Newsletter Issue 9
Term 3 - September 21 2022
Principal’s Update
Kia ora, Nameste, Talofa, Konnichiwa, Guten Tag, Gidday, Vannakkam, ni Hao, Kia orana, Hola, Salam, Sa wat deekha, Dia Dhuit, Goeie Dag, Bonjour, Καλημέρα, Greetings everyone
Its amazing to think that next week is already the last week of term!
The term has flown by in a flurry as we begin to be able to focus once again on our upcoming plans and looking forward, rather than simply responding to the requirements of the moment.
Parent Representative for Bellevue Board
On the note of looking forward, we still have a vacancy to fill on our school Board. Nominations close on Friday 30 September. Our Board is an awesome team of supportive, proactive and highly skilled individuals who give up their time to provide governance that both maintains the school environment and drives the school forward on its journey of continuous improvement. It is a big commitment, but also an opportunity to have a hand in the 'big picture' thinking that improves outcomes for your child, all our tamariki and the school staff. If you have been considering becoming more involved in the life of our amazing school, then I would urge you to get your nomination in. If you would like to have a chat about what the role entails please feel free to contact myself principal@bellevue-newlands.school.nz or our Presiding Member Kelvin Russell boardchair@bellevue-newlands.school.nz - we would love to talk with you.
Learning Celebrations - Tonight - See you there!
Tonight is the second of our 'Learning Celebrations' for the year. Classrooms will be open with students learning displayed from 3 - 4.30pm and then again between 5.30 - 7pm. Please visit as many classes as you are able to and spend some time with your child talking about their learning. We are aiming for richness and diversity in our celebration of the student's learning - what is important to them as individuals. As you move around the classes, please also take a minute to complete our usual community feedback sheets so we can use your feedback to improve what we offer next year.
Pōwhiri for New Families and Staff
Excitingly, with the removal of the Covid Protection Framework, we are able to hold our first pōwhiri for the year to properly welcome our new students, their families and our new staff members.
This will be held at 10.30 on Thursday 1 December. An invitation to all students and staff who have joined the school from 2021 will come home next term with more details, but please hold the date. Although the Covid Protection Framework is no longer in place, we are still focused on minimising the spread of sickness to keep our students at school and our community safe (less than 50% of our school community has tested positive at this point). As a result, we intend to hold this event outdoors and will not do the traditional hongi, but rather welcome our manuhiri in an alternative way.
Professional Learning Reflections
Last week I was supported by the Board and our fantastic leadership team to attend the New Zealand Principal's Conference in Christchurch with around 900 delegates from across the country. Over these last weeks of term, I wanted to share a couple of key 'take aways' as they relate to our school.
Russell Bishop (author of Te Kotahitanga) spoke about the importance of research-based high-fidelity approaches (such as Better Start Literacy) in improving learning outcomes for all students. He focused especially on case studies of three schools who have used such approaches in closing 'the equity gap' - that is disparities in educational outcomes and student success metrics across race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, physical or mental abilities. It is early days for us as a school with Better Start Literacy, but it is inspiring to see the results this approach is achieving with our Hub 1 tamariki already. It was also interesting to note Russell's point that the fidelity of the approach (maintaining consistency whoever the teacher) that made it effective. In other schools which had not adhered strictly to the approach, they had not seen the same results. Although this may differ from our historical practice in Hub 1, we are focused on maintaining the integrity of the approach while we measure the impact on our learners. If you have any queries about the Better Start Literacy approach we would encourage you to get in touch.
Finally a reminder to look out for the term dates for 2023 in next week's newsletter and on the school website.
Ngā mihi nui
Annette
HEALTH & SAFETY UDATE - Thank you for your support with mask wearing.
Things are beginning to look a bit more positive on the attendance front - no doubt the more frequent sun is helping recovery! We sit at 89% for this week, as we focus on a return to a steady 90% attendance again.
We are very grateful to our community for the moderate approach families took to the removal of the 'strongly encouraged' mask requirements last week. All staff, students and visitors are being considerate of one another as, while our attendance rates recover, school encourages the continuation of mask use by students Year 4 and above and staff until the end of the term.
Please do continue to inform us if your child tests positive - office@bellevue-newlands.school.nz
Thank you
- Whaea Lena and the 6 Newlands Intermediate students who came along to school and shared and taught us a waiata.
- Tracey for helping in Hub 1.
- Nik, Wes, Teresa, Amanda, Jane, Nita and Jennifer for helping with Road Patrols so that our tamariki are able to cross the road safely
- Ms Bridgman and the Student Council for fundraising and renovating the 'black hut'
Bellevue School Board Casual vacancy for a parent representative
A casual vacancy exists on the school board for an elected parent representative. The casual vacancy occurred as there were fewer nominations than the number of positions to be filled after our election.
The board has decided to fill this vacancy by running a By Election Process. More information about casual vacancies can be found here: https://www.schoolboardelections.org.nz/board-resources/casual-vacancies/
The Bellevue Board have opted for this option, as opposed to the selection process, to encourage our community members who may have been considering standing for the Board, to put their nominations in.
Should we not receive any nominations then the Board will consider the selection process.
The Bellevue team and Board encourage you to consider becoming a member of this proactive, supportive team who are driven by supporting our tamariki to be active, connected life-long learners.
Please feel free to contact the Board by emailing boardchair@bellevue-newlands.school.nz
Kind Regards,
Bellevue Board
Bellevue School, Newlands School Board Elections
Parent By-Election Notice
Nominations are open for the election of one (1) parent representative to the school board.
All eligible voters will receive a nomination form via email. Use this form to nominate yourself
or someone in your community. You will also receive a nomination cover letter via email
calling for nominations. Information on who is not eligible to be a board member is provided with
the nomination form. If you need more nomination forms, contact the school office.
Nominations close at noon on Friday 30 September 2022. You may provide a signed
candidate statement and photograph with your nomination. The electoral roll is held at the
school and can be viewed during normal school hours. As nominations are received, there
will be a list of candidates’ names kept at the school up until election day, which you can
view.
Voting closes at 4pm on Friday 4 November 2022.
Signed Amanda Beauchamp, Returning Officer
You are invited - THIS FRIDAY 1.30 - 2.45pm
A brief reminder to join us if you can for 'Whakawhanaungatanga Friday' this week.
Children will be all around the school so there will be a map of activities in the Office when you arrive, as well as a list of which children are in which learning area. We can’t wait to see you there!
WELCOME
Haere mai ki te kura o Bellevue. Welcome to the following students and their whanau. It is great to have you in our Bellevue Learning Community.
Kavi, Evita, Ayman and Pax in Room 4.
Krish in Room 11.
VALUES HEROES
Our Peer Mediators are always on the lookout for tamariki living our school values. On their duties, they write ‘values vouchers’ for any children they see. These vouchers then go into a draw every 2 weeks. If your name is selected, you visit Annette and pick a prize!
Congratulations to our latest Values Heroes: Aanvi, Dhani, Landy, and Savana.
These students were all noticed showing kindness to others. Ka mau te wehi!
Te Wiki o te reo Maori.
Last week Bellevue celebrated Te Wiki o te reo Maori. There were many different activities across hubs and in classes. Hub 4 and 5 had a visit from Whaea Lena and 6 Newlands Intermediate students who shared and taught us a waiata and we shared some of our waiata with them.
Students played games, used rakau and poi, created artwork and read te reo Maori pukapuka.
Here are some of the fun things we got up to during the week!
Hub 4 doing Poi for Māori Language Week for the newsletter. This was one of the activities that we did, and it helped us practise vocabualary such as up and down, left and right, near and far, as well as learning new waiata.
Hub 1 learned lots of new Te Reo songs and explored dancing with the Poi.
Kia Manawaroa - Ministry of Education Newsletter for Whānau Māori
Kia Manawaroa is the Ministry of Education’s pānui for whānau Māori.
It is written by Māori for Māori, with information about opportunities and milestones in education, Māori success as Māori, Te Reo Māori, and COVID-19 updates relevant to whānau as and when appropriate.
Kia Manawaroa 9 September 2022
The latest issue has updates about:
- Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2022 activities and events
- He Toa Reo Māori, 50 years on: Te Petihana Reo Māori Anniversary Event
- Ākonga learn resilience through the art of Mau Rākau
- New scholarships available for kōhanga reo tohu
- Te Reo Ki Tua Language Revitalisation Symposium 2022
- And more…
Give us your feedback
Find out more about Kia Manawaroa
Subscribe to get the latest issue straight to your inbox
STUDENT COUNCIL FUNDRAISER
On Friday 16 September, Student Council held their Activity Lunch fundraiser. There was equipment on the field, a movie in Room 15 and lego in Room 13. The equipment and movie were especially popular!
Students also sold mini ice blocks for $1 each and raised $311.90 to go towards equipment to paint the black hut in the seniors!
The Student Council should feel immensely proud of their success in this entirely student led event.
Library News
A BIG thankyou to all those cat lovers who have sent photos of their ‘moggie’s’.
There must be more of you out there....
library@bellevue-newlands.school.nz
Sports News
Miniball Results:
Storm lost against Westpark Boomers, 33:34. Players of the day: Ayva, Lillian and William (was a really good game – the kids displayed great teamwork!)
Lightning won against Ngaio Cheetahs, 45:33. Players of the day: Arlie and Levi
Thunder lost against Cashmere Lakers, 31-20. Player of the day was Harvey and Caleb.
Hurricanes lost against Westpark Rockets, 19:38. Player of the day: Kayden
Touch Rugby:
Touch Rugby is starting up again in Term 4. If you are interested in signing up your child(ren), please follow this link. Registrations need to be completed by 30 September.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeHN3-QCA_XNxd7-hgPOb1Xr9I0yckbdqW0M40_DIkqonFsRQ/viewform
Wellington Weet-Bix KIds TRYathlon 2023 registrations are now open!
The Wellington Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon will be held on Sunday 19 March, 2023 at Kilbirnie Park. Information about the event can be found here. If your child is interested in taking part in this fun activity, please register as part of our ‘Bellevue (Newlands)’ school group.
School Organisation for 2023
Term 4 is a short term and always busy term! At this time of year we begin looking at the numbers of students we anticipate in each year level to make decisions about class organisation and placement for the following year.
At Bellevue, providing the best environment for learning is at the forefront of our decisions. The number of classes we start the year with is dependent on the staffing entitlement received from the Ministry of Education. This is based on the number of students in the school.
Our teachers are capable of teaching at all levels of the school and so we can allocate teachers to classes no matter the structure of the school or where they were teaching the previous year.
When looking at class composition, we aim to meet each child's needs regardless of the whānau class or mix of year groups. Our team of skilled educators takes the following factors into account when considering class placement for students -
- Individual needs and achievement
- Peer relationships
- Learning groups and friendship groups
- Age and year group
- Gender balance and number of students
- Siblings in other classes and year groups
We are committed to making the most appropriate placement, considering all the information.
If there are any factors we may not be aware of that you believe are important for us to take into account please contact the school over the coming month - by 21 October at the latest. There will be reminders in the newsletter before and after the term break.
You can talk with your child's teacher or a member of the leadership team or email us at Anne Smith (Deputy Principal Year 0-3) annes@bellevue-newlands.school.nz, Deeann Daniels (Deputy Principal Year 4-6) deeann@bellevue-newlands.school.nz, Annette Borgonje (Principal) annette@bellevue-newlands.school.nz.
Once again, please make sure that you have contacted us before 21 October (end of the first week back) so we can take this into consideration when planning classes early next term.
OUT OF ZONE ENROLMENTS
Important information about the Bellevue School enrolment scheme (zone) -
If you have pre-schoolers at home that you are planning to enrol at Bellevue School in the future, here are a few important things to know and put into action:
1. If you are living outside of the Bellevue School enrolment zone, then your pre-schooler(s) will need to be processed as an out of zone application. Please let us know, if you haven’t already, of any future enrolments at Bellevue School from your family. It helps greatly with our planning to know well in advance. And if we know then we can also prompt you as to when you need to get your out of zone application in.
2. It is very important that out of zone applications are received by the application deadline of 9am Friday 23 September 2022, for enrolment from Friday 16 December 2022 to Thursday 6 April 2023. We cannot accept any out of zone applications if they are not received by the deadline advertised for the enrolment period your child is due to start school in. The deadline can sometimes be up to six months prior to your child actually starting school.
3. Even if your pre-schooler(s) are in zone, please get your paperwork in to us as soon as possible to enable us to plan ahead. We need this information to be able to work out how many out of zone applications we can accept in each enrolment period. If you have any questions or are unsure about anything, please call the school office and talk to Amanda.
COMMUNITY NOTICES
Ka Pai Kidz - Holiday Programme
We are operating from the school hall 03-14 October inclusive. Book via our website www.kapaikidz.co.nz or contact Linda Robinson 021 40-9641 email linda@kapaikidz.co.nz
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Wellington online appeal as part of GenerosityGenerator2022
Can you help Big Brothers Big Sisters Wellington ignite the potential in the lives of young people in Wellington?
Can you please donate and/ or share our campaign with your community:
https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/help-big-brothers-big-sisters-wellington-ignite
You can do this via clicking on the link above
Family workshops for our ethnic families
ARMSS is currently running a series of workshops for the CALD community. The workshops are in different languages. The first series is on supporting families from ethnic communities better integrate and build better communication with their children as well as understanding their children's needs and challenges, also to learn how to support them. The workshops will be delivered in English, Arabic, Latino, Somali and Dari. Follow this link to our website to find out more.
Kia Ora Bellevue Whanau!
Last week's FUNdraisers Committee meeting was successfully held, with plans afoot
for next term's fundraising opportunities.
Please see below for updates on the current events we have under way!
Online and printable order forms are on our webpage:
https://www.bellevue-newlands.school.nz/fundraisers
If you have any queries, suggestions or feedback regarding FUNdraisers, please
don’t hesitate to be in touch on email: fundraisers@bellevue-newlands.school.nz
Updates…
Pizza Lunches – Orders Close Friday 23 Sept.
End of term Pizza lunch is back for the 30th of September.
Order forms are available online on our webpage and will have been sent home with
your children.
Wildflower World Spring Seed Fundraiser
Orders are now closed. Delivery of seeds TBA.
Bellevue Book Fair – 5 November 2022, 10am to 2pm.
A collection box has been placed in the school reception/office area for donations.
We are also keen on trying something a little new….
Are you an arty and crafty type? A toy maker? Do you have a hobby making
something that you would like to sell?
If so, we are considering having stalls on the day of the book fair!
Please contact Rebecca at fundraisers@bellevue-newlands.school.nz with
information about your wares.
Kids Art Work (Calendar Art)
Orders are still being processed, and the production company are still unable to
confirm a delivery date. We are still looking like early Term 4 for distribution to
home.
Important Dates
Wednesday 21 September
Learning celebration - open evening
Classes open 3 - 4.30pm / 5.30 - 7pm
Thursday 22 September
Board meeting
Monday 26 September
2022 Public Holiday - School closed
Friday 30 September
Term 3 ends
Monday 17 October
Term 4 begins
Wednesday 19 October - Wednesday 7 December (Term 4)
Hub 1 & 2 Swimming (every Wednesday)
Friday 21 October
Teacher Only Day - School Closed
Monday 24 October
Labour Day - School Closed
Saturday 5 November
Bellevue FUNdraisers Book Fair
Friday 18 November
Te Korowai ō Horokiwi Kapa Haka Festival - details to come
Wednesday 23 - Friday 25 November
Hub 5 Camp
Thursday 1 December
Pōwhiri to welcome new students and staff 10.30 - 11.30
Newsletter proudly sponsored by
Email: office@bellevue-newlands.school.nz
Phone: 04 4787037