Week 8 T4 2022
9/12/22 - He Pānui Wiki Waru Whānga Tuawha
Newsletter Proudly Sponsored By
Tēnā koutou katoa (hello everyone)
This has been our last full week for the 2022 school year. School finishes next Thursday the 15th of December at 12:30 pm. School buses will be leaving at 12:30 and doing their usual routes. Please let us know if your tamariki are being picked up from school on this day.
2022 has been probably the most challenging to navigate of all the 'COVID Years'. We have seen rolling staff and student absences, resulting in a dramatic drop in attendance. The Ministry of Education is really trying to push attendance up across the Mōtu (country) and we are certainly not immune to significantly lower attendance rates. We hope that after a restful summer break regular attendance can get back on track - every day matters.
Today we acknowledged those students heading off to other schools next year. Haere rā Shylah, Hendrix & Nirvana Charters. Shylah will be heading off to MIS and the others to Fernridge - good luck and we wish you all the very best. Aurora Richardson is also heading off next year and is going to Rarotonga (there might be a few of us coming with you Aurora). Good luck & send us loads of island pics.
Next week we head into the Year 8 Leavers Dinner and our Prize Giving Assembly. Prize giving assembly will start at 9:30am in the school hall next Thursday the 15th. We have 21 fabulous Year 8's finishing this year. Seats are reserved for Year 8 families (it would be helpful if you could let us know how many seats to set aside for your Year 8's whanau - including grandparents and siblings). Please email Belinda.
We will run for an hour and then break for a stretch of the legs & morning tea before resuming for another hour. We will be finished by 12:00. Kourarau will organise their students so that they can be part of as much of the assembly as the little ones can manage.
Star of the year presentations are for Y0-6 students. If your child is receiving one of these or another award and they are not a Year 7/8, we will have notified you already by email so that you can attend prize giving.
We are mindful that we have a large group of Year 8's. It will be a long assembly but to give these students the opportunities they deserve we will be allowing them to speak as usual. It is a long standing tradition that we will be maintaining.
Holiday Animal Feeding Help
If you are about in the holidays and were able to take a 3 day slot to feed our animals it would be most appreciated. Thanks to Sharpes Farm Feed who continue to provide food for our pig Charlie; chickens and rabbits. A link to the roster is below (thanks so much to those of you who have already popped your names down). We have 5 more slots to fill:
Thank you to the most fabulous group of students (and adults) who came on the Principal's outing with me on Wednesday. You were such a cool group to spend the afternoon with and we had a bunch of fun.
As you will be aware, we have a staff vacancy at present. The job is being re-advertised next year when there is likely to be a larger pool of applicants. In the mean time we will be advertising for a long term reliever and will let you know when this is finalised. It is important to us that our community understand the vacancy is due to personal reasons and is no reflection on the school, how it is operating or the climate in which we are working. If you had any questions, please direct these to either myself (Belinda - Principal) or the BoT.
Values Focus This Week
Gladstone School Packing The Bus
Our final newsletter for 2022 will be going out next Friday the 16th of December. We will be celebrating our Year 8 leavers, prize & award winners, staff, board and FoGs leavers as well as past pupil awards (we have the official prize giving lists from the secondary schools).
A big thanks goes out to Scott & Kylie Brady as well as Suzy & Sam Beetham (and her brother Rob) who helped split firewood on Sunday. We have a couple of big projects in the pipe line and are setting aside 1 big working bee in March - Sunday the 19th. We would love to split the rest of the gum, put in a pump track (bike track) around the top field as well as fitting out the old woodshed to store bikes. We have bikes lined up courtesy of Bruce Warnock and helmets being donated by 'Bikes in Schools'. If anyone is keen to help co-ordinate this massive undertaking please reach out to Belinda, Becks or Charlie.
Have a lovely weekend everyone.
Ngā manaakitanga,
Belinda
Reminder - How & Where To Keep Up With School Dates
Newsletter Proudly Sponsored By Quirke Electrical
Assembly
Thanks to Lily & Michaela for running this weeks assembly - it was super cool. Our 'Whetu o te Wiki' (stars of the week) are Tim Berryman - for always helping out the younger students when they get hurt; and Christa Ashby - for carrying on with the tidying out the FoGS shed. & hall kitchen.
Well done to these students who received certificates from their classroom teachers at assembly this week: Michael Quirke, Hannah Beetham, Edith Mason, Hugo Tomlin, Charlie Ashby, Oscar Nicol, Hannah Beetham, Harper Nielsen, Patrick Hanson & William McLean.
Regional Athletics
Well done to all of our athletes who represented the South Wairarapa on Tuesday. Thanks also to the students and parents who helped with the food fundraiser - nearly $600 was made and will be going towards camps for 2023.
A special acknowledgement to the following athletes:
Lauren James - 9th Y4 100m; 10th Y4 Quoit.
Hannah Beetham - 10th Y8 Shot Put.
Hugo Wilkinson - 2nd Y5 800m; 4th Y5 150m; 8th Y5 Long Jump.
Harvey James - 2nd Y5 80m.
Monty Murnane - 10th Y7 High Jump.
Cara's Singing Group
Well done to 'Cara's Singing Group' who performed one of their songs at assembly today. The film can be viewed on our facebook page - it starts at 10:30 into the clip. Thanks very much to Cara for tutoring again this year & we look forward to continuing in 2023.
Ngā mihi mō tō huritau - Best wishes for your birthday!
Rā whānau to everyone who has their birthday coming up next week and over the summer holidays. We wish you all a very happy day. An extra special shout out to Mrs Norman who hit the big 5 - 0 on Monday. We hope you've had a lovely week with your family.
ANZH (Aotearoa NZ Histories) - Weekly Kōrero
A new trophy as been donated to the school by the Ruamahanga Restoration Trust creating some new history for the school. Our korero today tells the story of the award.
Hello, my name is Jacqui Wilkinson and I recently joined the Gladstone School Board of Trustees.
Along with my husband Steve and our two boys, Hugo and Toby we live on a lifestyle block that backs onto the Ruamahanga River in Gladstone.
After completing a BCom at Otago University I moved back to the Wairarapa, my home town where I currently work as a Finance Manager for a National Contracting firm.
Hugo and Toby have attended Gladstone from the start of their schooling life. From the day they arrived they have immersed themselves in the vast array of school academic, cultural and sporting activities.
Outside of work we enjoy relaxing at home, spending multiple hours on the sidelines watching the boys sporting endeavours and making the most of the many opportunities, experiences and activities that are available within our incredible community. Every now and then I even manage to get the baking tins out.
We love being a part of the Gladstone community and see the school and its staff, pupils and parents as an integral part of the community so I am excited to work alongside the rest of the BOT to continue to shape and grow Gladdy School as we know it.
Rangatahi Workshop
Well done to Aidan King, Sam Berryman & Timothy Berryman who joined 25 rangatahi from across the region to help further refine and develop the Wairarapa Rangatahi (youth) Strategy and Action Plan. It is important that rangatahi are at the heart of this project and we’re excited that these boys got to work on the strategy and action plan with our Focus Group.
Year 7&8 Design Technology @ Makoura
Mark the Shark
Reminder - School Swimming Pool
It's not really pool weather, however it's that time of year where we ask whānau if they would like access to the school pool over the summer months. The pool will open on Monday the 12th of December for the duration of the summer. This year you will be provided with a code for the gate once you have signed the pool use agreement form. Please come to the office to do this at some stage next week. There is a $40 hire charge for the season which can be paid by cash or internet banking (Gladstone School 12-3290-0001530-00). If families have keys from last year they please be returned - we are not using keys this year so they won't be of use to you.
Term 4 - Things Coming Up
Week 9
Wed 14/12 - Year 8 Leavers Dinner 6pm @ The Complex.
Thurs 15/12 - Prizegiving Assembly 9:30am @ school.
Reminder - School starts on Wednesday the 1st of February 2023. All other dates for 2023 can be found on our Whānau Calendar (via the app; our website or the link below).
Please find a direct link to our Whānau Calendar below. It can also be accessed via the app and the school website.
School Docs - School Policy & Procedures
This term parents are asked to review our policies. Go to 'current review', read the policy and make any comments by clicking on the red icon - top right of the screen.
CodeCamp Summer Holiday Fun
CodeCamp allows children from the ages of 7-12 to develop 21st century skills in a fun and action packed environment. Develop confidence & initiative through design, creativity, solving problems, presenting & collaboration. Create games, apps.
Venue: Thorndon School
Weeks: 1: 9th – 12th Jan, 16th – 19th Jan & 24th – 27th Jan
Book Now: @ www.codecamp.co.nz
Greytown Junior Football Club are holding a pre Christmas holiday programme. We even have Paul Ifill attending to talk to the children!
If you could advertise this at your school that would be great.
Register here https://forms.gle/5DbfYK3YkHEBcDNi8
or send them to the Greytwon Junior Football Club facebook page to find the registration link.
Contact Us
Email: office@gladstone1.school.nz
Website: http://www.gladstone1.school.nz
Location: 1471 Te Whiti Road, Gladstone, New Zealand
Phone: +64 6 372 7601