Wk5 Term 1 2023

Tauranga Primary School Panui

Feature Newsletter Sponsor

Tumuaki Pānui | Principal's Newsletter

Tēnā koutou katoa

Ngā mihi nui, kia koutou katoa - Warm greetings to you all.

Thank you to those parents who were able to make it to the Setting the Scene for 2023 parent information sessions last Thursday night. Unfortunately, the weather did not play its part and we needed to cancel the family picnic side of the evening. The main goal of the evening was to further strengthen the very important partnership we have with parents and whānau. We were able to share the events and important learning to be covered this year as well as provide an opportunity to connect with your child's teacher. When home and school work together as a team we are able to maximise your child's learning potential; any conflict or misunderstanding in this relationship does reduce our ability to support your child in the ways necessary to accelerate learning progress.

The important things you can do to support your child's learning:

Partner with the teacher, stay connected, speak positively about school and your child's teacher.
Ensure your child attends school when ever they are well, attendance = achievement.
A good night's sleep (10-12 hours) and healthy diet is critical for human development and learning.
Any learning you do at home e.g. reading, colours, shapes, counting (forwards and backwards), basic facts etc should be for short periods of time and a positive happy time. If it is not fun and results in stress and upset, then it will not progress learning and you are better to stop and try again the next day.
Spend time doing things together and talking with your children. Limit screen time as much as you can. Celebrate successes and achievements, and create special memories with family traditions. These do not have to cost a lot of money; for example go to the local park, make huts, throw a ball around, play cards, make decorations and dress up the dinner table to have a 'celebration dinner' or make Friday night family picnic night - find interesting places to throw down a rug and eat together ... at home, parks, beach or on the lounge floor.

Wacky Wednesday

Thank you all for your generous support of Wacky Wednesday. TPS is able to donate $1000 to the Hawke's Bay Principals' Association, who will then distribute that money to schools that have been affected by the recent floods. It was so heartwarming to see children contribute money from their own pocket money to help other children in need.

Nau mai haere mai. A very warm welcome to Summer Sutton and Jayden Walsh who started their schooling with us recently. It is wonderful to have you and your family join our TPS Team.

Ngā mihi maioha

Fiona Hawes

principal@tauranga.school.nz

Mindfulness Tip

Try this simple five-finger breathing exercise you can do anywhere.

We use this at school to help children who are upset or overstimulated to regulate their breathing and create a sense of calm - it helps them to move into the GREEN ZONE and get ready for learning.

Hold one hand in front of you, fingers spread. Now, slowly trace the outside of your hand with the index finger on your other hand, breathing in when you trace up a finger, and out when you trace down. Move up and down all five fingers.

Hā ki roto - breathe in

Hā ki waho - breathe out

We had a really successful first meeting of our new Friends of the School group on Tuesday. Many great ideas were proposed and we already have several events lined up for this term. We will be holding a couple of Frosty Fridays (although the one on the last day of term is a Thursday!) and one Pizza Friday. Keep an eye out on Mondays for the sale of A=avocados at our school gates- you can stock up when you pick your child(ren) up from school. In the last two weeks of term we will be selling tickets for an Easter raffle at the school gates. Any suitable items (ie. Easter themed) you could donate for this would be gratefully received and can be dropped in to the school office.

We know many of you are happy to help at one or two events during the year but cannot make it to the meetings. We are creating a document where you can sign up to help, when you are able, and keep up to date with what is coming up. We would love to hear any ideas you might have. It is great to be able to plan some fun events for our school community.

The next meeting will be held in the staffroom at 6:30pm on Tuesday 28th March.

FOTS - parent helpers and ideas

Fabulous self portraits from Senior Hub 1

Rugby helpers

zoom_out_map

We are wondering if there are any adults out there who would be interested in coming to school for half an hour, occasionally, at lunchtime, to play rugby with a group of our older boys. They are keen to get into some games which may be a bit more physical than we would normally be able to facilitate without close supervision. If you would be keen for such an awesome opportunity please email Cathy Ediker dp@tauranga.school.nz

Mount Everest Challenge

TPS staff get in behind a great cause

TPS staff have created a team, and together we are taking on the Breeze Mount Everest Challenge.

Walk, run or crawl up the Mount 38 times in 50 days, which is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest, all while raising much-needed funds for a local charity called Live for More.

Live for More empower rangatahi/young people to find freedom from their troubled pasts and be inspired to live positive and fulfilling lives. Through their surf therapy programmes, they transform troubled lives – one wave at a time.

Check out their website here > https://liveformore.org.nz/

If you want to get in behind your TPS staff and their fundraising (and fitness) challenge, you can via this give-a little page

open_in_new zoom_out_map

TPS Board of Trustees

At our last board of trustees meeting, we co-opted Stewart Ngatai as a trustee. Stewart works for BOP District Health Board - Te Whatu Ora, and brings skills in governance, strategic leadership and relationship management as well as a Māori equity lens. Stewart's skills will certainly enhance our governance role for TPS .

The policies currently under review by the BOT are:

Review topics:

· Legislation and Administration Policy (board)

· Student Attendance

· Enrolment

· Privacy (board)

· Official Information Requests (board)

· Uniform / Dress Code

If you would like to feedback any of these policies:

1. Visit the website https://tauranga.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm

2. Enter the username (tauranga) and password (belltower).

3. Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.

4. Read the policy.

5. Click the Policy Review button at the top right-hand corner of the page.

6. Select the reviewer type "Parent".

7. Enter your name (optional).

8. Submit your ratings and comments.

If you don't have internet access, school office staff can provide you with printed copies of the policy and a review form.

Lunch snack items needed

Many thanks to the families who are helping supply lunches for those children in need. We have had many offers and do not need any more helpers at this stage.

However, we do need snack items that you may like to donate to top up the lunches ie. multi packs of chips, multi packs of little biscuits like Cookie Time, Oreo, Tiny Teddies, Fun Sticks, rice crackers or Shapes and also museli bars and raisins. Any donations would be appreciated and can be dropped in to the office.

2nd March - Top Schools competition
2nd March - Year 4 camp
3rd March - Year 3/4 activity day
8th March - TPS swimming sports
9th March - Y1 Beach Education - parents needed
10th March - Y2 Beach Education - parents needed
10th March - Frosty Friday, ice-blocks for sale after school
15th March - Junior Splash , Dash, and Slide, 12:00pm
17th March - Teacher Only Day- School closed
21st March - BOT meeting 7:00pm School staffroom
22nd March - M4 Beach Education - parents needed
23rd March - M3 Beach Education - parents needed
24th March - Pizza Friday more information to follow
27th - 31 March - Senior students' Kids Can Ride programme
28th March - FOTS meeting 6:30pm school staffroom
6th April - Frosty Thursday, ice-blocks for sale after school
6th April - Last day of term- school closes at the usual time

open_in_new zoom_out_map

Measles

Are you and your whānau protected from measles?

With people travelling overseas again, there’s a risk that someone with measles could unknowingly bring the disease back to Aotearoa.

Measles spreads easily and quickly, usually between people who are unimmunised or only partially immunised. It can be serious and life threatening. In the 2019 measles outbreak in Aotearoa more than 30% of the people infected had to be admitted to hospital.

The best protection against measles is the free MMR vaccine. It will protect you and your whānau, and prevent the virus from spreading.

You will be protected against measles if you:

had two doses of the MMR vaccine
had measles before
were born before 1 Jan 1969.

If you’re unsure if you or your tamariki have had any or both doses of the MMR vaccine, check by calling your GP or hauora provider. Alternatively, check your Plunket Well Child Tamariki Ora book. If you’re still not sure, be safe and get immunised – there are no safety concerns with having an extra dose. MMR vaccines are free at your local health provider and many pharmacies.

As measles still occurs in many countries, if you’re travelling overseas these holidays it’s especially important to be immunised to prevent the risk of being unknowingly infected and causing an outbreak in Aotearoa on your return.

More information about the measles vaccination can be found here:

Measles vaccination – Ministry of Health

2023 Ballot Dates:

Enrolment for Term 3 2023 - ballot Friday 28th April 2023

Enrolment for Term 4 2023 - ballot Friday 21st July 2023

Enrolment for Term 1 2024 - ballot Friday 13th October 2023

Our Newsletter Sponsors

Please support these businesses that support us:

Community Notices

HOLI Performance Launch – Saturday 4th March 12:00pm – 3:00pm

Each year the Holi Colour Splash event is wowed by an abundance of wonderful performances and groovy South Asian Fusion/Bollywood/Bhangra music for all ages to enjoy.

As a creative community Holi brings various branches of art, culture and music loving people together to create a unique experience which fascinates and entertains young and old.

Throughout the three hour event there will be opportunities to interact with our talented artists and learn a thing or two of their skills.

You can also expect to find tasty Indian Street food, henna body art, kids games and more surprises during the Holi festival.

We welcome you to join our Holi experience on 4 March at Memorial Park from noon to 3pm