Wow the end of Term 3 has arrived and what an unpredictable and tiring term it has been.

We started with a hiss and a roar and by week 4, 18th August, we were sent into lockdown and finally emerged into level 2 week 7, 9th September. Our tamariki engaged in home learning and our staff worked hard to plan work which was forward thinking, progressive and challenging whilst maintaining whānau wellbeing. The effect these changes have to our normal way of life is unprecedented and in the last week I have seen students look tired and at times struggle to regulate their emotions. Highfield staff are also tired. Surprisingly, teaching is not an 8am - 3pm job. All teachers take work home and will plan and assess late into the night and often over their weekends - these are the expectations of a modern teacher. Add covid to the mix and we have some very exhausted Highfield staff. Therefore, the holidays are arriving at the right time.

Our Teacher Only Day last Friday was fantastic. The day enabled all staff from teachers to support staff to work together on moderating writing and creating evidence based next steps. For staff to be on a similar page when moderating is great for our tamariki as it creates a level of continuity and consistency. Secondly, all teachers and support staff are learning and revisiting the importance of using student’s writing in their lesson planning, peer and self assessment and student agency. These skills will have a positive effect on student outcomes and teacher capability. I understand that these days can be quite frustrating for whānau, but the positive impact on the future of Highfield is awesome. We are all definitely working towards our school vision of ‘together we soar to new heights’. Highfield are very fortunate to be supported by a fantastic community and this makes us very proud. For your information we have two Teacher Only Days in Term 4. The first one is on Tuesday October 26th, after Labour weekend. The aim of this day is to further develop our school values pathways and initiate our new SMS service for 2022, which is called HERO. I know all whānau will appreciate HERO, it is an incredible tool. Our second is Monday 15th November.

Sadly, Highfield says goodbye to Heather Van der Heyden at the end of this week. Heather joined Highfield in 2015, although she had actually been part of the school prior to this as well. While at Highfield Heather has been a Team Leader in both the middle and junior areas of our school. On behalf of the community we would like to thank Heather for her dedication and support for learning at Highfield and wish her all the best as she starts a new position at Albury Primary School next term.

We have been fortunate to appoint Kim Kerr to take over the class for the remainder of the year. Kim has been working at Highfield School for over ten years as a Teaching Assistant but is a fully trained and experienced teacher who understands Highfield’s curriculum and systems.

Kim is really excited to take up the opportunity to work with this class for Term 4 and I know that you will support her in her new role.

This week we will be celebrating with a group of children who have reached 80 Gotchas over the term. It has been pleasing to see how teachers and students used these incentives during lockdown as well as while here at school. You can see by the large number of children listed in our Gotcha section of the newsletter that many students receive 20, 40 and 60 Gotchas - well done to all these students for demonstrating our highfield learner values. The winning house also gets its extra play reward on Friday. Currently Yellow house are in the lead but that could change with the other house groups close behind.

Highfield is a sunsmart school and with the start of Term 4 will require all children to be wearing a hat while playing outside. Please make sure your child’s hat is named clearly and is in their bag ready for the first day back.

Term 4 is always busy and we already have lots of events planned for during the term such as the Top team trailer, Athletic sports and school photos . Please make sure you check the calendar and mark these important dates into your diaries now. Let's hope we will be back in Level 1 so all whānau can join us for many of these fun events.