Chelsea School Newsletter
Week 3, Term 4
Important Term Dates
- Thu 03 Nov: Y0-Y2 Junior Athletics
- Fri 04 Nov: Creepy Carnival 5 - 8pm
- Wed 09 Nov: BoT Meeting 7pm
- Fri 11 Nov: Assembly hosted by Māhuri 9am
- Tue 15 Nov: Y4-Y6 Athletics
- 22-25 Nov: Rito EOTC
- Wed 23 Nov: Whānau Meeting for Y0-Y1 students only
- Thu 24 Nov: Whānau Meeting for Y0-Y1 students only
- Wed 30 Nov: BoT Meeting 7pm
- Thu 01 Dec: Y4-Y6 Interschool Athletics
- Fri 02 Dec: Assembly hosted by Rito 9am
- Wed 07 Dec: Carols night
- Thu 08 Dec: Interschool Athletics Save-a-day
- Fri 09 Dec: Y6 Rainbows End
- Tue 13 Dec: Sports Prizegiving 1.30-2.30pm
- Wed 14 Dec: Picnic Day
- Senior and Junior Prizegiving - dates and times to be confirmed
- Fri 16 Dec: Term 4 Ends
Kia ora whānau
What a fabulous last week we have had! Our learners have been engaged in all sorts of incredible experiences that become memories for life.
I was lucky enough to spend a whole day at camp last week, and it was a highlight of my year for sure. Seeing our kids in a completely different setting, pushing out of their comfort zones and having an absolute ball - these are the things that make my heart sing.
I want to thank Sarah Blaney and Tracey Notley for all of the time they have spent planning and organising this experience. Many years ago, I was in charge of camp, and there is a massive sense of responsibility when we take such a large group away for a few nights. I guess you could imagine getting ready for a family trip and then multiplying it by about 15!
I also extend a huge thanks to the parents who put themselves forward to help for the week - Michelle, Steve, Anita and Dave - you were outstanding. Our kids were lucky to have you supporting and encouraging them during the week. We also found out that our parents are skilled kayakers and shooters!
Our Year 5 learners had an incredible week, too, starting the week off by going to the New Zealand Stage and Screen Combat School in Birkenhead, where they learnt to throw axes, sword fight and more. They also had the opportunity to visit AUT Millenium for some team building and water skill sessions. At school, they had the opportunity to work with Scott Henderson for some STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), creating wind generators. There were also photography and art sessions. A huge thanks to Keith Wilson, Helen Lares and Sophie Till for their organisation. All of the learners I spoke to were absolutely fizzing after the week!
Thanks to our parents who came to support us; we appreciate you.
Rito is busy finalising their planning for EOTC later this month, and I can’t wait to be involved. They are off to the Historic Village on one day and participating in wearable arts day, amongst other things.
Kākano and Pakiaka learners have been involved in a host of EOTC activities throughout the last part of Term 3 and the first few weeks of this term and have had a blast. They have been to the Museum (where the favourite activities were Pete the TRex and the volcano room!) and had Creative Day (with Conscious Kids, where there was everything from dress-ups to an epic marble run to air guitar with tennis rackets), Challenge Day and Culture Day at school, as well as practising for their Athletics extravaganza this week! Fingers crossed, the weather plays nice. A massive thanks to Rebecca and the team for your organisation and planning!
Organisation for 2023
It is that time of the year when we are absolutely in the thick of organisation for next year. Not only our teaching teams but also learning locations, as Spaces 12-17 are due to be demolished over the Christmas break. We will have temporary classrooms on the part of the field for the next couple of years while the build takes place. All very exciting, but at the same time, another complex element to consider.
Class Placements
We will soon be beginning to draft our class lists for 2023. This is a complex process as we consider numbers within each year group, the social and learning needs of each child, as well as our funding allocation for teachers from the Ministry of Education.
While we strive to provide the best placement for every child, we cannot accept requests from parents regarding any specific preference of teachers or classmates. However, we do want to know if there are learning-related factors that your child’s teacher may not be aware of. Please contact one of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) directly so that information you would like to share can be taken into consideration. amanda@chelsea.school.nz , sven@chelsea.school.nz or janine@chelsea.school.nz
If you do wish to get in touch, please do so by Friday, 18th November. After this date, it will be too late to feed into organisation.
In Rito and Māhuri Teams (both composite year level teams) we largely keep our learners within the same hubs. This allows for learning and other relationships that have already been established to strengthen.
The structure of teaching teams for next year will be:
Kākano - Year 0 and 1 learners
Pakiaka - Year 1 and 2 learners
Rito - Year 3 and 4 learners
Māhuri - Year 5 and 6 learners
Property Update
Plans for the demolition and rebuild of our existing Space 12 - 17 block are well underway, with work starting over the next couple of months. Because of this, and the fact that the timing on some of the stages for this work is yet to be confirmed, some of the organisation around the end of the year is on hold. In particular, our Junior and Senior Prizegiving ceremonies. These would normally take place in the last two days of school, but as we are uncertain as to whether our hall will be out of action at this time, we are waiting to hear back from MoE before setting dates. If the hall is out of action, it may be that we need to hold these prizegivings earlier than normal. We will let you know as soon as we have confirmation.
Thank you!
Last Friday, it was Teacher Appreciation Day, and our teachers were thoroughly spoiled. I know they loved the cards and messages of appreciation, and we all loved the treats that the PTA and parents organised. What a community we have! We’re so grateful for your support.
Ngā Mihi
Amanda Douglas
Principal
Chelsea Primary School
Creepy Carnival
This is an after hours PTA run event and all parents are responsible for their own children, there is no school supervision.
Everyone coming to the event requires a ticket, with the exception of children under 2 years.
Included in the price of your ticket is entry to the event, the disco and creepy walkway, plus a performance by the NZ Stage and Screen Combat.
Tickets are on sale from the school office or through Kindo.