Kia ora whānau

This term has sped by incredibly fast and it is staggering to think that we are a quarter of the way through the school year already! As a staff we have been thrilled with how quickly the children have settled into school developing positive connections and classroom environments that support and promote learning.  It is a pleasure to wander around the rooms and see learning in action.

A few highlights for me have been the South West Cluster Teacher Only Day that was held last week at Halswell School. Having all the local schools learning together was very worthwhile in establishing strong connections across all South West Schools. Conversations around sharing line marking equipment, through to discussing the implications of the new digital curriculum meant that everyone got something out of the day.

🌞It was perfect conditions for our whole school cross country today.  A big congratulations to all the children for their efforts and a special acknowledgement to those that trained hard and were placed. Congratulations! A big thank you to Michelle Meaclem for organising this event. It takes a lot of careful planning to ensure major events like this go off without a hitch and I would like to acknowledge the amount of time and effort that Michelle puts into getting things just right. Thanks Michelle - we do appreciate it! 

Over the first three weeks of next term, all of the Year 4 - 6 classes will experience camp. We wish them all the best and know that they will learn about themselves, experience challenge and have a great time! We hope the weather is kind for you all. The school will be a very quiet place and the Year 1 - 3 students will love it! 😍

This week the staff attended two after school seminars at Beckenham School and Cashmere Primary School. Both of these schools have completed their renovations and rebuilds. It was a learning opportunity for us as they talked through the design, the build and most importantly the way it has improved their teaching as they adapt to the new flexible spaces. This year, we are having Professional Development for all staff to prepare us for how we will use the flexible spaces in our renovation. Some things won't change - we will always know your child, what they like, what they enjoy, what they find tricky, who they play with and where they are achieving. It is helpful for us to visit schools that have been through the process so we can learn from them. We are always mindful that ours is not a complete rebuild, rather a renovation using the existing footprint. At this point in time we are awaiting the Master Plan from the architects. When we know more we will share it with you 😀 

This is the final newsletter for the term, so have a happy and safe holiday and we'll see you all back on Monday 30th April!

Lee McArthur
Principal / Tumuaki