Link to Panui and Newsletter Articles

Tēnā Koutou Katoa,

Thanks for the overwhelming support for the Basic Fact-a-thon.  It was pleasing to hear teachers talking in the staffroom about the improvement in what was learnt across this period in regards to the tamariki’s instant recall, such a vital component of maths.

As a staff we were privileged to have Mrs Joy Allcock, a literacy guru, spend all of last Tuesday with us.  She led 4 sessions across the day involving various staff at differing times. Structured literacy has been touted of late to be the solution for all children in regards to literacy.  Joy has her own views on this based on a lifetime of research and study. This has now given us a launching pad to review our literacy programmes and adopt some new approaches without throwing out what we know works well for our learners.  My thanks to Mrs Cain and Mrs Fleming-Connell with their persistence in getting Joy to visit and the arrangements that accompanied this.

As part of the new Ministry of Education led Planning and Reporting cycle for Schools the Board of Trustees wants to gather voice from our community. On Friday 8th September we shared a survey, via the Hero App.   Thanks to those that have already completed this, around some aspirations for our school.  Please do take the time to complete this.  It will remain live until the end of the school holidays.   

The Scholastic Book Fair was a roaring success.  Thanks to Mrs Collins and the many helpers, both staff and parents, that assisted across the week.  We were lucky enough to raise over $9000. This will enable us to purchase over $3,000 worth of scholastic resources for the library.   Well done to our prize winners.

Just a reminder on Thursday 16th November (prior to Canterbury Anniversary Day) we will be holding the second of our Ministry of Education allocated Staff Only Days.   We will be using this time for staff to familiarise themselves with the Common Practice Model amongst other things.  We hope you and your whanau enjoy the extended long weekend.

We would like to formally welcome our new students and their whānau to Cotswold Mātāhae's mihi whakatau (our version of the traditional Māori welcome).   We will be holding our next mihi whakatau on held Wednesday 18th October at 12:20pm in the School Hall.   NB.  this is change of date from what was previously advertised.  Updated invitations have been sent out via the Hero App yesterday.

PSC Duathlon 

Well done to all the  students who competed in the 5-6 Primary Sport Canterbury Duathlon at Ruapuna Raceway.   A gruelling event in very challenging conditions  but it was great seeing you giving your all and living the Cotswold values.  Congratulations to our place getters: Year 5 Girls - Jennifer Irvine who placed 2nd and Year 5 Boys Sam Wellacott who placed 2nd and Hayden Moriarty who placed 3rd. 

Strep Throat / Scarlet Fever

We have been advised that two students in our Junior Syndicate has been diagnosed with Scarlet Fever.  We have also had a number of other students within the school diagnosed with strep throat in recent weeks.

Whilst sore throats and strep are not uncommon, we encourage our school community to keep an extra close eye on their child as a sore throat can lead to other medical conditions if left untreated.

The most important thing is that the children who are unwell are being seen by their GP, and tested and treated for their symptoms. Staying home and resting is best for them until they recover.     Link to full article on Hero App.

Dog Safety

We have been alerted to a dog attack in the vicinity of the school and wanted to let you know. Some pointers to go over with your tamariki which we will reiterate at school:-

• do not approach the dog directly.
• if it comes up to you and seems friendly let it sniff you.
• if you are concerned walk slowly away from it without making eye contact.
• if you have your dog with you, put it on a leash and move slowly away.

General Reminders

• Please remind your child/ren that bikes and scooters are not to be ridden inside the school grounds as this is a school rule for the safety of everyone.  Please also do not ride scooters on our new playground surfaces as this is causing damage.

• It has been great to see so many students having package free lunches this term. We are still noticing a lot of rubbish around our grounds and therefore would like to see more students with package free lunches.

• For safety reasons, and to assist the new after school care provider,'Kelly Club' we ask that parents and students vacate the grounds at the 3.15pm clearing bell.

• Parents need to be actively supervising their children from 3.00pm-3.15pm and children are not to be using sports gear and wandering inside school buildings.

Thank you for your support.

Finally, last Friday I spent the day with Rani and Rowena from Room 23.  Rani was awarded Principal for the Day for raising the most in our Basic-Fact-A-Thon.  I enjoyed our day together, and thanks for your many helpful suggestions on how to run the school, they were most valuable.

It is hard to believe that Term 3 is drawing to a close, if I can be of assistance please do make contact.

Ngā mihi nui

Chris

Repeats / Reminders  

Year 6 Graduation Assembly will be held on the morning of  Tuesday 12 December more information around the structure of the event will be released early next Term.

Leadership Opportunities 

During Term 3 we are continuing to review the leadership opportunities offered to our learners.  One outcome of the review is that we have decided not to have the Head Boy and Head Girl roles continue after 2023.  We will instead look to share these responsibilities across a larger number of children enabling more to have the opportunities that these roles provide.

2024/2025 Planning / Enrolments

We are commencing our planning for 2024, with decisions to be made in the coming months. To assist us with our planning, can you please ensure that you have enrolled your pre-schoolers if they are due to start school in 2024 or 2025.

If you live in our school zone and you would like your child to attend Cotswold Mātāhae School, please complete our Pre-Enrolment Form. For planning purposes we require enrolment forms to be completed at least 12 months prior to starting school.

If you live outside our school zone, and would like your child to be included in any future ballot, please complete our Ballot Notification Form by clicking here.   

The 2024 ballot will be held next Friday 22nd September. Remember to select priority criteria that apply to your child (ie. sibling of current student). 

If your family may be considering leaving Cotswold Mātāhae at the end of this year, please inform Marie Bianco as soon as possible so we can include this information in our planning.