The Connection Week 3 Term 3
Huapai District School 12th August 2021
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
It’s those moments!
I have learnt in life (and in education), there are moments that go deep and can shape the future. Watching and reading the back stories to some of the athletes at the Olympics, there seems to be a moment when they saw, or had an experience that put them on the trajectory of belief. Within education I have seen those nano moments that seem to have a lifetime of impact. It might be a moment on the stage performing, an experience on camp or a light bulb moment in the classroom.
I have also learnt it can be a comment made! This can be good or bad. Either way it can go deep. One memory for me that sits deep with me was about Ben, a student I taught in year 8. At his 21st ( I wasn’t there) he said something to the effect that he had a teacher in his Year 8 who said “Ben whatever you do it will be good, but is it your best?” I remember Ben - he was a really capable student, always at the top and quick to understand. I remember having him submit his work and trying to critique good work. It was easy to accept it as it was always good. A challenging comment (that I had no idea I made) went deep and was a small part of what saw him move into international banking and significance.
Note to self: Guard carefully what you say.
Have a good day.
John Petrie
Upcoming Events
- Bake Sale - Tomorrow - Friday 13th August
- Cross Country - Thursday 19th August
- Teacher Only Day - Friday 27th August
Student Of The Week
Mischa says, "I love Huapai because I have lots of friends here. I like learning maths and achieving my maths goals. I enjoy playing chase and playing on the playground."
Getting To Know...
Jo Redman
Hi, I’m Jo. I teach year one students here at Huapai District School. I’ve been here for five years and I love teaching the younger children as I have a background in kindergarten teaching. I live with my husband and our two children at Muriwai. We are an active, outdoors family; we love skiing and spending time at the beach.
Teacher Only Day
Friday 27th August 2021
The school will offer support through our Huapai Plus (before and after school programme). The school will not be open on this day.
Bake Sale
Cross Country
The school cross country will be held on Thursday 19th August (Week 4 Term 3).
The event will be held at the Huapai Domain, same as last year, and we welcome all families to join us for the event and lunch. Please see the document linked below for everything you need to know.
Note: If the day is looking dreadful and we postpone the event, a message will be sent via SchoolApps.
Puberty Talks
Every two years, as part of our health curriculum, we cover the topic of puberty within our relationships and sexuality education framework. The sessions covering puberty are delivered by Maree Lloyd and the classroom teachers for years 6-8. These sessions will be held later this term. We would like to invite parents in to school for an evening in a relaxed environment to learn more about the program and the content that will be delivered. This year’s session will be held in the staffroom 5:30pm-6:30pm next Wednesday 18th August.
Lockdown Practice
Lockdown seems to have taken a totally new meaning over the last 18 months. That said, we are obliged and want to ensure our children know what to do if we have to put the school into a lockdown. Lockdowns at school can happen because of a Police direction with something risky within our close surroundings, it can also happen if we have a weather situation that looks risky, or even a situation like a swarm of bees or a dangerous dog in the grounds.
We will be having a lockdown drill (unannounced) in the next two weeks.
The key issue as a parent is not to rush to the school if we put the school in lockdown. We have processes in place to communicate with parents. These will be tested during our lockdown practice also. Please ensure that you have SchoolApps downloaded as this is how we communicate with families in case of a lockdown situation. There is a link to download SchoolApps at the end of this newsletter.
Health And Safety
We thank you for your patience and understanding when using the school crossings outside the school. Our crossings are operated by children who are 9-12 years old with an adult supervisor and we appreciate that sometimes the children may miss an opportunity to open the signs that an adult waiting may be able to see, which may leave you waiting. It is a legal requirement to use the school manned pedestrian crossing if you are within 20m of one. As it is good practice and great role modelling for our children, we encourage ALL families to use the crossings when arriving and leaving school.
A Few Highlights Of The Week
How many Huapai faces can you spot from this Kumeu Rugby photo?
Junior Production
Montessori Open Day
Saturday 28th August 2021
Please spread the word in the community for our Open Day in Montessori.
Pokemon Cards
A reminder that Pokemon cards are only to be brought to school on Fridays each week. Please remind your students that the cards are to be kept at home on other days.
Keen To Be An Active Member Of The HFN Team?
All Huapai families are members of our school Huapai Families Network. The facebook page is linked below.
This means that you are all invited to join our school wide community events. If you are keen to be a more active member of the team by coming along to a termly meeting and helping to plan events, please get in touch with our chairperson Katie Lean: katie.lean@hds.school.nz.
We are aiming to hold a meeting in the next week or so.
Yummy Apple Stickers
We have 6 weeks to get our apple stickers back to school. If you have any Yummy brand apple stickers, please collect them and send them into school. We send these away later in the term and earn our school free sports gear.
Driving On School Grounds
The school driveway is reserved for emergency and staff vehicles only. We have noticed an increase in cars driving onto school grounds recently, especially at drop off and pick up times. This is a health and safety risk. We therefore request that you please park on the road when dropping off or collecting your child(ren).
We also ask that you please refrain from parking across the school driveway, even for a short period of time, as this prevents authorised vehicles from entering or exiting the school.
HERO Notifications
We use HERO to send classroom updates and to share regular learning posts. HERO sends push notifications or emails. You can now choose how you receive HERO notifications as well as manage devices that receive them.
To set your own notification preferences:
Click on your profile image
Select EDIT PROFILE
Scroll down to My Devices and select your preferences.
Or please see the full instructions linked below.
Contact Us
Email: office@hds.school.nz
Website: https://www.huapaidistrict.school.nz/
Location: Huapai District School 40 Station Rd, Kumeū, New Zealand
Phone: +64 09 412 5042
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/huapaidistrictschool