Tēnā koutou katoa. Welcome back to term 2 at Amesbury School. Nau mai haere mai ki te kura Amesbury. A warm welcome to families joining us for the first time. Our teachers have been hard at work preparing learning for all our ākonga and we are excited to get back into it and to continue supporting students in the new term.

This article contains some basic admin information for Term 2, along with details about our Module 2 learning and the main events that are coming up this term. It is relevant for all students throughout the school. If you have more than one child at school, you will receive an email for each child. However, you only need to read the following information once!

Whānau Groups

This term Koru has six whānau groups, Harakeke has five whānau groups and Pōhutukawa has four whānau groups. The role of your child’s whānau teacher is to act as a learning advocate for your child at school. They are your first port of call if you have any questions, comments or concerns about school or your child. The whānau teacher is not your child’s overall ‘class teacher’, most students will work with multiple teachers throughout the year, but the whānau teacher will have particular oversight of your child.

Our teaching teams for term 2 2023 are:

Koru: Sonali Singh Nandra (team leader), Angela Herman-Childs (learning leader), Davina de Witts, Gina Quintero, Hannah Sadler and Sophia Hughes.

Harakake: Natalie Douglas (team leader), Jemima Colquhoun (learning leader), Eilís Ni Chaiside and Rupert Webb. Kirat will retain oversight of Jingwen's whānau group for the start of Term 2.

Pōhutukawa: Onaitta Setefano (co-team leader), Gar Kee Wu (co-team leader), Brent de Saxe, Ciara Lynch and Lisa Bengtsson (learning partner)

*For the first three three weeks of Term 2, Kirat will retain oversight of Jingwen's whānau group, and will be in the role of whānau teacher for several days each week, and a relieving teacher will provide additional support for the other days each week. Jenny will be working in the hub as learning partner, providing additional support to the kaiako and students. We will be going through the appointment process in the first couple of weeks of Term 2, and we hope to have our new Harakeke kaiako in place as soon as possible after that. We will keep you updated as we go through this process.

*Lauren Brown and Luke Cameron are student teachers from the Masters of Teaching and Learning programme at Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University. They will be working in Koru Hub with Sonali as their mentor teacher. Luke will spend the first 4 weeks of Term 2 full time in Koru Hub. Lauren will then join Koru Hub for the rest of the year, coming in 2 days a week and teaching full time for 8 weeks between the end of Term 3 and beginning of Term 4.

*Lisa will continue to be a learning partner in Pōhutukawa providing extra support to staff and students. She is doing an excellent job and the teachers in Pōhutukawa are noticing a lot of growth in their practice.

*Kirat Singh will continue in her ELL / Learning support role. She will work with students and teachers to provide extra support. Kirat will also continue doing an amazing job to keep our library in tip top shape.

*Navy Ny has been with us since Amesbury School opened in 2012. We refer to her as Wonder Woman. She is a fantastic teacher aide and also has many other roles that she completes with efficiency and a cheerful smile. When Navy is away, it takes at least three people to cover all her tasks.

*Nicola Love will continue to be based in Kōwhai. 

*Yamama Abdulqadir is our amazing Arabic bilingual support worker. She works with students who are native Arabic speakers.

*Liping will continue to work across all hubs in her Mandarin Language Assistant role.

*Jenny will work as a learning partner with Harakeke and Demelza will work with Koru as a learning partner.

Communications

We use LINC-ED Hero for all our communication, learning and administration. Here is a link to more information about this platform and how you sign up. Our weekly communications are sent out as a digest each Friday. These are housed on Hero, and you will be sent an email notification when the digest has been published. Any notices that can be public will also be published on our school website.

We have a school planning site, where planning for all teachers is stored and can be accessed by everyone. No personal student information or names will be included in this planning. Any documents or planning including specific names are kept as private documents and cannot be accessed by anyone except Amesbury staff. Here is the link to our planning site.

Module 2 Learning

This year we have three learning modules. In Term 1 we explored ‘living as my best self’. Module 2 (Term 2) will focus on ‘living as kaitiaki’. ‘Living together’ will be the focus for module 3 (Terms 3 & 4). The following is a brief overview of our second learning module.

The focus for our second learning module is responding to natural disasters in a sustainable way. Throughout the module, students will explore the impact humans can have on the environment and what it means to be a kaitiaki. Students will draw on their red threads and interest areas to support their development of kaitiaki roles.

As part of this module, students will also explore the Sustainable Development Goals. Each hub will focus on several of the goals, beginning with a look into Aotearoa. Koru will continue to build their knowledge of Aotearoa throughout the term, while students in Harakeke and Pōhutukawa will explore different contexts around the world.

Learning celebration

Our Term 2 learning celebration will happen on Thursday 29 June 2023 from 1:50pm. Specific details about how the learning celebration will run will be shared closer to the date.

Trip

We are currently exploring options for a trip linked with natural phenomena and/or natural disasters. We will let you know once the dates and details have been confirmed.

Term 2 Health Module

Our Term 2 topic will be “Taha hinengaro: Gender, identity and hauora”. During this topic students develop understandings about gender identity, gender roles and the impact of media on self image.

• Students in years 0-2 will learn about needs and wants, describing their personal strengths and interests and explore similarities and differences to others. Students will also explore diverse family roles and explore diverse gender roles.
• Students in years 3-4 will begin by looking into private, personal and public information and how online posts leave a ‘digital trail.’ Students will then reflect on what makes them unique and explore gender identity, gender stereotypes and diverse gender roles.
• Our year 5-6 students will look more in depth into private, personal and public information and identify activities that contribute to a digital footprint. Following this students will then look at media influences on identity and reflect on the impact gender stereotypes have on relationships, roles and behaviours.

If you would like further information about each session, please follow this link.

*Please note:

• Because these topics are sensitive and the content needs to be age appropriate, we will teach them in year levels (years 0-2, years 3-4 & years 5-6) rather than hubs.

• While care will be taken to present this information, we know that for some children this topic could potentially be sensitive. If you think this will be the case for your child, please let your child’s whānau teacher know so that we can keep an extra eye on them.

• Finally, if you would prefer that your child did not learn this information at school, please let your child’s whānau teacher know which sessions you would prefer they were not involved in by Monday 1 May as we will begin this topic in week 2.

Whole School Cross Country

Our annual school Cross Country event will take place on Thursday 27 April (Thursday Week 1). There will be an early morning tea on this day to allow for the tamariki to eat and change their clothes. We ask for all tamariki to have suitable footwear and a change of clothes for this day in case they get wet and muddy.

The first race is expected to start at 11:10 am. The Cross Country event will still go ahead even if it's wet. If the health and safety of our tamariki is in doubt due to extreme weather conditions the postponement date of Tuesday 2nd May will be used instead.

We welcome supporters and whānau to come on site and support our budding athletes. If you would like to help and be a marshal on the track please email eilis@amesbury.school.nz.

Term 2 Swimming Lessons

Todd and his trusted team at EasySwim will deliver our swimming programme again this year.

Koru will complete their lessons over 8 consecutive weeks beginning on Thursday the 4th of May (Week 2) and ending on Thursday the 30th of June (Week 9). They will use the teaching pool at Johnsonville School.

Swimming lessons for our Harakeke & Pōhutukawa tamariki will take place on Mondays at the Keith Spry Pool, Johnsonville and the Rewa Rewa School Pool. Lessons will run over 8 weeks beginning on 1st May (Week 2) and ending on Monday 26th of June (Week 10). There will be no lessons on 5th June as the school will be closed for the King’s birthday. 

Amesbury’s Got Talent

We will be running Amesbury's Got Talent heats in weeks 7 & 8 (6th-16th June). More information about this will be sent out early in the term.

Mihi Whakatau

Our Term 2 mihi whakatau to welcome new students will be held on Monday 1st May. Parents and whānau are welcome to attend. This will begin at 2.15pm in the hall.

New Families Information Session

We will hold our New Families Information Session on Monday 1st May from 4.30-5.30pm. This is an opportunity for all parents and children to come along and meet new teachers or reconnect with familiar teachers. Each hub will also talk about what they do so you have a greater understanding about how your child’s hub is organised.

Stationery

Your child will be issued with everything they need for the year, including books, pencils and felts/colouring pencils. There will be a cost of $45 for the year for this. This cost is charged to school accounts at the start of the year.

If students have their own personal stationery that they would also like to use, they are very welcome to bring it in and keep it in their tote tray or bag. All students in Years 5-6 will be issued with a Chromebook and all Years 3-4 will have access to their Chromebook when necessary at school. Younger students will have access to a range of devices. If you would like to purchase a Chromebook so that your child can use it at home and at school, please contact Gar Kee Wu (garkee@amesbury.school.nz).

Clothing and lost property

Named items will be handed directly back to your child. There will be a small lost property box in the school office for any unnamed items, but no items with clear names in them will be held here.

In order for all items to be returned to their owners quickly and easily, please ensure that all uniform items are very clearly named with your child’s name before the first day of school. Please be aware that children will often be the people reading the names on clothing, so ensuring that names on all items are clear and easy to read is important. Thanks for your help with this. We recommend purchasing fabric label pens, name stamps or iron-on name tags to make ownership of items very clear. Here are a couple of label companies to consider: Precious Labels (orders can be placed on Kindo) Stuck on You or Name it

Toys/Belongings at school

While we do not recommend that students bring toys to school, we do not have a ban on this. If your child chooses to bring a toy or another item of interest to school, it will need to be put away in their bag during learning time and we cannot take responsibility for lost, traded or broken toys/items. Therefore, we do recommend that your child leaves any treasured possessions at home.

Absences

Schools are legally required to account for the safe whereabouts of each child every day, so notification to the school office should be before 9am if students will be more than 15 minutes late or not be attending school.

Please provide a reason for a late arrival/absence as schools are required to record this information. Absence notifications can be made by:

• Absence form on the school app *(preferred) or school website

• Email – office@amesbury.school.nz

• Telephone – 04 477 3423

• Text – 021 86 55 28

If your child arrives at school any time from 9:00am, they must sign in at the office, not in the class/hub.

All absences are to be advised to the office, with extended leave requests copied to the Principal.

First Day of School
School begins for the term on Wednesday 26th April at 9:00am. Please read and follow the information below to ensure your child has a great start to their new school term.

Koru:

Our Hub will be open from 8.30am. We ask that students take their shoes off before coming into the learning space, put their bags in their bag spaces and sign in. Teachers will be available at this time to support students. There will be activities set up for students to engage with throughout the morning.

At the end of the day students in Hannah and Angela’s whānau can be picked up from Kōwhai by parents, guardians or older siblings. The rest of Koru Hub will continue to be picked up outside on the basketball court. A teacher will take a group of students to drop off zone, please, if you haven’t already, let your child’s whānau teacher know that this is your preference.

Harakeke:

Our Hub is open from 8:30am and we will all be here to welcome your child. We ask that students sign in when they first get to school and put their bags away. When the bell rings at 9am, students will look at the timetable displayed on the whiteboard to see where they need to go. We ask that students take their shoes off before coming into the classroom.

We encourage students to check the screen when they get to school, this will help them know what is happening in the morning block of learning. At the end of the day, students are released from the hub at 2:55pm. If students are not walking home by themselves or going to Kelly Club, they will be in the drop off/pick up zone.

Pōhutukawa:

Our Hub is open from 8.30am and kaiako will be here to welcome all ākonga for their first day. We ask that ākonga enter in through the door between the blue sports shed and Harakeke Hub, this will be labelled with an ENTRY sign. Ākonga do need to take their shoes off and put them neatly on a shoe rack before they enter the hub. This is a very important step to take in our day as we want to ensure that the doorway is kept clear for all people to safely use it. Also their bags will need to be placed either outside, in the bag space in the hall or against a designated wall in the hall.

Every morning we will have a ‘What’s On?’ projected on the big screen in the hall telling ākonga what to expect throughout the day as well as any other notices they may need to know. Ākonga will need to sign themselves in at the sign in screen in the hall before the bell rings at 9am. From 8.50am, ākonga can access their kaiako wātaka (teacher timetable) to see where they need to be in the morning and be better prepared for their day. At the end of the day, ākonga are released at 3pm from the hub.

• Sunhats are not required in Terms 2-3. Students are required to wear a named Amesbury School sunhat when outside during Terms 1 and 4 - this includes during all breaks and while outside during school time. Sunhats are $15.00 and can be purchased via Kindo/the online school shop. Orders can't always be processed and issued overnight or the same day so best to order in advance so there's time to collect and clearly label before they are needed. Children without sun hats will need to stay in the designated shaded areas during break times.
• We ask all students to take their shoes off before heading inside - there are shoe racks outside of Koru, Harakeke and Pōhutukawa to put shoes on.
• Hubs are open for students from 8:30am onwards. We ask that students do not arrive at school prior to 8:30am, as they are not supervised by teachers at this time. Kelly Club operates a care programme before school for students who need to be at school before 8:30am. Please see the Kelly Club information page on our website for more details. We encourage all students to be at school by 8:45am as this allows children time to settle in, put their bags away, read the timetable for the day and then say ‘hello’ to friends and teachers before the bell goes.

Term 2 Dates 2023 

As always, our school events are all added to our school calendar as soon as we become aware of them. Please follow this link to our school calendar, housed on our school website. Some events may be added to our calendar as we go through the term, so please keep an eye on the weeks coming up on the calendar. Here are the main school events to date:

• Mon 24 Apr Teacher Only Day - School Closed

• Tue 25 Apr ANZAC Day - School Closed

• Wed 26 Apr First day of Term 2 2023

• Thu 27 Apr School Cross Country

• Fri 28 Apr Co-curricular lessons begin

• Mon 1 May Mihi Whakatau

• Mon 1 May New Families Information Session

• Tue 2 May School Cross Country Postponement date

• Wed 3 May BoT meeting

• Thu 4 May Year 6 Rā i Rāroa (Day at Rāroa)

• Thu 11 May Year 3 Focus Group Meeting

• Thu 18 May Junior Invitational Cross Country

• Thu 25 May Year 2 Focus Group Meeting

• Thu 1 Jun ICAS Exam Explanation Session

• Mon 5 Jun King’s Birthday - School Closed

• Thu 8 Jun Year 1 Focus Group Meeting

• Wed 14 Jun BoT Meeting

• Fri 16 Jun School Discos

• Fri 23 Jun Amesbury’s Got Talent Final

• Thu 29 Jun Term 2/ Module 2 Learning Celebration.

• Fri 30 Jun Last day of Term 2

• Thu 29 Jun Learning Celebration

• Fri 30 Jun Amesbury Awesomeness Awards

Enjoy the last few days of the school break and we look forward to seeing you all next week.

Warm regards,

The Amesbury Team