School Newsletter
29 July, Term 3 - Week 1
Dear Parents, Whānau and Caregivers
A special welcome to Asmaa who has started school in Team Pounamu and Arisha and Anusha in Rākau Nui. Kia ora and welcome to our friendly school!
It's great to be back at school for the start of another term. It is lovely to see everyone reconnecting again with friends and classmates. I've enjoyed hearing lots of fun holiday stories when I've been on duty.
Shared Pathway
The Paparārangi Kindy pathway is open and students and their families may enter and exit the school from their entrance on Mark Avenue. Please ensure the gates are closed after use.
New Digital Devices
A big thank you to Johnsonville Charitable Trust for their recent donation of chromebooks, ipads and Pub Charity for their donation of televisions & trolleys. These will be a welcome boost to support teaching and learning.
Teacher Only Day - 2 September
Paparangi School will be closed on Friday 2 September for a Teacher Only Day for staff professional development. Staff are working on developing our local curriculum and learning new strategies for developing children's oral language.
Covid Update
There have been a lot more positive staff and student Covid cases since the end of last term, so please keep being vigilant about hygiene, mask wearing and monitoring your children. 40% of students and two thirds of staff have now tested positive for Covid, with a handful of active cases currently in our school community. Although Covid and other winter illnesses are taking their toll across the nation we welcomed back 89% of our students this week. Thank you also for your support with the mask wearing requirements from Year 4 up - it is great to see the community working together to take care of one another.
As you may be aware from recent news in the media there are unprecedented staffing challenges being faced by schools across the country. Teacher sickness, as in many workplaces, combined with the existing teacher shortage and now a shortage of relievers is making it increasingly challenging for schools to stay open for onsite learning. Paparangi is not immune to this and we too are struggling to find enough relievers to cover teacher sickness. In light of this, I would like to thank our incredibly professional and resilient staff who returned after their non contact time (which many of them spent recovering from sickness themselves) prepared, positive and ready for another term of prioritising the learning and wellbeing of our tamariki.
Ngā mihi nui
Tracey Arthurs
Principal
Visit from NZ Playhouse Theatre Company
What a wonderful performance by the actors at NZ Playhouse who entertained tamariki with their rendition of The Emperor's New Clothes on Wednesday. It was lovely to have all our tamariki together in the hall for a school event. Thanks to parents who have made a payment towards the cost of the show. $6 payments can still be made using Kindo, Internet Banking or EftPos at the office.
Medicines at School
The school has a responsibility to ensure that if students are taking medication, procedures are followed to ensure that it is kept securely, and taken appropriately. Parents are asked to administer student medication outside school hours where possible but if a student requires medication during school hours, the school develops a plan in collaboration with parents/caregivers, and administers medication with due care and attention to the instructions.
Our medical authority form has been updated - please fill out a form at the office or download from the school app. The school will not administer medication to a student without formal parental consent. Paracetamol may be given with verbal consent and instruction on the appropriate dosage from a parent.
We observe the following guidelines when administering medicines.
- Medication is administered through the school office.
- Staff with authority to administer medication on behalf of parents/caregivers keep appropriate records and ensure that medication is stored safely.
- Medication must be supplied in its original container/packaging labelled with the name of the student, and dose required. Any variation in dose must be notified in writing.
- Medication must be delivered to school by parents/caregivers, not by students.
- To ensure the safe management of medication:
- all medication given to students is recorded.
- the record shows the name of the student, the dose given, the time and date given, and any other action taken.
- forms from parents/caregivers are stored appropriately.
Y4-6 Swimming Sports
Swimming Sports for Rākau Nui students, are taking place on Friday 19th August, from 12.00pm to 2.00pm at Tawa Pool using the main pool and learner pool. A notice with details about the itinerary, cost and what to bring was sent home with students earlier this week. There are all kinds of events to suit the different ability levels of swimmers. Everyone is encouraged to enter and swim in at least one event. We thank the team from EasySwim who help to run this event with us.
We require parent helpers to help with timing the races as this event cannot go ahead without volunteers. If you are available to help, could you please indicate that on your child's permission slip.
Payments can also be made using EFTPOS or KINDO, our online payment service. Please pay the $10 to cover the cost of bus transport at the office or return with the permission slip to Ali Sprott in Rm 11 by Wednesday 3rd August.
Timetable (approximate)
11.15am Buses leave school
12.00pm Races start
2.00pm Races completed
2.55pm Buses arrive back at school
School swimming lessons are being planned for term four. Information will be sent home later in the term.
Road Safety and Parking
We all have a responsibility to keep all of our tamariki safe at the crossing and when arriving and leaving school each day. Parents, you have a big part to play:
- Do not park over driveways or use the bus stop as parking places.
- Do not park on the yellow lines. The yellow lines around the crossing are there so that there is enough space for our road patrollers to see oncoming traffic to then be able to make safe decisions about stopping and entering traffic. If they can't see because a car is on the yellow lines blocking their view, they cannot safely do their job.
- If you use a vehicle to pick up your child, consider other options such as parking slightly further away and walking to meet your child (ie: Mark Ave) or for older students, arrange to meet them at a spot further away from school.
- Pay attention to the calls of the Road Patrol monitors and follow their instructions. When you want to cross the road please stand behind the white line and wait until the road patrollers have said "cross now" and lowered their arms. The road patrollers have a number of checks they must complete before they let you cross. When the road patrollers have said "cross now", it means the road patrollers have assessed the dangers and decided it is safe to cross. So please, for everyone's safety, wait until the road patrollers have said these words and dropped their arm.
NZ Police and WCC parking wardens are doing regular inspections of Beazley Ave to support our efforts to keep students safe.
Home and School News
Thanks to families who ordered a school hoodie. We appreciate your support. Orders have arrived and will be sent home today.
Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE)
As part of our Health Programme, classes are teaching RSE lessons this term. Once RSE programmes begin, teams send home a summary of upcoming lessons with their weekly notice. Team Leaders are also available to answer questions parents may have about aspects of the RSE programme or parents are encouraged to approach teachers directly with their queries.
A school does not need to seek parents’ or caregivers’ permission for students to participate in the RSE programme. However, parents or caregivers may write to the Principal requesting to have their child excluded from one, some or all sexuality education lessons. Arrangements will then be made for your child to be supervised in a different classroom.
Health Education Information evening
Parent information sessions are being held before RSE lessons begin - parents are invited to come along and find out more about this important learning area. The Y4-6 parent meeting was held earlier this week and the Y1-3 session is at 5:30 pm on Tuesday 2 August. RSVP to Uenuku and Pounamu Team Leaders please.
School Board Elections
It’s board election time! In September we will be electing board members for the next three years. Nominations are open for the election of 5 parent representatives to the school board. If there are more nominations than vacancies, then parents and caregivers will receive an invitation to vote either electronically or by post.
- Voting Starts: Wednesday 10 August
- Election Day is September 7
- Voting Count: Tuesday 13 September
- New Board in place: Wednesday 14 September
Who can join a School Board?
The School Board plays an important role in the governance of our school. Parents/Caregivers and people in the wider community can be parent representatives on the Board. School Boards need people with a wide range of skills but most of all with an interest in education and the well being, progress and achievement of all children. If you would like to know more about the rewards of being a Board Member you can:
contact the current Presiding Member, Helen Ashton, who is available to answer any of your questions - helena@paparangi.school.nz or speak with any of the other current members: Cameron Sherley, Duncan Kennington, Gary Mitchell or Richard Ng.
read the "Community guide to the role of school boards"
go to the School Trustees Association website for more information
To nominate yourself or someone else go to: www.myschoolelection.nz/mynomination. Nominations close at midday on Wednesday 3 August. A hard copy nomination form can also be obtained from the school office. If you wish to stand for the board, it is recommended that you provide a candidate statement and photograph – take a great ‘head & shoulders’ photo of yourself and write 1-2 paragraphs about what you have to offer.
What's happening?
- Y1-3 Health Education Parent Info Evening, Tuesday 2 August at 5:30pm
- Board Meeting, Monday 15 August at 6pm
- Y4-6 Swimming Sports, Friday 19 August
- Teacher Only Day - School Closed, Friday 2 September
- Last day of Term 3, Friday 30 September at 3pm
Community Notices
Marrzipan Drama
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No. It’s a Marrzipan kid dressed as a bird-plane for their upcoming play! Marrzipan is at your school and we would love to have you come and try it out! Come see all the craziness and fun as we run 9 drama-based self confidence lessons a term. Marrzipan is full of games, a wacky play, and an even wackier Joshuwawa!
*Free Trial Lesson* For more information please contact Joshuwawa at: Josh@MarrzipanDrama.co.nz or visit www.marrzipandrama.co.nz
Biodiversity and Child Health Study
Researchers at Massey University are studying how the natural environment affects health in children. The aim of the study is to find out if exposure to greater plant biodiversity may protect against several health conditions including, asthma and allergies. If your child is 6-11years old, the research team would be grateful if you would consider taking part. For this study we need all children - including those who do and those who do not have asthma and allergies.
Information about the study has been sent home with students today. The study involves completing a questionnaire and your child taking part in a breathing and an allergy test. A smaller number of selected participants will be invited to take part in a second phase of the study, which would involve some further health tests. To take part in the research, please contact the study team by text (text YES, your name, and your child’s name and school to 021 819 745). If you, or anyone you know would like any further information about the study please click this link, or contact the research team:
Email: asthma@massey.ac.nz
Phone: 0508 ASTHMA (278 462)
Text (SMS): 021 819 745
Free flu jabs for tamariki aged 3 to 12
Children aged 3 to 12 years old can get a free flu vaccination from their GP, healthcare provider or at most pharmacies. Most tamariki aged 9 years and over need one vaccination each year to get good protection against flu. If you have a child under 9 years old, talk to your healthcare provider as they may need one or two vaccinations depending on whether they’ve had a flu vaccine before. If tamariki have recently had COVID-19 they can have a flu jab as soon as they’ve recovered.
Warm Up Winter Sports Programme – Mondays 3.05pm-4.05pm
Our Kelly Sports after-school multi-sports programmes is back and running in Term 3!
Get your kids active and learning great new skills in a fun, exciting and enjoyable environment with Kelly Sports! Encouraging a lifelong love of sports, our popular multi-sports programmes teach kids foundational skills and build confidence all by having fun! This term we are focusing on the following sports:
Hockey, Basketball, Football and Tag Games (2 weeks of each).
Starts Monday 1 August for 8 weeks. Go to www.kellysports.co.nz, and in the school box put "Paparangi".
Contact Us
Parents, please use the App to send a message about a student absence. It is our preferred method of contact for non-attendance and is quick and easy to do.
Email: office@paparangi.school.nz
Website: https://paparangi.school.nz
Location: 57-59 Beazley Avenue, Paparangi, Wellington 6037, New Zealand
Phone: +64 4-478 6617