Kia ora koutou

We hope you are keeping warm in this more wintery weather that we are having in Wellington.

Some great news to start with, Xanthe and her husband Shane have announced that they are having their first baby and as Xanthe has announced this to her class today, it’s lovely to now be able to share the news with you. Congratulations Xanthe and Shane.

Now that we are moving into less restrictive covid environments we expect that at times you may want to come in and meet with your child/ren’s teacher and we would like to make this as positive as possible for both you and the teacher.

I have had a few discussions with the teaching staff over the last couple of weeks and we would like to share with you what makes for positive communication from our side, in the hope that you can fit in with that as well.

One of the key times of the day, for a teacher who is getting ready for their class and preparing for the learning each day, is just before school starts (between 8.30 and 9.00am). At this time the teachers are totally focused on what they need to be doing with their children for that day, and we want to make sure that this important time is kept available for them.

We know that you may also find this a useful time to catch up with your child's teacher and it may seem a good time to give a brief message. While we want to encourage good communication, it is much better for the class if you make a time to meet with the teacher. It also ensures that the teacher is prepared for your meeting, however brief, and they can give their full attention to what you would like to discuss.

So, I’d like to request that you try and avoid just popping in to have a quick chat with the teacher -beyond a friendly hello. If you want to talk about anything, please do make a time to meet them - you can do this by phoning or emailing the school office or emailing the teacher directly. Please be aware that teachers may not have an opportunity to respond straight away - but be assured they will respond as soon as they can.

Urgent situations, messages around absences, early pickups or late arrivals, changes to caregivers picking up and appointments can be phoned or emailed to the office and the office staff can pass those messages on at a more appropriate time. Thank you for your support on this.

To finish with, we all hope you enjoy a lovely long weekend, and we will see you back at school on Tuesday 7 June.

Take care and God bless

Ngā mihi nui

Mary-Angela Tombs

Principal

Kāore he mutunga o te Aroha.

The measure of love is love without measure.

TRI ACTIVATE PROGRAMME

Rooms 10 and 11 had a fabulous time at ASB and the Rec Centre yesterday giving dodgeball, pickleball and skating a go! They all enjoyed trying new sports and challenging their balance on the skates!

They are attending again tomorrow to try ki-o-rahi and parkour. Rooms 8 and 9 will be participating in the same programme next Tuesday and Thursday. This is a fully funded programme through the Wellington City Council and we are really grateful to be able to take part.

SOUTHERN ZONE CROSS COUNTRY

This is on next Wednesday 8 June. All those with children attending should have received an email from me yesterday.

WELCOME

To the following student who has started school this week:

Eli E (Rm 2)

We hope that you have a successful and happy time at St Francis de Sales.

TEACHER ONLY DAY

We will be having a Teacher only day at the end of term 2 on Friday 8 July. School will be closed so you will need to make other arrangements for this day.

SCHOLASTIC LUCKY BOOK CLUB- Out Now

The latest Scholastic Book club flyer is out and has another great selection of books for readers from 5-13 years.

SFDS receives a bonus of 10% from each online order. Last year we were able to purchase $500 books for the school library from Book Club bonus dollars.

Note: We only do online orders, please do not send orders to school. Place your order anytime by visiting https://scholastic.co.nz/parents/lucky-book-club/

Last day for orders is 23 June. If you have any questions please see Chris in Room 7.

For information on how to get to KINDO Click here to view. From there you are able to pay your school donations, (there is an option to make part payments) uniform and any other school charges or sign ups for sports and extra actvities.

Supporting other children through Kindo
Kindo is adding a new feature to your myKindo portal enabling you to gift to others... starting with KidsCan. You will be able to buy lunch, shop and pay for our school items as normal, and you will now see some KidsCan donation offers on the checkout page.
Kindo will provide the donation receipts so you can claim back the 33% tax rebate – or sign up to TaxGift or Supergenerous to gift the rebate too.
If you have any questions or feedback, please email hello@mykindo.co.nz

In term two, the focus is on the Healthcare and Behaviour Management sections.

Healthcare

• Medicines

• Managing Minor/Moderate Injury

• Managing Serious Injury and Illness

• Infectious Diseases

• Reporting and Recording Accidents and Incidents Board review

Behaviour Management Board review

• Bullying and Online Bullying

• Surrender and Retention of Property and Searches

Please feel free to have a look at this on the Schooldocs site and give us your feedback.

BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL CARE

Island Bay After School Care has spaces available for both before and after school care. For enquries please call 0274-575-359 or just drop by and see what we do.