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Connect Communication
23 November 2022
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I can't believe how fast the end of the year is approaching and there are still a host of wonderful activities to share with you all. It has been heartwarming to see so many parents back onsite and supporting children at market days, folk dancing and run jump-throw activities recently. That is a return to pre-Covid schooling experiences. Of particular highlight was attending the graduation for our Children's University students. Thanks to Whaea Andrea for her work to support these ākonga.
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We are excited to invite you to school on the 6th of December to see our production of te Waka o Aoraki. Every hapori | hub has been designing costumes and planning performances to share. It will be a fun-filled evening with an outdoor stage and food trucks to make dinner easier.
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Thanks so much for your support today, allowing our team to attend their union meeting. I know this was inconvenient for some. Our thinking was that by having the team attend the afternoon session we were maximising learning time in the morning. The alternative would have been to have a split staff on site all day, but this would have had a great impact on teaching.
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Our year 8 ākonga | learners had a stunning big day out last week. They spent the day based at Spencer Park and from her were able to access surfing lessons and Adrenaline Forest. They had a fun and challenging day.
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We are pleased to confirm the location of the hapori | hubs next year. Growth means we have to downsize the library and move our Year 7/8 into that space. Kelly Club will run from the Teretere library in the morning and the hall in the afternoon.
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Pūtahi | Library and Teretere
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Leonie Pengelly and April Tougas
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We are seeing a slight increase in COVID cases once more and have had an outbreak of chicken pox. Please help us by being extra vigilant and monitoring your child for symptoms.
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As the holidays get closer your thoughts will turn to holiday activities and this may include monitoring online activities over the break. Linewize is an organisation that helps in this space. They have put together an article with 6 tips for healthier online habits. My own children are teenagers now but one thing I used to do was to get them to 'earn' online time by reading or doing any other activity I wanted to promote. One hour of reading = one hour of TV/ gaming/ Netflix.
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Take care as we head into the end-of-year madness.
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School Production News
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We have our whole school production Te Waka o Aoraki coming up soon! All of the children have been working hard and are very excited to perform for you. Below is some key information, if you have any questions please contact your child's ako teacher.
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Date: Tuesday 6th December
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Location: Ararira Springs (courts/field)
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Everyone is welcome to come from 5pm onwards and enjoy a picnic from home or food from the food trucks that will be here. We will call for students over the loudspeaker at 5:45pm so they can go to their classrooms to get ready.
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Cost: $2 per person, pay at the gate on the day of the event. Children under 5 are free.
Seating: Feel free to bring a blanket or seat. There will be a dedicated area for seats off the ground.
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From the Office
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Student Absence Notifications/Late Arrivals - 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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School Gates - We recently had a 5yr old who ran out the gate and had a close call with a car, so we ask that you all please be extra vigilant by keeping the gates closed at all times during school hours.
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Covid RAT Kits - The Ministry of Education are no longer supplying RAT kits to schools, so if you need to test for Covid please click here to find your most convenient collection point and place an order.
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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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The closing date for Book Club Issue 8 2022 is 12 December, although Scholastic recommend you place your order by Friday 25 November to ensure your order is dispatched before the end of Term 4.
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If your item is intended as a gift, tick the gift option when you place your order.
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All orders will be delivered to school and distributed to the classrooms. 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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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
- 23 Nov - Board of Trustees Meeting, 6.30pm (tonight) in the staffroom
- 24 Nov - Production Cast Practice, 3-4pm
- 25 Nov - Hui (Kaunuku Yr4 only), 9.10am in the hall
- 25 Nov - Scholastic Lucky Book Club last order date for term 4 deliveries
- 06 Dec - School Production, 5-7.30pm (see above)
- 08 Dec - THT Meeting, The Flaming Rabbit Lincoln, 7pm
- 12 Dec - Scholastic Lucky Book Club issue 8 final closing date
TERM DATES - 2022
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Term 4: Monday 17th October - Thursday 15th December, 1pm
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TERM DATES - 2023
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Term 1: Monday 30th January (meet and greet), Tuesday 31st January (first school day) - Thursday 6th April
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Term 2: Wednesday 26th 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 - Monday 18th 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 - 23 November (tonight), 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 - 08 December, 7pm at the Flaming Rabbit, Vernon Drive, Lincoln
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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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Our iBike programme started successfully last week. The children have really enjoyed their time with the coaches, Jacinda, Leon and Sarah. The last two groups will finish their training this week. Please contact Whaea Meeghan if you have any questions.
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Year 1-4 Run, Jump, Throw - An exciting day for our Year 1-4 tamariki today with Run Jump Throw. An amazing turnout of whanau to cheer everyone on with their events. Lots of fun was had by all. Thanks to all the staff for organising.
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Upcoming Sporting Events
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Canterbury Athletics - 30th November at Ngā Puna Wai
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Seth, Sky, Stella-Rose, Sophia and Zoe will be representing Ararira at the upcoming Canterbury Athletics day. We wish them all the best in their respective events.
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Click on the link if you would like to register your child.
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Year 3-8 Tough Kid Challenge
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Our sporting year is slowly approaching. On the 7th of December we will be completing our year the Tough Kid Challenge in Brighton. We will be attending the afternoon session from 12pm - 3:30pm.
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What's Been Happening?
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We are scientists! On Wednesday 9th November, our local chemistry expert and parent Justine, came in and gave an amazing science lesson in H4 and H2 on acids/bases to the tamariki. Then the children got to make slime! The tamariki even got to wear real lab coats and safety glasses. Thanks, Justine for sharing your knowledge. We all enjoyed it.
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Icecreams with Claire - Ice cream with the principal is always a great birthday celebration!
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Year 7 and 8 Market day - was a hive of activity! So many great things to try and some brilliant marketing. an amazing website for ordering from too. Ka pai team on a successful venture.
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Our Year 5/6 tamariki have been participating in the iBike programme run by Selwyn Sports Trust. The children have been focusing on how to wear a helmet correctly, completing a basic 4 point check on their cycle, what appropriate cycle clothing is and basic cycling skills such as cycling in a straight line, stopping & turning. So far 3 out of our 5 groups have completed their session and last 2 groups are looking forward to getting out there on Thursday and Friday this week.
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Our Year 8 leavers had an amazing Big Day Out last week. Beach safety and surfing lessons followed by Adrenalin Forest challenges. A fantastic way to finish the year, learn some new skills, and celebrate the finish of their primary school days. Thanks, Whaea Carolyn and Whaea Danielle for organising the day.
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Kelly Club
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For more information, please click here.
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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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