Welcome to Term 4! It has been lovely to see our tamariki catching up with each other and enjoying being back at school. The playground has been alive with fun and laughter.

We really enjoyed welcoming Mr Geoff Wallis, our new Deputy Principal and Hillary Hub Team Leader, to our school on Monday with a mihi whakatau. It was a very special occasion for us all and we look forward to working with him.

We are also pleased to have Mr Sam Ward working with us this term. Sam is in Rm 11 while Rebekah O'Donnell is away on parental leave. Sam knows our Rutherford Team tamariki very well as he has relieved for us during the year. Welcome Sam!

As you can see from this newsletter we have some exciting events planned this term with School Athletics and our Grandparent's Day happening next week. We look forward to catching up with whānau/family on these special days.

Ngā mihi nui

Janet and the Team @ OLA

This term our value and our self-directed learning focus is on Life Long Learning. We aim to develop the attitudes and skills that enable our children to keep learning and growing throughout their lives; learning doesn’t stop at the school gate. Children may be at different stages of growth at any age. For example, some children may be a Seed (Pihi) “I am learning that it is okay to make mistakes” and they may also be a Seedling (Tupu) because “I can talk about my learning to others”. The value is developed in our children through all curriculum areas. We encourage you to have a chat with your child about where they see themselves on this chart and why they think that. It is often very insightful to hear their views about themselves.

Representing OLA in year 5 is Carys and in year 6 is Molly. The Hillary Hub are finishing off their speeches this week and will decide on who will be representing the school in year 7 and 8.

The competition will be judged by students from Villa Maria College. We wish all our competitors the very best of luck.

The National Championships for Irish Dancing were held in Hamilton over the school holidays.

We had a number of OLA girls competing and they all did exceptionally well. Congratulations to:

Indi, Isla D, Zoe Dunning, Adele, Sofia O, Xanthe M, Molly F & Sailor.

My name is Victoria and I am proud to be the Mana Ake liaison for your school. Mana Ake can provide a range of support, from one on one work with kids during school time, to advice and guidance for parents at drop-ins. I can help with anything from anger or anxiety, to behavioural challenges… even screen time and sibling rivalry. I am a registered social worker, and mum of a ten year old, and three cats!

If you would like to have a chat with another parent who also has lots of resources and tips to share you can book a drop-in session by phoning the school office. If you think Mana Ake support may be right for your child, you can discuss this with their classroom teacher.

Each session will begin at 2.00 and take roughly 30-45 minutes. Session dates are:

Tuesday 25th October

Tuesday 8th November

Tuesday 22nd November

Every fortnight we celebrate the amazing work that happens in our classrooms by awarding a Principal’s Award to a student in each class. Congratulations to our award winners this week!

The next PTA meeting will be on Monday 7th November at 7pm in the school staff room. Everyone is welcome.

Our 1st ‘Break the rules’ day was a success we have raised over $1,000 towards the end of year activities for the teams. Thank you!

God Bless

Janet and the Team at Our Lady of the Assumption School