Despite the hot, sticky weather, it is great to be back at school. All our students and staff are settling back into the rhythm of the school term well, and we have had a wonderful start to the year.

Staff changes

This year we welcome several new staff members to our team.

Welcome to:

Mrs Cathy Haar- teaching in Room 1

Miss Breidy Johnston- teaching in Room 6

Miss Georgia Duff- teaching in Room 7

Mrs Hester Labuschagne- who has joined our team of Learning Assistants

We also have a large number of new students. Check them out later in the newsletter.

Term calendar

There is a term calendar attached to the newsletter. It shows some of our events coming up. We also have a Google calendar attached to the SchoolApp and our website. This calendar gets updated regularly. Please also keep an eye on the weekly newsletters for upcoming events.

Extreme Weather

Along with everyone else in the South, BPS has been melting this week! As part of our Health and Safety plan we have a range of protocols that ensure we keep everyone safe in the extreme heat. This includes rearranging our day so any outside activities are done when it is cooler, ensuring everyone stays well hydrated, and monitoring staff and students for signs of heat stroke. Parents can support this by ensuring that their children have a water bottle and appropriate clothing each day.

The forecast for next week is a little cooler. We will continue to monitor the temperatures and if the high temperatures continue, we will modify our athletics day in week 3 to reduce the risk of heat stroke. More information about athletics day will come out next week.

I hope you all enjoy the long weekend ahead. I look forward to sharing the year ahead with you all.

Kā mihi nui,

Vicki

Parent interviews will be held Tuesday 21 February (1.30pm to 8pm) and Wednesday 22 February (3.30 to 5.30pm).

All pupils will need to be collected from school on Tuesday 21 February at 12.30pm. (Please note Room 11 technology students will have technology at S.O.HS. as usual that afternoon, so will not need to be collected.)

School will be as normal times on Wednesday 22 Feb.

Bookings can be made online up to Monday 20th February. Click on the link below to make your booking. (If you only get a "paper" copy of the newsletter, you can book by using the QR code below.)

If you have any questions or would like some support with making a booking, please contact the school office (03) 4190103.

We have had a fantastic first week in Room 3. We have been creating some art for our classroom while practising using scissors and finding where all the things in our class are.

Order forms have been sent home with every family today.

If you would like to place and order, please complete the form and return to the school office by Monday 27th February. (Payment instructions are on the order form.)

If you have any school tops that your child no longer needs or fits, we would be very grateful for them to go into our supplies of 2nd hand uniform. Please bring to the school office if you have any you no longer need.

Stirling Sports have also had a few supply issues for our uniform tops, due to their supplier discontinuing our colour for some of the tops.

They now have a new supplier, however, shipments have been delayed coming from Auckland due to the recent extreme weather event in the North Island.

They thank everyone for their patience, and ask if you need a new uniform item, they should be all good to go end of week 2, early week 3.

• School Saveloys, sport fees and all camp fundraising and donations - 02 0900 0000 452 00
• Whānau and School, all fundraising (except camp fundraising), school uniforms (2nd hand and new) - 03 1734 0006449 00