你好! Nǐ Hǎo and Happy Chinese New Year,

Thank you for all your support over the last week with the surprise lockdown and home learning. We have some good systems in place and if we need to go into level 3 again, we are ready for this situation. At level 2 we are observing good hygiene protocols, using the scan in at the office and will continue to spread the message to stay home if you are unwell. We thank you for your vigilance with this.

To help our students in these unprecedented times we are striving to keep things as normal as possible at school. We will continue to plan for events in the hope that the country will all be at alert level 1 for the majority of the 2021 year. As part of our planning we will incorporate some resilience building about how we cope if events are cancelled or rescheduled.

On Thursday, subject teaching commenced across the school. It has been wonderful to see students embracing the variety of subjects and self managing with timetables and equipment. Self management is one of the key competencies and one that we reinforce constantly. For some students, being organised comes naturally but others need more reminders or a checklist. We will be reinforcing the importance of having equipment ready, knowing their timetable and being in class on time.

As we head into week 4 we will also be pushing the message that uniform needs to be correct and named. This is part of the criteria for their Grooming Badge. We have a lot of items available for sale in our second hand uniform store and most of these items are $5.00. We encourage individuality and this is why we do not have rules that restrict hair colour, hair style or jewellery unless it becomes a safety concern. Good hygiene is particularly important for emerging adolescents who are participating in sporting activities and being in close proximity to others in these summer months. Clean clothes, daily washing and deodorant are all good practices to encourage.

It seems a long time ago that we held our Meet The Team evening. Thank you for attending. It was so good to meet so many of you and to hear how well your child has settled into our Intermediate. Please remember that you are always welcome to pop in and meet with us. We also like to get your feedback on school matters so please keep in touch and share ideas.

It takes a whole village to run a school and we have a great community in the Birkdale, Birkenhead and Beach Haven neighbourhoods. We will be asking for your support with our fundraising endeavours, community consultations and input into school events. I urge you to get involved, have your say and make a difference.

Enjoy the weekend and stay covid safe.

JoAnne Sutton

Tumuaki / Principal

Year 7 students will be offered Boostrix vaccine ( dTap) in school. This vaccine is a booster of diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough most children received last as pre-schoolers.

Year 8 students will be offered Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in school. This is a New Zealand schedule vaccine recommended to be given at 12 years of age. Students need two doses with a 6-month gap between doses 1 and 2.

Information on the vaccine and a consent form will be sent home with your child. Please complete the form and return to the school. If you would like more information on this important Immunisation programme please go to WDHB School immunisations

We use this data to identify students who may need special programmes either for support or extension. We may contact you to share these results and to offer you some support with home learning if needed.

At the end of the term we will provide you with an effort and attitude report that outlines how well your child has settled into the school year and is engaged in learning. On this report we will also indicate if your child is working at expectation. This is to give you early notification if we feel that there are additional needs that your child requires support with.

If you have any concerns about your child's progress, please contact the whānau teacher first.

It is also worth noting that if we feel that assessment activities may cause stress or anxiety to your child, we will find other methods to gather data. Your child's happiness is our first priority.

All you have to do is buy a ticket, dust off your dancing shoes and get glammed up with us. We are aiming to have 300 guests at this event and all profits will go directly back into the school. This fundraiser is for our school library.

You can order tickets online by clicking on the following link: Puttin' on the Ritz Ticket Order Form

The decision to offer after school activities was made as a way to engage the community in our school. Some of the activities are designed to meet learning needs and offer a type of after school tutoring service to help fill the gaps for students with needs in numeracy and literacy. We are also aware that not all of our students attend dance or music or sports coaching so our activities will offer an alternative after school commitment.

All staff were eager to spend at least one afternoon at school running these programmes so that we can ensure a variety of activities are on offer. Students must be signed up to attend so please look out for the note coming home on Monday.

Please contact office@bis.school.nz to advertise your community event in this space.