Tēnā koutou katoa. Tēnei te mihi atu ki a koutou

Welcome back to the new school year. I trust you had a safe and relaxing holiday and are looking forward to the exciting year ahead. Thank you to the families who, despite the drizzle, made the effort to come to last night's Welcome Back to School picnic. This was a great way to make some fresh connections between home and school and get the term off to a positive start.  

I would like to extend a special welcome to all of the new students and whānau who have started at Halswell School this year. We will have a special mihi whakatau to welcome them at 9.15am on Friday 15 February in the Stadium. 

We also have a number of new staff who have started with us this week. We are excited to have Kim Lister (Ōrongomai Team Leader), Nicole Batty (Ōrongomai), Henry Smith (Ōtāwhito) and Stephen Tait (Ōtūmatua) joining our teaching team along with returning teachers Fiona Harney (Ōrongomai) and Chelsea Love (Ōtāwhito). We are also delighted to have Megan Baker and Helen Murray start as performing arts specialist teachers and Meshele Wright and Amy Brown join our Learning Support Team in their role as teaching assistants. 

For a full staff list please visit the Halswell School Staff page of our website.  

Curriculum

The major concepts we will be focussing on this term are Tūrangwaewae (the place where I stand) and Kaitiakitanga (Guardianship). As well as learning about what makes our school and local community special, the children will be exploring the need to respect and care for our physical environment. This extends to our school buildings and grounds. One obvious area where we can demonstrate this is by reducing rubbish around the school.  It would be fantastic if you could support this by trying to pack litter free lunches and/or by reminding your children to take home all the litter from lunchboxes. I'm sure the goal of having a completely litter-free school is something we would all be keen to promote.  

Communication

The partnership between home and school plays a critical role in educational success and maintaining strong communication channels is a vital component in achieving this. A reminder that if you have any questions or concerns about your child(ren)’s progress, your first port of call is to always talk to your child’s teacher. Teachers are available to talk to parents before school from 8:30am and immediately after school. At times it may be more appropriate to arrange a meeting time with the teacher, which is preferably done several days in advance. If you feel that your concern needs further attention, a meeting will be arranged with the relevant Team Leader and beyond this a member of the Senior Management Team.

Beyond face to face discussions, Halswell School uses a range of methods to communicate with our families and the wider community. Electronic newsletters are sent out every fortnight on Wednesday afternoons. We also have full school assemblies every fortnight, usually starting at 9.15am in the Stadium. This is where we celebrate student successes and share the children’s learning. All parents are welcome to attend these assemblies. The next assembly will take place on Friday 21 February.

Our school website is a great source of information about the school. You will find all of our policies and procedure information along with our School Charter and Annual Plan. On Monday you would also have received a newsletter from your child’s teacher outlining the class programme, general expectations and important upcoming events.

Our school app is one of our main tools for communication please see the separate article on how to update your app for 2020.

PTA

We have a very active PTA who do a fantastic job not only helping to raise funds for teaching and learning resources but also organising a number of social events that bring our community together. Being on the PTA does not have to be a massive commitment and there are plenty of opportunities to contribute at different levels. The next meeting is taking place in the staffroom at 7pm on Tuesday 11 February. I look forward to seeing you there. 

New Road Layout

You will have noticed that the new road layout at the corner of Larsens and Halswell Roads has now been completed. This has come about through extended consultation with our local community. What has been put in place balances the importance of maintaining the safety of our children when crossing Halswell Road before and after school with the need to maintain traffic flow outside of these times. To ensure our children remain safe when crossing the road, we request that all drivers obey the no right turn rule between 8.30-8.55am and 3-3.20pm. Please note that this is a now regulatory sign and failing to follow this road rule is an enforceable offence. 

Thanks for your understanding and cooperation. Have a fabulous Waitangi Day tomorrow. 

Ngā mihi nui

Stuart Cameron

Principal