There are several dates coming up this term when school is either closed for instruction, or has reduced hours. Please make a note of these dates now, to help with preparations for this.

1) Staff Only Day - Friday 4th June

As part of the Primary Teachers Collective Agreement, schools can use 8 days across three years (2020-2022) as teacher-only days for professional development, without extending the school year. In 2020 Amesbury School used two of these days, and we are using three staff-only days in 2021. The second of these days will be in two weeks time, on June 4th, with the third day being in term 3 (Friday 27th August). 

For this staff only day, Amesbury School will be closed for instruction on Friday 4th June. Staff will be attending professional development sessions onsite during this day. Children are not to come to school on this day. 

Kelly Club Out of School Care is considering running a holiday programme on that day, if there is enough interest in this option. Please complete this very brief survey to signal interest in the one day holiday programme. 

2) Paid Union Meeting: 22nd June

NZEI Te Riu Roa is our Primary Teachers Union, which represent more than 48,000 teachers and support staff. Our current Collective Agreement reaches the end of its term in 2022, and NZEI have asked all members to attend meetings in June/early July to begin discussions around  the focus and direction of renegotiations.

The meetings are paid union meetings, and it is very important that all union members have the opportunity to attend a meeting and have their say. The meeting which most of our staff will attend is being held during the teaching day on Tuesday 22nd June, which means Amesbury School will be open with a very reduced staff between 12.45pm and 3pm, while most teachers attend a 1.30pm meeting at the Newlands Community Centre.

We encourage you to pick your children up, or arrange for someone else to do so, at 12:45pm on Tuesday 22nd June, to enable teachers to attend this paid union meeting. If this is not possible, there will be a small group of teachers and school leaders who will stay at school to supervise children. Those teachers will attend a paid union meeting on a different day. If your tamariki (children) will need to stay at school, please let the school know as early as possible so that we can ensure there is adequate supervision. Kelly Club will be operating as usual from 3pm onwards. Please complete this short form if you need your child to stay at school until 3pm on this day. You do not need to complete this form if your child/ren will be picked up at 12:45pm. 

If you will be picking your tamariki up early and they usually attend Kelly Club After School Care, please let Kelly Club know that they will not be attending on this day.

3) Whole school full pick up drill Friday 25th June

Every two years our school runs a reunification drill. This involves holding an earthquake and evacuation practice as a school, followed by a full pick up drill. 

This involves the school going through the procedure of contacting students' emergency contacts and having them picked up at 2:15pm on June 25th. This allows the school to check the systems and procedures we have in place for this process, and it usually involves us refining our processes to make them more efficient and safe for our tamariki (children). 

On Friday June 25th we will be contacting all parents and asking them or their child/ren's emergency contacts to pick them up at 2:15pm. If tamariki are unable to be picked up early, they are able to stay at school with staff until 3pm. 

There will be a more detailed article sent out in the next couple of weeks about this drill, but it is good for parents to have this date in your calendar now, so you can make the necessary arrangements. 

We do appreciate that these dates can cause disruption for families, and we thank you all in advance for supporting the various endeavours and events that are happening. 

Ngā mihi,

The Amesbury team