Tēnā koutou kātoa e te whānau,

Welcome to Term 3!

A warm welcome to our new students and their families to our St Michael's community. I am sure your teachers and classmates are making you feel welcome.

It is wonderful to see our children back, happy, and healthy after a wet holiday full of illness. Last term we had many children off sick with winter illnesses, we hope that with the warmer weather, heading into Spring, we will have a less interrupted term of learning.

Term Three is an important time for learning and, traditionally, a time when we put in the hard

yards before we see the pay-off in Term 4. Our mid-year data showed very encouraging results in our core areas of Reading, Writing and Mathematics and it is great to see so much

progress being made so early in the year. Our LSC, Susan Nelson has supported our teachers to develop robust plans for our children who we have identified as needing extra support and these programmes are well underway for this term.

If at any time you feel we could be doing more for your child, please make contact with your child's teacher, and together we can make a plan moving forward.

This term we welcome Nichola Hunia back into her SWiS (Social Worker in Schools) position. We are very happy to have Nichola back with us, and I know she is really excited to be coming back to St Michael's. Nichola's primary role is to work with referred children and their family/whanau to ensure the well-being of children, and strengthen family/whanau to care for and support their children successfully.

Social Workers in Schools support children in Years 1 to 8. Here are some of the ways Nichola can support you, your child and our school.

• social skills, self-esteem and confidence
• family or peer relationships
• behaviour issues
• family violence
• grief and loss
• advocacy
• referrals to other agencies.

Ma te Atua koutou e manaaki,

Rachael McLanachan

Te tumuaki o te kura Hato Mikaere

Kayden Petersen (The Ark) - Sibling of Tamia and Mecah

Karlie Waerea Marsh (The Ark)

Scott Pheasant ( Eden 7)

Next board meeting Date: Thursday 11th of August

At each BOT meeting - twice a term - policies are reviewed. If you would like to communicate with the BOT, you are welcome to email our independent e-mail address; botstmichaels@gmail.com or alternatively, send letters to the school in an envelope marked "Board of Trustees."

Board Elections

Triennial Board Elections will be held on 7 September. Our current Board wishes to invite anyone in the community who may be interested in joining our Board to come along to the next few meetings.

Why join a school board?

School board members are active leaders in our schools. They have an important role of supporting strong professional leadership and ensuring effective teaching for all students through informed governance.

Parents/caregivers and people in the wider community can be parent representatives. School boards need to represent the diversity of their school communities to ensure a bright future for all our children.

The school board elections are the opportunity to vote for candidates who will make a positive difference for children’s education. We need more people willing to use their skills and experiences for the benefit of students!

"Board members are entrusted by the community to ensure the success of our schools and a bright future for our children. We need an education system where all children are expected to succeed and one where we all take shared responsibility in ensuring this happens. As a member of a school board you can make things happen - you can make a difference."

- Lorraine Kerr, NZSTA President

You are welcome to attend any meeting, however, if you would like to have speaking rights, you need to request this from the chair using the email address. This email address can be accessed by Alistair Burns (Acting Chair)

7 SEPTEMBER ELECTION TIMELINE

Main Roll Closes 13 July

Nominations Called by 15 July

Supplementary Roll Closes 1 August

Nominations Close 3 August

Invitation to Vote 10 August

Election Day 7 September

Declaration of Result 13 September

New board in place 14 September

All orders will be taken in the classroom at 9am.

Does your child require further support, over and above what can be offered at school?

Would your child benefit from bespoke and nurturing learning sessions from a highly experienced teacher designed to accelerate learning and boost confidence? We would love to help. We are a team of dedicated teachers, specialising in English and Maths support, for primary, intermediate and college students. Visit www.boostyourlearning.co.nz for more information or contact Jenny 021 223 3349 to book a free consultation.