Oratia District School Newsletter
Week 09 - 31 March 2022
Message from Ms Linda
Tena koutou katoa. Nau mai ki te whanau o te Ōrātia. Ni hao. Talofa lava. Zdravo. Kia orana. Namaste.
Greetings Ōrātia whānau. I am very happy to be back on site working again this week. I went to the orthopaedic doctor on Monday and he was happy with the way my knee was healing up, and cleared me to return to work on reduced hours till the holidays. I am not very mobile yet so forgive my erratic appearances at the school gate for a little while.
We have been loving the warm Autumn days as it gives us plenty of opportunity to get outside and use our bike track, fields and the swimming pool. The pool is heated to 27 degrees and so we are trying to use it as much as we can up till the end of the term. Please take advantage of this wonderful resource that we have, and send your child's swimming gear to school each week on their swimming day.
I hope that you received my email this week that invited you all to our school cross country event happening on Monday April 4, starting at 9.15am. We will have areas set up for our parents to watch from that will give you a great view of the course. Because the cross country is an outside event we are able to host you all on site, something we are so excited about, and hope you will be able to attend.
With the changes decided by the government recently we are able to confirm that from April 4 parents do not have to show vaccination passports to volunteer and help out at school or on trips. We no longer have to use QR codes to sign into school, just come to the school office as you used to do, and sign in if you are helping out. We do ask that for the remainder of Term 1, no parent visitors are on site unless otherwise organised.
Because we are still at Red level, we have been asked to maintain the other health and safety guidelines such as wearing masks indoors and on school transport, regular hand washing and sanitising, ventilation of rooms and wiping down of surfaces. We will have our goal setting meetings between parents and teachers online via google meets (April 7, 2-7.30), and will continue to have staggered exit times till the end of the term.
Next term, even if we are still at Red we are going to go back to our regular closing times and all children will leave school at the same time at 2.55pm. Our hope is that we will be able to move to the Orange level soon, which may mean some easing of the gathering restrictions for indoors that we are having at Red. We will keep you informed as we learn what is happening.
All the best to you all as we head into the last couple of weeks of Term 1. I so appreciate all you do to work with us as we have had to navigate the challenges of Omicron and rapidly changing isolation rules and expectations. Our school has been fortunate to have got through this time with relatively few children and staff affected by Covid-19 compared to our neighbouring schools. Even though nearly every class has had somebody ill or been a household contact, the actual numbers of those affected is quite low compared to our entire community.
I wish you all continued good health and well being. Kia kaha, Kia atawhai.
Ngā mihi nui, Ms Linda
Calendar of Events - Term 1, 2022
Monday 4 April - School Cross Country. Please see info below
Monday 4 April - Board of Trustees Meeting - 7pm
Thursday 7 April - Data Sharing/goal setting online meetings. School closing at 1.30pm
Thursday 14 April - Last day of Term One
All school events are recorded in our public calendar on the front page of our website.
Friday Lunch Schedule
Friday lunches can be ordered on Kindo and will be delivered to your child's classroom at the beginning of lunchtime. Cut off times for orders are 7.00pm Thursday night except for Sushi which is Wednesday night. If your child is absent on the day for which lunch is ordered and you would like to collect the food please phone the office.
Friday 1 April - Jesters Pies (Great fundraiser for the school we make $2 per pie!)
Friday 8 April - Subway
Data sharing evening - Have you booked?
We would like to invite you to attend a goal-setting conversation for your child on Thursday 7th April. As a school we promote parents and whānau to be active partners in their child's learning and we value the opportunity to meet with you to share information and work together. These conversations will be held over Google Meet and will be ten minutes long. We would like to hear from you about your child (their interests, strengths, passions) and then work together to agree on a goal for the direction of their learning for the terms ahead.
Please note school is closing at 1.30pm on this day. School buses will run at 1.30pm
How to make a booking
You can make your booking online at www.schoolinterviews.co.nz.
Bookings can be made from Thursday 24 March . The code is qawma
Please note bookings will close at 12noon on Thursday 7th April.
Ngā Rākau Kaha walk
Our Ngā Rākau Kaha Leadership group enjoyed a two hour walk in the Waitakeres on Tuesday. The walk will help the students gain their 'Outdoor Activities' badge and was a great achievement to complete. The students enjoyed the company of Mrs Goldsmith, Mr Moncur and Mr Loten and all agreed it was great to get out in the great outdoors.
PB4L - Positive Behaviour for Learning
Our school-wide PB4L focus for week 10 is Friendship .
In order to support our learning, could you please discuss with your children some of the things that make a good friend? How do we support our friends both in the classroom and in the playground? We will be spending the next couple of weeks on this in classes as well as well as continuing our focus on using kind words.
Pasifika update
This week in Pasifika group, Blake began teaching us the Samoan National Anthem. It was great to watch him take a risk to sing for and lead such a large group of tamaiti. Malo lava and fa'afetai Blake!
Teacher Feature!
'While most of you know me already I’m Matua Ben and I teach in Room 23. It’s my third year at Oratia and I’m still in the process of relocating a house on Rimu Road. I love working here and being a local (soon I hope) will only make things better.
Over the summer I got married to my wife Jess, and we were lucky enough to be able to travel around the South Island in a campervan which was the best time.
In my spare time I like to train martial arts and although I don’t compete as much these days, I still like to do at least one fight a year to keep myself sharp. Growing up in the rural Taranaki, I love to work outside and I feel very at home out West Auckland with it’s amazing bush walks. Dogs, coffee, and Australian muscle cars round out the things I’m most obsessed with. Feel free to come up and have a chat with me about either, when I’m not coaching rugby, cricket, or doing chin ups!'
Garden to Table - Further learnings
Oratia District School - Out of Zone Ballot
Enrolments at Oratia School are governed by an enrolment scheme, details of which are available on our school website. The board invites out of zone applications from parents or caregivers who wish to enrol their children at Oratia District School.
The board has determined there will be 30 places in total across year levels 0 - 6 available for out-of-zone students in this ballot.
- Applications will open on Monday 14 March 2022
- Applications will close on Tuesday 10 May 2022
- If the number of out-of-zone applications exceeds the number of places available, students will be selected by ballot. The ballot will be drawn on Tuesday 17 May 2022
- Successful applicants must commence their first day at school on or before Thursday 30 June 2022
Information on how to apply will be available from our school website from Monday 14 March.
Please note: Applications are to be submitted online. We will not be accepting any applications at the school office.
COVID RED LEVEL - PHASE THREE
Important points to note at Oratia School:
- School access can begin at 8.30am. Parents are to remain off site for drop off and pick up. Please do not let children back over the fence to play in playgrounds after school while teachers are on site.
- Pick up at the end of the day will be staggered to reduce congestion at the gate - Potiki (Junior) at 2.30pm, Arawhata (Middle) at 2.40pm, Tuakana (Senior) at 2.50pm, Bus travellers at 3.00pm Siblings can leave at the same time as their younger sibling.
- If your child shows any sign of illness, please keep them home till they are well again
- If your child becomes ill at school we will call you and ask you to collect them. (We will meet you at the school gate).
- Children from Year 4 - 6 and their teachers will be wearing masks in the classroom and on the school buses; no masks are required when children are outside
- Please call the office on 818 6216 if you need to drop something to your child or collect them early and we will make arrangements with you.
You can information from the Ministry of Health on this link:
What does it mean if I am a household contact? – Ministry of Health
Netball Update
Teams are still being organised due to some late entries and will be confirmed next week.
We are desperately seeking a netball coach for one of our Year 5/6 teams. This could be an auntie or uncle, an older sibling at high school who enjoys netball or someone else that you know! Training and assistance will be available. If you or someone you know might be interested in giving back to our school community in this way please contact Janine Moore in the office on janinem@oratia.school.nz.
Cross Country - Monday 4 April
As we can have large gatherings outdoors now we would like to invite parents to watch their children run the cross country course if they are able to. We will have areas designated around the course for parents to watch from and look forward to seeing as many of you as possible that can attend.
Lone Kauri students will be running with us too so it will be a great opportunity for the whole community to be together.
Your child will need a drink, appropriate clothes to run in and running shoes if they wish to run in them. (Running shoes or bare feet – no jandals!).
Please see the attachment for running times.
COMMUNITY NOTICES
PARENT CORNER
Contact Us
Email: principal@oratia.school.nz
Website: https://www.oratia.school.nz
Location: Shaw Road & West Coast Road, Oratia, Auckland 0604, Auckland, New Zealand
Phone: +64 9 818-6216
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OratiaSchool/