For these first two weeks of Term 4, our PB4L focus is about looking after ourselves - part of our school value of Manakitanga. Being ready for learning, which includes playing in a responsible way, means wearing our sun hats whenever we're outside for any length of time. In our school policy we encourage all adults to do this as well!

It's great if our students can keep their sun hats at school for the whole term, as they will then have them on hand whenever they need them. Their sunhat is their responsibility, and we encourage them to always put them back in the same place when they come inside. 

We provide the shade sail area for children to sit under, if they do not have a sun hat available.

Molemap.co.nz provide this information:

Thanks to our warm cli­mate, high sun­shine hours and amaz­ing out­door lifestyle – and being smack bang in the mid­dle of an ozone hole — New Zealand has the high­est rate of melanoma in the world. That’s why wear­ing a hat for sun pro­tec­tion isn’t just option­al in the sum­mer months, it’s essen­tial — not just to pro­tect your skin from wrin­kles and sunspots, but also from melanoma and oth­er types of skin cancer. Espe­cial­ly if you have a high­er risk of melanoma, wear­ing a hat is a no brainer.

Before you hit the hat shops, we’ve com­piled a handy check­list of the eight most impor­tant things to look for in a hat to keep you and your fam­i­ly sun safer — and skin safer.

8 fea­tures to look for in a sun pro­tec­tion hat…

1. A wide brim — the best hat for max­i­mum pro­tec­tion has a brim size of at least 7cm to shade the face, scalp, neck, shoul­ders and upper back, as well as eas­i­ly over­looked spots like the tops of the ears and back of the neck. If you have a mod­er­ate to high skin can­cer risk, you should wear a wide-brimmed hat when­ev­er pos­si­ble in the sun.
2. High UPF rat­ing - fab­rics used in mod­ern sun pro­tec­tion hats have a UPF (Ultra­vi­o­let Pro­tec­tion Fac­tor) rat­ing, which should be on the label. This indi­cates the amount of UV radi­a­tion a fab­ric will allow to reach your skin. The high­er the UPF rat­ing, the more UV pro­tec­tion it offers, so stick to hats that have a rat­ing of over UPF 50+.
3. Breath­able fab­ric — a good sun pro­tec­tion hat should be made of light, breath­able fab­ric to allow for prop­er air­flow. A light fab­ric means that your head won’t feel too hot and it’s less like­ly to trap any sweat – espe­cial­ly on those sticky sum­mer days!
4. A tight knit weave - Look for a tight­ly woven fab­ric rather than a loose­ly con­struct­ed weave that lets in the UV rays. A quick way to check is to hold your hat against a light and make sure not too much light shines through the mate­r­i­al – because that light could be dam­ag­ing your skin with­out you real­is­ing it.
5. The right colour - The colour of your hat is sur­pris­ing­ly impor­tant. White or light coloured hats can ​‘bounce’ the heat from the sun onto your face or eyes, while dark colours will absorb the heat. Ide­al­ly, look for sun hat with a white or light top that is dark­er under the brim, to ensure the heat from the sun is reflect­ed away from your face.
6. Mois­ture-wick­ing sweat­band — a good sun hat fea­tures a mois­ture-wick­ing sweat­band that is found around the inner crown. It is a great fea­ture espe­cial­ly if you tend to sweat a lot – or if you’re at a spe­cial sum­mer occa­sion — as the sweat­band can help pre­vent the sweat from drip­ping into the eyes.
7. Neck or ear flaps – neck or ear flaps aren’t just for children’s sun hats. No mat­ter what your age, if you’re work­ing or play­ing in the sun a lot – look for a sun pro­tec­tive hat or cap with flaps to help keep the sun from dam­ag­ing from your ears and the back of your neck. And don’t pan­ic — some hats with neck flaps can look sur­pris­ing­ly styl­ish! Alter­na­tive­ly, wide brimmed-hats are a sure way to pro­tect ears from sun exposure.
8. Make sure it’s fit for pur­pose — Think about the activ­i­ties you’re going to be involved in. Do you need hat for trav­el­ling, play­ing sport, or for UV pro­tec­tion while relax­ing at the beach or near a swim­ming pool? Always choose the right sun hat for the spe­cif­ic activ­i­ty you’ll be involved in – and take a selec­tion of hats with you if needed.