Week 3 Term 4 Panui
Wednesday - 2nd November 2022
Contact Us
Email: office@witherlea.school.nz
Website: https://witherlea.school.nz
Location: 214-216 Weld Street, Witherlea, Blenheim 7201, New Zealand
Phone: 64 (03) 578 5568
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/witherleablenheim
Principal Message
Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. Greetings to you all.
Two short weeks in a row is really making the term fly!
Congratulations to all children for their behaviour, participation and achievements on our recent Athletics Day. Many thanks to Dan for his excellent organisation of the event and to all our supporters on the sideline.
I popped over to see our Year 5-6 classes who are camping at Teapot Valley last night. They are having a great time together and the weather has enabled their programme to run uninterrupted. While I was there, they were doing activity rotations which involved abseiling, confidence course, archery, rock climbing, target shooting, damper making, puzzles and the most crazy, bone shaking downhill karts. I was proud to see the children supporting each other in these activities and to hear the camp staff speak so highly of our school - well done team! Over the next two weeks our Year 4-5 classes will be heading over to Mistletoe Bay for their camps. We are hugely appreciative to all the parents who made themselves available to help with our camps this term.
Teachers are in the process of completing end of year assessments and writing reports which will be sent home in the final week of term. We are currently reviewing student reporting processes and considering changes for 2023. I would really appreciate some volunteers to form a reference group to provide some feedback and help shape the changes. If you would like to be involved and have an hour to spare, please email me principal@witherlea.school.nz
Our recent ballot has resulted in a number of new enrollments which will see our 2023 roll grow to 400 students, meaning we will start with 16 classrooms with 2 additional new entrant start up classes during the year. In 2023 we will operate in three teams. The Junior Team (Year 0-2) will have eight classes with average sizes of 20. Most junior classes will be straight year levels with one composite. The Middle Team (Year 3-4) will have five classes as will the Senior’s (Year 5-6) all with an average size of 24. This structure was developed in response to staff, parent and student voice and enables optimal teacher to student ratios.
We are seeing a few devices and smartwatches turning up at school. We ask that these don’t come to school as they can be distracting and have potential to cause issues.
There are several improvement projects happening around the school at the moment. The amphitheatre seating has been replaced, fields resown and the pool repainted over the term break. In the next few weeks the translucent roofing will be replaced over all the decks, new shade sails installed in the Village and over the Sawdust Pit and an upgrade of Room 19 will commence. Early next year we plan to start the refurbishment of a further two classrooms, remove some internal fencing and enhance our entrance way.
On Monday we have the coffee cart back followed by an assembly where the Kauri Team will be showcasing their project based learning “Sunset City” - come along if you can make it!
Ngā manaakitanga,
Symon Beattie
Welcome to Witherlea School
We wish to welcome these new students and their families and whānau to our school and community;
Bryn D
Welcome to School Certificates are given out at our Flag Raising on a Monday morning at 9am. During Red Light, ONLY parents of New Students receiving Welcome Certificates can be onsite.
Witherlea School Disco
Wednesday 30th November
Years 1-3 5.15pm - 6.45pm
Years 4-6 7pm - 8.30pm
$5.00 (Witherlea students only)
We are excited to announce the school disco is back!
Tickets will be available from the school office one week before the disco date. On arrival at the disco, all children will receive a goodie bag with water, popcorn, some treats and a glow product.
Ange Clark is overseeing the disco organisation and is looking for some parents to help with:
Making up goodie bags (everything will be provided)
Decorating the hall on the day (we have the decorations)
Assisting with supervision at the disco
Helping with clean-up at the end of the night
More details about the disco will come out in the next few weeks but in the meantime, if you would like to help with the disco organisation, please let Ange know angelac@witherlea.school.nz or pop up to the Pukeko Room.
Scholastic Book Fair
The Scholastic Book Fair is on from the 21st - 25th of November
Book Character Dress Up Day - Friday 25th of November
Mountain Biking Madness
On Friday 21st October a team of 18 students represented Witherlea at the 2022 Marlborough Primary Schools Mountain Bike Champs at Richmond Brook Station. All 18 completed the course successfully - Year 4 riders completing 2.5km of farm tracks, hills, river crossings, and Year 5/6 riders completing 5km.
Our stand out riders this year were Harry N who came third in the Year 3/4 boys race and Hugo F who came third in the Year 5/6 boys race.
Witherlea School placed second overall in the coveted overall schools standings.
Thank you to all the parents who provided transport and supported us on the day, a great day was had by all.
Bring on next year!
Karearea (NZ Falcon).
Term 4 Events
Week 3 - Wiki Tuatoru
Monday 31st October - Friday 4th November
Monday 31st October
Marlborough Anniversary
Wednesday 2nd November
Newsletter Day
1st-4th of November Kauri Camp (Teapot Valley)
Week 4 - Wiki Tuawhā
Monday 7th November - Friday 11th November
Monday 7th November
Coffee Cart, Assembly, Board Meeting, Tennis Tournament
8th-11th November Kowhai Camp 1 (Mistletoe Bay)
Be Kind, Be Safe, Be Fair Shoutouts
Be Kind, Be Safe, Be Fair Shoutouts
Congratulations to these students who have displayed one or all of our school behaviour expectations and are a model to others;
FERNS TEAM
Henry T - Showing aroha and compassion towards your peers, both in class and in the playground. It's great to see you looking out for others.
KAURI TEAM
Ava L - being super motivated and working hard on all class activities. Your work ethic is outstanding and you finish tasks to a very high standard. Keep up the great work!
KOWHAI TEAM
The awards are for recognition in displaying and modelling our school motto and values; Be Kind, Be Safe, Be Fair.
Early Words Recognition
D'arcy C
We are very proud of the effort towards learning that our youngest students put in as the Early Words is the start of mastery at Witherlea School.