Kia ora e te whanau. Welcome back to Term 2. This newsletter contains a lot of information regarding upcoming events and activities this term.

Kick Start Breakfast: Our school receives free weetbix and milk, which is available to all students everyday in all our classes.  Children are welcome to make themselves a bowl of weetbix or have a glass of milk before the bell goes at 9am.  All welcome, even if they have already had some breakfast.  

"What lies beneath?"  Our inquiry into "what lies beneath"? has had classes investigating a range of creatures.  On Friday buddy classes Room's 13 & 6 spent some time searching in the vegetable gardens for worms. After doing some digging and searching with magnifying glasses we found a range of different bugs. Students from both classes loved finding them and some were even brave enough to kindly hold them, and then return them safely to their habitat. 

Empowering Healthier Futures Through "Food for Thought"

The Year 5/6 students recently had Karli from Food for Thought visit the school to deliver three nutrition sessions to the students last term.

The first two sessions saw students learn about how foods and nutrients support active and growing bodies. We also learnt how to read the nutritional information on packaged foods and explored the sugar content in different drinks. We discovered that a 600ml bottle of Coca-Cola contains a staggering 16 teaspoons of sugar!

In the third session, students were given the opportunity to apply their newfound knowledge by analysing nutrition labels on various packaged foods to learn more about what is in our foods. The year 5/6 students/syndicate are now expert food detectives!

At the end of the programme, each class received a $60 New World gift card to share some healthy kai.

It was great to have the Food for Thought team with us to give our students important lessons they can carry with them through life. If you are interested in learning more about Food for Thought, visit their website here: www.foodforthought.co.nz

Here are some photos of Room 12 with the snacks that they got from their $60 New World voucher. The children had great fun eating the fruit kebabs and making mini sushi rolls.

Bully-Free Week and Pink Shirt Day: Hampstead School is joining the movement on Pink Shirt Day (Friday 17 May 2024), and encouraging our staff and students to Kōrero Mai, Kōrero Atu, Mauri Tū, Mauri Ora – Speak up, Stand Together, Stop Bullying!

We are having a pink mufti day to recognise this day. If your child has not got anything pink, then just wear their brightest or favourite colours!

By wearing pink school-wide and taking part in this day we are showing that our kura is part of a powerful movement to spread aroha and kindness.

We are also going to encourage our children to be Upstanders – to step in where they can and let adults know about any problems that they see. 

Every Day Matters - School Attendance: We are pleased to report an increase in attendance this term to 71% of our students attending regularly (90% and above of the time).  We strive to improve this further over the coming terms.  Please reach out to our staff if there is anything we can do to support your child attending school more regularly.  Below is some information from the Ministry of Education:

If a student misses one day of school every two weeks, they miss a whole year of school by 16 years of age. As a parent or caregiver, you, alongside our school, play a key role in building strong habits of regular school attendance.

All students are legally required to attend school every day and it is a shared responsibility to make sure students attend and engage in learning from when they first start school. As we enter 2024, every day of school matters.

You must let the school know if your child is going to be absent for a day or intends to be absent for a portion of the school term for whatever reason, like a tangi or medical procedure. Family holidays or taking time off for extracurricular activities (not organised by school) are not acceptable reasons for being absent.

If you're struggling at home with getting your child to school, talk to us! Our school is committed to supporting your child to attend school and building a culture that fosters excellent attendance by having:

· School staff who have strong relationships with students and whānau.

· A school culture that recognises your child and your family for who they are, where they come from and who they want to be.

· A school community that does everything to make sure students are at school, and they are participating, and progressing in their education.

Parents and caregivers can find more information here: https://parents.education.govt.nz/essential-information/attendance-every-day-matters/

School Cross Country & Fun Run: We are planning an extra fun day with something for everyone.  Our children have been busy training and challenging themselves.  It's not just about being the fastest, it's about giving things a go, trying our best and getting ourselves physically moving. On 28 May, from 12:30, we will meet in the middle of the field and start with an optional competitive run for Year 5/6 and Year 3/4.  We will then all share kai, kindly supplied by Kai for Kids.  Our afternoon programme will include fun run events for Year 1-2, Year 3-4 and Year 5-6.  We will finish the day with some fun novelty events.  All welcome.  

New Whanau Afternoon Tea: Our last afternoon tea was so well attended, so we would like to make this a termly event.  All new Hampstead School whanau are invited to an afternoon tea in Rm 1 from 3pm on Wednesday 15 May.  We welcome you to stay and enjoy the Hampstead Friends and Whanau catch up in Rm 9 at 4pm following this. 

Hampstead Friends & Whanau: We welcome all Hampstead Friends and Whanau along to a Cheese and Crackers afternoon tea on Wednesday 15 May from 4pm in Rm 9.  Children welcome to come along and play while the adults chat.  We will be making some plans for upcoming events such as disco, Matariki, cultural events and more. We would love to see you there.  We will make an afternoon tea platter, but please bring along something to add if you can (Cheese, crackers, breads, cheese, vegetables, dips etc). Remember to go and like and follow our page on Facebook to keep in the loop of upcoming events and activities: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558020459260

Our Kāhui Ako learning community have organized Joseph Driessen, a internationally renowned expert on boys education to come to our community to give two presentations. The presentations are being held on Wednesday 12 June at Ashburton College. The two presentations are “Parenting skills to help your child succeed at school “ (6:00—7:30pm) and “ Becoming the parent your teenager needs you to be” (7:45—9:15pm). Both presentations are free to attend. However, you do need to register with the event organisers. Please use QR code you can scan / web-site details you can access to register for this event.

SAVE THE DATE - Matariki Celebration of Learning: Thursday 4 July from 5pm at school.  More details to come. 

Teacher Only Day: We have a Ministry of Education Allocated Teacher Only Day on Friday 31 May to work on curriculum design and refresh. 

Team Assemblies:  A reminder that friends and family are always welcome to attend our Team Assemblies in even school weeks (10, 24 May. 7, 21 June. 5 July) from 12 noon. Rm 1,16,17,5,6,7,8 have theirs in the library and Rm 9,10,11,12,13,14,15 have theirs in the Hall. 

Student of the Week: Jaxon of Rm 12. Jax is a kind caring student, with a wonderful personality. He is thoughtful with his work and never shies away from a challenge. Jax’s diligent work standards are consistent to all tasks and school wide activities. He has a wonderful personality, and never fails to brighten the class with one of his many wonderful stories. Room 12 is very lucky to have Jax this year! 

Upcoming Dates:

New Whanau Afternoon Tea: 15 May, 3pm in Rm 1
Hampstead Friends & Whanau: 15 May in Rm 9
Board of Trustees Meeting: 15 May, 6pm in Puawai
Cross Country: 28 May from 12.30pm. Picnic Provided. All Welcome
Teacher Only Day: Friday 31 May
Kings Birthday Holiday: 3 June

Kind Regards,

Claudine Campbell (Principal)