Newsletter Issue 7
Term 4 - 14 December 2022
Principal’s Update
Kia ora, Nameste, Talofa, Konnichiwa, Guten Tag, Gidday, Vannakkam, ni Hao, Kia orana, Hola, Salam, Sa wat deekha, Dia Dhuit, Goeie Dag, Bonjour, Καλημέρα, Greetings everyone
Today's newsletter is one of celebration and heartfelt thanks!
Despite what the media is focusing on with our latest increase in covid numbers, there is plenty in the Bellevue Community to celebrate.
This has been the third in a sequence of challenging years for schools, students, their staff and their families - and yet we have pulled through, not just 'surviving' but rather 'thriving'.
Over the last week we have had a series of school events celebrating the leadership and achievements of our fabulous students, this evening's Board meeting will focus on the gains we have made against our academic student achievement targets, especially writing, as well as the progress made with our annual plan goals. We have relished the opportunity to strengthen our partnerships with our wider community through our connections with local schools and businesses, as well as the relationships with our families and their willingness to get involved with and support our special school.
Certainly at school there is an increased feeling of being 'through' the challenges presented by covid and able to plan ahead once again with excitement and anticipation.
We take with us, of course, the lesson that, as a united school community, we are flexible, resilient and able to face challenges head on, making a new plan where needed with equally positive results!
Final Assembly
Unfortunately, as we are still unable to bring our entire community together in our school hall for our final assembly tomorrow, this will be focused on our students - farewelling the staff we have leaving, celebrating the year and thank yous to our school team.
This newsletter, then, is our opportunity to thank YOU!
To our Board
Thank you for the huge commitment you make to our school by making time, on top of your own very busy lives, to support, guide and govern our school direction, keeping an ear to the ground and making sure that our team has what they need to do the best for all of our students. You are the representatives of our community who strengthen our community and we appreciate you!
To our Whānau
Your support has been tangible throughout the year. Your excellent communication, positive messages, collaborative problem solving, helpful feedback, sharing of ideas, resources or possibilities to enrich our school and the warmly welcomed treats have all kept our team going through rough or smooth. We have so enjoyed being able to connect more with you this year and look forward to continuing to build on this in 2023. Thanks to every one of you who has contributed your time and skills to a myriad of events and occasions - without you so much of what we do would not be possible. We hope you have a wonderful summer and some special family time.
To our FUNdraisers
What a massive year it has been for you. You have grown the team again, re-established the 'big ticket' items that our students look forward to after our covid interruptions and raised about $7,000 for our school by doing so! We value the time, energy and innovative ideas that each of you bring to the table and recognise the commitment it takes to rebuild a team and bring things 'back on line'.
Your mahi is truly appreciated - thank you for putting the FUN back into our FUNdraising!
To our school staff
Your positivity, flexibility and resilience is seemingly endless. Thank you for the way you prioritise the learning and wellbeing of our young people every day. Thank you for the wonderful learning experiences you initiate and participate in, your energy, creativity and professionalism. Thank you for all that you bring that makes Bellevue a wonderful place to work, grow and learn.
Year 6 Leavers
After a very special celebration on Monday night, our Year 6 students are ready to move on to their next adventure. We will miss them and all the wonderful leadership they have provided but wish them well as they move to intermediate. For those going to Newlands Intermediate, I look forward to seeing you welcomed at the Year 7 Pōwhiri on Wednesday 1 February.
Farewell to Miss A and Miss George
As you know, we are also sad to have to say farewell to Ms Jenny George and Ms Phoebe Ayers who are both heading off on exciting adventures. Phoebe is heading overseas in 2023 to quench her 'travel bug' and Jenny is moving down to Blenheim to be closer to family. We appreciate all that they have brought to the school in their various roles and wish them well as they move on.
Celebrations of achievement
At our celebrations assembly we acknowledged all our leaders for the 2022 year:
- Student Council
- Tech Ninjas
- Green Fingers Gardening Club
- Peer Mediators
- Road Patrollers
- Big Buddies
- Librarians
- The Bell Challenge Participants
- Those who assisted with the Book Fair
Our apologies to Mickey who also completed his Bell Challenge this year and Anna who has been an excpetional Big Buddy, but who were both missed in our Celebrations Assembly due to short staffing on the day.
Thank you to all these students for their contribution to Bellevue this year. Thank you also to our incredible Te Puawai Amua Kapa Haka group who performed for us at this event and the Helpers Morning tea, giving us goosebumps.
Special achievements
In addition to the above, we wanted to acknowledge the following students for their special achievements in the last couple of weeks:
- Charlotte Kennedy - who has placed first in New Zealand for her Contemporary Dance studio this term!
- Harley Cameron - who has won a gold and silver medal for his Karate Kata this term!
- Lucas Hart - who represented Bellevue at the Regional Athletics and placed third for long jump!
Ka rawe tamariki ma! We are in awe of your skills and proud to have such talented individuals in our school.
Hub 5 Speeches
Last week Deeann Daniels (DP) and I had the priviliege of judging the Year 5/6 speeches.
We were astounded by the quality of all six speeches who had made it to this final session as they were all concise, well structured and delivered with great confidence.
You can read all the speeches from our six finalists on our website HERE.
Our two winners were:
- Rose Gillam: Animal Abuse
- Sean Bedford- Evans: The 'dog person', 'cat person' controversy
Well done to you both!
2023 Term Dates
A reminder that our 2023 dates are HERE on our school website.
Property Update - No holiday construction work this summer
The weathertightness work that was due to take place this term on our administration block has been delayed - again. This is no longer scheduled for the summer break - we will keep you informed of when we anticipate this to begin next year.
Medications at School
If we hold medication for your child at school and you wish to take it home for use during the holidays, please collect it from the school office by 12:30pm, Thursday 15 December. If you are returning next year, don’t forget to update/replace medications at the office should they be due to expire. If it is not collected, medication held for our leaving Year 6 students will be safely disposed of.
Enjoy Our Kura
This is a reminder that during the holidays, you and your whānau are welcome to come along and enjoy the playgrounds and fields in our kura. We invite you to spend time here, and walk through the grounds. This is also a great deterrent for those who may not look after our school in the ways we would like, and offers an additional layer of security.
Last Day of School— Tomorrow Early finish - 12:30pm
A reminder that school closes at 12.30pm tomorrow. Please organise for someone to pick up your child. You are most welcome to visit classrooms and say farewell to teachers, and they would also love to wish you all the best for the holidays.
We wish all of you a wonderful summer break and look forward to reconnecting in 2023 at our Whānau/Meet the Teacher Event.
Ngā manaakitanga & Meri Kirimete!
Annette
Thank you
Thank you to the Newlands Scout group, Jono, Todd, Rebecca and Teresa for providing the slip and slide for our Year 6 Leavers Event and their help with setting/packing this up. This was very much appreciated and the students had an awesome time. It was loved by all!
- To Grace from Room 11 who made this beautiful artwork for the School Office as part of her Bell Challenge (Service to the School). Thank you Grace, this will really brighten up our office space!
Road Patrol Supervision 2023
This year we have had fantastic and dedicated parents supervise the Road Patrols before and after school. Sadly some of our parents will not be continuing next year and we are looking for new volunteers to support with Road Patrol.
It is a legal requirement for schools to have an adult stand with the Road Patrols when they are on duty. It is important that our children are able to safely cross the road.
When: Monday - Friday before or after school
Times: Mornings - 8:25 am to 9:00 am; Afternoons - 2:50 – 3:15pm
Who: Any parent, grandparent or caregiver is welcome. Your child DOES NOT have to be a road patrol in order for you to volunteer.
Please email Deeann at deeann@bellevue-newlands.school.nz or contact the school office if you are able to volunteer.
Staffing Update
We are delighted to announce our appointment for the Year 3 (Room 10) position we had advertised earlier in the term - Anneke McLean.
Many of you will know that Anneke is an experienced teacher from South Africa (both at secondary and junior level) and until the end of last year was working with us as a teacher aide, during which time she forged exceptional relationships with our students, staff and families. Anneke now has her New Zealand registration and we are pleased that she has chosen to begin her New Zealand teaching journey with us at Bellevue.
We are very happy to welcome Anneke to the team in this new capacity.
Good Time Music Academy - Learn at School Opportunity
Thank you to all those who responded to our Facebook poll to guage interest in this. We had a very positive response with one third of our families showing an interest.
We are liaising with the company presently to organise 'an introductory show' for all our students in Term 1 after which we will send home an enrolment form for interested families.
We will communicate about this in our next newsletter.
Outstanding Writing from Hub 5
Congratulations to Emily in Hub 5 for her incredible AutobiographicaCollage!
The beginning of this is included below, but you can see the whole piece HERE (scroll down) on our Hub 5 Writers Corner.
My Autobiographical collage
My life is curious, wonderful and confusing like a water slide with hard twists and soft turns.
I have watched many spectacular things in my life but the most stunning was when I watched a blue penguin playfully kick and flap around in the soft surf as people watched on from the bank.
I once had to ride in my car for 4 hours to go see my grandparents for their 50th wedding anniversary and it was so worth it to see the smiles on their faces as all of us embraced.
I once had a special toy viking ship from my grandparents that represented the small part of Swedish I am but it smashed on the floor when I was seven and we haven't managed to repair it......read more
School Organisation 2023
Library News Reminders:
A big thank you to all of you who have been hunting high and low for those elusive school library books to return. It is much appreciated.
For those students who have opted for 'Summer Reading' - these books will be coming home today.
You'll find a printed list of all the titles borrowed in the bag along with the books. Hopefully this will help you find them all again next year.
I want to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have donated puzzles, games and your time to making our Library the wonderful place it is.
Thank you to Alana who has been helping out on numerous Friday afternoons to re-barcode our books in order to make borrowing easier.
A big thankyou to Nita, who helps out two days a week (and often more), in so many ways.
Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday - and a good book!
Shots to Make you Smile
Hub 1 & 2 Athletics Day
Hub 1 had a water safety lesson as their last swimming lessons. They were super excited to wear the life jackets and learned how we could keep ourselves safe in the open water.
Lost Property
At the end of each term we endeavour to reunite families with items that collect on our 'Lost Property'. If you are missing items, they may well have ended up in this collection. We will be putting the items on display in the Room 3 & 4 patios on Thursday 15 December. Please note that any unclaimed items are donated to charity.
Do you need any Furniture?
We have got a large amount of chairs and desks and also some larger tables if anyone can give them a new home. If you are interested, please contact Annette after 16 January.
Sports News
Miniball Results:
The Bellevue Hurricanes lost this week’s game, 21–20. Kalia was player of the day.
Touch Scores:
Bellevue Bandits lost 6-3 to Khandallah Lions. POD Thomas and Frank.
Bellevue Blitz won 8-3 against Kakapo Hurricanes. POD Mickey, Jordi, Scarlet and Levi.
(They placed 3rd in the mixed team tournament).
Bellevue Taniwha lost 10-5 to Johnsonville Bears. POD Pyper
(They placed 2nd in the mixed team tournament).
Touch Rugby 2023 - 20th Feb- 27th March @ Alex Moore Park:
If your child wants to play touch rugby in Term 1 2023 please complete this form. This is for 6 weeks every Monday from 20 February, games from 3.45pm.
In order to register teams, registration forms need to be completed by 9 February. We will need at least 6 players per team to enter. If we don’t have enough coaches or managers then there will not be any Touch teams in Term 1.
Advance Notice: Whānau/Meet the Teacher Event - Monday 30 January
We would like to begin 2023 with a community connection event before school starts for our children on Tuesday 31 January. The aim of this event is to provide an informal opportunity for families to come along and connect with all the teaching team at Bellevue, as well as with your child's whānau class teacher.
On Monday 30 January from 4.30pm - 6.30pm our school field will be open for a BYO picnic afternoon tea/early dinner with sports and games available for those who wish to participate. All of the teaching staff will attend and are excited about this opportunity to get to know the new learners in their hubs and their whānau.
We understand, however, that there may still be some families who would appreciate a more formal conversation, or three way conference with their child's whānau class teacher. To accommodate this, we will be offering 16 bookable conferences for each whānau class teacher between 11am - 1pm and 1.30pm - 3.30pm.
There is no expectation that you attend one of these if you are happy to talk with your child's whānau teacher in the informal part of the day.
However, if you do wish to book one of these slots, bookings can be made on the following website: www.school.interviews.co.nz
Event Code: sppjr
From today you can go online to book a time for you and your child to talk with their new teacher on Monday 30 January (11:00 – 3:30pm).
Your child will bring also home a hard copy of this notice with some helpful pre-thinking prompts at the same time as their class placement for 2023 and their achievement report on Wednesday 7 December.
We will still gather information from families such as cybersafe and image use permissions, your aspirations for your child, and how you might like to be involved in the life of our school, but we will do this digitally to free up the event time for connecting.
Following this event, we will seek and look forward to hearing your feedback on this new approach to connecting with our whānau at the beginning of the year.
Farewell 2022!
FUNdraisers saw off the end of year with a bit of a bang… we bought the delight to the kids
yesterday with our Mini Book Fair, and a summer treat of FREE Ice Blocks from FUNdraisers for
ALL the students.
It was superb to see the kids headed away excited for the summer holidays with all those books in
hand and hopefully a little cooled down on what was a superbly sunny and hot day with their ice
block.
We wish a relaxing, safe and happy holiday period to all of our families! And we look forward to
seeing you back at school in 2023.
End of Term Pizza Lunch:
Our end of term 4 Pizza lunch was a success! We will be back with this event that our kids love so
much in Term 1 2023!
Book Fair leftovers – do you have a small truck?
We were donated a significant number of books in the week leading up to the Book Fair on 5
November. Even after our mini fair, we have PLENTY left over.
Do you have a van or a small truck? Could you assist us with our left-over books that we are
donating to the Heretaunga Book Fest, which is located in Trentham.
Please be in touch with Rebecca on 021 515 987 or fundraisers@bellevue-newlands.school.nz
FUNdraisers Committee Meeting:
Our last committee meeting for the year was a success with lots of new (and favourite)
opportunities discussed for the year ahead. We are looking forward to bringing these to you in the
new year. We are always keen for new FUNdraisers members, so please don’t hesitate to be
in touch with Rebecca to find out how you can be involved.
Community Notices
KA PAI KIDZ - Holiday Programme
Our summer programme will operate 16-30 January 2023. Book via our website www.kapaikidz.co.nz. All enquiries to linda@kapaikidz.co.nz or 021 409641.
KA PAI KIDZ - We are hiring!
- No qualifications needed, however a willingness to learn is a prerequisite. Hold a minimum of a Restricted Drivers Licence, your own vehicle. Be available from 7.15am-8.30am & 2.15pm-6.00pm during the Term. Longer hours during the holidays. Must be 20+ years.
Tasks & responsibilities:
- Ensuring children’s safety and wellbeing by providing supervision, guidance and developing and introducing fun activities appropriate to age. Maintain day to day operations, allocate duties, planning and scheduling staff meetings, programme planning and implementation
All enquiries to Linda Robinson - 021 409641. Email CV to linda@kapaikidz.co.nz
Racketlon Holiday Programme
Once again Tawa Tennis, Tawa Squash and Wellington North Badminton are running the Racketlon holiday programme these school holidays.
Players rotate around each sport spending 1.5 hours at each club. Qualified coaches will take each session.
Please note holiday programme is for age 6 years and older.
Tuesday 24 and Thursday 26 January 2023, 9am - 3pm
Cost per day: $50 a day or $90 for both days.
Registrations: https://bit.ly/3W0ETy6
For more information contact Babette at babette@wnba.org.nz
Staglands Wildlife Reserve - #50 Free!
Kia ora koutou, are you feeling lucky?
We’re rounding off our 2022 50th Anniversary celebrations by giving one lucky visitor the chance to get into The Reserve free of charge, every day, until the end of January!
So that means every day... visitor #50... will get into The Reserve...for FREE
(*Offer runs throughout the school holidays from 17 Dec 2022 - 31 Jan 2023)
Wellington City Libraries’ Summer Reading Adventure is now live!
Read all about it on our website - The Summer Reading Adventure 2022-3 | Wellington City Libraries.
The link to our Summer Reading website is also live, and kids, teens and adults can start logging their reading and adventures there: The Summer Reading Adventure | Wellington City Libraries | Beanstack
We hope to see many of students participating in the Summer Reading Adventure over the next two months. We encourage everyone to follow our blogs for updates and information about prize draws, activities, events, and more during the summer months:
Important Dates
Thursday 15 December
Last day of the School Year - 12.30pm finish
2023
Monday 30 January
Whānau Meet the Teacher Event:
Conferences 11am - 1pm / 1.30 - 3.30pm, Picnic 4.30 - 6.30pm
Tuesday 31 January
School starts for 2023
Newsletter proudly sponsored by
Email: office@bellevue-newlands.school.nz
Phone: 04 4787037