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Connect Communication
03 April 2024
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I hope you have all enjoyed a lovely Easter break with your families. There has been a lot of discussion about the extra day of break on Tuesday so hopefully the email we sent last week prevented you from popping to school when we were closed.
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I am very excited to share that I am a last-minute addition to the Confucius Institute delegation to China. I leave for Beijing on Saturday and will be in China for 11 days. I am travelling to Shanghai. This will be such a wonderful opportunity and experience. I would like to thank Fujun Shen, Ryan's dad for helping to make this happen.
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Once again, I would like to remind you of your driving behaviour and etiquette in the carpark. Staff work hard to ensure that this flows and the kiss-and-go can function. We ask that you heed their direction and keep moving when requested. Wet days are by far the worst days and we remind you that you CANNOT stop in the driveway or park in the middle of the carpark. Stopping means the carpark gets blocked and cars can not move in and out of the area.
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As we head into winter I thought I would share a few reminders about uniforms;
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- If you don't have a school jumper a non-branded, navy layer can be worn as a short-term option.
- Navy or black polypro layers can be worn under the school t-shirt,
- Tights can be worn under skorts,
- Long pants can be purchased from Argyle, however, other navy bottoms can be worn.
- Jewellery needs to be simple and safe; studs and small earrings can be worn and necklaces need to be tucked away.
- Gumboots can be worn on wet days, pop a pair of inside shoes into your child's bag.
- The best shoes are ones that are good for daily physical activity, save the crocs for after school and at weekends.
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As this term is 11 weeks this will be our last newsletter for the term. Posts on your children's learning will start appearing on Hero and we will be inviting you to meet with the teachers in Week 7 of Term 2. As these posts appear, please share them with your children.
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School Board
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Next meeting - 22 May, 6.30pm in Tahuna | Staffrooom
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From the Office
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If you know of families moving into the area or with preschoolers, please encourage them to fill out our online enrolment form soon as possible. This allows us to plan ahead and recruit the teachers we might need!
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Old school uniform (smaller sizes): We'd love any old school uniform you may be throwing out. We take these to our local pre-schools to use for 'dress ups'. Please give to Nicky in Teretere or drop to the office. Thank you.
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Congratulations! Cameron recently travelled to Glasgow with his family to compete in the World Irish Dance Championships – Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne 2024. Cameron was very excited when his number was called out as a recall finalist. This is a great achievement for a NZ dancer, and meant that Cameron was in the top 50% and got to dance his third dance. Cameron placed 20th in the world and is very pleased with his achievement!
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IMPORTANT DATES 2024
- 03 April - THT Meeting, 7pm in Teretere
- 03 April - Dental van arrives (any queries, call them direct on 0800 84 69 83)
- 04 April - Mana Ake drop in session 8.30-9.15am
- 11 April - Mana Ake drop in session 8.30-9.15am
- 12 April - Kaunuku Hui, 9.15am in the Hall
- 12 April - Last day of term 1
- 29 April - Term 2 begins
- 22 May - School Board Meeting, 6.30pm in Tahina | Staffroom
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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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Next meeting 03 April, 7pm in Teretere
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All welcome - we'd love to have some new faces join us!
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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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Lifewalk Chaplain in our School 2024
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Lifewalk Chaplains are volunteers who understand that not every student begins the day on an even playing field – there are many challenges that children and young people face.
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The Chaplain can walk alongside students who need a little extra support, encouraging them to engage in all aspects of their school experience. When social/emotional competence is low, this can affect academic engagement. In response to this, they provide individual support to students, offering them a listening ear – with empathy and compassion and without judgement.
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We are pleased to share that Shona will be volunteering in this capacity and will join us in Term 2. Should you wish to find out more go to www.lifewalk.org.nz/
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Coaching our Students at Ararira
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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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After school, usually in Weeks 3 & 8
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Anytime but not Wednesday morning or Friday
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As the school grows, providing our Year 7 and 8 with a coach becomes more challenging. In 2024 we are hoping to undertake group coaching with our Year 7 students and offer 1:1 coaching with our 42 Year 8 students. 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 four students. This would involve you meeting with one student each week in a four-week rotation. Full support will be given but it really is relatively easy.
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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 3 and 4.
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And just like that term 1 is nearly over. Although this has been a fairly quiet sporting term I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our parent volunteers who have supported us this term for events like cricket, Top Team, Swimming and many others!
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Next term will be a busier one so please have a look at the upcoming events to see what is on this term.
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Well done to Henry in Year 8 who made it to the Canterbury’s for swimming. He took part in the Year 8 Boys 50m backstroke and completed it in a time of 41.50 seconds. Well done, Henry!
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The Year 5/6 and Year 7/8 basketball competition is open for registrations. If your child (boys and girls) would like to be on a team please contact Whaea Meeghan. She will be entering the teams later this term.
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PLEASE NOTE: We have enough children for two Year 7/8 teams and are looking for another coach. If you are able to assist then contact Whaea Meeghan urgently. We cannot enter a team without a coach and will then revert to a first in first serve basis (order as I received the emails) as to who will be in the Ararira Year 7/8 team.
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Click on the links below for more information:
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For more information contact Whaea Meeghan.
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Below is a table of events taking place in Term 2. 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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Have a great break! See you in Term 2.
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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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As part of the 100-day plan, the new National Government announced the change to mandate an hour of reading, writing and maths every day. In reality, this is not very different from what your child is already experiencing at Ararira. The teaching of reading, writing and maths is an average of one hour a day. It also includes reading, writing …
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Ararira Springs' Balanced Scorecard The Springboard Trust offers a suite of fantastic professional learning for school leaders and late in 2022 we took part in the Balanced Scorecard for Schools in Aotearoa programme. This asks schools to think long-term and develop 10-year objectives that will guide the school through the next phases of strategic planning. These objectives were established by …
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Expectations for Behaviour at Ararira Ararira is a wonderful place to learn and we guide our learners' behaviour with clear expectations that are linked to our values of being caring, curious and capable. These are short, sharp and memorable and might be good to refer to at home as well. Caring is our first value supported by aroha and manaakitanga. …
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School Carpark Expectations Behaviours we want to see: Park in designated car parks including on the road. Carparks have been designed and placed by qualified traffic engineers to optimize visibility for drivers. Always stick to the 10km/hr speed limit. Children come and go from school for a variety of reasons at all times of the day. Merge like a zip …
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Digital Complications and Applications What is digital addiction? Digital addiction among students in New Zealand is a growing concern in the modern era, as technology and digital devices have become an integral part of daily life. While technology offers numerous benefits, excessive and uncontrolled use can lead to addiction and negatively impact students' academic performance, mental health, and overall well-being. …
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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 …
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