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Photo by Rob Naysmith

Welcome Back!

Stuart Cameron —

Dear Parents & Caregivers, tēnā koutou katoa. Tēnei te mihi atu ki a koutou. Haere mai and a very warm welcome back to the new school year. I trust you had a safe and relaxing holiday with your families and are looking forward to an exciting year ahead at Halswell School. I would particularly like to welcome all of the new students and families who have started at Halswell School today.

My name is Stuart Cameron and it is my great privilege to be starting here as the new Principal. I am originally from Kaikōura but have lived the majority of my life in Christchurch. I have enjoyed over twenty-five years in education teaching at a number of schools both here and overseas. Most recently, I was the Principal of Sumner School. I am married to Josie and we have two children; our son Alex is studying at Canterbury University and our daughter Kate is in Year 12 at Cashmere High School. I have heard many wonderful things about the staff, students and parents of Halswell School and am very excited about my new role here.

We also have a number of new teachers joining our team this year; Ms. Rachel Ono will be teaching in Huritini and is the new Team Leader of the Years 0-2 Team, Miss Lucy Fergusson and Miss Anna Maxwell will be teaching in Ōrongomai, Miss Megan Newton and Miss Alice Eastwick in Ōtawhito and Miss Sarah Rogatski will be teaching in Ōtūmatua. Last but not least, Mrs. Pip Macdonald will be teaching drama as part of our performing arts programme.

These teachers bring a broad range of skills and passions to our school and I know that they will make a fantastic contribution to Halswell in 2019.

Below are a few reminders and requests to please keep in mind for the new school year:

Communication

The partnership between home and school is a vitally important one. 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 (Principal and Associate Principals).

Beyond this, the school uses a range of methods to communicate with our families and the wider community. Last year we introduced a school app which is used to share important messages including information about emergency situations. It is very important that we have all parents registered for this app. For information about how to do this please read the 'School App and Facebook 2019' article in this newsletter. 

Electronic newsletters are sent out fortnightly during the term (starting on Wednesdays from Week 3) and a school Facebook page has been set up to help share school events with our community. You will also receive a newsletter from your child’s learning centre this week outlining the class programme, general expectations and important upcoming events.

School assemblies are held every fortnight, usually starting at 9.10am in the Stadium. These assemblies are designed to help celebrate student successes and share learning. All parents are invited to come along to these assemblies. The next Assembly will take place this Friday (8 February).

Finally, our school website is a great source of information about the school including links to our school policies and procedures, learning centre blogs and the school event calendar. I would encourage you to have a browse through it if you haven’t already done so.

School Uniform

Please ensure that your child comes to school in the correct uniform. Samples of the uniform are available for viewing at the Office. Additional information about the uniform requirements can be found by visiting the Argyle website.

Sun Safety

In Terms 1 and 4, every child is expected to wear a red bucket hat, which is part of our uniform, whenever they are outside. These are available for purchase from the Office. The wearing of sunblock is also encouraged while playing outdoors, particularly during break times. Sunblock is around the school but it’s also a good idea for your child to bring sunblock along to school with them. Roll-on sunblocks are often a good option as they are much easier for younger children to apply themselves.

Visitors to the School

A reminder that all visitors to the school must sign in at the Office anytime between 9.00am-3.00pm. This is significant as the school gates will be locked after 9am for the children’s safety.

School Drop Off and Pick Up

You are welcome to use the area directly outside the school Office and across in front of the staffroom to drop off and pick up your children but please respect the fact that there should be no waiting in this area. This is critical to ensure a steady flow of traffic and reduce any issues caused by cars backing up. For health and safety reasons please do not walk through the car park with your child(ren), use the allocated paths.

Finally, I would like to wish you and your child(ren) all the best for what I’m sure will be a very rewarding year.

Ngā mihi nui

Stuart Cameron

Principal