Week 5, Term 4
Tauranga Primary School Pānui (Newsletter)
NEW translation option for school newsletter. If you wish to read this newsletter in other languages, open in your browser and utilise the translate option. See image below.
Tēnā koutou katoa
Ngā mihi nui, kia koutou katoa - Warm greetings to you all.
Nau mai, haere mai, a very warm TPS welcome to Avneet Doel, Gurseerat Kaur, Fox Meyer, Jonathan Meys, Steven and Andrew Shin who started recently at our school. We are glad to have you and your family as part of our TPS TEAM.
This week we farewelled Miss Thorne, who will be on leave for the remainder of 2021 as well as the 2022 school year. The plan is for Miss Thorne to return to full time teaching in 2023. Mrs RnB (Kylie Rae) has stepped up into the role as a full time teacher in Senior Hub 1 for the rest of the year. Miss Thorne is a very valued member of our TPS staff and we certainly will miss her in 2022.
Our Structured Literacy coach, Sarah Stock, was onsite this week for our final teacher coaching sessions for the year. We are very excited by the progress our learners have made under this new teaching and learning model for Literacy. We are particularly pleased to see equitable outcomes for all learners achieved; this is the first literacy programme, in my teaching career, where I have seen this happen. I hope you have all taken some time to view the video that outlines the Structured Literacy approach (see below).
Next year, we will aim to host a kanohi ki te kanohi (face to face) parent session where we can share more about the Structured Literacy programme, the resources we use and provide tips for how you can further help at home.
Due to Covid restrictions, we have been unable to share important school events as we would have liked this term. We understand how important it is in the learning process for whānau and our learners to have the opportunity to share school events and learning. We had originally thought that we could live stream some events and performances, however, this is proving to be problematic. Therefore, we will be sharing the following events and performances in the following ways:
- Choir - private Youtube video - shared only via our school newsletter parent group. This video will be deleted from Youtube in two week's time.
- Kapa Haka and Pasifika - we will video these performances and share a private Youtube link with school parents.
- The Nga Toi - Art Gallery afternoon will now be replaced by teachers videoing their class art works and sharing via their classroom Seesaw account.
- School Awards Assembly - Years 1-5. We will photograph the prize winners and post in a special newsletter to be shared with TPS parents.
- Year 6 Leavers Assembly - 15th December - we plan to host this outside Senior Hub 1, weather permitting. Year 6 parents can attend. Parents will follow Level 2 protocols including wearing masks and remaining socially distanced from the children and other families. We will photograph major prize winners and share these in the school newsletter.
We have started the process of creating classes for 2022. If your child/ren are leaving the school in 2022, please notify the school office as soon as possible so that we can accommodate that change in our planning.
As per Ministry of Education advice, the school drinking fountains are open again for children and these are cleaned daily. Personal drink bottles are still recommended as the most hygienic and safest way to drink water. Reminder that we are a water only school; please save juice and other drinks for treats at home.
I have had a couple of queries about Covid vaccinations being administered at school to children. Please be assured that if a vaccination programme was proposed for primary school children to be delivered on the school site, you would be FULLY informed and only children with parental consent would participate. At this stage I have not heard of any plans to roll out vaccinations on the school site.
Lastly, if you have any concerns, questions or queries please talk directly to your child's class teacher. If you are not able to resolve a concern satisfactorily with the teacher, please contact the team leader (email contacts are at the bottom of this newsletter). If it is a serious matter you can also speak to Robyn Caley (for matters concerning the Junior School) or Cathy Ediker (Deputy Principal). If we are unable to resolve your concern through those channels please email or speak with me.
Thank you for your continued support.
Ngā mihi maioha
(thank you, with appreciation)
Fiona Hawes
School Docs - Current School Policy under review:
The current policy under review is
Māori Educational Success
Parents are invited to review this policy and provide feedback:
Click here:
https://tauranga.schooldocs.co.nz/
- and log in using the username tauranga and the password belltower.
Look for the red print and click on 'currently under review'. This is situated in the middle of the page.
- Click the red Under Review icon at the right-hand top corner of the page. A new screen will appear.
- Select your role (board member, staff member, or parent/caregiver) from the drop-down list.
- Enter your name (optional).
Please think carefully about the photos you take at school.
Please focus photos on your own child(ren) and if you wish to share a photo that has other children in it, please check in with their parents first.
Pānui for whānau Māori
Kia Manawaroa is the Ministry of Education's pānui for whānau Māori with tamariki and rangatahi in the education system. It normally goes out fortnightly, but during Alert Level changes, it is sent out whenever there’s an important update.
You can subscribe here:
Term 4:
- 23rd November - New Entrant (2022), parent meeting 6:30pm - 7:30pm in school hall
- 24th November - Y2 parent transition meeting, 9:00am, school hall
- 25th November - 9.30-10.30am Year 6 orientation at Tauranga Intermediate School - no parents Note change of date - we will bus the children there and back
- 25th November - Junior Team Athletics, 11:00am - 12:30pm - sorry no parent spectators
- 30th November - Middle Team Athletics - sorry no parent spectators on site
- 1st & 2nd December - Year 5 Discovery Day going ahead
- 1st - 3rd December - Year 6 Camp - Totara Springs- STILL GOING AHEAD in Level 2
- 2nd December - Junior Team activity day - sorry no parents on site
- 7th December - Middle Team End of Year Activity Extravaganza - sorry no parents on site
- 7th December - BOT meeting, 7:00pm-8:30pm, in school staffroom
- 10th December - FOTS Frosty Friday
- 10th December - TPS Nga Toi - the Arts sharing- open for parents in Level 1- virtual event (Seesaw post) in Level 2
- 13th December - TPS School Awards Assembly (Years 0-5) - Photos of prize winners shared in the school newsletter - sorry no parents on site
- 15th December - Year 6 Leavers' Assembly, 11:00am. If it is fine, we will host this event outside for the senior students only and parents of Year 6 students. NOTE CHANGE OF TIME
- 15th December - final day of school, finish at 12.00pm
- 16th December - Teacher Only Day
OUR NEWSLETTER SPONSORS
COMMUNITY NOTICES
CONTACTS
Principal
Fiona Hawes
Deputy Principal
Cathy Ediker
Assistant Principal
Robyn Caley
Junior Team Leader
Pam Wilkins
Middle Team Leader
Jason Morgan
Senior Team Leader
Jo Howard
International Student enquiries
Cathy Ediker
Business Manager
Susan O'Neill
Enrolment Officer
Barbara Turley