Welcome to 2019

Kia ora e te whānau,

I trust you have enjoyed a wonderful break from school.  New Zealand certainly had some great weather for us to enjoy this summer again, and we are hopeful it continues into the year.

It has been wonderful to see the children skip back into school with a smile on their face after the holidays. I have enjoyed sharing holiday stories with them and have certainly been amazed at what they got up to.  It seems we have some very lucky families exploring all parts of New Zealand and even further afield.

Our school is looking fantastic for the start of 2019.  I would like to acknowledge our amazing staff on all of the hard work that they have done in preparation for the year.  They are an incredible dedicated group who make a huge difference to our community.

At Maungaraki School we will be using a anti bullying programme called Kiva. KiVa, meaning kind or nice, is an approach to bullying prevention that has been developed by the University of Turku in Finland.  KiVa has had a significant impact on reducing incidents of bullying internationally and now in New Zealand.  It also shows increased feelings of well-being at school.  The programme is proven to work.

Your child will be part of regular KiVa lessons throughout the year where the focus is on prevention.  The aim is for students to gain the knowledge and confidence to speak up.  KiVa is visible in many ways in the daily life at school.  The KiVa lessons include discussion, group work, short films and role play.  Many lessons concentrate on the role a group (bystanders) can have in either stopping bullying or making it worse. The students think about and practise different ways to stand up to bullying. The lessons are supplemented by other activities which your child can share with you at home. You will also see KiVa posters and KiVa vests as you move around the school.

The KiVa team and the class teacher tackle the bullying cases together.  Our school has a KiVa team, made up of four teachers.  Together with the class teacher they tackle identified bullying cases. Parents can support this process by talking to your child about Kiva and coming to finding out more about it at our information evening.  

If you suspect your child is either being bullied or bullying others, please contact the school so that the matter can be dealt with as soon as possible.  General discussions at home with your child will also help with what to do if someone else is being bullied at the school.   We are really excited about reducing bullying in our school.  We have attached further information for you to read.

Next Monday from 6pm - 7pm we have a Meet the Staff evening.  We will begin this evening in the hall where parents will get a chance to hear from our teams and discover a little about what the school has planned for 2019.  This will also include an introduction to Kiva.  Following this there will be an opportunity for parents to be shown through classrooms and meet teachers individually. 

This year at Maungaraki School we have had a re -label of our classrooms.  Please see the attached map to see how things have shuffled around.

Until next time, be your best.
No reira, kia kaha ra,
Nga Mihi Nui,

Shane Robinson