Newsletter T2W2
Tuesday 11 May - Week 2 Term 2
School Notices Week 2 Term 2 2021
Talofa lava (hello in Samoan)
Welcome back to Term 2 and a warm welcome to our 8 new entrants in Room 6. It is also great to see Room 7 up and running with 21 Year 1’s with Mrs Pottinger.
Our curriculum focus this term continues around the theme Hauora, and there will also be a variety of PE skills taught at different levels. Keep an eye out for Learning Hub Newsletters which will outline the learning programmes in more detail.
Healthy School Lunches
This term it has been very exciting with the launch of the Healthy School Lunches Programme (Ka Ora, Ka Ako) at Whitney Street School. We are extremely lucky to be part of this initiative in having healthy and nutritious lunches provided for our tamariki. There’s been great excitement and enjoyment from the children seeing and tasting the different lunches each day. We have been very impressed with so many children expanding their comfort zone and trying new food experiences. If you know this is particularly challenging for your child, please do encourage them to have a few bites each time. The food certainly looks and smells delicious!
Attendance
Each term Lisa Lissaman (Deputy Principal) and the teachers analyse student attendance, as time away from school impacts hugely on their achievement. Any child who was not at school for 85% or more of the time is contacted by school so parents are aware. Letters will be sent home this week to those with attendance concerns. 85% equates to 7 or more days absence in a 10 week term. Our average attendance for Term 1 this year was 93.4% which is fantastic. The Ministry of Education considers a student to be attending regularly if they are present for 90% or more of the time.
Please note that if you are unsure of whether your child is sick and you decide to send
them to school, that we will always call you if we feel they need to go home again.
Arrival Time at School and End of Day Leaving Time
It is also timely to remind parents/whānau that any child arriving before 8:30am needs to
wait on the hall deck outside the school kitchen area as children are not allowed in
classrooms until 8:30am. After school, children should only be staying at school after 3:00pm or playing if a parent or whānau are there to directly supervise. This is all in aid of student safety and wellbeing. . Teachers are preparing for the day and often have meetings before and after school so are not available to supervise.
Suggestion Box
We are always trying to improve learning for our students and appreciate any feedback and suggestions you can give us. A suggestion box is in the office foyer where you can submit your ideas, or alternatively you can email Cheryl or your child’s teacher. As well as suggestions to improve we love receiving feedback of a positive nature. Please feel free to offer your ideas so that we can move forward together as a community, to help ensure the best outcomes for all our tamariki. There is also a button below if you wish to send us something through digitally.
Pink Shirt Day (optional)
This year’s theme is He Kōtuinga mahi iti, he hua pai-ā rau - Small ripples create big waves. The small actions we take to help prevent bullying will together create a wave of change. Children can wear pink on Friday 21 May to support this cause. You are welcome to make a gold coin donation which will be passed on to the organisers. Please note this is optional.
Disco - Save the date
Our lovely PSG will be hosting the annual School Disco on Friday 18 June so please ‘Save The Date’. We would LOVE some additional help in running the disco so please feel free to pop along to the planning meeting on Wednesday 9 June, 6:00pm in the new staffroom.
PSG - Your help is needed
Our long serving Parent Support Group is changing as key members have stood down after several years supporting the school. It is now time for new parents/caregivers to join our team.
In particular, we are on the hunt for a Secretary and someone to help with the financial side of things. If you join us this year, we are able to ‘train you up’ and shadow our current volunteers Alysha and Kate. Our main fundraising event that the PSG organises is Lights Over Marlborough and we have very effective systems in place around this, so just need people to help with the organisation. It’s a very satisfying role and many hands make light work, so please consider coming along yourself or getting a couple of friends together and supporting the school. Please let Cheryl or Christee know if you are keen. Our next meeting is Wednesday 9 June at 6:00pm in the Staffroom.
Staff Only Day- Heads up!
In Week 9 on Monday June 28 Whitney Street School will be closed for an allocated MOE Staff Only Day. Teachers will be working on assessments, and checking and validating the information collected for reporting purposes.
Reporting/Learning Progress Meetings will be taking place in Week 10 on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th July. More information will be sent home closer to the time.
Toki sio (see you later - in Tongan)
Whitney Street Staff
What has been happening in Kumanu Room 8
Hauora
This year our Inquiry topic is Hauora which means Health and Well being. As a part of Hauora, we are learning about Te Whare Tapa Wha which is shown as a whare with four corners - Taha Whanau, Taha Tinana, Taha Wairua and Taha Hinengaro. Taha Whanau is about your family and friends and connections you have with them, Taha Hinengaro is about your emotions and mental health and how it controls it, Taha Wairua is about spiritual well being and your family and your past family and Taha Tinana is about your physical well being. We also made this korowai cloak. Written on the feathers are things that are positive.
By Liam Chandler
Korowai Cloak
Kumanu, Room 8, Created a Korowai cloak from feathers cut out from cardboard. The children worked very hard to decorate them beautifully and wrote positive affirmations and thoughts on them.
Korowai cloak - The Korowai is a traditional woven Maori cloak. Itis worn as a mantle of prestige and honour. The name Korowai is symbolic of leadership, and includes the obligation to care for the people and environment.
Room 8 Writing
If I woke up somewhere else...not in my bed!
I woke up somewhere that was not my bed and that was… in the zoo. I must have sleep walked there or I might have come here and forgotten. If I woke up in the Zoo I would be happy because no zoo keepers were there to tell me what to do or how much food I’m allowed to take or eat. I could walk as far as I wanted without touching anyone. But then I would be sad because I might get eaten alive. I would like to spend my sleep in my bed and in my room all cosy and warm so I can’t die in my dream. If I had to choose out of staying in the zoo or my bedroom I would choose my bedroom so my parents would know where I was.
By Olivia Valk
The Horror Jungle
I was sleeping in my bed at home and there was a teleporting device under my bed but I didn’t know. Somehow the teleporting device glitched out and sent me to a horror jungle. I woke up in the middle of the horror jungle. I had no supplies of water, food or anything but a bed. Luckily there were heaps of rivers and bushes with berries and trees with fruit. When I was looking around I found an axe. I picked up the axe and said “someone must have been camping here” but I am still really scared. It got dark so I decided to go to bed. I woke up at about 5:30 and picked up my axe and cut down trees, picked the fruit, picked the berries off the bush and took a dip and drank some water from the river. I chopped the tree trunks into nice fine planks and built a little shelter. Since I was so tired and it was 5:00, I went to sleep. Then I woke up in my bed at home and found out that the teleporting device teleported me back home.
By Jayden Long
The Deer that Glowed
One night there was a deer that swallowed a light bulb and started to glow. There was a tree that was wondering why it was doing that. There were a lot of animals wondering and looking at him. They liked the light so they could see everything, but in the dark, he glowed and kept all the animals awake. In the day he stopped glowing but in the night he glowed all night. They could see a wolf, lots of birds, snakes and little fireflies. I can imagine myself there. There was a lot of light coming from behind the trees. There was a tree that had a really long nose and it was looking blank at the deer because it was glowing. The tree with the long nose said “Why are you glowing Mr Deer?” the deer said, “Because I swallowed a light bulb”. So the animals turned around and tried to sleep once again.
By Sophie Rickerby
Candyland
One day a girl and a boy, the boy’s name was Max and the girl’s name was Maya, woke in a meadow. They played hide and seek. Maya was the seeker. She chased Max so he ran and fell into a ditch. Maya fell in also. They looked up and saw it was filled with candy. ‘Candy?’ said Maya. They were really happy and picked up so much candy. There was a cotton candy bed and a beach with sand made from lollipops. They met three girls named Mehreet, Liv and Zaelia who said ‘Welcome to Candyland!!!’ ‘Candyland?’ said Max. ‘Yes, we have been stuck here for one year,’ said Liv. ‘Want to come home with us?’ asked Maya. ‘Quickly because the portal is about to close. They ran and ran and just in time they jumped into the portal home.
By Mehreet Chahal
Other School News and Happenings
Magic Show
The show Be Bright Eat Right had a focus around children taking control of their diets and about creating positive attitudes towards food behaviour. As well as supporting the New Zealand Curriculum we were entertained with a hilarious magic show full of audience interaction.
Basketball Brilliance
Three of our year 5 girls attended the inaugural girls year 5/6 SIPT 3 basketball tournament down in Rangiora. After some tough games and a few tussles they won the tournament in extra time beating a previously unbeaten team from North Canterbury!
Flo Paulo, Tilly Bainbridge and Georgie Hickin (in photo below) were members of the winning Marlborough team and Flo was named MVP of tournament as nominated by the other teams. Well done on a fantastic sporting result!
Ki o Rahi Tournament
We are a PB4L School - Positive Behaviour For Learning
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.
Taylor Hub - Road and Cycle Safety
Term 2 - Weeks 3&4
In Weeks 3 & 4 of Term 2, Taylor Hub will be learning about Road and Cycle Safety, in particular being safe in and around traffic and on roads, as well as developing cycling skills when riding a bike.
The main focus of learning will be on providing students with opportunities to recognise road and traffic hazards in the environment and to adopt safe practices in relation to these. The learning ties in to our Inquiry focus on Hauora, particularly to the mental and emotional dimension of hauora (feeling secure in and around traffic and when cycling) but relating also to the physical, spiritual and social dimensions of hauora because the four dimensions are interrelated.
The learning will be taught by the classroom teachers, alongside our local Police Education Officer, Joshua Reidie.
More information will come in via your child's classroom teacher so be sure to look out for this.
Bullying-Free NZ Week 2021 & Pink Shirt Day
We will be having a pink shirt day on Friday May 21st. Children can wear pink on this day to support this cause. You are welcome to make a gold coin donation which will be passed on to the organisers. Please note this is optional.
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
2021 Winter Camp - For Wairau Hub Students
In 2021 the Year 5 and 6 students are going to Lake Rotoiti and Rainbow Ski Field for a two-night stay. This camp involves a range of activities that encourage our Wairau Hub students to develop more independence, be risk-takers, problem solvers and build new friendships. Please budget $105 for this camp to help pay for the accommodation and food.
Tuākana and ½ of Room 8 Camp Dates - Term 3 Week 3
August 9 - 11 (Over on Monday and back on Wednesday for 3pm)
Marohi and ½ of Room 8 Camp Dates - Term 3 Week 3
August 11 - 13 (Over on Wednesday and back on Friday for 3pm)
We urge you to begin payment as soon as possible to avoid having to pay one large lump sum (see costs above).
If you would like to set up an automatic payment, please do so and use your child’s first initial and last name as a reference. The Whitney Street School BOT bank details are: 03 0599 0305934 00.
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/
Community Notices
Chance to Win!
Parents & Caregivers nominate your primary, intermediate or secondary school and you could be in to win a visit from The Hits Drive team, loaded up with $2,000 worth of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) equipment, thanks to Genesis!
https://www.thehits.co.nz/win/nationwide/win-big-for-your-favourite-school-all-thanks-to-genesis/
Terms & Conditions Apply. The Promotion starts at 6:00am on Monday 3rd May 2021 and ends at 19:00pm on Friday
14th May 2021 (Promotional Period). Nominated school must be a New Zealand based primary, intermediate or secondary
school. One successful entrant will be selected at random on Friday 14th May and announced on air with Stace, Mike and Anika. Read the full Terms & Conditions here: https://www.thehits.co.nz/media/3zrbzufq/nzme-x-genesis-terms-and-conditions-confirmed.pdf