West Park School - T2 Wk 2
Friday 13th May 2022
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Kia ora, Talofa, Kia orana,
Greetings Parents, Grandparents and Caregivers,
It is great to be back for Term 2 and I do hope that you and your child/ren have had a
great start to the term.
Another huge thank you to everyone for the way you, during Term 1, helped your children
meet isolation requirements, when you found that they were either a confirmed case or
a household contact. We finishing the term with only 2 confirmed cases, and have
started Term 2 with 1 confirmed cases and 2 household contacts. In all a fantastic start
to the term.
A reminder that you can find a Covid-19 update table on our school website (www.westpark.school.nz).
The table is updated every forty-eight hours to show the number of confirmed cases, and the
number of students isolating by being household members of confirmed cases.
Please note that if your child’s classroom teacher is required to isolate, in that event I will send a correspondence informing you of the isolation and explaining how the classroom will be catered for during the teacher’s isolation period.
Parent / Teacher Interviews
You will already have received a correspondence regarding our mid-year
student/parent/teacher interviews on Tuesday 17 May, Thursday 19 May,
Tuesday 24 May and Thursday 26 May for all students. Thanks to all the
parents who have already booked. On each day fifteen-minute time slots are able
to be booked during times that your child’s classroom teacher/s are available.
The interviews will provide an opportunity to acknowledge achievements, discuss
areas of concern, share and ask any questions and identify supporting actions as
we move into the second half of the year.
To book an interview with your child’s teacher/s please visit
www.schoolinterviews.co.nz. The event code is VNAGN. You will be guided through
three simple steps and, a few moments later, you will get an email confirming your
interview time(s).
If you do not have access to a computer to make your bookings, or have any problems,
please contact either Kathy or Marti in the school office and they can sort this out for
you - 478 7074 or office@westpark.school.nz.
School Cross Country
Our annual school cross country event was held on Thursday the 12th of May. The kids
tried their very best and overall had a great day. Congratulations to all those students
who by finishing in the first five placings in each of their races, have now qualified to
compete in cluster cross country competitions later this term. Notices will be handed out
to those students by next Monday. Thanks to all the parents and caregivers who were
able to attend and support the day. Also, a special thanks to Michael Joseph and
Sherrick Reid for their great effort in organizing the day.
A story that show one of our School Value - Collaboration
Collaboration: The Tree and the Vegetable
Once upon a time, there was a lovely vegetable patch, on which grew a
very leafy tree. Both the patch and the tree gave the place a wonderful
appearance, and were the pride and joy of the garden's owner. What no
one knew was that the vegetables in the patch and the tree couldn't stand
each other. The vegetables hated the tree's shadow, because it left them
only just enough light to survive. The tree, on the other hand, resented
the vegetables because they drank nearly all the water before it could get
to him, leaving him with just enough to survive.
The situation became so extreme that the vegetables got totally fed up and
decided to use up all the water in the ground so that the tree would dry up.
The tree answered back by refusing to shade the vegetables from the hot
midday sun, so they too began to dry up. Before long, the vegetables were
really scrawny, and the tree's branches were drying up.
None of them suspected that the gardener, on seeing his vegetable patch
deteriorating, would stop watering it. When he did that, both the tree and
the vegetables really learned what thirst was. There seemed to be no
solution, but one of the vegetables, a small courgette, understood what
was going on, and decided to resolve it. Despite the little water available,
and the unforgiving heat, the little courgette did all he could to grow,
grow, grow...
He managed to grow so big that the gardener started watering the
patch again. Now the gardener wanted to enter that beautiful big courgette
in some gardening contest.
And so it was that the vegetables and the tree realised that it was better to
help each other than to fight. They should really learn how to live in
harmony with those around them, doing the best they could. So they
decided to work together, using both the shade and the water in the best
combination to grow good vegetables. Seeing how well they were doing,
the gardener now gave the best of care to his vegetable patch, watering
and fertilising it better than any other patch for kilometres around.
Challenging Media
Talking with young people about what they're watching:
At the bottom pf this week’s school newsletter, you will find a guide that the Ministry has
generated to help parents talk with young people about what they’re watching.
Young people can access virtually any content on their devices – anywhere, any time.
As digital natives, they can and should make use of these opportunities for
communication, education, and entertainment. But young people can also be negatively
impacted by what they see.
The Ministry knows from international studies, their own research, and from talking
directly to parents and teenagers nationwide, that young people are looking for
guidance. They also know that parents and caregivers are concerned about what young
people are viewing in movies, TV shows, games and websites.
The guide is for parents with teenagers. It has practical advice to help you:
1. Share and talk about entertainment media with your teen
2. Encourage them to think critically about what they view
3. Talk about sensitive or complex issues
4. Support your teen if they’re distressed by something they’ve watched
You can’t control everything young people see, but you can build their confidence by
giving them tools to help deal with challenging media.
Masks at Orange
At Orange, face masks are no longer required at school. However public health advice
is that masks continue to be strongly encouraged when indoors. Wearing a mask is a
key health measure that slows the spread of COVID-19 in indoor settings. For that
reason, we ask that visitors to the school, including parents and whānau, wear a mask
whenever they are indoors on school grounds.
We also ask that your child (if they are Year 4+) continues to bring a mask to school
every day, and to continue wearing it if they would like. There may also be times that
we’ll ask them to wear a mask, too – for example, when we are having a team assembly
in the hall. If there are a high number of cases at school or in the community, we may
ask that masks are worn in classrooms for a time.
At Orange, students aged 12 and above are still required to wear a face mask on school
or public transport.
We will continue to keep all the other health measures in place at school that we know
slow the spread of COVID-19. These include ensuring our indoor spaces are well-
ventilated, maintaining good hand hygiene and cough and sneeze etiquette, appropriate
physical distancing whenever we can and, most importantly, staying home if we are
sick.
School Donations
The 2022 donation being requested is as follows.
One child: $220
Two children: $440
Three children: $660
Have a lovely weekend.
Luis Echegaray
Principal
Newsletter Sponsored By
Junior School Update
This week the students in Teams Totara and Miro have set their own fitness and performance goals, and have been excited to start practicing daily for the upcoming Cross Country.
Room 3 Math
Middle School Update
Last term the children in the Treehouse performed plays. They organised themselves into groups, choses their parts and practiced hard. They also had time to make some props before performing their play to the class. Everyone was awesome!
Chess Club
Chess Club
We had a great turn-out at Chess Club this week. I’ve been running the chess club at Westpark since the start of the year and playing the game for much longer. The logical/mathematical side of Chess gets talked about a lot but what doesn’t get mentioned so much is the intuitive, decision making side which is actually what makes it so interesting. The game relies a lot on pattern recognition and you get better by identifying more combinations of different types of moves - how the different pieces interact with each other and the space around them.
The interesting thing for me watching the students play is just how focused they are and how long they can focus for. Again it’s an interesting mixture where for some it can be a competitive outlet and for others the focus needed to play the game is very calming.
School Notices and Upcoming Events
Home and School committee meeting
16th May, 7pm via zoom
If you would like a link to the meeting please email homeandschool@westpark.school.nz and a link will be sent out Monday
All are welcome :)
Book Club Notice
LUCKY BOOK CLUB: Orders for Term 2, Issue 3, close this Friday 13th May. Orders can be made online through the Scholastic Loop set-up or cash orders can be given to Mrs Ayres in Room 17, The Treehouse.
SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR:
The annual Scholastic Book Fair raises a great number of rewards which are used to purchase library and classroom books as well as resources to assist in our student’s education.
This year the book fair will be held during our school ‘Book Week’ in weeks 4 and 5 of term 2. It will also have extended open hours on Thursday 26 May for people to take advantage of viewing the fantastic range of books before or after parent / teacher interviews.
The Book Fair will be held in Room 9 from Wednesday 25 May - Tuesday 31 May. Viewing and sales times will be (depending on more parent help):
Wednesday 25 May, 2.45 - 3.30pm
Thursday 26 May, 8.15 -9.00am
Thursday 26 May, 2.45 - 5.00pm (Parent Interview afternoon but depends on parent support with help)
Friday 27 May, 8.30 - 9.00am
Friday 27 May, 2.45 - 3.30pm
Monday 30 May, 2.45- 3.30pm
Tuesday 31 May, 8.15 - 9.00am
Parent helpers are still needed to make the book fair function in weeks 4 & 5. If you are able to help please contact Helen Ayres in the Treehouse. helena@westpark.school.nz
Pick up and Drop off Parking Zones
Please continue to discuss with your children the importance of crossing roads safely. We have had a number of emails regarding inappropriate and dangerous road crossings. We ask that they use the road crossings available and always double check for on coming traffic.
Your help reinforcing this at home would be greatly appreciated.
ShoeBoxes
Please bring them to any of the teachers in the junior school.
2022 Term Dates
Term Dates 2022:
Term 2 Mon 2 May – Fri 8 July (10 weeks)
Term 3 Mon 25 July – Fri 30 Sept (10 weeks)
Term 4 Mon 17 Oct – Fri 16 Dec (9 weeks)
Upcoming Events
- Tuesday, 17 May - PP date 2: School Cross Country
- Parent/ Teacher interviews
- Thursday, 19 May - Parent/ Teacher interviews
- Tuesday, 24 May - Parent/ Teacher interviews
- Wednesday, 25 May - Book Fair
- Thursday, 26 May - Parent/ Teacher interviews
- Tough Guy and Gal event
- Monday, 30 May - BoT meeting (6.15pm)
- Wednesday, 1 June - Dental van onsite for 5 weeks
- Friday, 3 June - Teacher only Day (School closed)
- Monday, 6 June - Queen’s Birthday (School closed)
- Thursday, 9 June - Pump dance workshop
- Thursday, 16 June - Pump dance workshop
- Wednesday, 22 June - School Photos
- Thursday, 23 June - School Photos
- Pump dance workshop
- Friday, 24 June - Matariki (School closed)
- Monday, 4 July - BoT meeting (6.15pm)
- Friday, 8 July - Last Day of Term 2
- Monday, 25 July - First day of Term 3
Community Notices
SAMUEL MARSDEN COLLEGIATE SCHOOL - YEAR 7 ENTRY IN 2023
Upcoming events
Open Day: Sunday 15 May 2022, 2-4pm
Year 7 Information Webinar: Monday 23 May, 7pm
Experience Year 7: Wednesday 15 June, 8.30am - 3.30pm
Please register for the above events at https://www.marsden.school.nz/about/experience-marsden/
Scholarships
Applications for year 7 academic excellence close on 19 May, exam date 28 May, and year 7 Māori & Pasifika Scholarship applications close on 12 August. Please apply online at https://www.marsden.school.nz/about/scholarships/
Enrolments
Enrolments for entry in 2023 are due on Friday 8 July. Please apply online at https://www.marsden.school.nz/about/enrolments/
If you have any questions, or you'd like to arrange a personal tour or a day in class for your daughter, please contact Enrolment Registrar Leigh McCathie on 476 8707 or leigh.mccathie@marsden.school.nz
BIGAIR Gym
If your child loves doing Cartwheels, Handstands & Flips, then they will thrive at Bigair Gym!
TERM 2 CLASSES ARE STARTING NOW, SO DON’T MISS OUT, BOOK IN TODAY!
Bigair Gym classes are excellent for fun, focus and fitness! Children learn new skills and develop personal confidence and self-achievement! Strong focus is given to safety and technique, ranging from fundamentals to advanced skills. The structured classes follow a Bigair Badge Programme, which creates focused learning, and allows children to achieve and progress!
Classes include GYMNASTICS, TRAMPOLINING, TUMBLING, FREE RUNNING (thats parkour with flips) & CHEERLEADING!
Inquire about Bigair BIRTHDAY PARTIES too!
Its easy to book online at www.bigairgym.co.nz or contact our Bigair Gym office.
We would love to hear from you.
Bigair Gym Tawa ph.232 3508 e.office@bigairgym.co.nz
Ministry Guide to help parents talk with young people about what they're watching.
Contact Us
Email: office@westpark.school.nz
Website: https://www.westpark.school.nz
Location: 97 Broderick Road, Johnsonville, Wellington 6037, New Zealand
Phone: +64 (04) 478 7074
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/farmcoveintermediateschool