Newsletter No. 18, 4 November 2022
21 October
Principal's Kōrero
Kia ora rā koe,
Welcome to November and the end of another very busy and exciting fortnight at Sumner School!
I hope you had a fantastic Labour weekend with your whānau last week and are enjoying the wonderful Spring weather we are having!
An extra special Haere Mai to Sumner School to Johann, Leopold & Charlotte who joined us this week.
Activities over the last fortnight have included; Year 5-8 Athletics Day, a visit from Harold the giraffe with Life Education, our choir performing at the Christchurch Schools Music Festival, a special lunchtime band showcase last week, our Years 5-8 netballers meeting the Silver Ferns, our PTA extravaganza Sumner Spookers and tonight our hotly anticipated school disco. Huge thanks to our Media Team who have done a fantastic job in capturing these events and for creating our Sneak Peek which is linked below.
Huge congratulations to all our Years 5-8 ākonga (learners) who took part in their Athletics Day on Monday. As always I was blown away by not only the skills, talents and speed on display by our students, but also by their perseverance, determination and teamwork that was displayed in abundance. There was an incredible feel to the day and it was wonderful to have our parents and whānau on site to support. Massive thank you to Gwen Vine (our PE and Sports Coordinator) and our team of staff for all their preparations and hard work. Congratulations and good luck to our ākonga who will be heading off to represent our school at the South East Zones competition next Tuesday - Karawhiua! Give it everything!
Our ākonga have also been shining in the music realms this week with our choir performing as part of the Christchurch Music Festival. This is always a fantastic event, but this time it was an extra special night as it is the first time since 2019 that this event has been able to take place. Massive congratulations to our choir led by George Hart who has been working tirelessly to prepare! We can’t wait to see you take to the stage to perform for us later this term on 1 December as part of our music showcase (see Events Calendar). Special mention and an enormous congratulations to Miriam L and Finlay S who performed as part of the representative band at the Music Festival. This is a massive achievement, so well done!
A HUGE thank you also to our incredible PTA Spookers Team and our wonderful community for their hard work in creating a spine tingling and goosebump worthy night last Saturday. We are so grateful to have such a dedicated parent community who develop such amazing fundraising opportunities for our school.
Spotlight on learning… Teaching teams are well and truly underway with their learning this term. As shared in the team Curriculum Newsletters earlier this term, much of the learning this term focuses around our Health Curriculum. Please keep an eye on the team Pito Pito Kōrero shared via the App as this will keep you informed with what learning will be taking place over the following week.
Last term our focus for inquiry was our School Value of Mōhiotanga which focused on developing our ākonga’s understanding of the importance of being immersed in new learning opportunities and working to develop knowledge, understanding and awareness of ourselves as lifelong learners. At the Board meeting earlier this week we shared a review of this learning for our teaching teams and what was covered. Have a read here about all that was covered.
Spotlight on learning placements for 2023… As a school we are now looking ahead to begin our planning for 2023 learning placements. At Sumner School our teachers work carefully to make the best decisions for our ākonga and their unique learning needs. Class placements are made as learning placements. This means when making these placements we take into consideration academic, social and emotional, behavioural and specialised learning needs to ensure we have an even balance across our collaborative learning spaces. As I am sure you will appreciate, this is a massively complex task. Please be assured our teachers hold a wealth of knowledge about our ākonga and their relationships with others. When making placements teachers will ensure that students are placed with peers who learn well together and who help to create a positive learning environment. For this reason we are unable to take into account requests related to specific friendship groups.
You will find here an overview of our school structure for 2023. Please note, this does not yet provide information on where our teachers will be working, but it does give you a clear picture of the way our four teaching teams will be structured next year. Please remember our teachers work collaboratively as a Power of Two or Three within our learning spaces. Ākonga from those classes regularly interact and work across teams. This means that if a special friend is not in their immediate Home Group they will often have opportunities to work with them across the course of a day. Having said this, we recognise the important role of the Home Group teacher still plays a key role in the pastoral care of our ākonga and as a vital communication link between home and school. Given this, if you have important new and/or exceptional information you would like us to consider when making our learning placements, please share them directly with me (principal@sumner.school.nz) by Monday 21st November.
And finally, a reminder that school will be closed next Thursday 10 November for a Teacher Only Day and on Friday 11 November for Show Day. During our Teacher Only Day we will be focusing on assessment and reporting as we head to the end of the year, and will also be working on handover and transition documentation for our students as they move classes and/or learning teams.
Have a wonderful weekend with your whānau.
Ngā mihi,
Anna Granger
Winning Ticket Numbers
1st prize - ticket 241
2nd prize -ticket 196
Congratulations to our prize winners who have already been notified.
Paid Union Meeting Reminder - School closed from 12.30pm on 24 November
As shared via the App earlier this week, Sumner School Board has been notified that the teachers in our school will be attending a Paid Union Meeting on the afternoon of 24 November to discuss the progress of negotiations for their collective employment agreements. This is an entitlement as part of their Collective Agreement.
The proposed unified public service pay offer and their Wāwāhi Tahā | Time 4 Tamariki campaign aims to win smaller class sizes, more support for high needs students, better recognition of cultural skills, greater job security for our essential relievers and to fairly value and recognise the work of teachers.
In order for teachers to attend this meeting school will be closed from 12.30pm on Thursday 24 November. We understand the inconvenience that this may cause some families, but as all our teachers will be attending the Union Meeting for health and safety reasons we are unable to keep the school open. Please organise for your child to be collected at this time. Mash will be available for supervision from 12.30pm. Please book supervision directly with Mash. Phone: 0800 420 520
Scholastic Books - PTA Fundraiser
This is the final reminder for purchasing Scholastic books. Please follow the instructions on the back page of the brochure your child brought home several weeks ago to place an order online or pay via credit card or voucher. Sorry NO CASH payments. Final day for ordering is today 3pm.
Cards and Calendars
Today is the last chance to order your cards and calendars with orders closing tonight!
These make excellent Christmas presents and are easy to pop in the post!
Go to www.kidsartworks.com to order your child’s art work.
If you cannot find your child’s code please email sumnerschoolcalendars@gmail.com with your child’s name and class number.
Rapanui Godwit Display
Kaitiakitangi Update
Shoebox Christmas Appeal
This term we will be collecting gifts for Shoebox Christmas. Shoebox Christmas donates a wrapped shoebox full of gifts to kids in need of a smile on Christmas Day. You can donate a gift for a child between the ages of 5-14 to your child's classroom teacher by Friday 18 November.
Nga mihi nui
Lisi Reid, Rachel Todd and the Hapori Group
Term 4 School Docs Policy Review
In 2022, we will be reviewing the policies related to Health, Safety, and Welfare throughout the year.
In term four, the review focus is on our Health, Safety and Welfare Policy.
Instructions for reviewers:
1. Visit www.schooldocs.co.nz
2. Search for Sumner School (Username: Sumner, Password: Wakefield).
3. Search for the above policies in the search bar.
4. Read the policy.
5. Check the red Policy Review icon at the right-hand top corner of the page. a new screen will appear.
6. Select your role (Board member, staff member, or parent/caregiver) from the drop-down list.
7. Enter your name (optional).
8. Submit your ratings and comments.
Mana Ake is available to Support families/Whānau
If you would like to meet with one of the Mana Ake team please talk to your child's teacher and they will book in a time for you.
Mana Ake encourage parents to visit https://manaake.health.nz/supporting-your-child/ and the Free Parent Helpline 0800 568 856. This is available from 9am to 9pm Monday to Sunday.
The Mana Ake website has a section on Big Worries - Mana Ake which is particularly relevant with what’s going on in the world currently.
Parents going to this site can be assured of finding up-to-date and quality information on wellbeing and parenting skills. Another useful link for families and parents. https://realparents.org/
Community Notices
SURFKIDS Childrens Surfing Programme
Learn the skills of Surfing in a fun, safe environment. All equipment provided and professional instruction from Aaron Lock and team. For kids 8 - 14 years.
Sundays 10am to 12pm.
Dec / Jan Holidays : from 19th Dec, 10am -12pm
Cost $35 per day or $160 for five lessons. Bookings essential.
Venue :Sumner.
Call Aaron on 0800 80 SURF (7873) or register online at surfcoach.co.nz/book