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Connect Communication
25 September 2024
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The end of the term is very close and with that we prepare to say goodbye to Whaea Louise. Louise has been with us for 18 months, and this year has been leading Hikuwai456.
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She taught in Diamond Harbour where she currently lives and her heart is in small school education. In term 4 she will return to Broadfield School, a small school she loves. We thank Louise for her huge contribution to our team whilst here. We will miss her.
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Next term, Hikuwai 5 and 6 are moving into Pūrei 1 and 2 (our new spaces). We are excited to have a little more space. Hikuwai 3 will be moving across to work with Hikuwai 4. On Friday a kaumatua is coming to our kura to bless the spaces as is the the Māori tikanga.
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A highlight of the week has been our wonderful display of visual art in the hall. Every child had a piece of art to display and whānau have been enjoying the celebration of art. Thank you for coming along and supporting our budding artists. Whaea Donna and Whaea Tash took the lead in putting this together, ngā mihi e kōrua | thanks to you both.
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This week our Year 7 and 8 children are participating at the Koru Games at venues across Selwyn and last week our youngest learners enjoyed a fun run. It is so wonderful to see parents participate in this learning. Some take a bigger role, coaching or managing teams of older children and others cheering from the sidelines, thank you. Our children love developing their physical skills.
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Enjoy a well-earned break with your family and we look forward to having you back in term 4.
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From the Office
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Absences - If your child is going to be absent or late we ask you to please let the school know before 9.00am.
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You can do this by any of the following methods:
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- Hero app (if your child is going to be away for more than one day, you can provide details in the notes area so you don't have to check in every day),
- Phone 03 420 0888 and leave a message on our 24 hour absence line.
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*Please note, if your child has had vomiting or diarrhoea they are required to stay away from school for 48 hours following their last symptoms.
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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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During term 4, Mana Ake will run the Tuning in to kids program at Rolleston School from Tuesday 22nd October, from 7-9 pm (for 6 weeks).
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Tuning in to Kids is a six-session program designed for parents/ caregivers of 4-12 years old. The purpose of the program is teaching awareness and regulation of their own emotions and their children's emotions; to use children's emotional experiences as an opportunity for closeness and teaching; skills in assisting children to verbally label and manage their emotions; skills in assisting children to problem solve; to guide children's behaviour with appropriate limits.
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To sign up for the group (or to check other courses available during term 4), follow this link.
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A reminder a plain navy bucket hat must be worn by all students while playing outside during terms 1 and 4 - no hat, no play.
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IMPORTANT DATES 2024
- 24-25 Sep - ASP Art Exhibition in the Hall (see above for times)
- 24-26 Sep - Koru Games (Kaunuku)
- 26 Sep - Hui, 9.15am in the Hall
- 27 Sep - Whanau Groups lunch
- 27 Sep - Term 3 ends
- 14 Oct - Term 4 begins
- 28 Oct - Labour Day Public Holiday (school closed)
- 31 Oct - THT Meeting, 7pm in Tahuna | Staffroom
- 06 Nov - Board Meeting, 6.30pm in Tahuna | Staffroom
- 14 Nov - Teacher Only Day (school closed to students)
- 15 Nov - Canterbury Anniversary Day (school closed)
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School Board
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The school board met last week, and we congratulated Whaea Claire on her successful application for a 10 week sabbatical next year, which she will use for research and professional development.
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The government has proposed making changes to the Education Act which affect the objectives which the board is required to deliver. We worked through a consultation questionnaire from the Ministry of Education, providing our collective feedback on the changes - which in general we think will have only a minor effect on the way our kura operates. We also discussed a proposal from the Ministry to delay next year's school board elections from May to September, and the impact this will have on our strategic and annual planning cycle (which we'd tried to align with the elections so the incoming board would have the freedom to develop a new three-year strategic plan).
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Whaea Claire presented her regular updates on attendance, behaviour and staff professional development. We considered and accepted reports from our subcomittees on finance, health and safety, policy and property.
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We're looking forward to our new classrooms being handed over for use at the end of this week, with a karakia planned for Friday afternoon.
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Lastly, I met with our Education Review Office reviewer yesterday with Whaea Claire and Whaea Trine. Our three-yearly regular review is under way and in due course the report will be publicly available.
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Ngā mihi,
AndrewPresiding Member - Te Puna o Ararira School Board
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Next meeting - 06 November, 6.30pm in Tahuna | Staffroom
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Te Hapori Tautoko (THT)
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THT - Te Hapori Tautoko - providing opportunities to tautoko (support) and connect our school community and fundraising for school initiatives and resources.
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Our next THT meeting is 31 October at 7pm in the Staffroom.
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Please come along and see how you can get involved and support our tamariki.
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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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And just like that Term 3 sport is over. Well done to everyone who took part in the different sporting activities throughout the term. You represented our school well. We are so very proud of you.
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Ararira Springs Athletics Day - Years 5-8
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Our annual Athletics Day was held at Brookside Park on Friday the 20th of September. Thank you to Tara Hobson who volunteered her time to help Matua Blair, Matua Michael, and Whaea Louise run the day. A big congratulations to all the students who participated. Whaea Meeghan will email the parents of those who are moving through to the Lincoln Zones Athletics Day which will be held on the 7th of November at Ngā Puna Wai. The Athletics slides will also be updated with all the relevant information. We will be looking for volunteers to assist on this day as well. If you can help please contact Whaea Meeghan.
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Weetbix Tryathlon is now open for registration!
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Registrations are now open for the 2025 Weetbix Tryathlon. We have created a school group so you can register your child for the event. Click on this link to register:
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Please note: Race packs WILL NOT be delivered to the school but can be collected on race day.
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The 2024 Koru Games has started and runs until the 26th of September. We would like to say a very big thank you to our parent helpers for giving up their time to help manage the teams. They would not have been able to participate without your support.
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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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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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The Ministry of Education has refreshed the curriculum and updated how schools report on student progress. As previously mentioned by the MOE, the benchmark for achievement has increased with the new curriculum. You may see a change in your child’s progress or achievement compared to previous years because of this. At Ararira Springs Primary, our staff have been undergoing professional …
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Berry Street Education Model BSEM at Ararira - Nicky Harding and Claire Howison At Ararira Springs, we are committed to fostering a learning environment where every child feels safe, supported, and ready to thrive. To support this, our kura has adopted the Berry Street Education Model (BSEM) - a trauma-informed, strengths-based framework designed to boost student wellbeing, engagement, and academic …
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Attendance Monitoring at Ararira The government has publicly stated that it wishes to lift attendance rates at New Schools so 80% of all children are attending 90% of the time by 2030. We have set this as a target for our kura|school in 2026. All schools are required to have an attendance management plan (AMP) in place that follows stepped …
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2025 End of Year Progress Graphs The end-of-year progress graphs for students (English Year 0-6 and Maths Year 0-8) will be live on Friday, 12 December. English progress in Years 7-8 will be released in a statement at the bottom of Year 7-8 children's reading and writing comments. The Overall Teacher Judgements (OTJs) regarding progress that your child will receive …
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Te Mātaiaho | The New Zealand Curriculum Curriculum Update - English, Term 3, 2025 Kia ora, Earlier this year, we held a successful whānau hui regarding the refreshed Maths curriculum for Phases 1-3 (Year 0-8). We are unfortunately still waiting on Phase 3 (Year 7-8) of the English curriculum, which is due to be released in Term 4 of this …
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New Parent Portal Released The Ministry of Education has released a parent portal to help whānau partner with schools to support their child's education. From Minister Stanford: "Education is a partnership of what happens in the classroom and what happens at home. Parents, caregivers, and whānau play an important role in supporting their child’s learning and development. The new webspace …
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