Principal Pānui - Week 5 2023

Marie Bianco — Feb 24, 2023

Tēnā Koutou Katoa,

It has been great for me to meet some more of our parent group across the past few weeks. It was great to chat to so many families at our F&C Picnic last night, and I've enjoyed meeting you all on road patrol, at sport events, and at Board and PA Meetings. It has been great getting a feel for the expectations of our families.

There is plenty happening for our learners and to ensure that they are well prepared it is appreciated that adults try to stay abreast of these opportunities by reading the posts on Hero.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of the Staff for the efforts in helping me through the past month. They are a dedicated bunch who are constantly refining practice and reflecting on their efforts to ensure our tamariki are receiving the best that we can offer.

Non Uniform Day on Friday - we are very proud to be supporting the Canterbury Primary Principals Association with their gold coin fundraiser to support school communities impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle. NUD for Flood Relief We will be holding a Non Uniform Day tomorrow, Friday 3rd March with all proceeds going directly to schools in flood impacted communities. We encourage our community to generously support this cause next Friday. Collectors will be at the front and back gate before school.

Please note that we will be holding the first of our two Government allocated Teacher Only Days on Monday 24 April. ANZAC Day is the following day meaning Term 2 will begin for pupils on Wednesday 26 April. Term Dates 2023

I would encourage as many as possible of you to attend the John Parsons Parent Information Evening on Monday from 6pm. Link to RSVP:- John Parsons Parent Evening

If I can be of assistance please do make contact.

Ngā mihi nui

Chris

Year 1 Teddy Bears Picnic Day

Rooms 1, 2, 3, and 4 were very excited to wear their pyjamas to school last Friday and bring along their favourite teddy bear or soft toy.

We did lots of fun activities in the classrooms with the children drawing teddy bears, going on a bear hunt, and entering their soft toys in the 'Best Loved Bear' competition.

We were lucky to have Mr. Smith as our guest judge who came along and carefully inspected all the soft toys and read about why they are so special.

He had a tough decision choosing a winner from each class with so many special and clearly loved soft toys and wonderful stories about each of them.

The children selected for having the best-loved bear in each class were:

Jake (Room 1), Tyler (Room 2), Harper (Room 3), and Maisey (Room 4).

A special congratulations go to Harley in Room 3 for his teddy bear being selected as the overall winner of the 'Best Loved Bear' competition. His teddy certainly showed that it had spent a lot of time being cuddled, comforted, and loved.

We finished our exciting day with a Year 1 Picnic lunch in front of the classrooms where we cuddled our teddies, ate kai, and enjoyed a kōrero with our friends.

Creatives in Schools Group

We have received funding from the Ministry of Education to provide an opportunity for a small group of tamariki to work alongside a prestigious, local artist and Cotswold parent- Morgan Matthews-Hale.

As part of this funding, students will learn about our local environment and draw on aspects of this to create artworks to depict our cultural narrative through their eyes. It is an exciting project to be part of and we can’t wait to see the murals and masterpieces created to beautify our school community.

During the project, the tamariki will be out of the classroom at least once a fortnight either taking trips to gain inspiration, looking at Morgan’s artworks, creating briefs or designing artwork. On Wednesday we went on our first trip into Tūranga to view artworks created by Morgan. This was a great trip for the students and they found this art very inspirational. We were proud of the Cotswold Mātahae values that they had on display too!

Walk or Wheel to School Week

Walk or Wheel to School Week Monday 6 March – Friday 10 March

This year Cotswold Mātāhae will be involved in the Walk or Wheel encouraging students to walk or wheel to school.

We’ll be celebrating by having a different theme each day, with competitions and prizes to reward those children who actively travel to school.

Check out the Hero Post Walk or Wheel to School Week Monday 6 March – Friday 10 March for more information regarding this Council-led initiative.

Board Update

I am delighted to welcome Mr Chris Smith, as our new Principal, and I also wish a warm welcome to the new families of Cotswold Mātāhae.

Our Board of Trustees met last week for our first meeting for 2023.

Our Board consists of parents elected:- myself, Casey Delaney, Brooke Marshall, Matthew Campbell, Nathan Gillespie; Staff Representative, Cameron Anderson; and Principal, Chris Smith.

As this was our first meeting of the year, we had a few planning tasks to complete and reports to sign off. It was also the chance for Chris to introduce himself and help us with setting our future direction for the school.

Thank you to those of you who came to our Community Picnic on Wednesday. It was great event - lovely to see families enjoying the school grounds in a social setting and a fitting haere mai to the Smith family.

Kirsty Willis - Presiding Member/Chairperson

Cotswold Mātāhae School, Board of Trustees

Yr 5/6 Science Badge

Next term we are offering Year 5 and 6 children the opportunity to work towards achieving either an Explorer (Year 5 students) or Advanced Explorer Science Badge (Year 6 students). See the link to the Hero Post registration - Yr 5/6 Science Badge Club Registration Link

Sports Update for Week 5 2023

Link to:- https://hail.to/app/cotswold-matahae/article/view/wg0mETR

Lost Property

Our Lost Property Box is the blue box located between the staff room and hall. Our amazing Eco Crusaders check for names on all items placed in the box regularly, and will return these items to the student’s classroom. If unnamed, or the name cannot be read, these items remain in the Box awaiting their owners.

We ask that you check the box regularly if your child misplaces an item. If your child is wearing second hand uniform items make sure you replace the original owner’s name with your child’s name so it can be returned to them if it is lost. Also check the name remains clearly visible so the item can be returned if it is misplaced. .

Our Eco Crusaders regularly sort the lost property and lay it out for students and parents to check at the end of each Term. All remaining unnamed uniform items are donated to the Parents Association for second hand sales, and non uniform items are donated to charity.