Term 3 Week 7

Mālō e lelei,

Celebrations

Welcome to Tongan Language Week/ Uike Kātoanga’i ‘o e Lea Faka-Tonga.

What a wonderful way to celebrate the diversity of cultures within our school community, to see the Tongan flag flying and students learning from their peers new songs, greetings and phrases. I had the pleasure of singing along with Room 1 yesterday, led by some proud Tongan students.

Another celebration this week was the Cambridge Homes Lunch that was donated to Isleworth School. A huge thank you to Lyn-Marie Daikee for nominating our school and the 127 supporters who voted for us early in the year. 30 students were able to enjoy a Subway lunch provided by Cambridge Homes. Thanks too to Cambridge Homes.

Next week the whole school is looking forward to celebrating the success of our Kapahaka and Senior Pasifika groups at the Christchurch Primary Schools’ Cultural Festival. The whole school will be travelling to the Horncastle Arena on Thursday 12 September to watch the students perform. The Senior Kapahaka students will then perform again on Friday at Tūhono. We know all groups will represent Isleworth School with pride.

Strategic Planning - 2020-2022

Watch your inbox in Week 9 for the strategic planning survey. This survey is to gather voice from our community about what is important to you as stakeholders for your students success as learners. In addition to the survey we will host drop in sessions (8.30am & 2.30pm in Te Puna Awhi) for anyone wanting to talk face to face in the final week of term. The strategic goals in our current charter are:

• Through high quality teaching programmes, develop independent, self-managing, life-long learners

• To provide a safe, supportive emotional and physical environment

• To develop strong community relationships.

Our strategic objectives should reflect the mission statement of ‘Inspiring students to achieve their full potential through quality partnerships and shared values’. Inspiring students - Whakaawetia i ngā tauira.

Staffing 2020

Like many principals I am waiting for provisional staffing numbers for 2020 so I can finalise staffing for the new school year. Day 1 of the new school year can be challenging if we have more students than we have teachers or classes. A reminder, if you have a son or daughter that is due to start school at any stage of the 2020 year please ensure that you come in and complete an enrolment form. These are available from Karyn.

If you have a son or daughter that is not returning to Isleworth School in 2020 (not our current Year 6’s) could you please advise the office as soon as possible.

Out of Zone Enrolments 2020

The closing date for Out of Zone enrolments for Term 1 2020 is fast approaching. If needed, the ballot will be conducted under police supervision on Friday 27 September 2019. At this stage we have a large number of siblings of current students awaiting places in our school.

Concerns and Complaints Process

Included in this newsletter is the Concern and Complaints Process from our school policy on SchoolDocs. An essential part of this process is making a mutually convenient time to meet and discuss the issue with the person concerned. The document outlines the flow of people that may meet, ideally this would be: 1. Whanau teacher 2. Team leader/Team Co-ordinator 3. Deputy Principal/s 4. Principal.

My calendar fills up fast with meetings for our students, staff, support workers, agencies, trustees and Ministry of Education. An appointment is necessary.

Stand-down, Suspension and Exclusion Procedures

In meeting with parents I am often asked about the guidelines around stand-down and suspension. I have included the procedures for this so that people are fully informed of the process and who has responsibility for it within the Education Act 1989.

Reminder Teacher Only Day - Friday 25 October

The school is required to be operational for a set number of days each year. Teacher Only Days do not count as days of instruction for students as they do not attend school. It is important that staff are able to have professional development sessions that are longer than our regular weekly meeting times.

Malo 'aupito

Suzanne Newton

Tumuaki / Principal