Kia ora Hampstead School Whanau. It was lovely to see so many new families at our New Whanau Afternoon Tea. We warmly welcome you to our school. Thank you to the many people who completed our survey to find out what community events you would like at school and to find out if anyone would like to be involved. We were pleased with the fantastic ideas put forward and 12 amazing people would like to help. We are holding a Dessert night on Tuesday 12 March from 7pm in our Library. All welcome - please bring a plate of something sweet to share. Children are welcome to play while the adults chat.

End of Swim Season: The weather has been great and we have been able to make the most of the six week season.  Today (Friday 8 March) is the last day for swimming lessons, so students no longer need to bring their togs and towels to school.  We would like to thank our pool committee for their hard work maintaining our pool and a very special thanks to the Prichard family.  This year the pool had a new paint, new rails and Dayle Prichard installed new ladder steps. It was great we were able to open the pool a couple of times. Thanks for everyone's support. 

Board of Trustees News: We welcomed Dee Wheeler to our Board of Trustees at our meeting on 28 February.  Dee replaces Dayle Prichard who has resigned from our Board of Trustees and Anna Smith replaced Dayle as Presiding Member.  We look forward to working with them both in their new roles. 

Teachers Paid Union Meeting: The Teachers union NZEI have called a meeting on Wednesday 27 March in the afternoon.  Like previous times, Kai for Kids will provide a takeaway lunch and students finish at 12.30pm.  As there will be no teachers on site, we will only have a small amount of support staff on site.  If you are unable to make arrangements for your child on that afternoon, please let the office know. We appreciate your support and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. 

Heartland Music Festival Representative Choir: We are incredibly proud of this group of Hampstead children who braved an audition process and have been successfully selected to perform with the Representative Choir at the Musical Festival of 2024. This means they will join other children from schools in the district and perform all 3 nights of the festival. They will learn how to sing in different parts and harmonies and we cannot wait to see them on stage in June. From L-R: Mia D, Tise, Maria, Jacob F, Taupiri, Tu’i’onetoa and Tua. 🎤 🎶 👏 🤩

Lost Property: We have a lot of lost property left over from the swimming season as well as many uniform items.  Our Lost Property is located on a trolley in the cloak bay between Rm 6 and 7.  Mrs Kilgour regularly goes through this and returns any named items to the correct owner.  Please ensure all items of clothing are clearly named to help with this.  All leftover togs and towels were put out yesterday for children to collect any of theirs. 

Strategic Planning: We welcome any input and ideas to support our schools Strategic planning.  Our board has identified these three Strategic Goals for 2024-2025. 

~ Redesign and implement a curriculum that meets the needs of all learners

~ Build upon connections between home, school and community to increase learner attendance & engagement

~ Strengthen holistic Hauora practices to support positive relationships & sense of belonging

More information will be shared as we create an action plan for the next two years to achieve our goals. Please pop in and see any staff with any comments or suggestions, or I can be emailed at claudine.c@hampsteadschool.co.nz

Community Survey: Thank you to so many of you for completing our survey.  I have attached an overview of the types of cultural and community events people have suggested so far.  This survey is still open if you'd to add to it.  SURVEY LINK

An hour of Reading, Writing and Maths each day: You will see as part of the governments 100 day plan, they are asking schools to ensure they are effectively timetabling for this core learning.  This is something our school has always been able to do.  Our morning programme (9-12.30) is dedicated to Maths and Literacy.  Attached to this newsletter is some information for whanau from the Ministry of Education.  If you have any questions, please feel free to talk to your child's teacher or a member of the leadership team. 

Cellphones: The government ban student cellphones in schools takes effect in Term 2.  We understand some students need a cellphone before and after school. Our board have adapted our policy to reflect this. If you do require your child to have a cell phone for before and after school use, please let the class teacher know so we can ensure we are keeping these adequately secure during the day. A list of staff contacts is on our school website: LINK TO STAFF CONTACTS  A copy of our Cellphone policy is attached at the bottom of this newsletter. 

PALs (Physical Activity Leaders): A group of twelve seniors attended a training centre with Miss Leonard at EA Networks Stadium.  They learned a range of games and taught leadership skills to enable them to run these games and activities with younger children.  We were very proud of the leadership and integrity these students showed.  We are very grateful to Sport Canterbury for making these training days possible. 

Student of the Week:  Avvey of Rm 7. Avvey is a bubbly and friendly student who has a great attitude towards school and learning! She is hardworking, engages in all learning with a smile and takes pride in everything she does. Avvey goes out of her way to help the teacher and her peers and she shows great empathy towards others. Avvey is such a valuable member of Room 7!

Upcoming Dates:

Dessert Evening:12 March, 7pm in the library. 
Duffy Assembly: 15 March
Paid Union Meeting: 27 March
Board of Trustees Meeting: 28 March, 6pm in Puawai
Good Friday: 29 March (no school)
Easter Monday: 1 April (no school)
Easter Tuesday: 2 April (no school)
End of Term 1: Friday 12 April

Kind Regards,

Claudine Campbell (Principal)