Newsletter No. 7 - May 6, 2022

An extra special haere mai to the following new students who joined us this term: Makena B, Lucy B and Ruby M-S.

I hope you all had a fantastic break with your whānau over the holidays and managed to relax, recharge and get outside in the beautiful autumnal sunshine. It has been amazing to see the children return to school happily and healthily and to get straight back into learning programmes. Our teaching teams have hit the ground running and have already been super busy - have a Sneak Peek here with our Media Team to see what’s been going on. Special mentions have to go to the exciting arrival of Barry the Axolotl in Rapanui and Tuawera’s FANTASTIC self portraits from their special art lessons.

It has also been wonderful to see parents and caregivers back on site during pick up and drop off times. Thank you so much for your continued support with all things Covid related. It has been great being able to catch up with parents and we look forward to planning events during this term that enable you all to engage more and more in a face to face capacity with your children’s learning experiences.

Awaroa Survival Challenge - Week 1, Term 2

During our Teacher Only Day at the end of last term, our teaching teams spent the day planning some really exciting learning opportunities for Term 2! Our school Vision and Values is central to all that we do. Last term our focus with our students was ‘Connecting with our people - Whanaungatanga’. This term we will be exploring what ‘Connecting to our place - Kaitiakitanga’ means to us. Our School Value of Kaitiakitanga is all about developing an understanding of our local environment and working actively to protect it.

Our school curriculum is ‘place based’; this means that we work to explore and begin all learning inquiries with ourselves and our school at the centre before exploring and inquiring into how this impacts at a local, national and possibly global level. Later today teams will be sharing their Curriculum newsletters with you all (via the App).

Please find time to have a read of these, as this will have a lot of information about the direction that teaching teams will be taking learning during this term in relation to inquiry, but also in the core subjects of reading, writing and maths.

Teams will again be sharing learning and communications with you using Seesaw and through the Friday Pitopito Kōrero (beginning Week 2), where you can get an update on what has been happening in the team during the week (and what to remember for the next week). A reminder to also keep a close eye on our calendar of events, as Term 2 is set to be a busy and exciting one!!

This term our staff will be continuing their professional development in the areas of Structured Literacy and Maths. Over the next couple of newsletters I will be giving you an update as to what has happened so far this year in these areas, and our plans for this term.

A reminder that the Years 5-8 Cross Country event will take place on Wednesday 11 May. Under Orange Settings spectators are welcome on the school grounds (ensuring they are wearing a mask), so please have a read of the letter that was sent via the app earlier this week and come along to support our children!

Monday 9 May at 7pm in the Waiora Space (next to school library). All welcome.

Exciting news - our preloved clothing sale is back for 2022!!
We would love your help with donations of good quality used (or new!) clothing we can sell at this event to raise funds for our school.

Donations of clothing can be delivered to the school office between 9 - 20 May.
Save the date: 25 May, 5 - 8pm for the sale.

Sushi lunches started this week (May 6) and finishes on July 8 (June 3 is a Teacher’s only day before QE birthday, and June 24 is Matariki).
Making it a 8 week sushi Friday term.
Please view the order form below showing the menu, prices and internet banking details.
You don’t need to send the form, just an email or text is fine. You will get a reply to all correspondence so you know the order is confirmed.

If your child/ren want to cancel the order due to sickness etc., please try and contact Pure Sushi before 8am Friday on the day of delivery and they will refund or credit your account. There are some people with covid credits from last term, so make contact to confirm your term payment & prices.

Any questions or special requests, please email, text or phone:
Jan & Hide - Pure Sushi: 021 165 1487

Tuawera Art Classes with Jo Loughnan

Parent Drop-ins to see a Mana Ake counsellor/Kaimahi are up and running. Due to Covid Orange Setting these will be organised via Zoom or a phone call.
If you would like to meet with one of the Mana Ake team please talk to your child's teacher and they will book in a time for you.

Mana Ake encourage parents to visit https://manaake.health.nz/supporting-your-child/ and the Free Parent Helpline 0800 568 856. This is available from 9am to 9pm Monday to Sunday.

The Mana Ake website has a section on Big Worries - Mana Ake which is particularly relevant with what’s going on in the world currently.
Parents going to this site can be assured of finding up-to-date and quality information on wellbeing and parenting skills. Another useful link for families and parents. https://realparents.org/

Te Onepoto Paper Plane Launch - week 1

In 2022, we will be reviewing the policies related to Health, Safety, and Welfare throughout the year. In term two, the review focus is on our Healthcare and Behaviour Management sections.
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​Instructions for reviewers:

1. Visit www.schooldocs.co.nz
2. Search for Sumner School (Username: Sumner, Password: Wakefield).
3. Search for the above policies in the search bar.
4. Read the policy.
5. Check the red Policy Review icon at the right-hand top corner of the page. a new screen will appear.
6. Select your role (Board member, staff member, or parent/caregiver) from the drop-down list.
7. Enter your name (optional).
8. Submit your ratings and comments.