Newsletter T3W8
Tuesday 14 September 2021
Notices Term 3 Week 8 2021
Kia ora Whitney Whānau!
Welcome back to the first newsletter after lockdown! Firstly, we would like to say a massive ‘thank you’ to all our whānau and tamariki for being so understanding and respectful of the ‘new’ Alert Level 2 way of life while back at school. Everyone has done their absolute best to keep their distance, be aware of their personal space and the space of others, wash and sanatise their hands and allow others the freedom of choice to wear a mask at school.
Lights Over Marlborough - Volunteers Needed
All going well, our annual fundraiser is about 9 weeks away. We are so very fortunate that we are able to carry on with this as many schools around the nation have had to cancel their ‘big’ fundraiser for the year due to Covid 19.
Please do take the time to let us know how you can help support your kura. Fill in the form below to let us know how you would like to lend a hand. Last time the form was sent out we only had 2 people respond, which was a bit disappointing. A small donation of your time, once a year, helps us to pay for things such as an astroturf, additional games and toys in classrooms and the beautification of our grounds.
At the moment a core group of Parent Support Group parents meet once a month to plan the event. We would LOVE to have more people jump on board and contribute to the fundraising efforts of these generous parents. The meetings can be quite entertaining and it is a really great way to step up and help out in society.
Our next meeting is Wednesday 22 September, 6pm in the staffroom. We will see you there ahy?!
Growing Self-managers at drop-off and pick-up times
We really urge whānau to use Alert Level 2 as an opportunity to help your child grow as self-managing thinkers. A way to do this is to organise a drop off/pick up point that is a wee distance down the road. Not only does it encourage your child to step outside their comfort zone and add to their physical activity for the day, it also helps with congestion around the gate. A reminder that we are asking anyone who enters our school grounds to sign in using the Covid-19 Contact Tracing App while we are in Alert Level 2 and we encourage our adult visitors to wear a mask.
Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori - Maori Language Week
This Week is Māori Language Week and we are pretty excited at the beautiful and relevant resources that are being produced. Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori is a popular, government-sponsored initiative promoting the use of Māori language. At Whitney Street School we are trying hard to be part of the broader Māori language revival and to help with public awareness for Māori language revitalization, learning, and public usage. If you are able to support the management team, teachers or students with te reo, please get in touch!
‘Kia kaha’ is well understood in New Zealand English with its meaning of ‘be strong’. We often talk about languages as if they are people – talking about language health, strength and revitalisation. So when we say ‘Kia kaha te reo Māori’ we’re saying - ‘Let’s make the Māori language strong'.
Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori - The Māori Language Commission.
Safety at the School Gates
Since we have been in Alert Level 2 we have noticed more cars dropping students off near the school gates, and it is posing a safety issue particularly by the Whitney St entrance. Please take extreme care driving near the gates and do not park on the yellow lines. We strongly suggest dropping your children a bit further down the road (e.g. on Percy St or Maxwell Rd or the side streets off Etham Rd) and letting them walk to the gates. Thank you for your understanding in this matter, as our children’s safety is paramount.
Calendar Art
Next week, your child’s artwork will be displayed for viewing. This might be in their classroom windows, on Seesaw, etc. Your child’s pictures can be turned into calendars, cards and/or diaries. These are perfect Christmas or birthday presents or just a nice keepsake, featuring your child’s artwork. An order form will be sent home next week and needs to be returned to the school office with payment. The window for ordering is slightly shorter this year due to 3 weeks out during lockdown.
The final date for ordering and payment is Monday 27 September 3pm. This is a STRICT last day and time for orders. They will be ready in Term 4. This is an annual school fundraiser and the money we make goes towards classroom resources.
Getting Ready For Warmer Weather
Term 1 and 4 are the terms when we wear a wide-brimmed hat as part of our school uniform and Sunsmart Policy. Over the next few weeks please locate, wash, purchase or order a school hat so your child is ready for Term 4.
Community Breakfast - Friday 1st October
Providing we return to Alert Level 1, our next Community Breakfast is being held on the last Friday of term i.e. 1st October. This is a wonderful community event, and a great opportunity to meet other families in a relaxed atmosphere. Due to the changing Covid levels we will keep you posted as we may need to cancel it but for now - please pencil it in your calendars!
Tūwhitia te hopo - Feel the fear and do it anyway!
The Whitney Street School Staff
Music Festival - Choir
Unfortunately, we have been informed that this year's Primary School's Music Festival is cancelled. They hope to try again next year.
Taylor Cross Country
Board Meeting Summary
Thursday 26th August
Due to level 4 lockdown, the Board met remotely via Google Meet. Coincidently, our meeting theme this month was “connected” and we reflected on what this means to us in our role as Board members.
Lisa Lissaman and Christee Dalzell presented their Review on Written Language. This is a regularly scheduled review that occurs every 2-3 years as part of the curriculum review cycle. There was discussion around the findings of this review which recognised the barriers of, and the potential improvements for teaching and learning written language. The recognised next steps for effective teaching (and learning) of written language will be implemented by the management team in each of their Hubs (Ōpaoa, Taylor & Wairau). It was great to see both staff and students have input into this review and a focus on the outcomes being manageable and meaningful for all involved.
Lisa and Christee spoke to the mid-year data on student achievement. Generally, achievement across reading and writing has either remained at the same level, or increased over the last six months. Math achievement has shown to have decreased, although it was noted that assessment in math has recently changed to align with the DMIC framework and teachers are still receiving Professional Development around implementing and moderating this newer model of learning.
Adam Alexander presented the MoE (Ministry of Education) Target Student Report to the Board. Progress shifts are still expected to be seen by the end of the year.
The Board reviewed the Behaviour Management policy on SchoolDocs and provided feedback that we felt was appropriate. This policy, along with all other Whitney Street School policies, can be accessed via the WSS website under School Info - Policies and Procedures.
Last term, Cheryl and Kate (as Presiding Member of the Board) attended a meeting with Principals and Board Representatives from other Primary and Intermediate Schools within our region as part of the beginning phase of a MoE consultation. The aim of this process is to determine how best to utilise MoE resources and minimise Enrolment Scheme overlap areas. (Currently, for example, if 10 children reside in an overlap zone the MoE needs to allocate spaces for each of those children at each school in that zone, regardless of which school they end up attending). Kate discussed this process with the Board, which looks at current Enrolment Scheme boundaries, projected roll growth, school capacity, etc. Kate and Cheryl will consult with other Blenheim schools and provide feedback to MoE.
The playground has faced yet another setback with the level 4 lockdown, but hopefully the ground will have dried out enough so the heavy machinery can make it on-site to continue the work.
FREE PERIOD PRODUCTS FOR WHITNEY STREET SCHOOL GIRLS
The access to period products initiative aims to provide free period products to children and young people in all state and state-integrated schools and kura across New Zealand during 2021.
If your Whitney Street School daughter has her period, she is eligible for two packs of free period products per month. These will be available to her by her parent/caregivers letting Christee Dalzell know via email (dalzell@whitneystreet.school.nz) or by leaving a wee note on her desk :-)
Hopefully this initiative is utilised really well by our Whitney kōtiro/girls! It is a brilliant way to save money on the grocery bill.
If you have any questions, please feel free to pop in and talk to Christee.
Helping out at Whitney with Road Patrol - are you keen?
We would like to know if there is anyone willing to volunteer for;
- Thursday after school on Eltham
- Friday after school on Maxwell
- Friday before school on Maxwell
Please flick Christee an email if you're willing to give it a go.
dalzell@whitneystreet.school.nz
Kia tūpato. Me tiaki tātou i a tātou.
Be Safe. Look after each other.
What has been happening in the classrooms?
Mad Hair Day
On the last day of term, Friday 1 October, we have a MUFTI DAY scheduled. Start keeping an eye out for supermarket deals for Chocolate (But please keep an eye on the Best Before Date as it needs to be after November 13).
Advance Notice: Staff Only Day on Monday 22 November (Monday T4W6)
PASSWORD: learners
We are a PB4L School - Positive Behaviour For Learning
One of my friends asked "Why do you pay so much money for your kid to play sports”?
"Well, I have a confession to make; I don't pay for my kid to do sports. Personally, I couldn't care less about what sport they do.
So, if I am not paying for sports what am I paying for?
- I pay for those moments when my kid becomes so tired they want to quit but don't.
- I pay for those days when my kid comes home from school and is "too tired" to go to their training but they go anyway.
- I pay for my kid to learn to be disciplined, focused and dedicated.
- I pay for my kid to learn to take care of her body and equipment.
- I pay for my kid to learn to work with others and to be a good teammate, gracious in defeat, and humble in success.
- I pay for my kid to learn to deal with disappointment when she doesn’t get that win or championship she’d hoped for, but still she goes back week after week giving it her best shot.
- I pay for my kid to learn to make and accomplish goals.
- I pay for my kid to respect, not only themselves, but other players, officials, and coaches.
- I pay for my kid to learn that it takes hours and hours, years and years of hard work and practice to create a champion and that success does not happen overnight.
- I pay for my kid to be proud of small achievements, and to work towards long-term goals.
- I pay for the opportunity my kid has and will have to make life-long friendships, create lifelong memories, to be as proud of her achievements as I am.
- I pay so that my kid can be out on the court instead of in front of a screen...
...I could go on but, to be short, I don't pay for sports; I pay for the opportunities that sports provides my kid with to develop attributes that will serve her well throughout her life and give her the opportunity to bless the lives of others. From what I have seen so far I think it is a great investment!"
Original author unknown but photo and modified post shared with permission by Nikki Jessee
Our school calendar is often filled with trips and events and sometimes the dates and details change. The BEST place to keep an eye on what is happening is on the school App in the calendar section.
Download our school App
We encourage all parents to download our school app from the Playstore or Apple Store, as we find this the most effective way of sending out Alerts to parents/caregivers. You can also access a wealth of information from the app as it has links to the school calendar, newsletters, etc.
Please subscribe to Alerts from the classes/groups that your child belongs to. If you want to subscribe to groups later on, you can do this via the ‘Alerts Subscriptions’ which is in the Menu (top left). Please do this to ensure you are subscribed to the classes and Teams that your child or children are in for the 2021 school year.
This is also the way we would like you to inform us of absences. This system streamlines the morning routine for Tanya and Michelle so that they can easily see who is away and why.
Please click here to download the School App.
Hero
Suggestions Box
Bread Tags for Wheelchairs
In line with sustainability, the Wairau Hub will continue to collect bread tags to help support the Bread Tags for Wheelchairs initiative. Save them up, bring them into Room 1 and we will arrange for them to get to where they need to go.
This cool idea supports The United Nations Sustainability Goals of;
* Goal 1: No Poverty donate what we don't use
* Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing
* Goal 10: Reduced inequalities
Automatic Payment Option
The Whitney Street School BOT bank details are: 03 0599 0305934 00
Pretty Things Embroidery
Contact Us
Email: principal@whitneystreet.school.nz
Website: https://whitneystreet.school.nz
Location: Whitney Street, Blenheim, New Zealand
Phone: +64 3 578 3028
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhitneyStreetSchool/