Newsletter T1W2
Tuesday 8 February 2022
School Notices
Welcome to the new school year! We hope you have all had a lovely holiday break with your children. A special welcome to our 24 new students (including 16 New Entrants). We wish them all the best and hope they enjoy their time here with us at Whitney Street School.
Staffing
We are delighted that this year our staffing is relatively stable with very few changes. We welcome Ms Jade Lee, who will be teaching in Room 3, back from maternity leave, and we also welcome Ms Viv Familton to the part-time teaching position in Room 12.
We wish them both the best and hope they enjoy being part of our Whitney Street team.
The wonderful staff we have working at Whitney Street School this year are outlined below.
Roll
We start the school year with 356 students and with current enrolments will reach approximately 380 students at the end of the year. We have begun the year with 15 classrooms and will start another New Entrant class later on in the year.
Learning
The main learning theme for the year for all Learning Hubs will be ‘Ka Mua, Ka Maui - Walking Backwards Into The Future’ and once again the PE focus for Term 1 will start with swimming and we will also be participating in the Hot Shots Tennis programme. Please refer to Learning Hub Newsletters for more detailed information on your child(ren)’s learning programmes. Teachers will continue to work collaboratively in teams of two or three.
Internet Devices
Hats
School Assemblies/Hui
Unfortunately while we are at the Red Traffic Light Level no parents/caregivers will be allowed at our hui. The hui will only be held in collaborative buddy class groups inside, or outside with social distancing if a whole Hub Hui is organised.
School App
We encourage all parents to download our school app from the Playstore or Apple Store, as we find this the most effective way of sending out Alerts to parents/caregivers. You can also access a wealth of information from the app as it has links to the school calendar, newsletters, etc.
Please subscribe to Alerts from the classes/groups that your child belongs to. If you want to subscribe to groups later on, you can do this via the ‘Alerts Subscriptions’ which is in the Menu (top left). Please do this to ensure you are subscribed to the classes and Teams that your child or children are in for the 2022 school year.
This is also the way we would like you to inform us of absences. This system streamlines the morning routine for Adele and Michelle so that they can easily see who is away and why.
Please ask the office or your class teacher to help with this if you are unsure of what to do.
Newsletters
School Newsletters
The school newsletter goes out every alternate week on Tuesdays to your email address, and can also be accessed via the website and school app. Hard copies are available on request. The purposes of newsletters/notices are to keep parents/caregivers informed about the teaching and learning that is happening in their child(ren)’s classroom(s), ways you can help at home, important information, and dates that you need to know so please make sure you read it thoroughly. From time to time other notices are sent home as required.
Learning Hub Newsletters/Notices
Each Learning Hub sends home a term newsletter or information book, and Collaborative Teams also send home notices as required.
School Policies and Procedures
PASSWORD: learners
Parent/Whānau Information Book
Website and Facebook
Our school website whitneystreet.school.nz and Facebook are also great places to go to for information and school news.
Water Only School
Please note that we are a water-only school, and that we encourage healthy eating. We recommend students have their own named water bottle for hygiene reasons.
School Lunches
Whitney Street School receives free healthy lunches for all students daily via the Ka Ora, Ka Ako - Healthy School Lunches Programme. In 2022 we have changed providers and Libelle will now be providing the lunches - refer to their website here. It is important that we know if your child has any food allergies, etc, so please let the office know of them if you haven’t already. Also refer to the email sent on 1 Feb.
Often, there are school lunches left over at the end of the day. These are located in the Blue Chilly Bins on the hall deck and you are most welcome to help yourself.
Bikes and Scooters
If students bike or scooter to school please ensure they lock them in the stand behind Rooms 7-9. We also encourage students to wear a helmet. The police recommend only students 10 years and older should ride bikes unaccompanied on the road. If your child is younger than this please arrange for an adult to accompany them as they bike to and from school.
Road Patrol
Thank you so much to the parents/whānau who are helping out on Road Patrol this year. A timetable was sent to all those involved at the end of last year. Please ensure you read your instructions and are at your designated patrol on time. If you can’t make it or have any issues please contact Christee Dalzell (dalzell@whitneystreet.school.nz).
We have two slots to fill for our Adult Supervisors on Wednesday mornings and Thursday afternoons, on Eltham Road. If you would like to volunteer for Road Patrol please also contact Christee.
Thanks for your support in helping ensure our students cross our busy roads safely.
School Hours Before and After School
Please note that our school opening hours are 8:30am until 3:15pm. Outside these times teachers are busy preparing work, marking, attending meetings, etc and cannot be responsible for your children. We encourage you to collect them on time, and if they wish to play after school parents/whānau need to stay and supervise them.
In the mornings we allow students to wait on the hall deck if they have to be at school before 8:30am to allow parents to get to work. They will not be supervised directly as such so we encourage them to bring a book or an activity to do while they wait, as they are not allowed in the playground or classrooms at this time. If their behaviour is not acceptable you will be informed and alternative arrangements will need to be made.
School Gates
Please note that the school gates will be closed just after 9am to ensure the safety of children at school. If your child is late and cannot open the gates, you will need to arrange for someone to open them for your child. Alternatively they could come in the Whitney Street main entrance and come to the office area where we can open the gate for them.
Please note that while we are in the Red Traffic Light System, the Whitney St Cul-de-Sac gate will be locked.
Principal Communication and Information
COVID 19 Restrictions
Currently, we are operating under the Red Traffic Light Level of the Ministry of Health’s Traffic Light System. Here is an outline of the key things that schools need to know under the various Traffic Light settings, and we will keep you informed of what is necessary and any changes.
Here are the details of how we are operating more specifically at Whitney Street School in the Red Traffic Light System.
As you are aware all 5-12 year old children are now eligible for vaccinations. Please note these will not be happening at school and if you want your child(ren) vaccinated you will need to organise this yourselves.
FREE PERIOD PRODUCTS FOR WHITNEY STREET SCHOOL GIRLS
The access to period products initiative aims to provide free period products to children and young people in all state and state-integrated schools and kura across New Zealand.
If your Whitney Street School daughter has her period, she is eligible for two packs of free period products per month. These will be available to her by her parent/caregivers letting Christee Dalzell know via email (dalzell@whitneystreet.school.nz) or by leaving a wee note on her desk :-)
Hopefully this initiative is utilised really well by our Whitney kōtiro/girls! It is a brilliant way to save money on the grocery bill.
If you have any questions, please feel free to pop in and talk to Christee.
Our school calendar is often filled with trips and events and sometimes the dates and details change. The BEST place to keep an eye on what is happening is on the school App in the calendar section.
Hero
Automatic Payment Option
The Whitney Street School BOT bank details are: 03 0599 0305934 00
Suggestions Box
Bread Tags for Wheelchairs
In line with sustainability, the Wairau Hub will continue to collect bread tags to help support the Bread Tags for Wheelchairs initiative. Save them up, bring them into Room 1 and we will arrange for them to get to where they need to go.
Pretty Things Embroidery
Contact Us
Email: principal@whitneystreet.school.nz
Website: https://whitneystreet.school.nz
Location: Whitney Street, Blenheim, New Zealand
Phone: +64 3 578 3028
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhitneyStreetSchool/
It’s great to be back and we’re all looking forward to another fantastic year of learning and fun, and preferably returning to more ‘normal’ times!
Scottish Folk Dancing for 5-18 years of age
We invite you to join us to give Scottish Folk dancing a go on Tuesday 15th February from 3.10 – 4.30pm at Whitney Street School Hall.
Scottish Folk dancing is more commonly known as Scottish Country Dancing. The aim is to encourage friendship, fitness, fun, working as a team and building confidence for both girls and boys.
No special dress code is required, we only ask for soft shoes similar to the softness of ballet shoes.
If you are interested could you please email lindaglavin1@gmail.com or heatherrlamb@hotmail.com for more information.
Below link will take you to a group of dancers demonstrating Scottish Dancing.
Trip To Timber Ridge Scottish Country Dance Video (scottish-country-dancing-dictionary.com)
Linda and Heather