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Connect Communication
26 October 2022
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It is lovely to be back at school and enjoying some warmer weather. I wish the sun would make up its mind though. It is hard to adjust to the fluctuations in temperature that are occurring across the week (or even the day). This term is very busy with four year groups swimming, Years 3 and 6 visiting Te Pa o Moki, market days and preparing for a drama production.
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The value we are focussing on this week is curiosity. We talked about this at hui and asked, "how we would know if someone was curious?". Children shared that if they were curious they would be open to trying new things, asking questions, listening intently and willing to consider the ideas of others. We believe that curiosity is at the heart of teaching and learning and encourage it through play and inquiry-based learning.
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We know that you will be curious about our teaching team for 2023. As mentioned in previous newsletters we have farewelled Whaea Chloe and Whaea Kylie. Recently we have said goodbye to Whaea Tegan, a learning assistant at Ararira. Whaea Hinehau will not return from maternity leave next year, instead choosing a part-time job much closer to her home in Ashburton. Whaea Lydia is leaving us at the end of the year to return home to Nelson. Whaea Megan (Kaunuku) is taking a year's leave from the classroom to work part-time. We will formally thank and farewell staff towards the end of the year.
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Our team structure is yet to be finalised as we are still playing with our constantly changing numbers. We have a couple of different scenarios that we are considering. Most staff have chosen to stay with their current year groups for 2023. Although, in order to accommodate 5 new teachers there will be a few changes. We are pleased to announce and welcome Angela Shea, Pamela Marsh, Lesley Earnshaw and Brooklyn Neame to Team Ararira. These teachers and our final appointment will shortly add their photos and bios to our teaching team page. We are excited to have such a talented teaching team at Ararira.
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In our next newsletter, we will share the teaching teams for 2023 and we will shortly start the work on class placements for next year. If there are things you would like us to consider when placing your child please send an email to the current ako teacher. Teachers will also ask children their thoughts on friends. Being in collaborative spaces does take the pressure off these decisions as children do get mixed up throughout the day. We will also be able to share the location of the teaching teams. Our senior school has outgrown the Hikuwai space so we will need to have a reshuffle of spaces.
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Finally, I have mentioned below that John Parsons will be visiting Ararira in early November. John will talk to the children about digital citizenship and safety and is offering sessions in the evening for parents. I encourage you to take this opportunity as the digital world that our children live in is very different from our childhood.
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On that note, an increasing number of children are wearing smartwatches to school. These need to have their 'school mode' activated during the hours of 9-3 pm, please. This, in essence, takes away their smart functions and reverts them to being a watch. There is a lot to learn about recording and sharing images, be it from a watch or phone. Our older children don't access their phones during the day. If your child needs to contact you, they need to do this through their ako teacher.
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Claire and the Ararira Team
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From the Office
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Student absence notifications/late arrivals
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When late for school, please always come and sign your child in at the office before heading to class as it's likely they will have missed being marked on the roll and you may receive a notification that your child is absent.
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Absences can be reported via:
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- Phone 03 42 00 888, press 1 and leave your message
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We really appreciate your help in reporting absences prior to 9am as it saves us a lot of time following up via texts and phone calls.
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Free period products in schools - FREE period products for students can be ordered on Kindo and will be available for collection from the school office.
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A friendly reminder about being sun smart. It is compulsory to wear a navy blue full-brim sunhat in terms 4 and 1 (no caps please). No hat = no play (tamariki will sit in a shady area instead).
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If you know of families moving into the area, please encourage them to enrol with us. In order to secure more staffing for 2023 we need to have actual enrolments.
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Click here for further information regarding the types of batteries we can accept.
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IMPORTANT DATES - 2022
- 27 Oct - National Shakeout
- 27 Oct - Kaunuku 3/4 folk dancing performance 1.30-2pm in the hall followed by a market from 2-3pm
- 27 Oct - Huarapa Market Day 2-3.15pm followed by shared afternoon tea
- 27 Oct - THT Meeting, 7pm in Pūtahi (Library)
- 28 Oct - World Teachers' Day
- 28 Oct - Hui, 9.10am in the hall
- 31 Oct - Teretere/Huarapa swimming starts
- 01 Nov - Music Festival performance night
- 02 Nov - Whanau Groups, 1.30pm
- 02 Nov - Hikuwai 1-3 Market Day, 2.15-3pm
- 02 Nov - Board of Trustees meeting, 6.30pm in the staffroom
- 03 Nov - Lincoln High School Entrance Test/Fun Day for Y8 students
- 04 Nov - Hui, 9.10am in the hall
- 04 Nov - Lincoln High School Kapa Haka Performance 11:30am-12:15pm
- 04 Nov - Lincoln Zones Athletics, Nga Puna Wai
- 07 Nov - John Parsons Parent Session, Prebbleton School, 7-8pm
- 08 Nov - John Parsons Parent Session, Lincoln High School, 7-8pm
- 09 Nov - John Parsons Parent Session, Lincoln Primary School, 7-8pm
- 10 Nov - Teacher Only Day (school is closed)
- 11 Nov - Canterbury Anniversary Day (school is closed)
TERM DATES - 2022
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Term 4: Monday 17th Oct - Thursday 15th Dec, 1pm (TOD 10th November)
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TERM DATES - 2023
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Term 1: Wednesday 01st February - Thursday 06th April 2023
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Term 2: Monday 24th April - Friday 30th June 2023
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Term 3: Monday 17th July - Friday 22nd September 2023
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Term 4: Monday 9th October - Tuesday 19 December 2023
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Note: 2023 Teacher Only dates are still to be confirmed
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Full list of New Zealand Public Holidays including regional anniversary days
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School Board News
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NEXT MEETING - 02 November, 6.30 pm in the Staffroom
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Using Our Kiss and Go
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We would like to provide some clarification on the use of the Kiss and Go area. This is designed for you to pull in and out of rather than park. For it to flow we try and encourage you to come a little later so the children can be waiting for you to pick them up. Here is a video provided by the Selwyn District Council as our carpark was their design.
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Our challenge arises when trying to access the kiss-and-go area when it is filled with cars. We can't have you waiting and blocking the entrance to the car park at the top of the drive. If this occurs we ask you to circle around and enter the driveway again.
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Please be patient, our staff are trying to help this area flow. If you have grandparents picking up your children we ask you to remind them not to park in this area. Do consider coming a little later. The car park is virtually empty by 3:10 pm.
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Te Hapori Tautoko (THT) News
Te Hapori Tautoko (THT) - providing opportunities to tautoko (support) and connect our school community and fundraising for school initiatives and resources.
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NEXT MEETING - 27 October, 7pm in Pūtahi (library).
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Second Hand Uniforms - The THT has a small selection of second hand uniform items available for purchase. We are also looking to increase our selection and would welcome donations of good quality uniform items. All profits are used by THT to improve our school and provide resources for our tamariki. If you have uniform items to donate or would like to see the selection we have, please contact Charlotte via charlotte.mcmenamin@ararira.school.nz
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Welcome back to term 4. We have had a great start to the term with some of our year 5-8 boys participating in the Huxster Mountain Bike Challenge at Mcleans Island. Liam Gauld (Year 7), Jack Clark (Year 6) and Arlo Schapel and Alex Brennen (Year 5) participated and had a great day! Ka pai, gentlemen!
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Lincoln Zones Athletics Day at Ngā Puna Wai
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A number of our Year 5-8 learners will be participating in the Lincoln Zones Athletics Day on Friday the 4th of November. We wish all our athletes the best for this competition.
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Year 1- 4 Run, Jump, Throw Athletics Day
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Our Year 1-4 learners will be participating in a Run, Jump, Throw Athletics Day on Friday the 18th of November. We wish them all the best for their day!
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In week 5 the Hikuwai 1, 2 and 3 will be participating in the Selwyn Sports Trust partnership with the Selwyn District Council who will be implementing an iBike Programme at Ararira Springs.
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Students will learn important bike handling skills and rules of the road. All instruction will occur in a controlled environment. Your child will not be taken out to practice these skills on the road or in traffic.
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More information to come closer to the time!
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Yes! It is back and happening on the 26th of February 2023!
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Click on the link if you would like to register your child.
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If you have not participated before and would like a little more detail click on the link below:
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Please see the table below for more information on upcoming events. If you have any questions or queries please feel free to contact Whaea Meeghan on
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Congratulations
Kua poho kererū mātou i a koe - you have made us proud!
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Congratulations to Cam, following his passion in Irish dancing he competed in the National Irish Dancing Championship during the break. He is now the New Zealand champion for under-9 boys. He also placed first in team events. What a champ!
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Janie also worked did incredibly well in badminton over the break. Janie was selected by the Badminton Canterbury to play in the South Island Tournament in Dunedin during the school holidays. Her team won the South Island U13 Team Champion 2022 and she also took home 1st place in the Girls' double.
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Congratulations also to Sky for representing Canterbury in the inter-regional cross-country competition in Nelson last term. He did incredibly well to make it to that level of competition.
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Kelly Club
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Next week our theme is Monster Mash! Come join us for this fun-filled week.
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John Parsons is a national expert on digital safety and citizenship. He makes the trip to Selwyn every two years to work with the schools in our Kāhui Ako. Due to the short week we are unable to host an event at Ararira but would encourage you to attend either of these events at either Prebbleton School or Lincoln Primary.
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John will be working with our Year 4-8 learners on Monday 7th of November.
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Lincoln Primary is hosting Catherine Gallagher and have extended the invitation to our whānau. This will mean that you might be out two nights and will need to attend the Weds night John Parsons event. For planning, LPS ask that you RSVP for this event.
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Toot for Tucker
The purpose of Toot for Tucker is to collect much needed donations of non-perishable and sealed food and toiletry items which will then be distributed to Selwyn Foodbanks. All donations stay in the Selwyn District.
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A group of volunteers (along with local Emergency services and/or armed forces) will drive along the Lincoln streets and toot their horns so people know to come out to their letterbox with any donations they may have.
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This is a charitable initiative that has been successful around the world including locally, in Rolleston (Oct 2020, May 2021 & Dec 2021) and Christchurch.
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Tuning in to Kids/Teens
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The structured literacy spelling approach involves explicitly teaching tamariki how to encode (spell) the English language. It connects the reciprocal nature of reading and writing together. English is an Alphabetic Code It uses symbols of the alphabet (letters or graphemes) to represent speech sounds (phonemes). There are 26 letters and 44 speech sounds in the English language however there are …
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At Ararira Springs we use the Family Planning programme ‘Navigating the Journey’ to teach Relationship and Sexuality Education. This is taught appropriately to your child’s age and stage by your child’s ako teacher. Relationships and sexuality education sit within the Health and Physical Education strand of The New Zealand Curriculum and is compulsory for students up to year 10. Parents …
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Mana Ōrite / equal status is founded on the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. In our school it is the understanding of mātauranga Māori, Māori approaches to teaching and learning and the Te Ao Māori kete of knowledge, as having an equal value within education. It is also taking action to redress the structural foundations that have previously placed …
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