Newsletter T3W4
Tuesday 17 August - Term 3 Week 4
School Notices Term 3 Week 4 2021
Kia orana (hello in Cook Island Māori)
Fundamentals
For the past couple of weeks and in the next two weeks our Taylor and Wairau tamariki have participated in the Fundamental Skills Programme at Stadium 2000. This involves being taught swimming, water safety, and indoor activity skills by specialists. It was pleasing to hear that the children lived our vision (‘The Whitney Way - The Way We Learn’ by being ‘Honest, Caring, Respectful, Learners’) out in the community in the following ways:
Honest - being honest about their actions; showing good sportsmanship
Caring - looking after their friends at the stadium and being inclusive
Respectful - walking respectfully to and from the stadium being aware of others and property; listening to and following instructions; having nice manners; looking after their belongings
Learners - self-managing with their behaviour; being resilient when activities were challenging; thinking and applying new skills they learned; connecting with others outside of our school; collaborating in group activities; being active; etc
Our vision guides our actions and words, so it is always good to talk about the vision with your children, discussing how your children live the vision at home and in the community, as well as at school.
Wairau Camps
Last week, our senior students braved the cold up at Lake Rotoiti and at Rainbow Skifield. The dedicated Wairau teachers worked so hard to set up a jam-packed camp programme that aimed to;
Build independence, risk-taking, relationships, resilience, perseverance, problem-solving skills and collaboration
Introduce our students to new experiences and learning in a different context to what they are used to
Make the students environmentally aware and to show that the School Values (Caring, Honesty, Respect and Learning) are transferable to all situations
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the parents and whānau who went along on camp as “Mums and Dads to the Masses”. You were all an amazing support for our children and our teachers by helping to encourage, organise, care for, love and grow our Whitney Learners. We really appreciate the time that you took away from your families, jobs and day-to-day activities to help out on our camp. It (quite literally) could not have happened without you. We hope all of our helpers and students had a restful weekend, ready for Fundamentals in the coming weeks!
Week 5 - Whole School Hui on Friday 27 August
Due to our large roll and small school hall, we limit how often we hold a Whole School Hui. Twice a term we will hold a whole school hui on Friday morning for approximately 30 minutes starting at 9:05am. In the other weeks we have Hub Hui on Monday i.e Ōpaoa at 9:05am, Wairau at 10:30am and Taylor at 12:30pm. We also catch up and mingle as a school with our buddy classes so that we continue to build relationships across the school. Our next whole school hui is Fri 27 August.
Attendance
Each term Lisa Lissaman (Deputy Principal) and the teachers analyse student attendance, as time away from school impacts hugely on their achievement. Any child who was not at school for 85% or more of the time is contacted by the school so parents are aware. Letters will be sent home this week to those with attendance concerns. 85% equates to 7 or more days of absence in a 10-week term. The Ministry of Education considers a student to be attending regularly if they are present for 90% or more of the time.
Please note that if you are unsure of whether your child is sick and you decide to send them to school, that we will always call you if we feel they need to go home again.
Preschool Enrolments
We are asking for our Whitney families, with children who are aged under 5, to take the time to check with the office that they are pre-enrolled at school. This allows us to plan the classes more effectively and to ensure that we have spaces available.
Mufti-Day - This Friday
A reminder that there is a mufti-day this Friday. Please check out the image later on in the newsletter.
Have a superb week!
The Whitney Street School Staff
Flo Paulo - Y5 WINNER!
Community Consultation 2021 - Upgrade of the Rooms 1 - 4 Learning Spaces
The next Ministry of Education property project for the school is the upgrade of the Rooms 1 - 4 learning spaces, including cloakrooms and bathrooms. The Board of Trustees would like your input on what you would like to see. Please provide your suggestions below.
This consultation closes on Friday 27 August. (This date was extended.)
Please come into the office if you need a device or assistance to fill in the form digitally. Our preferred method is a digital response as this helps with the efficient collation of suggestions. However if you prefer, we can send home a hard copy on request. These can be returned to the office.
Please click the link below to be directed to the link.
Blenheim Schools REBUILD - Community Hui tomorrow
A message from John Kendal | Tumuaki - Principal of MBC
"We extend a warm welcome to our whānau and community to hear from the Tumuaki/Principals of Marlborough Boys’ College, Marlborough Girls’ College and Bohally Intermediate School, about the rebuild and relocation of the three schools.
There will be an opportunity to hear directly about the planning progress and development in place for 2021. We look forward to sharing and hearing from parents and caregivers.
When: 6pm, Wednesday 18 August 2021
Where: Marlborough Girls’ College Hall
Tell us your aspirations and questions for the schools.
As part of development of the design brief for Te Tātoru o Wairau we'd love to hear what you value about the three schools, along with your hopes and aspirations for the schools, and any questions you may have Te Tātoru o Wairau. Let us know by completing our questionnaire at https://www.tetatoruowairau.nz/questionnaire ."
Southern Jam
In Week 2 we were treated to a performance from our two local secondary schools (MGC & MBC) jazz bands, as part of the Southern Jam Youth Jazz Festival. Our children were a fantastic audience living our vision through being actively involved in the performances and listening respectfully. Hopefully many of them were inspired to learn a musical instrument and to appreciate music more.
What has been happening in the classrooms?
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 during 2021.
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.
Advance Notice: Staff Only Day on Monday 22 November (Monday T4W6)
Other School News and Happenings
Kiwican
PASSWORD: learners
We are a PB4L School - Positive Behaviour For Learning
Primary School Music Festival - Combined Schools Choir
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.
Taylor and Wairau Hub Fundamentals - Term 3
This is a heads up that the Taylor and Wairau Hub students will be taking part in Fundamentals at Stadium 2000 in Term 3. Taylor Hub will be in Weeks 2 and 3 and Wairau Hub in Weeks 4 and 5.
* Week 2 - Rooms 9 & 10
* Week 3 - Rooms 11 & 12
* Week 4 - Room 1,2 and ½ of Room 8 (The same half that went on camp with Tuākana.) Please note this is the week directly after camp.
* Week 5 - Rooms 3,4 and ½ of Room 8 (The same half that went on camp with Marohi.)
Students will need to remember to bring togs, a towel, school fleece, sports shoes, water bottle, and a big morning tea to school EVERYDAY. There is NO need to pack a lunch as the school lunches normally provided each day at school through the Healthy School Lunches scheme will be delivered to the Stadium. Students will not be able to order subway on any days that they are at the stadium for Fundamentals.
We will need adults to help walk with us to and from the Stadium each day. More information will come early in Term 3.
Many thanks from
The Taylor and Wairau Hub teachers
Download our 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 2021 school year.
This is also the way we would like you to inform us of absences. This system streamlines the morning routine for Tanya and Michelle so that they can easily see who is away and why.
Please click here to download the School App.
Hero
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.
This cool idea supports The United Nations Sustainability Goals of;
* Goal 1: No Poverty donate what we don't use
* Goal 3: Good Health and Wellbeing
* Goal 10: Reduced inequalities
Automatic Payment Option
The Whitney Street School BOT bank details are: 03 0599 0305934 00
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/