Week 9 Term 3 SFDS Newsletter
Wednesday 21 September 2022
Please note: Next Monday 26 September is a Public Holiday to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. The School is closed for the day.
MARY-ANGELA'S MESSAGE
Kia ora e te whānau
Later this week we are holding an open morning with our Ranginui Team - Year 7 & 8. We’ve sent out invites to this event, which is open to students and whānau in Year 6. If you know of someone who may be interested in joining our intermediate syndicate from 2023, please let them know they are welcome to join us. The poster and link is later in this newsletter.
Did you know that we have a graduate profile for what we want for our Year 8 learners / ākonga before they move off to college. This will be under review next year as part of our strategic review. If you would like to offer feedback or suggestions about our graduate profile - for what you aspire to for your child/ren - feel free to email me and let me know.
Currently we are reviewing and refining our curriculum. Schools are asked to create a curriculum that reflects local priorities, beliefs, locality, people, etc. This is called a ‘Local Curriculum’. Today, I thought I would share with you one section of the curriculum, which relates to our teaching and learning approaches. I welcome your feedback - feel free to get in touch with me by email, or arrange to come in and have a chat.
Teaching and Learning Approaches
Core Principles
Learners will experience a rich curriculum that involves all learning areas.
We know that all students/ākonga are capable of learning and experiencing success
Teachers/Kaiako will identify and continuously monitor the learning of their ākonga
We believe a strong foundation in Literacy and numeracy is fundamental, and evidence is used to inform teaching
Kaiako evaluate their teaching approaches
Kaiako will use deliberate acts of teaching and adapt their practice as required to enable all learners to be successful
Through mana motuhake, ākonga take responsibility for, and have the power to question, respond, understand and contribute to their own learning
Learning and teaching practices are culturally sustaining - affirming individuality, diversity, progress & achievement
Inquiry Learning
Inquiry Learning supports students to be curious about the world around them, to make connections, collaborate by posing questions and solving problems.
Through shared and authentic learning inquiries we empower our learners to become passionate, connected, lifelong learners ready to tackle the world.
Learning Through Play (Tangaroa)
Our learners will be supported in their emotional, cognitive and physical environment in the context of learning through play. Our learning environments integrate the elements of a play-based pedagogy to encourage our learners to think outside the square, be creative, collaborate with others and develop positive attitudes to learning at school.
We develop values and key competencies from the NZ Curriculum through play-based learning activities: curiosity and inquiry, innovation and thinking creatively, managing self, using language, relating to others and participating and contributing.
Thinking Tools Framework
Learners progressively develop a range of thinking tools, strategies and processes to help them learn to effectively pose and solve complex problems. The framework enables students to develop independent thinking skills which support the depth and breadth of their learning.
I look forward to hearing back from you.
Take care, kind regards and God bless
Mary-Angela Tombs
Newsletter proudly sponsored by
DRS MESSAGE
GRANDPARENTS DAY UPDATE
Remember the Change of Date! Due to the day off to mark the death of the Queen we will be changing the date of Grandparents Day to Wednesday 28 September at 10am. It will still be an exciting day as the children will have the chance to show their grandparents their classroom and after the grandparents can stay for some tea and coffee.
Madeline Smith
DRS
KINDO – PERSONALISED ACCOUNTS NOW OPEN
Your personalised account option is now available again on Kindo, thank you for your patience while the upgrade was in progress.
While it will still look the same for you, the administration that happens behind the scenes now has added functionality and efficiency which is beneficial for all.
SARAH'S MESSAGE
CONGRATULATIONS
to the following students who received a certificate at Papatuanuku assembly on Friday:
Cian HK, Jack C, Mateo L, Dallas T, Jayden S, Sofia P, Eva E, Willow SE, Heidi J, Preshil P, James D, Cora DG, Hazel S, Chiara Z, Johnny W, Savanna J and Frankie HB.
TERM 4 SPORT
A friendly reminder the following sports are now open for registrations on Kindo:
· Year 1 - 4 Junior Netball
· Year 3 - 6 Mini Polo (the same as water polo but played in the 1.2m pool)
· Year 7 - 8 Water Polo
Please register your child/ren as soon as you can if they are going to play.
YEAR 4 - 8 SCHOOL ATHLETICS DAY
This will be held on Wednesday 19 October (first Wednesday after the holidays) at Newtown Park. This is always a great day. It is an event that relies on extra helpers so that we have enough people to run each athletics activity. If you are able to help for all or part of the day, then please email me on sarah.fountain@sfds.school.nz
FUTSAL FESTIVAL
Our 8 teams who attended last Thursday had a blast playing Futsal all day! Thank you to Robin M, Raffaele DG and Ben S who came along to support our players.
DANCE SPLASH
Our dance group had the best time performing at the Michael Fowler Centre last week. Although they were nervous about performing on the big stage, they made themselves very proud. Thank you to Lauren C who came along to help the dancers in the evening.
YEAR 5/6 MINIBALL
Congratulations to our Year 5/6 Faithful Five miniball team who won their grade on Monday. Check out how happy they look! Well done on a great season team!
YUMMY STICKERS
The time has come for us to send in any Yummy Stickers we have collected. If you have any stickers or cut outs from the bags of apples, then please send them into the school office. We will continue collecting beyond this term for next year, so please keep collecting. The more stickers we collect, the more free sports gear we receive. Thank you for your support.
WELLBEING HUI
Thank you again to those of you who were able to join us for this evening hui. The kids all really enjoyed performing for you and it was lovely to see everyone together again. We have attached the presentation from the evening if you weren't able to be there and are interested in having a look. If you weren't able to be there, or would like to contribute further thoughts, then please feel free to add your input into this form: https://forms.gle/PB8ZVXimceSz56TP7
Please also check out the video we made of the evening on our school Facebook page.
SCHOOL NOTICES
UNIFORM
You will know there is a period of two years for the uniform change over to occur. However, there are some aspects of our expectations for uniform that will remain the same.
· The school hoody is only to be worn with PE gear on PE days or sports days at sports events.
· Puffer jackets and other jackets can be worn to and from school and at break times outside for extra warmth, but when the students are inside at school, they are expected to wear the polar fleece, cardigan, new senior jacket, or hoody on PE days for warmth.
Please also see our policy below regarding jewellery and hair:
Uniform/Dress
Students are expected and encouraged to take pride in their general appearance.
The uniform is available from the St Francis de Sales uniform shop. If we have donated school uniform items we are able to redistribute them.
The only jewellery permitted at school is plain stud earrings or sleepers, and a watch.
If a student breaches the dress code, this will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.
Hair
Students with hair on their shoulders are required to wear their hair tied up. Hair ties, clips, or head bands must be plain in either black, brown, navy blue, maroon, or white. Short hair must be tidy.
Please support your child/ren with these expectations.
GARDEN TO TABLE
The following products are available though your school KINDO account
For information on how to get to KINDO Click here to view. From there you are able to pay your school donations, (there is an option to make part payments) uniform and any other school charges or sign ups for sports and extra actvities.
Supporting other children through Kindo
Kindo is adding a new feature to your myKindo portal enabling you to gift to others... starting with KidsCan. You will be able to buy lunch, shop and pay for our school items as normal, and you will now see some KidsCan donation offers on the checkout page.
Kindo will provide the donation receipts so you can claim back the 33% tax rebate – or sign up to TaxGift or Supergenerous to gift the rebate too.
If you have any questions or feedback, please email hello@mykindo.co.nz
Term 3 Policies and Procedures due for review
In term three, the focus is on the Student Wellbeing and Safety sections.
Student Wellbeing and Safety
Staff Wellbeing and Safety
Please feel free to have a look at this on the Schooldocs site and give us your feedback.
COMMUNITY NOTICES
If your child loves doing cartwheels, handstands, trampolining, flips, dance, or parkour moves, then they will thrive at Bigair Gym!
Bigair Gym classes are excellent for fun, focus and fitness! Children learn new skills and develop personal confidence and self-achievement! Strong focus is given to safety and technique, ranging from fundamentals to advanced skills. The structured classes follow a Bigair Badge Programme, which creates focused learning, and allows children to achieve and feel personal progression!
Bigair classes include GYMNASTICS, TRAMPOLINING, TUMBLING, FREE RUNNING (that’s parkour with flips) & CHEERLEADING! Inquire about Bigair BIRTHDAY PARTIES too!
GET IN QUICK FOR TERM 4 GYM CLASSES & BIGAIRS POPULAR HOLIDAY PROGRAMME! Bookings open Mon 19th September. Booking in is easy online at www.bigairgym.co.nz or contact your local Bigair Gym office today.
Click below to download our school app or please use the following QR code which will take you to the right place
Contact Us
Email: office@sfds.school.nz
Website: http://www.sfds.school.nz
Location: St Francis De Sales School 11 Mersey Street, Island Bay, Wellington, New Zealand
Phone: 04 939 7370