Talofa lava!

Last week was Samoan Language Week and the theme was: Poupou le lotoifale. Ola manuia le anofale which means strengthen the posts of your house, for all to thrive.

When you’re building a foundation for a fale (house) it can’t have a weak foundation or posts. This is the same for the foundations of our families, schools and churches that play an important role in strengthening Gagana Samoa (the Samoan Language). Language is important for the foundations of our overall well being.

Teacher Union Meetings

The NZEI has scheduled teacher union meetings throughout the country this month. Teachers in Marlborough will be meeting on Thursday afternoon June 24. School will remain open with a skeleton staff but we would appreciate it if you could pick up your child at 1:00pm. Supervision will be available for those that remain at school, and a notice will be sent home nearer the time to indicate whether your child will be going home or staying at school.

While we regret the inconvenience we know this will cause, these are government approved meetings and it allows teachers to meet as a group, and to hear and be part of important decisions going forward. Thanks for your understanding.

Colder Weather

It certainly is getting colder in the mornings! Like always, this means that our students will be needing to keep warm by wearing their school fleece. Please, please, please make sure this is regularly named and that your child knows to keep it nice and safe in their school bag if they take it off.

Concerns and Complaints

Each year we put a reminder or two in the newsletter about the correct procedure to use if you have a concern or complaint related to school. We have an open door policy where we ask you to communicate any concerns with us immediately so that we can address them in a timely manner.

Basically in the first instance contact should be made with the teacher to highlight any concern and agree a way forward to resolve the situation. If the concern is not resolved through this course of action then the matter should be raised with the Principal who will provide further assistance. If the concern is in relation to the Principal then this matter can be raised with them directly or with the Board of Trustees through contacting the Board Chairperson, Kate McEntee.

If there is still no satisfactory resolution then a formal complaint can be laid by following our Complaints Procedure which can be viewed on SchoolDocs (Username: whitneystreet Password: learners) and a hard copy is in the school office.

A reminder too that we ask you to refrain from using social media to discuss your concerns, as it can often get out of hand, and leave lasting messages that may not be reflective of the actual situation, and could be quite damaging. Please ensure that you approach school directly with any concerns you may have, as per the procedure mentioned above.

Hopefully good, open, timely communication should resolve the majority of concerns that may arise during the school year. We all want to provide the best possible learning environment that caters for all our students emotional, physical, and social well-being allowing them all the opportunity to be safe and successful at school.

Parking

As parking is very restrictive on streets around the school please try to fill in gaps to allow as many parks as possible. Alternatively park a wee bit further down the block and encourage your child to walk a couple of hundred meters. This promotes a healthy active lifestyle and removes congestion from the school gate.

KEGS (Kids Edible Garden)

Last week we launched KEGs (Kids Edible Gardens) for 2021. We have a new facilitator, Rose Bayliss.

The Ōpaoa and Taylor students will have time working and learning about gardening and growing plants. The Wairau Hub students will explore Edible Gardens on Wednesday afternoons with Liz Wheeler. This may look different depending on the class i.e. some students may opt in, others may have a regular whole class gardening session with their teacher, or their teacher and KEGs facilitator, and others may have a hub rotation.

We are looking forward to seeing our new garden beds by the swimming pool, becoming producers of healthy foods - veggies and herbs etc. Watch this space!

Playground Upgrade

The playground upgrade is continuing with the large climbing frames, poles and ropes hopefully starting to be constructed later this week. Unfortunately the weather, supply of materials, and some engineering issues have held up the project so we thank everyone for their patience. The bonus has been seeing the excitement in the children watching the various types of machinery onsite, which has also provided learning opportunities. We can’t wait to see it all finished and our children and families enjoying our playground once again.

Have a great week everyone.

Whitney Street Staff

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.