Kia ora rā koe,
An extra special Haere Mai to Sumner School to Bailey and Vann W who joined us last week.
It is VERY hard to believe that December is here and we only have 2 weeks left of the school year - not that I am counting..! It has been another full fortnight at school, with lots of exciting opportunities for our tamariki (children), but it’s not over yet! The next couple of weeks will be a really busy and exciting time at Sumner School as we come together as a school to celebrate the achievements and successes of 2022. Please make sure you have had a good look at our Calendar of Events to make sure you have everything in your diary!
Yesterday we began our end of year celebration assemblies with our Music Showcase Assembly where our Concert, Jazz and Rock Bands and our School Choir showcased their skills and talents… and WOW what a lot of talent there was on offer! A huge well done to all our tamariki (children) who took part and to our wonderful music tutors who work so hard with our ākonga (learners) each year. A massive thank you also goes to Mr George Hart who has led our choir this year and who has also worked behind the scenes as our Music Coordinator.
Earlier this week we also had 29 students who headed away to represent the school at the Canterbury Athletics Championships. Congratulations to our tamariki who all competed to the very best of their ability with their School Values on display throughout. Special mention goes to Lennie C who placed 2nd in the Year 8 distance event and to Lola S who placed 2nd in the Year 5 80m sprint event. Another huge HUGE thank you must also go to Mrs Gwen Vine who has worked incredibly hard as our PE and Sports Leader this year to ensure our children have had the opportunity to take part in an incredible number of sports events over the year.
Looking ahead to next week we have a number of exciting end of year events including;
The Years 5-8 Awards Assembly on Tuesday at 9.15am where we will celebrate the service of our students who have dedicated their time volunteering and representing our school over the year.
The Years 3-8 Tough Kids event on Thursday from 12.30pm at South New Brighton Domain. During this event all children will compete in a Tough Mudder style event where they have to work through an obstacle course involving mud, water… and lots of fun. Please make sure you have had a read of the letter about this event that was sent home in paper form and via the App last week.
Our School Christmas Concert at 9.30am on 9 December where we will be spreading some Christmas Cheer as all teaching teams will be taking to the stage to sing some festive favourites. We will also be encouraging children (and families) to dress festively or in red and green. Please see the flyer below with more details about this.
We would also like to invite everyone who has volunteered their time for our school to a special ‘thank you’ morning tea in Waiora after our Christmas Concert on Friday 9 December. Please have a look at the flyer below for more information.
Spotlight on assessment and reporting… Alongside everything else that has been happening in the last 2 weeks, teachers and students have also been busily using end of year assessments to make OTJs (Overall Teacher Judgements) as to whereabouts in the curriculum children are working. To do this teachers use a variety of information including formal testing, the work students complete during learning tasks, observations from within class and moderation discussions with other teachers. These assessments form part of the report writing process which teachers are busily completing as we speak ready to be shared with families on 13 December, but they also provide us with the information we need to identify trends for school wide areas for improvement, enable us to identify the students in 2023 who will benefit from additional intervention and support with learning, and help us to identify those students who may need extension. Further information on our assessment and reporting processes at school can be found here.
A reminder that parent access to reports has been temporarily suspended to enable us to upload assessment data and report comments. You will be notified via the School App when reports are ready to be viewed.
Spotlight on transitioning into 2023… As you know our teaching teams have now started working to develop our learning placements for our ākonga for next year. As part of this process children have already had the opportunity to visit new teams so that they can get to know the space and take part in some Tuakana–teina (peer buddy) activities alongside their new team mates for 2023. On Monday 12 December children will then have the opportunity to formally meet their new teacher and team for next year.
We have also made a new development to begin at the start of next year. This will see all students and their parents invited to visit before the start of classes on Thursday 2 February to meet individually with their new teacher for a special learning conference (Hauora Hui) on either Tuesday 31 January or 1 February.
These 30 minute hui will enable time for the new Home Group teacher to discuss information that has been passed on from the previous teacher (as part of our handover process) and for families to provide any updates as needed. Parents and students will also be invited to share information related to what excites and is important to their child, how they learn best and the best ways that the teacher can support them. These hui will also work to provide a strong platform for open communication through the year as teachers establish communication channels, check access to our school digital platforms and provide a safe space for whānau to share confidential or pertinent information about their child/ren.
These hui will form an essential part of how we ensure we are developing programmes, opportunities and learning environments that meet our children’s needs so we would like to see bookings from all families. Booking information will be shared in the last week of term and bookings will be open throughout the summer break.
Spotlight on finance… A reminder to please log into Hero to check finance statements for your children. Sue Stevens is regularly updating accounts in order to try and get these up to date for families. We would really appreciate your support in making your payments swiftly. Our financial year ends on 31 December and so it would make Sue’s life a lot easier if we receive these asap. A reminder that you can download your own receipts from Hero by clicking 'View Donation Payments' and clicking the desired tax year button. These receipts meet IRD requirements for claiming donation refunds. Please note, receipts are not available from mobile devices. Just a gentle reminder if you haven't paid already we are still waiting for $1,200 for Aupaki Touch payments. If your child participated and you haven't yet paid please do so asap as Sumner School has already paid on behalf of your child.
If you have any questions regarding your statement please email Sue sstevens@sumner.school.nz.
Have a wonderful weekend with your family.
Ngā mihi,
Anna Granger
