Albury School Newsletter
2021 Term 4 Week 2
Principal's Message
It was a special day for Matilda on the first day of this term. Welcome to Albury School!
We also welcomed Mrs Heather Van der Hayden as the teacher for Piwakawaka. The classrooms have been rearranged for T4, which is also the set up for 2022 classes (less the current Year 6 students) so we plan to have a seamless transition between school years heading into 2022.
Covid-19 and Education
We are in the process of implementing the requirements of the Public Health Orders. One of the requirements is for staff or any person who is onsite (regularly) and may have contact with students, to be vaccinated. This is a new platform for our sector and I appreciate your common sense and respectful response to this.
However, there are some nuances to the rules and the vaccination request does not apply to parents undertaking their duties as parents. So it is fine to drop off/pick up students, attend assemblies and events if you are not vaccinated. The flip to that is that you are asked to wear a mask when on site. Staff and students are not required to wear masks (but it is optional), as we are technically an Albury School bubble.
If a parent is working in a class or attending a school trip or camp, although you are not being paid, you are deemed to be undertaking “un-paid work” and treated as “staff” for this purpose, and hence the requirement for vaccination applies. I am required to maintain a vaccination register, so as part of the process for trips etc, I am required to ask you about your vaccination status and proof of this (if you wish to attend). However, you have a right not to disclose this, and as such it is deemed that you would not be able to help out as per the PHO we are required to treat a non-disclosure as being unvaccinated. This is an added requirement on top of having a current Police Vet Check. So in simplistic terms, if you need a Police Vet, you need a jab!
Staff are not required to disclose their vaccination status to parents and it would be great if you could refrain from asking this personal question. What I can assure you is that from the 16th Nov, staff working on site at school will meet the PHO requirements regarding the vaccination status to be working in the education sector, particularly, at Albury School.
I am aware that some schools are cancelling events. It is our intention to continue with our planned activities, albeit some of these relied on the host school. Fairlie Primary will not be hosting the annual Athletics event, so we are exploring other options for our kids. As with Pet Day, we were able to run this event and many thanks to you all for being conscious around the safety precautions. It was a great event and well done to all our kids and families.
Agri Day – Help Needed
We are hoping to hold this event. In an earlier newsletter we asked for families to consider taking an activity. No one replied… so just putting it out there again. If we could have 4-5 activities, then small groups of students (7-8) could rotate around the activities. As with Pet Day, I am sure we could accommodate the event within the safety guidelines. Please send me a message if you’d be able to spare 2 hours for this event.
Year 6 Transition Programme
Year 6 transition programme for our students heading to Mackenzie College has started and our students have had a meet up with other year 6 students in the district. Over the next 4 weeks, they will have other opportunities to meet up and to visit Mackenzie College. A comprehensive information booklet has been given out to our Year 6s.
Thank you so much for you understanding and support. We know that we have colleagues around the country feeling exhausted (probably just like you are!) and we need to look after our staff and families so that we are “on point” for our terrific Albury Kids. If you require any support please reach out to someone you trust. We are also here to help you out – we care about our families and and Albury Kids!!
Ngā mihi nui
Donna Donnelly
Principal
Albury School
Introducing: Heather van der Heyden
Hello Albury Whanau, I have enjoyed my first few days at Albury School and have enjoyed getting to know the wonderful Albury Kids and school community. I live in Geraldine with my husband Mike, dog Archie and cat Honey. We have four adult children and one beautiful granddaughter who started school at the beginning of this term. We spend our free time keeping our gardens under control and enjoy bush walks with Archie. We enjoy exploring beautiful New Zealand when we get the chance. I look forward to my time here at Albury School.
Heather van der Heyden
Student Sickness
We do request that if students have coughs, colds, sneezes, chills etc., they remain at home and that you seek medical advice. We know that this variant is highly contagious and we are required to err on the side of caution. This is just where we are at the present time and we look forward to having more freedom and less restriction in the months ahead!
Living Springs Camp 24-26 November
Mr Murray is working alongside the team at St Joseph’s regarding the final plans for the camp. We are very fortunate that this regular venue is familiar to the teachers at St Joseph’s and they are taking a lead role in the organisation. We will be sending out a consent form as soon as possible. The Covid 19 restrictions will apply to our camp helpers and we are seeking two parents to attend. If you are able to meet the Police Vet and Vaccination requirements, and are able to attend, could you please email Kent as soon as possible (kent@albury.school.nz).
Many thanks.
If you haven't done so already, please make your payment through online banking into school's bank account:
ALBURY SCHOOL BOARD OF TRUSTEES – 123- 159 0137213-00
with NAME/CAMP as reference.
Thank you.
pet day
Our Pet Day was held on Friday, 22nd October and how lucky were we to be able to go ahead with the day!
A big THANK YOU to Laura and Nicole, who have been organising and running the event this year and made sure everything went smoothly and safely.
A big THANK YOU also to the judges, Hayden from Farmlands, Claire and Maree from PGG Wrightson and Aaron.
The prizes for our winners supplied by Farmlands and PGG Wrightsons were very well received, thank you!
It was lovely to see our Albury kids with their special animal friends and to hear about how they take care of them.
Here are the results of the competitions:
Dogs
Knowledge of Pet:
- Year NE-3: 1st Edward, 2nd Jack Mc
- Year 4-6 : 1st Lachie, 2nd Ted
Obstacle Course: 1st Lachie, 2nd Ben
Lambs
Knowledge of Pet:
- Preschool: 1st Georgie, 2nd Murphy
- Year NE-3: 1st Ana, 2nd Scarlett
- Year 4-6: 1st Blake, 2nd Tilly
Other Pets
Knowledge of Pet:
- Year NE-3: 1st Max, 2nd Amy
- Year 4-6: 1st Mia, 2nd Daniel
Fancy Dress: 1st Lachie, 2nd Olivia Mc, 3rd Maggie
Calendar
NOVEMBER
- Thursday 11th: Armistice Day
- Thursday 11th: Sushi
- Wednesday 24th November to Friday 26th November Senior Camp Living Springs
DECEMBER
- Thursday 9th: Sushi
- Tuesday 14th: Last day of the School Year
Piwakawaka Classroom
We welcomed Matilda to Piwakawaka class on the first day of term, it is great to have you, Matilda.
This term our literacy learning is following the Better Start Literacy Approach and we are settling into a nice routine and progress is evident already. Storytelling is also proving fun and popular with everyone seeing themselves as authors with a story to tell.
We love when our family calls into class and are happy to share our learning anytime.
Heather van der Heyden
Tui Classroom
Kia ora koutou,
Our Tui classroom is thriving this term, with the welcoming of our Y3 students. We have started new units across the curriculum and are getting our mathematics and guided reading rotations in action, with new groups and foci. The warmer months and spring grass growth are lending themselves more to outdoor learning and physical education. We are currently focusing on running, jumping and throwing in preparation for athletics.
The annual Pet Day was awesome; the animals were marvelous, the weather was fine, and both children and adults seemed to be enjoying themselves. Thank you to everyone in the wider school community for your support in making this event such a success.
Torsten, from Korfball New Zealand, visited this week and taught the Y3-6 Albury kids the rules and how to play. The students’ verdict - we love korfball! It is fast, fun, mixed gender, and the attack and defense roles change frequently. Korfball is growing in popularity around the world, including Christchurch.
Ngā mihi,
Kent Murray
Sushi Dates Term 4
Thursday, 11th November and
Thursday, 9th December.
Baby teeth matter
Timaru Altrusa Scholarship
Timaru Altrusa Scholarship
In memory of Olwen Norton
This scholarship is intended for:
· undertaking vocational study in order to return to the workplace
· training for a new vocational career
· anyone who as a result of circumstance has been unable to take up study until now.
· payment of tuition fees
· South Canterbury residents
Further Information:
· $1500 will be available for distribution
· More than one recipient may share this award
For application forms and further information please contact
Robyn Brien
0211525088
Closing Date: Friday, 19 November 2021
ALTRUSA International of Timaru supports our local community
futsal is back for term 4
South Canterbury Futsal are excited to confirm that futsal is back for Term 4.
The leagues will start on Wednesday the 27th of October and run for 8 weeks.
For more details see: https://www.facebook.com/footballsouthcanterbury , https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Futsal42021
Or contact James for more info! 021 245 0499 or james@ymcasc.org.nz
Girls only Football in Timaru
Concerns and Complaints Process
School Policies
Harassment
Education Success for Maori students
Albury School Policies are located online at School Docs.
User name: albury
Password: queen
Contact Us
Piwakawaka teacher- Heather van der Heyden: Heather@albury.school.nz
Tui teacher- Kent Murray: Kent@albury.school.nz
Email: office@albury.school.nz
Website: https://www.albury.school.nz/
Location: Albury School Station Street, Albury 7984, New Zealand
Phone: 03 685 5844
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alburyschool