School Newsletter 14th May 2021
Endeavour School May 14, 2021
A Message From Mr Freke
Greetings to you all
Welcome back to Term 2.
There has been a lot in the media lately regarding how New Zealand’s education system is failing our children and how we are falling behind other countries in our world ranking, the latest criticism has been around the teaching of mathematics. My wondering is how are they measuring educational success? The counties that sit at the top of the table have a curriculum focused on exams. This can lead to a very ‘narrow’ curriculum only focusing on the content of the exam with no room to bring personal interests or cultural perspectives. I visited a country a few years ago in October; the learning programme was all cramming for exams in December. The students were practicing model questions and doing mock exams for 2 months before the exams were due. In my view this is not learning, it’s remembering stuff. It would be a sad day if New Zealand sacrificed our rich, diverse and personalised curriculum for world rankings.
Parent-Teacher conversations are scheduled for Tuesday 18th and Thursday 20th of May. This is an opportunity for you to find out how your child is going with their learning, what their next steps are and how you can support them at home. Interviews are 15 minutes long and appointments are limited, so if you would like to have a longer conversation, please email your child’s teacher to make an appointment outside of the interview times. Attending these interviews shows your child you are interested in their learning and allows you to start a conversation about what they are doing at school.
Now the weather is getting cooler I am noticing an increase in the number of students wearing non-uniform hoodies and tops. Students will be asked to remove non-uniform items. School jackets and fleeces are available through the school shop. Alternatively, you can purchase good condition second hand items through the Friends of Endeavour PTA Facebook.
Good luck to all those in winter sports this week. Remember to play hard but fair and enjoy being part of a team. The Chiefs are in Aussie this week, hopefully they can take their good form across the Tasman.
Marcus Freke
Upcoming Events
- 18 May - Parent Teacher Learning Conversations
- 20 May - Parent Teacher Learning Conversations
- 28 May - Pizza Day Camp Fundraiser
- 04 June -Teacher Only Day
- 07 July - Matariki House Day
- 09 July - Tabloids House Day
- 09 July - End of Term Two
Pizza Day - 28th of May 2021
Cut off for ordering will be Wednesday the 26th of May, midnight. (After this time we will not be able to accommodate any late orders).
If for some reason you experience issues with the online school shop and ordering you can contact the school office, but please be aware that the cut off date will still be the same.
Important Notices
Absentee's - An Important Notice
What do I do if my child needs a day/ time off school?
We are legally obliged to adhere to strict guidelines around student absenteeism and all attendance records regarding our students are sent through to the Ministry of Education on a weekly basis.
At present we are reviewing our processes around parental reporting of student attendance and would like to remind our families of how and what we require from you. We appreciate that sometimes your children will need to be away from school due to a multitude of reasons e.g illness, family vacations, cultural reasons etc. It is really important that you let the school office know when this occurs so that we can inform their teachers and mark them correctly on our attendance registers.
As part of our review we have identified that absent reporting via the absentee voicemail line is no longer a reliable method of communication and therefore by the end of this term, 9 July 2021, we will no longer be able to accept notifications via this process and the line will be closed. The best way to inform us is through our School App [add link]. It is quick and easy to use and goes directly through to our attendance administrator. Please aim to do this by 9am on the day they will be away. You can also inform us of a period of time your child will be away through the App Absentee button and comment section.
A reminder also, that absentees should not be sent through our school phone text number.
We appreciate that you might personally like to let your child's teacher know when they might be absent, but you will still need to inform the office as this information may not filter through to our admin team.
If you do not inform the school your child will be away, you will receive an automated text message about them being marked absent and requesting confirmation. If by the end of the day we do not receive confirmation on why your child is away they will be marked as Truant.
The Wet Weather is Here!
Lets keep our Endeavour learners safe
If you haven't already - its time to work out a wet weather plan.
With the rain now looking like it is going to be a regular afternoon occurrence we recommend a wet weather plan which does not change from day to day or week to week.
Last minute instructions for children can cause confusion and upset for all. Work out a wet weather plan so that if it rains our little Endeavour learners can be prepared and secure in knowing where they are supposed to be when the bell rings. Our Endeavour learners are taught to be self managers and to be able to do this they need clear instructions from a parent/caregiver so they are prepared when it does rain.
BE PREPARED AND DON'T LEAVE IT TO THE LAST MINUTE.
Journey Kids - Our New Before and After School Care Program
Something exciting is happening! We have partnered with JOURNEY KIDS (www.facebook.com/journeykidsnz) to deliver our Before and After Care services at Endeavour School from Term Two 2021.
We are proud to announce that our students will be available to attend Journey Kids interactive and exciting After School Clubs that focus on Sports, S.T.E.M, Robotics, Science Experiments, Life Skills, Homework Club, Music, The Arts, Wilderness Skills and more. With something for everyone we know our students will be excited to head to something new and something exciting!
Booking is the same as before and can be done through your already existing AIMY PLUS account.
Visit this link to book in : https://journeykids.aimyplus.com/
PLEASE NOTE: If your child/ren currently attend before and after school care with the YMCA you will need to contact Journey Kids and re-enrol them.
For more information, head over to www.journeykids.co.nz to see what amazing things lie in wait for our children! You can also view the information pack by clicking the link below!
Senior Camp - Community Support Needed
We are now moving on to our second phase of fundraising for term two and would like to ask for some community support. If you run a business and would like to give a corporate donation towards this camp please contact Jo on Jo@endeavour.school.nz. We would certainly ensure that your business got plenty of coverage via our newsletter and Facebook pages which reach over 500 views a fortnight/post.
There is also an option on our School Shop where anyone can hop on and donate towards another child’s camp. Thank you so much for those families who have already donated, your generosity is greatly appreciated.
Containers and Pen Recycling - A Message From Mrs Atkinson
Containers: We are looking for more containers to store our maths equipment in. If you have any ice cream or sistema containers that you no longer need, we would love to use them at Endeavour School. Please bring them into the office or to a teacher in LC5 or LC6.
Pen Recycling: At Endeavour School we are always looking to recycle as many writing instruments as we can. This includes any type of pen, felt, highlighter, permanent marker or twink pottle. If you find any of these at home that no longer work, please bring them into our school so that we can recycle them and earn points for Endeavour School. Last term we collected over 7kg of pen recycling!
What's Been Happening?
Pokemon Club
On Saturday 17th April, the Endeavour School Pokemon Club had our first trading card game competition. We had a fantastic turnout with a total of 15 kids who decided to join and test their skills to be the very best trainer.
For this event, everyone got to play with a 30 card deck and open booster packs from the new set, Battle Style. There was a moment of silence when everyone was busy opening their packs, until screaming and excitement started to fill the school hall when some opened awesome cards.
After three competitive games, we had our winners:
1st place – Marlow
2nd place – Alex
3rd place – Lucas
Big congratulations to our winners and I hope to see you all at the next event.
Massive thank you to:
Mr Freke for letting us use the school hall in the weekends for our club events and
Nathaniel from XP Games for sponsoring us prizes for club events
Alvin and Alicia Liew If you are interested in joining the club, email aaliew@gmail.com for more details.
Congratulations to Ryan Lee
Friends of Endeavour PTA
Friends of Endeavour is the Endeavour school PTA. Our events and items we have for sale can be found within our very own Friends of Endeavour Kindo shop.
Throughout the year we hope to use Kindo for various fundraisers, i.e school disco. For now, you can head to the shop if you would like to buy a house t-shirt or some fire wood.
The t-shirts come in the house colours, GREEN, RED, ORANGE AND PURPLE. They include the school logo on the front and house name on the back.
Please find attached the instructions for how to get set up whether you are a new user here or an existing user here
Head over and order your house t-shirt before Thursday 27 May 2021 . T-shirts will be ready early June and able to be collected from the school office.
A Message from Friends of Endeavour
Hey Everyone!
Just a reminder on how to use our shared spaces when travelling to and from Endeavour School.
The alleyway area between the patrolled crossing exit on Endeavour Road and Discovery park has become increasingly dangerous due to the number of people using it and their various means of transport.
When entering or exiting the gates by each playground, please keep to your left side of the pathway and remain off your bike or scooter until you have passed the crowds at each end of the alleyway. Also students are required to dismount when using the crossing.
Do remember to advise your children to share with care for the safety of our community.
Uniform to Buy, Sell or Exchange?
Did you know the Friends of Endeavour PTA group administer a Buy, Sell and Exchange page specifically for School Uniform?
We have set this up to facilitate:
Selling uniform items you no longer need
Gifting uniform items you no longer need
Looking for second hand items to buy
We strongly encourage you all to find this page on Facebook and make use of it.
Please do check out the “Announcements” tab within the group to ensure you’re familiar with how we intend for the group to operate. Happy Shopping!
Meet The Friends Of Endeavour PTA - Jacinda Powers
I’m Jacinda, the Friends of Endeavour Treasurer. For the most part you won’t see me around school but I do my part behind the scenes. I joined the PTA in 2016 when my oldest daughter started school and since 2017 have been the treasurer. I now have two girls at Endeavour school one in LC6 and the other in LC2.
What I’ve enjoyed most about the PTA is getting involved in the school community and meeting new families. We have organised many successful events, created memories along the way and most of all been able to give back to the students and the school.
We meet monthly in the school staffroom and always welcome new faces. Please reach out if you would like to know more. Friendsofendeavour@endeavour.school.nz
Meet The Friends Of Endeavour PTA - Alicia Liew
Hi! I'm Alicia & I'm mum to Ella, 9 in June (LC5) & Esmé, 5 (LC1). I'm also a Teacher Aide here at Endeavour & I run a papercraft business from home, so I'm a super busy mum but love all the different hats I wear! I have been on the Friends of Endeavour (FoE) team since Ella started in 2017.
My favourite thing about being on the FoE is getting stuck in doing the mahi & fundraising for the school. I enjoy serving our tamariki at our Friday Cafes & watching all their huge smiles at events like our recent disco. Their smiles are so rewarding & makes everything worthwhile.
The other thing I love about being on the FoE are the relationships I've made with the other parents. They have the biggest hearts & will go so many extra miles for the team & most importantly our tamariki. I have been so blessed to know these people & will definitely have friends for life.
If you see me around, don't be shy, come say Hi! I would love for you to join us & hope you'll find it super rewarding as I do.
Hope that sounds ok!
Kind regards,
Alicia
Community Notices
Contact Us
Email: reception@endeavour.school.nz
Website: https://www.endeavour.school.nz/
Location: 86 Endeavour Ave, Flagstaff, Hamilton, New Zealand
Phone: 64 (07) 855 5257
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EndeavourSchoolHamilton/