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Connect Communication
12 February 2025
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I hope you have enjoyed some memorable moments over the term break. I had a very busy time shifting to a new home built by my clever husband. While my commute is slightly longer it is more than made up by the beautiful views from living on a hill site overlooking the sea.
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It has been great to get back into learning with your beautiful children. Over the past few weeks our team have been involved in fabulous professional learning that has included; Pause, Breathe Smile training, delving into the new maths and English curricula, and getting to know each other and our learners. Emma has written a curriculum update for you and her Maths post from last year is also linked. Both of these can be found at the bottom of this newsletter.
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A reminder of some changes with Donna Frame on leave this year. Shelley Smith will be taking on the SENCO & Inclusive Practice Role and Blair Cook will be Acting Deputy Principal as well as team lead for Years 4-6.
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We have welcomed wonderful practitioners to our team and they have settled into life and learning here. Ngā mihi to Kim Wilson in Kaunuku, Megan Stewart, Jamie Gunby and Sarah Szell in Huarapa and Crystal Edminstin in Hikuwai. We farewell Whaea Fable as a learning assistant and welcome Whaea Kerry (Galloway) who will take over her role.
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We have started the year with Year 5 & 6 in Pūrei (our short term roll growth classes). We are expecting another two spaces with a toilet block to be operational by Term 3.
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Finally, I remind you of our concerns procedure. If something is bothering you please raise your concern with the classroom teacher. If you feel it is not resolved then the next step is the team leader, then the DP and /or the Principal. If it is a more general concern, feel free to email the office and it will get directed to the appropriate person.
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Lovely to see many of you at our picnic last night, we look forward to connecting over the rest of the term.
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Coaching
Coaching is an important part of Ararira learning for our teachers and our older ākonga. We see coaching as an opportunity to sit with a colleague or support person and in the first instance, check in. Secondly, it provides the coachee with the chance to be listened to and supported. The coachee might share an issue, concern or goal. The coach gently but closely listens and questions to elicit a course of action.
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Teachers are coached by a colleague and students are coached by a teacher or a parent volunteer. We aim to meet every four weeks and the time varies. For students, a twenty-minute session is plenty, for teachers sessions are longer.
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As the school grows, providing our Year 7 and 8 with a coach becomes more challenging. In 2025 we will continue group coaching with our Year 7 students and offer 1:1 coaching with our 50 Year 8 students. Last year we had an incredible group of parent and teacher coaches with children at all levels of our school offer to help support our students achieve their goals.
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We need you! Teachers will coach some of our students, but we are looking for parents to help out with this process too. Do you have a spare 30 mins in your week? If so, you could coach 3-4 students. This would involve you meeting with one student each week in a four/five-week rotation. Full support will be given but it really is relatively easy.
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20-30 minutes per week, every week (5 students, twice per term) OR
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2x one-hour sessions (3 students, twice per term).
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Being able to tame your ‘advice monster’
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Asking questions (a template will be provided)
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Able to be fully ‘present’ for the session.
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Your coachee will come to you with an idea of something to work on. You use listening and questioning to help them design some action steps to move them towards their goal. We would like to run the sessions in Terms 2-4.
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Sound like you? Please let us know by emailing emma.woolford@ararira.school.nz We aim to run a short training session with our parent coaches later this term.
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Wellbeing: Pause Breathe Smile
Our school is beginning to introduce our children to wellbeing and mindfulness-based techniques through New Zealand’s Pause Breathe Smile programme. We are doing this as part of a commitment to support our learner’s emotional and mental wellbeing development and this is part of the B.O.T/school's strategic plan. Children quickly understand the usefulness of the techniques learnt and adapt the Pause Breathe Smile methods in their daily interactions. Pause Breathe Smile is implemented in schools nationwide and the published research studies show that it leads to significant increases in wellbeing and improved resilience.
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Our aim is to focus on building our children’s wellbeing, social skills development and improving self-awareness and emotion regulation. New Zealand has the highest rates of bullying and youth suicide in the western world and we, as a school, are committed to ensuring our children are provided with evidence-based support to try our best to prepare them for the daily pressures of modern life.
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Pause Breathe Smile is a programme developed by Pause Breathe Smile Director Grant Rix whilst at the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand. Access to Pause Breathe Smile is free for all Primary and Intermediate schools in New Zealand through funding by Southern Cross.
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Pause Breathe Smile programme can support your child by:
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Improving focus & attention
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Developing conflict resolution skills & positive relationships
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Additionally, this programme is aligned with the NZ education curriculum. With the skills and techniques taught in Pause Breathe Smile, other areas of their study should also benefit.
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Our teachers started the training over the break and will be completing the full educator training programme early this term. We'll be ready to begin implementing it in the classroom | hapori from early term 1.
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Absences
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If your child is going to be absent or late, please let the school know before 9.00am or you may receive a text/phone call asking about their whereabouts.
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Reminder About Carpark Safety
As we begin the new school year, we’d like to take a moment to remind everyone of a couple of important carpark rules to ensure safety and smooth traffic flow:
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- Drive the Correct Way: Please avoid driving against the designated flow of traffic in and around the carpark.
- Stick to the Speed Limit: Keep your speed to 10km/h at all times while driving through the carpark.
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We understand the carpark can sometimes be tricky, but your attention to these rules is essential for everyone's safety. We appreciate your cooperation!
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Class Notices and Blogs
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Kindo Lunches
Kindo are launching a special Term 1 Rewards Campaign and our school can benefit!
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- Every parent who orders a lunch via Kindo goes into a weekly draw to win $100 Kindo Credit for themselves AND $100 for their school.
- Every order also enters the Grand Prize Draw for a $1,000 JB Hi-Fi Voucher + $500 for their school!
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Mana Ake is offering an online form to arrange a drop-in at a time to suit. If you would like to meet with Shannon our Kaimahi for parenting advice, or to help your child manage emotions for mental well-being feel free to fill in the form via this link.
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ngā mihi o te tau hou
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Happy new year | Greetings for the new year
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IMPORTANT DATES
- 19 February - THT meeting, 7pm in the Staffroom
- 21 February - Hui (Kaunuku), 9.15am in the Hall
- 26 February - School Board meeting, 6.30pm in the Staffroom
- 07 March - Hui (Hikuwai), 9.15am in the Hall
- 08 March - Karma Keg fundraiser at The Laboratory, 2-4pm (see below)
- 11 April - Last day of term 1
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School Board
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Next meeting - 26 Feburary, 6.30pm in Tahuna | Staffroom
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Welcome to all our new whānau and kaiako, and welcome back to returning families and staff!
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The Education Review Office (ERO) maintains a regular view programme to evaluate and report on the education and care of young people in schools. Te Ara Huarau is the evaluation approach that ERO is using in our school. This is a developmental approach to evaluation, in which ERO and our school work together over time rather than one off review that happened previously. Te Ara Huarau is used in most English-medium state and state-integrated schools.
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Our senior leadership team worked with ERO and contributed to writing our School Evaluation Report. The report reflects and informs our strategic priorities and direction for improvement as we work together to improve outcomes for all our learners. ERO, like us, has a strong focus on equality and excellence. Future reporting will show our progress and achievement towards meeting the areas for improvement in this report. The report will be published on ERO’s website.
A Board Assurance Report that shows how we are meeting regulatory and legislative Requirements has also been published.
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Reviewing our policies ensures that they comply with the Education and Training Act and other legislation, and meet the needs of our school and whānau; the scheduled review of Health, Safety, and Welfare policies starts this term. Because of the volume of information in these policies, they'll be reviewed progressively over the next 18 months. This term we are reviewing policies in safety and risk management, worker engagement, healthcare, and recording and reporting incidents. You're welcome to read and comment on these policies - go to School Docs on the About menu of the school website or click this link , then click the "Current Review" button at the top of the page. Feedback will be collated in week 8 for consideration at the board meeting in week 9.
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The first board meeting of the year will be held on Wednesday 26 February, at 6:30 pm in the staff room. Key agenda items will be electing a presiding member to take us through to the board elections in September, confirmation of the budget and annual plan, and setting our work plan for the first term.
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Presiding Member - Te Puna o Ararira School Board
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Te Hapori Tautoko (THT)
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Welcome back to school for 2025!
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Te Hapori Tautoko (THT) is Ararira Springs Primary's PTA group. We are made up of whanau and staff and we plan fun activities for the tamariki, community events like our Matariki evening, and fundraising events ranging from sausage sizzles to our annual Quiz Night. We meet about every 6 weeks for an hour, and our meetings are always open to all members of our Ararira community.
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Our first meeting for the year is next week, Wednesday 19th February at 7pm in the Staffroom. Please come along if you are free!
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Keep up to date with our latest news by following our Facebook page, or find out more by clicking on Our Team on ararira.school.nz
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Second-Hand Uniforms - THT has a small selection of second-hand uniform items available for purchase. Click here to view a list of the items we currently have available. If you have uniform items to donate please contact Charlotte via charlotte.mcmenamin@ararira.school.nz
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Welcome back to 2025. We are looking forward to a busy year of sports. All the dates for upcoming events are on the sports website under communication, sport information (click on this link). Once you are on the home page just click on the sport you would like to know more about.
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Primary Sports Canterbury Triathlon
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Click on the Triathlon button for information for Primary Sports Canterbury Triathlon taking place on the 24th of February at South Eyre Road. Please let Whaea Meeghan know if your child wants to participate as she will have to enter your child in the event.
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If you have a child who swims for a club and they are keen to take part in the Lincoln Zones Swimming please ask them to come and see Whaea Meeghan in Kaunuku or email her at meeghan.coetzee@ararira.school.nz. This will be taking place on 18th of March at Jellie Park.
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Below is a table of events taking place in Term 1. If you have any questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact us or check out our ASP Sport Page on the school website or click on the link: ASP Sport. Don’t forget to check out the “What's on offer?” page for clubs advertising their sport.
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Don’t forget to check out the “What's on offer?” page for clubs advertising their sport.
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Looking forward to working with you!
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Katrina Robinson has been teaching guitar and ukulele now for a number of years at schools and also from her home. She loves to sing too and is a professional musician playing in wineries and cafés as well as weddings and private functions. Katrina likes to make her lessons fun and really enjoys teaching. You can read more information on Katrina at www.thesingingdiva.co.nz
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Spaces are available for 2025!
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The closing date for Issue 1 is 04 April 2025.
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All orders will be delivered to school in batches and distributed to the classrooms as they arrive. Any orders marked as gifts, we will put to one side and contact you when they are ready to be collected.
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Dream Big Tutoring is an independent tutoring program started in 2024 by founder and leader Tiffany Zhang. Comprised of talented Year 7 students (including one current and one former ASP student), Dream Big offers mathematics tutoring to all students in years 2-7, aiming to foster a love for learning and helping students to excel.
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At Dream Big Tutoring, we believe that quality education should be accessible to all,
offering our high-quality tutoring services at an affordable rate of just $15 per hour. We are dedicated to creating a supportive, nurturing learning environment that empowers students to reach their full potential in mathematics.
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Te Mātaiaho | The New Zealand Curriculum Curriculum Update - Term 1, 2025 From Term 1 this year, all NZ primary schools are required to teach the refreshed Maths (Year 0-8) and English (Year 0-6 at the stage) curriculum areas. Please refer to my blog post from 6 November for a more detailed explanation of the changes. Your child will …
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Te Mātaiaho | The New Zealand Curriculum Curriculum Refresh Updates, Term 4 2024 The New Zealand Curriculum is currently undergoing a review and refresh. The English and Mathematics and Statistics curricula have been released on 31 October and must be taught from Term 1, 2025. The Ararira Springs Primary staff have been undergoing professional development to understand the changes and …
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Learning through play is a key approach in education in today's world. While most common in early childhood education, it also benefits students throughout their school years. This blog post explores the importance of learning through play in a primary school context, drawing on extensive research to highlight its many advantages. The Concept of Learning Through Play Learning through play …
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