Chelsea School Newsletter
Week 8, Term 1 2023
Important Term Dates
- Thu 06 Apr: Term 1 Ends at 2pm
- Mon 24 Apr: Teacher Only Day
- Tue 25 Apr: Anzac Day
- Wed 26 Apr: Term 2 Begins - School Open for Instruction
- Fri 28 Apr: PTA Fun Run
- Mon 08 May: BoT Meeting 7pm
- 29/5 - 2/6 Pasifika Week
- Mon 05 Jun: King's Birthday - School Closed
- Mon 12 Jun: BoT Meeting 7pm
Kia ora whānau
This is the last newsletter of the term and it is really a celebration of an amazing start to the year. One of the best parts for me has been welcoming our new tamariki and Whānau. It has been great making new connections and seeing our new learners settle in so well and really thrive at school. Our Whanaungatanga sessions were an awesome way to partner with Whānau right from day 1, and the Pōwhiri was a perfect way to welcome our new people formally.
Another highlight has been that we have been able to do things we have missed out on over the last few years due to Covid restrictions. We’ve had a PJ Pizza Party and a Disco and also other events we haven’t been able to do in a while like swimming sports. It has almost felt like a normal term.
A huge thanks to the PTA for the fantastic events that our kids have enjoyed. You guys give our tamariki those extra special moments they will remember for the rest of their lives. Thank you to our hard-working and dedicated team of teachers and support staff. You serve our learners in the best way possible, and you do it with aroha and commitment. A big thank you to our parents for all you do to support our school, and finally, a massive thank you to our children for being the best kids a school could ask for. You are the reason we get out of bed in the morning.
Looking ahead, though, just a reminder that our last day of the term is Thursday, 6th April, and school closes at 2pm. We reopen for Term 2 on Wednesday, 26th April, due to our ToD and ANZAC day.
Learning Stories
As you know, Learning Stories are a huge part of our culture of growth and celebration here at Chelsea. They are beautiful illustrations of whanaungatanga, showing the connections between our learners and their teachers and are snapshots of what is being noticed about your child as they engage with learning inside and outside of the classroom. Our values and DNA underpin these stories. Something we have noticed, however, is that there are still quite a few Learning Stories that are not being read, which is such a shame and also a missed opportunity as they are an important link between school and home. Ideally, we would love parents to read these together with their tamariki to celebrate them. Underneath the post, there is also a place where you can comment as well. We know, talking with our kids, that they absolutely love it when teachers and parents comment on their Learning Story posts.
One thing you could do if you are not getting the push notifications is go into your app settings and ensure this is turned on. If you are having any issues accessing Hero, please email me sven@chelsea.school.nz
We would like to say “Ramadan Mubarak” to our Chelsea families who are celebrating Ramadan over the coming weeks.
Swimming Sports Events
Over the last few weeks, we have had three different swimming sports events, and they have all been incredible! Our students have shown many of our values and DNA whilst celebrating their own and other's successes in the pool. Regardless of how competitively our learners engage with swimming, one thing we know is that having a basic level of swimming confidence is hugely important in a country where we live so close to water. The skills our learners are developing are actually vital in terms of safety.
A massive thank you to all of our teachers who have organised these events and also to our incredible parents who have helped support the running of these as well.
Rock Your Socks
Last week our school celebrated ‘Rock Your Socks’ day in style. Both students and teachers sported some very funky, cool, glamorous and outrageous socks to show support for Down Syndrome awareness. We raised an amazing $389.60 for the Auckland Down Syndrome Association.
ToD - Te Tiriti o Waitangi
As whanaungatanga is one of our key values at Chelsea, we believe it is important to ensure we always feed back to our Whānau community about the direction of our school and initiatives our staff are engaging with. For our Teacher Only Day on the 24th April, we will be heading to Te Taua Moana Marae, where David Tapene will be welcoming us with a pōwhiri and guiding us on our journey to increase our knowledge and awareness of Tikanga Māori. Following this, we will be engaging in some intense learning around Te Tiriti o Waitangi and what it means for us as a school to give effect to Te Tiriti. As part of this mahi, we are working to ensure our plans, policies, and local curriculum reflect local Tikanga Māori, mātauranga Māori and te ao Māori.
Turangawaewae session at Birkdale
On Saturday, 18th March, a group of Chelsea staff attended a community event at Birkenhead College and Birkdale Intermediate School. The kaupapa of the day was to discuss the concept of Turangawaewae with a focus on the local area. It was an awesome day of learning and connection that started at the Te Purapura Pai marae, an amazing taonga of our local area that has huge cultural significance for our community. We also had important figures from our local community come and speak to us about some of the amazing things that are happening in our community, such as Taka Peters. Taka provides free meals for those in need in the Beach Haven community. A key takeaway for me from the day was that Turangawaewae is not only about knowing the history of the place we stand, but it is also about knowing and connecting with, the wonderful people in the community.
Assembly Friday
How cool that we can have assemblies again! A huge thank you to the student council for planning and running our last one in week 6. This Friday at 9 am, Māhuri Hub 2 are hosting our next assembly, which is focusing on our concept of Turangawaewae.
What’s on in Auckland?
If you’re staying in the city these school holidays, the link below is worth a look.
Ngā Mihi
Sven Cropp
Tumuaki Tuarua/Deputy Principal
Chelsea Primary School
DNA and Values Awards Week 6 Term 1
Congratulations to our learners who have been recognised in Week 6 for their outstanding work in showing our DNA and values.
This term is a time of real traction in embedding these values. We are starting to hear our learners talking about the different values and what they mean.