Chelsea School Newsletter
Week 2, Term 1
Important Term Dates
- Thu 14 Apr: Teacher Only Day (School Closed for Instruction)
- Thu 14 Apr: End of Term 1
- Mon 02 May: Term 2 Begins
Kia ora whānau
What a joy it has been to have our kids back onsite over the past week. It is so lovely to once again hear the playground full of laughter and play. We seem to be off to a very good start, even though things are a bit different due to being at ‘red’. Our kids are so resilient, they have a fabulous ability to get on with it, and make the most of each day.
This newsletter has a huge amount of information within it, so please take the time to read and digest. Smore has a translation function if you would find it easier to read it in another language.
Assessment Plan
As you will appreciate with the huge disruption of 2021, we have some work to do in finding out exactly where each learner is in terms of their reading, writing and maths progress and achievement.
During the next couple of weeks, children in Years 2-6 will be engaging with assessments that will allow us to target their next steps and clarify their levels of achievement in key curriculum areas.
Our Y3-6 learners will be engaging with PAT testing as well as other assessments. By the middle of this term, we will have updated their current goals on Hero.
In the meantime we have temporarily turned off the access to our progress charts and dials whilst our teachers are busy getting all of our students' goals up to date, with the aim of turning access to these back on by Week 5. Community notices, absences and access to Learning Stories will still be available during this time.
Learning Stories
Learning stories are written once per term about your child and these are posted on Hero. By the end of Term One, a Learning Story will be published for every child. Your child’s teachers are working hard to get to know your children as people and as learners. Learning stories are snapshots into what is being noticed about your child as they engage with learning inside and outside of the classroom. These stories are underpinned by our values and DNA. They are very powerful in terms of shaping identity and our learners love reading them. You will be notified through the Hero App when a Learning Story has been published. You can choose to have push notifications (through the App) or have notifications sent to your email. Please see the link below for these options:
If you are having any difficulty accessing learning stories, or Hero, please contact Sven, sven@chelsea.school.nz
How to find your child’s Learning Story:
What we encourage parents to do:
Read these with your child/ren and celebrate what is being noticed
Leave a comment on the learning story as feedback for your child
Staffing Update
We are very fortunate to have Whaea Jas join our Learning Assistant team this year. Whaea Jas is working in the Kākano Team, supporting our littlest learners and is already a much loved member of our team.
Kia Ora, I'm Jasmine originally from the small rural region of Rangitikei. I absolutely love everything to do with nature, gardening and helping the environment.
Zoë de Wit has some very exciting news, she is expecting a baby this year! Congratulations Zoë and Nick, it’s such happy news! Zoë is planning to start her maternity leave during the beginning of Term 2. As a result we are currently advertising for a new teacher to join our team.
We are still searching for a caretaker to fill Mr Maddock’s very big shoes. If you know of anyone who is looking for work and who is skilled in property and maintenance, please encourage them to send me an email to talk about the position. amanda@chelsea.school.nz
John Kirwan Foundation - Mitey
We have started the exciting journey this year of becoming a ‘Mitey’ school. Wellbeing and mental health are key priorities at Chelsea. Mitey is a programme that aims to grow ‘The Mightiest Kids in the World’, using a structured approach to learning about mental health and the strategies that can be put in place to improve our own mental health and that of others.
We are working alongside Mitey coaches this year and will keep you up to date as we learn together.
A key part of the Mitey programme is community and whānau involvement. The first unit of work we are rolling out is called ‘My Kākahu’ which focuses on our identity, strengths and how to be the best friends we can be to others. If you are keen to find out more, visit the link below and watch the video message from John Kirwan.
Covid 19 - Contact Tracing
It is looking increasingly likely that we will be putting our contact tracing processes to use over the course of the term, and I wanted to outline the process with you.
Each school is allocated a Specific Point of Contact (SPOC) at the Ministry of Education and advises next steps if we do have a case that is related to our school. The SPOC works with the MoH and school leadership to ensure that processes are followed and that communication is clear and as quick as possible.
If we have a case at school, the Ministry of Health will confirm this, and then we will set about identifying contacts of the case.
Firstly, we will send a communication out to our whole community, stating that we have a positive case and the classrooms that are impacted. Children from these classrooms will be asked to stay at home until further information has been gathered. The rest of the school will continue to attend school as usual.
Within the course of the day, we will then send further information about testing requirements and isolation timeframes to those who are directly impacted.
I ask that if we do have a case within our community, we are kind and respectful of one another. We will not at any time be identifying who the cases are, and if you do find this out through contact with the MoH, we ask that you please keep this confidential. If we put ourselves in the position of potentially having our own child who is a positive case, we would all understand the need for empathy and privacy. I do acknowledge that there is a lot of fear out there with the Omicron variant, but that we really are all in this together, with the health and safety of our learners, staff and community at the centre.
SLT will be operating communications, and we also ask that we be treated with kindness, and patience. Contact tracing takes time, but we will be supported by experts to execute processes as well as we can.
What can you do to help?
Make sure that we have your correct contact information. If you have changed your phone number or email address, please email office@chelsea.school.nz to let us know.
Ensure that you are connected to Hero and that you check communications frequently. If you are having trouble with notifications, you can switch these to ‘email’. See the link in the ‘Learning Stories’ section of this newsletter for help with this.
What to do if your family is needing to isolate?
We are aware that throughout the term, we may have a number of families who are isolating as a result of being at places of interest that are not related to school.
If this does happen, please use the link below to input information rather than emailing us. We have created a form for families to fill in so that all information can be easily collated and accessed. We will add this to our website so that you can find it easily under the ‘Information’ tab.
If you are needing to isolate, please fill this form in straight away so that we are aware. You won’t need to submit your child’s absence if you use this form.
Within 24 hours, your child’s teacher or one of the SLT will be in touch with you to talk through distance learning options.
Distance Learning
Distance learning will be available for those who have been instructed to self-isolate. If children are sick, then they are not expected to be engaging with school.
We have decided to send hard packs of resources home with every child within the next two weeks. Please pop these away somewhere to be used in case of isolation.
We will also be organising a zoom link for each hub so that learners can engage with their peers and teachers during our morning panui. We may also be able to organise a daily teaching zoom, depending on how many learners are isolating at any one time.
For all of our learners, SeeSaw will be used to send learning tasks. Teachers will be ensuring that all learners and their families have access to this platform.
The website ‘Home Learning’ tab is going to be updated over the next couple of weeks, and will have a range of self-directed activities for learners to engage with.
Property Updates
You may have seen signage and work vans around the school site over the last week. We have an accessibility project underway at the moment, which includes installing extensive ramps, a pool hoist and the creation of a universal (accessibility) bathroom.
The hall remediation project is currently out for tender. The project involves the replacement of the roof, guttering, some of the joinery, areas of recladding and replacement of the ceiling tiles. Work is due to begin in April.
Walking School Bus
For those of you new to our school the Walking School Bus involves students and adult supervisors walking in a group to school. Each ‘bus’ walks along a set route with at least one adult ‘driver’ picking up children at designated ‘bus stops’ and walking them to school.
We are looking to start this here again at Chelsea from next week. We have considered health and safety protocols and all adult supervisors (drivers) must have a valid vaccine passport which must be submitted to NZ Transport Agency. Social distancing will be encouraged and mask wearing for those Year 4 and up will be compulsory.
The current route we have starts at Mappin Place/Porritt Ave and runs down Chelsea View Road to school. The bus starts pick ups from around 8.20am.
The school bus operates Wednesdays and Fridays each week.
If you are interested in having your child join the Walking School Bus or are interested in becoming a parent helper please contact:
Suzie Saward
Ph: 0211360135
Email: suzanne.poutsma@gmail.com
Ngā Mihi
Amanda Douglas
Principal
Chelsea Primary School