Newsletter No. 12, 29 July 2022
29 July 2022
Associate Principal's Kōrero
Kia ora rā koe,
Welcome back to Term 3 everyone!
It is always great to see how school comes alive when children and whānau arrive on the first day back from a break. The learning spaces are full of smiling faces and enthusiastic children who are all looking forward to the rest of the term.
An extra special haere mai to Rose N, Calder & Logan H, Georgia C, Isla N, Khadija S, Mael P-L , Makenzie S-J and Liam W who joined Rapanui this term.
Spotlight on Learning Conferences… On Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th August we will be hosting our Learning Conferences. Bookings are still open and we encourage you to check in and make a booking, if you haven't already done so. These can be done via Google Meet or phone for those unable to make it in to school. Go to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and use the event code e6w79 to find your child's teacher and available times. These conferences will be an opportunity to meet teachers to discuss your child’s learning progress and the information contained within reports.
Lessons cease at 12.30pm on both Wednesday and Thursday in order to give our teachers enough time to meet with each family and to enable us to schedule the necessary mask breaks for staff throughout the conferences. Please arrange for your child/ren to be collected from school at this time. We will provide supervision for children who aren't able to be picked up earlier, but we would really appreciate as many children being collected as possible. Please let the Office know if you are unable to collect your child by emailing admin@sumner.school.nz
Spotlight on Sport… Next Tuesday afternoon many of our Year 5 to 8 ākonga will travel to Hagley Park to compete in the South East Zone Winter Tournament. We also have a team competing in a basketball competition on Monday, an upcoming duathlon and a ski competition this term, as well as regular weekly sport for the Year 7/8 students at Hagley Park. I would like to acknowledge and thank our parents who help with coaching, refereeing, marshalling and transport at all school sports events. We couldn't do it without you! Our Sports Coordinator, Mrs Vine, is working extremely hard organising all of these for Year 5 to 8 students. This is a huge job as not only does she have to organise teams and entries but she also has to arrange transport and coordinate timetables, coaching, selection trials and meetings and a myriad of other tasks associated with all things sports. I would like to extend a huge thank you to her for all she does for our school and the children!
Student Safety
I am sure most of you are aware of the current media reports of phone threats being made to a number of schools. Thankfully, our school has not received any threats or unwelcome communication at all. The Ministry of Education has been advised by Police that enquiries are underway and that they take these things extremely seriously, but that at this stage they believe there is no threat to safety. The health and safety and wellbeing of our tamariki and our kaiako is at the front of everything we do at Sumner School and we wanted to assure you that we have detailed procedures in place in response to any safety threat we might face. These procedures are available here through the School Docs button at the top right of the Homepage.
Whānau have also made us aware of some misinformation circulating on social media regarding lockdowns and public health responses. Sumner, like all schools, has a procedure in place for these types of situations based on advice from the Ministry of Education. Due to the need for security, the details of this procedure, known as ‘reverse evacuations’, are not made public. Mischief and misinformation shared on social media is unfortunately all too common and we urge you all to seek clarification of any questions or concerns you have. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss any of our school policies.
Lastly, I would like to thank everyone in the school community for the ongoing efforts you make to ensure the students and staff stay healthy and the school remains open, particularly with mask wearing and being careful and caring about coming into school. These are challenging times and it is so encouraging to see how our amazing community can rally round, show empathy and understanding and demonstrate such resilience.
Have a wonderful weekend - stay warm and dry!
Ngā mihi,
Tim Lowe
Speaking 4 The Planet
In our last Newsletter we celebrated Juno I, Finlay S and Lily R reaching the finals of the Speaking 4 The Planet competition at Tūranga. This was a huge achievement and we are all so proud of them! All three speakers spoke strongly and represented the school brilliantly. The theme for their speeches was Only One Earth: Make Peace with Nature and we are very excited to let you know that both Finlay and Lily came first in the respective categories. Congratulations to them both!
Mrs Vine Sports Coordinator Report - Basketball
Canterbury RAM’s Visit
In week 9 of Term 2, Sumner School had a visit from 3 members of the Canterbury RAM’s Basketball team. Matur, Kaia and Jackson arrived to greet a very excited group of keen basketball players on the blue court. The players ran through a number of drills that the Canterbury RAM players complete during their training sessions. Matur and Jackson also arrived at one of the Awaroa team’s basketball games being held at Pioneer stadium to lend support to the team!
Zone Basketball Competition
On Thursday 7 July, four Sumner School basketball teams attended the Zone Basketball Competition held at Cowles Stadium. Each team played a number of games throughout the day. The games were 10 minutes each and very intense. Overall it was fantastic to see both boy's and girl’s teams demonstrating sportsmanship and teamwork. Well done to all of the teams, your results were amazing! The Awaroa boys team placed and will now be playing in the Canterbury Basketball Competition being held at Pioneer Stadium on Monday 1 August.
Te Onepoto Museum Visit - Term 2
Board of Trustees Elections 2022
Students Activity Costs
Term 3 costs have not yet been finalised, but we would be grateful if you could check Hero and ensure your children's accounts are up to date. We are short-staffed in the office, so if you have made a payment during the holidays it will not yet show on your account.
If you would prefer an emailed statement please contact me.
Sue Stevens
Business Manager
Upcoming Kaitiaki Dates
Plastic Free July - this month is Plastic Free July - a global movement to reduce plastic pollution. If you're doing anything neat in your house to reduce plastic waste we'd love to see some pictures. Email lreid@sumner.school.nz Daffodil Day - Friday 26 August. We will be holding a Wear Yellow Mufti Day with a gold coin donation to raise funds for the Cancer Society. More to come closer to the event. Conservation Week - 5 - 11 September. Conservation Week is about enjoying the outdoors and looking after it. You can participate simply by going for a walk, or joining in one of the events led by DOC.
PTA Hot Dog Fundraiser - Term 3 Week 2
Hotdogs for lunch will be starting next week on Tuesday 2 August. Please email your order to trudi@krdimports.co.nz no later than Friday 29 July.
Pay by internet banking to PTA account: 031590 0023740 00
referencing your child’s full name & Room #
Pay $27 for 9 weeks
Pots, Cookers & Lights
Thank you to all the families who brought in crock pots and other cooking equipment as well as lights for our Matariki Star event last term. These are now available for collection from the Office. Please stop by anytime between 8.30am-3.30pm.
Booklet & Money Return - 40 Hour Famine
World Vision's 40Hr Famine
Please return all booklets and money by Monday 1 August at the very latest.
Term 3 School Docs Policy Review
In 2022, we will be reviewing the policies related to Health, Safety, and Welfare throughout the year.
In term three, the review focus is on our Student wellbeing and safety and Staff wellbeing and safety policies.
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.
Canterbury Primary & Intermediate Schools Ski Race Champs
- Sunday 31 July 2022: All Schools Practice Race Day
- Friday 5 August 2022: Race Registrations Closes
- Sunday 14 August 2022: P&I RACE DAY!
- Sunday 21 August 2022: Postponement Day
- Contact for more Information | E events@mtcheeseman.co.nz
- To register your child for race day click here. $45 per child
Mana Ake is available to Support families/Whānau
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/