BIS Newsletter Week 1, Term 1
Friday 4 February, 2022
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Kia Ora e te Whānau,
What a wonderful first week of learning we have had. Thank you all for choosing BIS as your child’s Intermediate School. We have a fantastic group of enthusiastic learners who are already engaged and eagerly embracing all that Intermediate has to offer.
Next week we are keen to engage with all of you. We have modified our ‘Meet the Teacher’ evening to ensure that we are meeting the requirements and health standards set at Traffic Light Red setting. This means that we will still proceed with a Meet the Team evening, but we will stagger the start times to reduce numbers of people congregating around the school. We will also be having the meetings in whānau classes and the introductions will be done via a televised link. We hope that all of you will be able to attend and that we get a chance to connect with all of you and show you around our wonderful kura.
Learning has certainly changed in the covid climate and I want to assure you that we are prioritising student health and wellbeing. Classrooms are well ventilated, students are social distancing, mask wearing is being adhered to when indoors and sanitising stations are scattered throughout the school.
I want to assure you that we have a contingency plan in place if we have large numbers of staff and students needing to self-isolate. A key component of this plan is having updated information from you about email addresses, digital devices and the ability to learn from home. Your child should have brought home a form that you would have helped them to complete that shares this vital information with us. All teachers will be emailing their classes regularly. If you are not receiving these emails, please contact the office and update your contact details.
The vaccination status of students is a family matter. We collect the information as per ministry requirements. This information is not shared with teachers or students. We are getting requests from outside agencies to ensure students are vaccinated in order to participate in some out of school activities. We will be reminding these places that they need to direct these enquiries to parents. We will not share your child’s health information with anyone.
Thank you for a positive start to the 2022 learning year. Let’s all work together to ensure a strong sense of belonging and community wellness.
Ngā mihi nui,
JoAnne Sutton
Chocolate Fundraiser
Thank you to those of you who have paid online this week. Your box of chocolates were sent home with your child today. Happy Selling!
We need funds to ensure that every student gets a quality education at Birkdale Intermediate School.
In 2022 we are aiming to build gardens around the school for our community. We want an outdoor classroom, fruit trees, vegetable gardens, Māori medicinal gardens, gardens for mindfulness and quiet contemplation, gardens filled with heritage plants and gardens that attract native birds and insects.
We want every child to have hands on learning experiences around sustainability and being self-sufficient. We are passionate that Education Outside the Classroom should develop skills for life as well as involve high levels of participation and contribution.
Why Chocolates? We know that chocolates are a ‘sometimes’ food and that some families do not support the selling of sweets for fundraisers. That’s why our fundraiser is optional. For us, this is an easy fundraiser. The products practically sell themselves as everyone knows and trusts the brand. We also know that you can always find reasons to treat yourself or someone else. They are also a high profit item. The products sell for $2 each and we are asking all students to sell a box of 30 bars. The All Stars packs will be available for students to take home at the end of week one – just in time for Valentine’s Day. They would also be great if you found yourself self-isolating!
We are asking you to prepay so that we do not have to follow up with collecting in money. Every cent raised will be spent on students in 2022. We are adding the cost of this fundraiser to the stationery list. We have deliberately kept our stationery and uniform costs very low and we are not asking for a school donation or a fee for technology or consumables. You can pay via Kindo. We will buy back any unsold chocolates that are in good condition (not melted).
Thank you for supporting this initiative and happy chocolate selling (and eating).
Uniform
During the summer months it is often too hot for a school sweatshirt. Our supplier of the current school jacket has advised us that they will no longer be able to supply these jackets in the future. We are looking at an alternative sweatshirt. We hope to adopt a hoodie that will have our school logo on the front and the child's surname on the back. We will phase out the old jackets and students will be able to choose which one they wear.
Thank you for all ensuring that your child has the correct uniform and that it is named.
Hats do need to be worn during the summer months for sun protection.
Principal's Awards
Principal's Awards are given out to students who have put exceptional effort into tasks in class. It has been pleasing to see so many students starting the year by demonstrating a commitment to our school motto, Strive for Excellence. We will also be acknowledging effort and achievement each week with Student of The Week Certificates, badges for participation and Achiever's Awards for consistent effort. Please encourage your child to share these awards with you and tell you what they have been awarded for.
Blake Expedition VR Experience
This week and next, our students will be exploring the ocean via a VR headset. The experience is amazing and gives our students to feeling of diving in the ocean at the Poor Knights, Goat Island and a Wharf in the Hauraki Gulf. This is all part of our science programme which is focussed on ecosystems and biodiversity.
Our students have loved this experience and learn a lot about our oceans and conservation. Thank you to Mr Harrison for organising this exciting event.
Meet Our Staff - Thursday 10 February
Meet The Team Evening
Thursday 10 February
We had planned a whole school picnic, mix and mingle event so we could meet you all and show you around our beautiful school. The Red traffic light setting has meant that we have had to change our plans slightly to ensure your health and wellbeing on our premises.
Instead of a full school meet and greet, we would like you all to come in to school and go to your child’s whanau classroom with your child. We have a movie presentation introducing you to all staff and then the whanau teacher will chat to you about what makes their class so special. Your child will then take you on a tour of the school, observing social distancing and mask wearing in all indoor settings.
We are staggering the arrival times to reduce the numbers of people onsite.
Whānau Groupings
Whānau 1, 2, 3, 14, 15, 16
5.30pm
Whānau 22,23,24,25,19, 21
6.00pm
Whānau 6, 17, 7,20, 10,11,12
6.30pm
The Board of Trustees will be in the library from 6.00pm to meet and greet and to tell you about the strategic plan and our goals for the year. We have elections this year and would love to meet any whanau who have an interest in joining our BOT.
Ice Cold drinks and chocolate bars for sale on the night - $2.00
Communication Home
We email home a school newsletter every fortnight. The purpose of this newsletter is to keep our community informed of what is happening at our school.
Please ensure we have an up-to-date email address, download our BIS School App, like our Facebook page and check our website regularly for more detailed information about what is happening at BIS.
