PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Kia ora koutou ngā whānau katoa. Tēnā koutou e tautoko ana ngā tamariki o te kura takawaenga o Whakaoriori.
Thank you to all of our MIS whānau for the support that you have provided for your children during the Alert Level lockdowns since Wednesday, August 18. We are looking forward to a return to school for most students at Alert Level Two on Thursday, September 9 this week.
I would like to wish Beth Woodward all the very best as she starts her new role at Kuranui College next Monday. Beth has been a valuable member of our leadership team here at MIS for the past two years. We will remember her huge passion for the Arts and her genuine aroha for our students. Thank you for your many valuable contributions, Beth.
A farewell from Ms Woodward
A big ‘thumbs up’ to all of our students who have made a concerted effort with their online learning, and to their whanau who have taken on the role of the teacher to help out.
Thank goodness we are going to level two this week, as I am looking forward to catching up with everyone again face to face!
As teaching art is my passion, I have accepted a position of Team Leader for Visual Arts at Kuranui College, which I will start in week 8.
I have really enjoyed working here at MIS, and loved teaching my art extension class. I will be sad to leave as it is such a vibrant school with so many learning opportunities for our students.
I would like to thank you for your support over the last two years. I have met some wonderful parents and it is heartwarming to see such a positive community of workers who help with our students' learning.
Ms Geange's kōrero
I sincerely hope that everyone has been keeping well in their bubbles and the juggling act of parenting, online learning whilst doing your own mahi hasn’t caused too much stress! Like many, we here at school are very much looking forward to Level 2 commencing on Thursday.
Throughout lockdown, it has been great to be able to pop into different class’s google meets to say hi and see how everyone is doing.
It is obvious that having the camera on during these meets is a bit ‘too cool for school’ but it has been great to see that students are taking the opportunity to check in with their teacher and classmates. I have been reminding the students on the privilege it is to have either their own device or a loaned chromebook from school, so it has been disappointing to hear of reports where a small number of students have let the team down by abusing this privilege and engaging in some negative behaviour online.
NetSafe defines a digital citizen as someone who; is a confident and capable user of ICT uses technologies to participate in educational, cultural, and economic activities. It refers to responsible technology usage that is essential in helping students achieve and understand digital literacy, as well as ensuring cyberbullying prevention, online safety, digital responsibility, and digital health and wellness.
Below is some information given by Mrs Robyn Hamilton, our Digital Technologies teacher, who shares some helpful advice to our students and some tools for whānau to help keep their children safe in the digital world. Any issues arising that is unrelated to online learning, will be redirected back to the whānau.
Being safe online at home
We would like to remind all students that we have high expectations for behaviour whether it be at school or online. If they see someone make an unkind comment they should try to help shut it down as quickly as possible. We do cover Digital Citizenship in our Digi Tech classes and now is a good time to ask you to review this at home. It is easy for people to hide behind the keyboard to do and say things they would not face to face. The impact of this can last for a very long time. Emotional conflict online is also known as Digital Drama so we would ask our whānau to regularly check in on and monitor your child’s online activity to keep them safe.
Learn more about how to be kind and courageous online at
Pedestrain Crossing
Please remember that when we all return to school, for those adults picking up or dropping off students outside the school, please ensure your child uses the designated crossing. We have had a number of very near misses prior to lockdown, caused by students not looking and running across the road. Some cars drive very quickly down Intermediate Street! Kia tūpato!
