Kia ora e te whānau

Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa

2023 and a new Maidstone Intermediate! What a wonderful opportunity to welcome our new whanau. Intermediate years are important in the development of our tamariki (children). That is why my hope is an amazing time will be had while you are part of the Maidstone whanau.

Thank you to all the parents who attended our powhiri on Thursday. It was such an appropriate start to the new year, and I am proud of the kaiako (teachers) and ākonga (students) who played a role. Here is a video of the powhiri for you to keep as a memento.

I also want to acknowledge our kaimahi (staff) and the effort and passion they have put into the last few weeks to ensure we are ready for 2023. If you are new to the community you will soon realise that MIS is a place where lots of things happen. So be aware - fasten the seatbelts! We are going at a crazy speed with the aim to provide as many opportunities as possible for our ākonga to ensure their learning is fun, interactive, and authentic.

As a kaimahi (staff) we spent many hours preparing to change the way we do things at Maidstone. After COVID, we need to make sure we are addressing the “new” needs of our ākonga. One of the most crucial things we discovered was to go back-to-basics of what we expect to be the “Maidstone way”. Your taitamaiti (child) will talk to you about these. For Term One, we are focusing on the following three things:

• Wearing our uniform with pride

• Using positive language

• Having basic manners (some might call it old-fashioned manners)

Our focus points for 2023 are:

Curriculum - MATHS - Kaiako will all be taking part in Maths PLD; ensuring we deliver a Maths curriculum which prepares our ākonga for the 21st Century

Maidstone Culture - Creating a culture where we bring the focus back to our values and vision (more info to follow)

Culturally empowering our Kaimahi and ākonga - Making sure anybody coming into our school and classrooms will get the feeling they are in a New Zealand kura; addressing the needs of our kiwi kids.

Communication

One of the crucial foundations of a successful kura is COMMUNICATION. While we acknowledge you all have busy lives, we want you to be aware of what is going on in your taitamaiti’s daily life at school. To ensure we have effective communication channels, we want to share the following with you:

• Kaiako and rōpū leaders will send out regular emails to inform you about important events

• Please make sure you have signed up for the Maidstone school app (see instruction elsewhere in the newsletter)

• If you are on Facebook, please follow our Facebook page

• Make sure you inform the kura about any changes in your address, email or phone numbers

• Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have a question or an enquiry. My door is always open and I would love to talk to you. However, we do have a belief at Maidstone to always go back to the root of any issue, and to keep things to the lowest level. That means that if I am unhappy about something, as my first option I always go back to the person I have a problem with.

Cybersafety

Living in 2023 means CYBER SAFETY is something we should not ignore. It is part of our curriculum as we know our ākonga are looking at us, as adults, to help them in the maze of the internet - with all the good and bad it offers. Netsafe is an organisation providing useful information to support whanau. One thing worth doing for every parent is to read their Online Safety Toolkit.

We have also arranged a “Our Kids Online” presentation on Monday 6 March 2023 (7:00 - 9:00). We are taking the unprecedented step of making this a “compulsory” (as in highly-recommended) event. We would like at least one member of each whanau to attend the evening. I know that you will understand why, once you have been to the presentation.

To make it easier for our whanau, we are arranging the following:

• A child-care service for all tamariki in the library

• A sausage sizzle to start the evening

• Most importantly: It is FREE. All you have to do is to register HERE

Lastly, I also want to welcome the new kaimahi (staff) to our kura. They are:

• Isaac Hayes (Deputy Principal)

• Gemma Doran (Acting Rōpū leader and Room 13)

• Kate Bayless (Room 14)

• Alun Maich (Room 19)

See more information about them elsewhere in the newsletter.

My wish for you all is an amazing fortnight. Please look after yourselves, and remember that I am only a phone call or email away if you have anything you want to share with me.

Ngā mihi nui

Wikus Swanepoel

Principal/Tumuaki

27 February - BOT Hui at 6pm

1 March - Hauora Fun Day

6 March - 'Our Kids Online' Whanau Presentation 7 - 9pm

20 March - BOT Hui at 6pm

29 March - WRISSA Rugby 7s

30 March - School Photos

31 March - WRISSA Athletics

4 April - Year 8 Immunisations

5 April - Year 7 Immunisations

6 April - Last day of Term 1

Kia ora koutou,

The wairua was well and present with our pōwhiri to welcome our Year 7 ākonga (students), whānau (family), new Year 8 ākonga, and new kaimahi (staff). The kaikaranga (callers) calling from both parties, and kaikōrero (orators) standing staunch from the paepae (orator’s bench).

A great start to our journey with an awesome group of students!

Matua Pat

Caregiver / Emergency Contact Details

If there are any changes, please email the office admin@maidstone.school.nz

Student Absences

If your child is going to be absent, please let us know. This can be done through our app, absence link on our website, emailing absences@maidstone.school.nz, or a message can be left on the absence line 04 528 3094.

Email Details

Has your email address changed since you enrolled your child? Please keep these up to date. Newsletters keep you informed with what is happening at Maidstone; they are sent via email each fortnight.

Messages for Students

With a large number of students it can be challenging for office staff to get phone messages to students. It would be helpful if after school arrangements could be made before your child leaves home in the morning. We understand that emergencies happen, and at this time we will make every effort to get important messages to your child.

Internet Payments

We appreciate receiving your payments into the school bank account. Please remember to include your child's name (Surname and First name) and what the payment is for.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook

www.maidstone.school.nz - check out our webpage.

Tena Koutou

Ko Ruzia Ataria taku ingoa. No Upper Hutt ahau. I am the Learning Support Coordinator at Maidstone Intermediate. I am a mother and grandmother. I have over 20 years of classroom teaching experience, mostly at Intermediate level, but also at Years 2, 3 and 4. My current role is to support students and their whanau to identify and overcome barriers to learning. In order to do this I can apply for funding, liaise with outside agencies, complete student assessments, develop learning plans and support classroom teachers. I am committed to supporting every student to realise their full potential, and I enjoy working alongside whanau in order to do this. I am available to talk through any learning or behaviour concerns with whanau. Please contact me through the school office or email me on learningcoordinator@maidstone.school.nz Noho ora mai.

Exciting times for Maidstone Intermediate this year in the sports department! This year the sports will be organised by Isaac Hayes and Jodie Shirley. Already, we have over 65 students playing touch at Awakairangi Park on a Wednesday night. Furthermore, two elite touch teams will be heading to Fraser Park to play on a Thursday night. AIMS 2023 is looking extremely exciting with the school looking to send five teams. Watch this space!

Anything to do with sports email Isaac.hayes@maidstone.school.nz and I will reply. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and our Kura app for updates.

Search 'SchoolAppNZ' to download the app onto your device.

Search 'Maidstone Intermediate School'.

We cater to all ages, ethnicities, religions and genders, we are all about adventure and fun based learning-skills that will last a lifetime while making new friends and doing things and gaining experiences that youth might not otherwise get the opportunity to do, some of these include camping, tramping, cooking outdoors and in doors, pioneering, water skills and many many more!!!

Heretaunga Scout Group has just started up their Kea section for ages 5 to 8, they currently have space would love to have your child join them, they run from 5.30pm to 6.30pm on a Wednesday at their Scout hall on McLeod Street-opposite Irmgard Ritchie Kindergarten.

We also have Akatarawa Scout Group who run on a Friday from 6pm to 7pm at their hall on Blackbeech Street in Birchville.

Both Kea Clubs have an exciting term planned which includes an overnight stay at the Wellington Zoo!

Why not get in touch and come along and see what it's all about!

For Heretaunga Scout Group please email Heretaunga@group.scouts.nz

For Akatarawa Scout Group please email Akatarawa@group.scouts.Nz

We look forward to having you along!

Steve Carter

Remutaka Zone Kea leader

Online registrations to play junior rugby for Upper Hutt Junior Rams has now opened (closing March 5th). Players of all ages, genders and abilities are encouraged to sign up to play for the Junior Rams this season.

We enter teams into every playing grade including Rippa (Year 0 - Year 8) and Tackle (Year 3+). It costs $75 per player (a maximum of $150 for a whānau playing one grade each) with the playing season starting April 28th.

If you'd like to know more, will be down at the Brewtown Markets on Sunday 12th, 19th and 26th of February or you can check out our Facebook page or email through to juniors@uhramsrugby.co.nz