

Olivia-Susana in Room 8

This week's thank yous are from our fantastic FUNdraisers:

- To every family for participating in our Matariki Hangi! It was a successful event, and all the positive feedback was so warmly received!

- To every child that enjoyed the sausage sizzle at the end of term. What a rotten weather day it was, so it was a delight to warm those bellies on a cold day.

A friendly reminder that our school car park gates are closed to all traffic except other abled families, couriers or education personnel between the hours of 8.30am and 3.15pm to support the safety of our students. Thank you.

Nominations are open for the election of five (5) parent representatives to the school board.

All eligible voters will receive a nomination form. Use this form to nominate yourself or someone in your community. You will also receive a nomination cover letter calling for nominations. Information on who is not eligible to be a board member is provided with the nomination form.

If you need more nomination forms, contact the school office.

Nominations close at noon on Monday 1 August 2022. You may provide a signed candidate statement and photograph with your nomination.

The electoral roll is held at the school and can be viewed during normal school hours.

As nominations are received, there will be a list of candidates’ names kept at the school up until election day, which you can view.

Voting closes at 4pm on Monday 5 September 2022.

Amanda Beauchamp

Returning Officer

Rowley Jefferson

He is a chubby peach coloured boy that has shark shaped chocolate coloured hair. He's got perfect glistening green eyes that shine like a greenstone with a huge freckled nose. His mouth is as big as a boulder, his super red cheeks when getting told off. The t-shirt that he always wears is a baggy plain white short sleeved t-shirt with super black shorts. Rowley has big legs and white tennis shoes.

The boy is an amazing child that loves to play with his best friend Greg. He loves his family and friends very much. Him and Greg love to play video games more specifically Twisted Wizard 2 and watching a famous gamer Macdigby. He believes in an influencer European teenager Joshie that always says listen to your parents and follow your dreams which Rowley loves. The pranks that Rowley and Greg do make him crack up.

When his family goes on road trips he always loves to play family games and sing a song called 5000 milk bottles with his family. Yummy says Rowley whenever he shares a triple stacked ice cream with his family, when they have an ice cream they choose one flavour each (Rowley always has chockie chunks).Rowley has a lovely unique exiting pitched voice. Whenever Rowley has opinions he always says with an amazing attitude and loves to agree and disagree. On the call, when Greg wants to hang out, Rowley would normally say yes but when he doesn't he gets super nervous about what to say so he uses nice excuses like sorry I'm busy or I've got to the country club because he doesn't want to make his best friend sad. If Greg ever gets hurt Rowley is always the first to check up on him and care for him. Inside his head he’s always thinking about someone or something for example his family and how they're going. He never gets in trouble and is known as a golden boy except for when Greg comes over.

Levi R13

Gandalf the Grey

Gandalf the grey is 10,000 years old and wearing a dust coloured robe. He doubles the seats of two basketball players and has a big old beard. He's more brave than any man or woman.

And in the end Gandalf is still the ghost coloured man we all know and love. Gandalf the grey is nice and mean at the same time and he doesn't need no hobbit. He's a brave old wizard that can kill any Demon. Nothing can stop this mean, clean magic machine.

He can summon giant eagles he can defeat demons but yet he cannot defeat a big eye.

By Sean R13

The last day of Term 2 for Hub 1. Students brought their favourite toys and wore pyjamas.

Our tamariki adore spending time in our library and one of the popular activities is working collaboratively on a jigsaw puzzle or playing a board game.

If you have any complete jigsaws or board games at home that you no longer have a use for, please consider donating them to our library.

Thank you for your support.

Hub 5 Swimming -

The cost of 10 swimming lessons (two assessment lessons and eight teaching lessons) and the bus to and from the pool is $69 per child. Please note the cost of the pool entry has been paid for by the school.

Please make the $69 payment per child through online banking or via the money box in the office.

The account number to put money into is ASB Johnsonville - 12-3223-0048283-00

Particulars: Name of Child

Code: Room Number

Reference: Swimming

You are able to make the payment of $69 in installments, please make sure that you include your child's name, room number. If you would prefer to pay in installments we ask that you email Amanda so that we are aware of your preference.

The latest brochure will come home this week. Orders are due by Thursday 11 August. Payment is by cash or credit card (details on the bookclub form). Please place your order in the locked money box in the Office foyer, in a sealed envelope with your child's name, room number and Scholastic book club written on the outside of the envelope.

Your child’s Art Work masterpieces were completed in Term 2, with orders available this term. Please see our newsletter further down for detailed information about ordering Calendars, Cards, Diaries, Sketch Pads and Mouse Pads!

Our next FUNdraisers committee meeting is coming up in week 3, 11 August 2022.

All are welcome! We will be setting dates for upcoming events including the Book Fair.

Here at FUNdraisers, we thought ‘WoW-Wow-Wow’ at the awesome artwork done by our tamariki! Most works were displayed at the Matariki Evening in Term 2, and hopefully you have all since received a link from your child’s teacher via Seesaw!

Via Kids Art Works, we can get your child’s pieces of art turned into some pretty neat products for purchase, making fantastic gifts for family and friends!

Orders close 12th August, and forms came home with your child at the end of Term 2.

Online orders are also available this year: https://forms.gle/GsTYb3FFo6NYuDvz8

While the manufacturing prices have increased, the FUNdraiser prices to our families for the items remain as at 2021...

Calendar, $13. Cards, $14. Diaries, $17. Sketch Pads, $13. Mouse Pads, $15.

Tuesday 26 July

Newlands Intermediate

'School in Action' morning 9-10.30am

Thursday 11 August

ICAS Writing (Y4-6 Only)

FUNdraisers Meeting 7pm Staffroom

Friday 12 August

Kids Art Work orders close

Thursday 18 August

ICAS English (Y4-6 Only)

Board Meeting

Tuesday 23 August

PB4L Community Values Consultation 6.30 - 7.30

Wednesday 24 August

ICAS Science (Y4-6 Only)

Thursday 1 September

ICAS Maths (Y4-6 Only)

Monday 5 September

Board Election Day

Wednesday 21 September

Learning celebration - open evening

Thursday 22 September

Board meeting

Friday 30 September

Term 3 ends

Monday 17 October

Term 4 begins

Wednesday 23 - Friday 25 November

Hub 5 Camp