Term 3, Week 3 Newsletter
August 12th 2022
Principal's Message
Kia ora koutou katoa,
Week 3 is Maths Week here at school. Our Mathematics Curriculum Team along with our amazing teachers have prepared exciting and varied activities and problem solving for the children to enjoy, all in the name of nurturing our children's love of maths. A big thank you to all involved. Today, our two Mathex Teams have competed in the Mathex Problem Solving Competition against teams from other schools all over the Manawatu and Horowhenua region. Our children represented our school showing Mana Aotūrora and Whakamana. Well done to all involved. We will share the results in next week’s newsletter.
Please remember (as communicated in previous newsletters) that we have our Three Way Conferences next week (Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th August). Please see later in this newsletter for further information including how to sign up for a Three Way Conference for your child if you have not already. Please note that school closes at 12.30pm on Wednesday 17th August to allow for Three Way Conferences on that afternoon.
We are looking to our upcoming Literacy Week in Week 5 (August 22-August 25th), please keep your eye out for updates on the exciting learning opportunities that West End Students will participate in as to celebrate literacy.
Along with the powerful learning that is currently underway with Mathematics in our classrooms, our tamariki are also enjoying rich learning opportunities across the curriculum. Through our West End School Values our children are also learning about a range of different topics including taking a keen interest in the Commonwealth Games, learning about other cultures and languages, and of course our continued focus on Literacy. I am thrilled to see the progress children are making across the school.
Our supplementary programmes are still thriving during Term 3. Dr. A is as enthusiastic as ever about sharing learning about Forces (Physics) with our children. Mr. Baynes is continuing his very popular Woodwork sessions with small groups of our children, and Music Club continues to grow in popularity. This term we also fortunate to be able to continue our Kapa Haka learning across the school with Whaea Karen and Whaea Vicky as well as ongoing workshops for our Senior Roopu with Whaea Tūrehu and Pa Anaru.
Additionally, we are currently preparing for the upcoming RICOH Sport Tournament (Year 5 and 6) where we compete against other schools in Palmerston North in a number of codes including Football (Soccer), Basketball, Netball, 7’s Rugby, and Hockey. Trials are being held next week for these teams. We always love to find ways to involve parents and whānau in school life. If you would like to offer to help out with coaching or managing a team please contact our sports co-ordinator Connor Drummond (cdrummond@westend.school.nz).
Thank you West End whānau for another great week of learning at our kura. It is lovely to see the days starting to get longer and we look forward to more exciting learning ahead. I wish you all a safe and relaxing weekend.
Ngā mihi nui
Matthew Kennedy
Principal
West End School
Te Kura o Urumutu
A reminder that school finishes at 12.30pm next Wednesday
Our second day of 3 way conferences will start at 1pm. Therefore school will be finishing at 12.30 on Wednesday. Please make arrangements for your children to be picked up at this time. Thank you for your support.
CAR PARKING- ADMINISTRATION BLOCK CARPARK CLOSED AND HALL/ROOM 9 CARPARK FOR DISABILITY VEHICLES
Please do not do not be tempted to use the staff car park or hall carpark when dropping off and collecting your children from school. The administration block is closed for building work.
It becomes very busy and dangerous for children. We have had many families also leave from the Room 9/Hall gate, and observed that many children are crossing the carpark where we have vans and cars entering and exiting at the end of the day. Can whanau please use the other gates around our kura to leave school, as we want everyone to be safe. We encourage parents to park on the street and use the walkways coming into school. Please remember to abide by the road markings on Botanical road and park only in designated spaces (not on the yellow lines). This is for the safety of our children and community members.
Thank you for your co-operation.
Lucky Book Club books came home yesterday
If you have ordered Lucky Book Club books, they came home with your children yesterday.
School Photographs - Monday 29 August
Photographs will be taken on Monday 29th August. Codes for ordering photos online will be sent home after the photos are taken. We will advise you when we are sending them home with your child.
Applications to enrol your child for Term 4
The West End School BOT is now inviting applications from parents who wish to enrol their child at West End School for Term 4, 17th October 2022.
Enrolment at West End School is governed by the Ministry of Education approved enrolment scheme. For details please see our school website or visit our office to view the enrolment information.
The deadline for receipt of applications for out of zone placements is 12pm, 10th August 2022. A ballot will be held (if needed) at 2.00pm on 10th August 2022. Parents will be informed of the outcome by the 11th August 2022.
WES Board of Trustees may hold further ballots each term in 2022 (the number of available places will be announced closer to the time).
Upcoming Events
- PTA School Disco - Friday 12th August
WEEK 4
- 3 Way Learning Conferences - Tuesday 16th August
- 3 Way Learning Conferences - Wednesday 17th August - school finishes at 12.20.
- PTA Sushi Lunch - Friday 19th August
WEEK 5
- Literacy Week
- The Vibe - Thursday 25 August
WEEK 6
- School Photos - Monday 29 August
West End School 3 Way Conferences next week
Three-way conferences will be held next week (Tuesday 16th August from 3pm-7pm and Wednesday 17 August from 1pm -8pm).
School will finish at lunchtime on Wednesday at 12.20. Please make arrangements to pick up your children at this time. Conferences will be 20 minutes in duration. Your child will be a part of these 3 way conferences, so will also need to attend. Parents can book their times using schoolinterviews.co.nz, or in person with their child’s teacher. Teachers are able to make bookings on behalf of parents using the system.
To make a booking:
Click on the link below and follow the instructions. Click on the link and enter the code below. If you have more than one child at school, it is recommended you leave a 20 minute gap between siblings so you have time to get to the next teacher. If you have any questions, please email your classroom teacher.
y9x4x
Room 7 Writing Wall
In Room 7, we have created a new writing wall. Our wall lets us share our writing with whānau and each other because we are really proud of what we write each week. We also think that our wall is a great place for demonstrating our whakamana as we continue to work hard at our writing. We have talked about why it is important that people can read our writing and one of the most special reasons was so that we could write birthday cards for our whānau and friends. We are practising using capital letters, full stops, and finger spaces between each word. Ka pai to mahi Room 7!
Maths Week in Puawaitanga
MathsWeek has been so much fun trying to work out the daily challenges. We have been measuring, estimating, working out averages and just generally discussing and having fun. So much more to look forward to with the rest of our Maths Week.
Sports at West End School
Registrations:
Netball Festival Day
A reminder that registrations for the Netball festival day for our year 0-4s close next Friday 19th August. If your child is interested in participating please message the sports coordinator, along with whether you are willing to help out or not.
Ricoh Sports Tournament
Our West End seniors will be competing in an Inter-school sports competition in week 9. West End are looking for parents who are willing to help with coaching and managing our teams. If this sounds like you, please get in touch with the sports coordinator to discuss.
Draw:
Badminton
16th August – West End Shuttles vs Parkland Jets, 4pm on Court 5
– West End Shuttles vs Whakarongo Shuttles, 4:30pm on Court 6
– West End Shuttles vs Parkland Rockets, 5pm on Court 7
Hockey
14th August – West End Funsticks vs Central Normal Rebels, 9:15am on Turf 2G
14th August – West End Ministicks vs Our Lady of Lourdes, 11:30am on Turf 2D
14th August – West End Goldsticks vs Turitea Lightning, 12:15pm on Turf 2a
Practices: Please see below the days/times for practices:
Basketball
West End Bulls – Wednesday 3-3:30pm at West End
Hockey
West End Funsticks – Friday 3-3:30pm at West End
West End Ministicks – Thursday 3-3:30pm at West End
West End Goldsticks – Wednesday 3-3:45pm at West End
If you have any questions relating to sport, please feel free to get in touch: cdrummond@westend.school.nz
TERM DATES 2022
Contact Information
Does the office have your correct contact details? And do we have an alternate contact number in case of an emergency? If you have moved or changed phone numbers or have a different/alternate email address, please let the office know as soon as possible. It is very important that we are able to contact you if there is an accident or emergency. We are also sending out a lot of information through our school app, which are connected to the email address the office has on file. If you would like to add additional email addresses onto contact information, please give these details to the office.
Masks
Due to new directives from the government, it is strongly recommended that children bring masks to school. Adults, please remember to wear a mask when indoors when inside a school building. Thank you for your support.
If your child is absent from school.
It is really important under the current circumstances you notify the school if your child is absent.
PLEASE DO NOT TXT OR EMAIL THE CLASSROOM TEACHER.
ALL ABSENCES SHOULD BE ADVISED VIA THE OFFICE.
Please remember to advise the office by 8.30am if your child is not attending school.
You can telephone 358-2465 and leave a message or txt 021 118 0156.
ABSENCES CAN ALSO BE SENT EASILY THROUGH OUR SCHOOL APP
In both cases please give a reason for absence.
Thank you.
Bikes and Scooters to school
For the safety of our children all children biking or scootering to school MUST wear a helmet. Please also remind your children about road safety - including the safest way to travel to school if on a bike and scooter. While students are on the footpath outside the school , we ask if they can walk their bike or scooter. This is for the safety of themselves and others sharing the footpath, as students are travelling very fast and going past 2 of our school driveways where vehicles are coming in and out of.
Start and end of day procedures
It is great to have our West End community back on school grounds under Orange settings. Here is a reminder of start and end of day procedures.
- If your child is at school before the 8.30 bell, they will need to come through the wharenui gate and wait in the area next to the turf.
- Students need to wait here until the bell goes at 8.30am.
- Please remind your child to walk sensibly to class. We have had a few accidents with students running and tripping over each other in the excitement of getting to class.
- At the end of the day, students will be let go from class. Please let your child know if you are picking them up and therefore will need to wait outside the classroom or meet you in the designated spot you told them to go.
- If siblings are going home together, please make a plan of where your children will meet each other so they aren't walking around school trying to find each other.
Kindo Online Shop
It is very important that families register with Kindo, as this is now the only way to register your child for school sports, and ordering PTA lunches.
Below are the links to register.
If you require help please call the Kindo helpdesk on
0508 454 636
New users need this link
Existing users need this link
Location: West End School, 196 College Street, Palmerston North
Phone: 06 358 2465