A Note from Graeme Budler, Executive Principal
Dear KingsWay Community,
Nga mihi mahana kia kotou katoa.
This week we celebrate Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori week. I confess that often I am reticent to give Te Reo Maori a chance because I struggle with pronunciation and confidence. I was encouraged recently by a Māori journalist who urged New Zealanders to give it a go rather than living in fear of failure. He said that we should try and sing a song, greet someone, play a word game, et cetera to celebrate the language. I hope you join me in taking the next step in my slow journey towards bilingualism.
I trust you heard the Prime Minister’s announcement that Auckland remains another week at Alert Level 4. While this news is disappointing, KingsWay is prepared to continue supporting student learning remotely.
The leadership continue to plan for a return to in-person learning under Alert Level 2. However, Alert Level 2 is going to look different to previous occasions. The Ministry of Education is planning on sending schools more information regarding these changes soon.
Many of us may also be wondering if planned events will proceed, such as camps and Year 13 Graduation. The leadership is committed to endeavouring to wait until the last possible time before cancelling any event. Wherever possible, we postpone or and consider modifying events in keeping with Ministry restrictions. However, the ELT has to balance the viability of delaying any event with the need to catch up on lost learning, trying to do too much in a short time.
God bless,
Graeme Budler
Executive Principal
Whole School Notices
We are delighted to have recently appointed two new senior management roles:
Due to growth in Middle School, we have added a new Assistant Head of School and would like to congratulate Mrs Jennifer Peters (current Head of Learning for Year 8) on her appointment to this role. Mrs Melanie Van Rooyen has been appointed to the role of Head of Learning Year 8 for 2022.
Congratulations to Mrs Cristal McKoy, who was appointed as the Assistant Head of Primary, recently vacated by Mr Jordan Barley, who is going to be sorely missed. Mrs McKoy will take up her new role at the start of Term 4, which means that sadly, she will not continue as the teacher for the Kereru class. We have appointed Mrs Taryn Wrath to teach the class for the last 9 weeks of the year. Mrs Pamela Birley was appointed as Acting Head of Learning for Year 6 for the rest of 2021.
Wellbeing
If you missed Thursday’s Wellbeing Q&A broadcast, you can view a recording of it HERE. Thanks to everyone who contributed questions. We look forward to seeing you online again in the future.
If you have an interest in the wellbeing broadcasts, we would love your input into future topics and screening options. Please share your ideas with us HERE.
Primary School Notices
Parent Teacher Online Conferences:
Thursday 30th September
The online Parent Teacher Conferences are scheduled to take place, as per the school calendar. Parents will be sent a link to PTO where appointments with the teachers can be booked. Please note that as teachers have not been able to carry out assessments this term, the conversations will not be data driven but will be about the students’ general progress, well-being and their next steps for learning.
Year 4 Optional BYOD Online Meeting:
Tuesday 21st September 2021 at 7:30pm
Parents of students in Year 4 are invited to attend an online meeting with Mr Barley and Mrs McKoy, who will discuss BYOD in Year 5 and Year 6. It is essential that parents attend this meeting before purchasing a device for their child for 2022 as changes to the device the students require have been made. Parents will be sent a link for the meeting via the classroom teacher.
Middle School Notices
Thank you for completing the recently provided survey. It is helpful information as we seek to cater for our students effectively over this season. Please do encourage your children to do the Whanau Challenge – Physical Activity and Brain Gym. Students have all the information on this. This is a way that we can help our young people to get active as well as have fun and variety in their days.
During a staff devotion this morning we heard from a school Christian counsellor about how having little differences and breaks from routine can make such a difference. These things can be as simple as having dinner in a different place or going outside and looking at the stars.
Senior School Notices
Even though the government has made announcements around ‘Learning Recognition Credits’, our encouragement continues to be that each student works to the best of their ability to the end of the year. This helps to ensure students achieve everything they can based on their God-given gifts, but also aligns with our aim of instilling a love of life-long learning.
Finally, please refer to the Senior School Calendar on Kamar and the website for updated dates into Term 4. As noted previously, these may change further depending on Alert Level changes.