End of Term 2 2021 Newsletter
Kia Ora te whanau,
If you missed our last newsletter please find it here June 2021 Newsletter
JOYCE’S MESSAGE
STUDENT LED CONFERENCES:
It's always lovely to see a thriving school with people everywhere, albeit on one of the wildest and coldest Welly days! There’s usually a buzz around the conferences with students sharing their many achievements, teachers who’ve written really descriptive Reports outlining children's achievements and parents who get a good gauge of their child’s progress. Thanks for braving the elements! As usual, please give teachers feedback on the Conferences/Reports. We are always looking for ways to meet your needs as parents.
Thanks to our teaching team and the learning support team for an incredible effort.
DYSLEXIA & NEURODIVERSITY:
There is significant learner diversity in each class. Each year our staff participate in new professional development to inform their practice, or we participate in courses which refresh past learning.
Judy McCorkindale leader of SPELD Wellington:
This year we took the opportunity to have Judy as guest speaker at our recent Teacher Only Day to talk about dyslexia and neurodiversity. What we got was a presentation that can only come from years of hands on experience balanced with continuous learning. Having worked with children who need learning support in London, New York, Boston and having spoken at a number of medical conferences, Judy could give us a global and holistic view in this area. We thank Judy for adding so much value to our practice. Of course Judy is the grandma of Sam, Milly and Hugh McCorkindale so we are doubly lucky.
We thought you might be interested in attending the event below.
APPOINTMENT OF NEW TEACHER: ROOM 5
The appointment panel has appointed Nick O’Halloran to the teaching role about to be vacated by Sarah Grace in Year 5/6. Nick comes to us with excellent references for commitment to teaching, values, inclusion, Te ao Māori, and most importantly, commitment to the learning and wellbeing of the children in his class.
A good transition and induction program is important to us. We are looking at options for Nick to meet the children in Room 5 before he begins on 23 August. The Parent Introduction Meeting will take place closer to the time of Nick starting.
NEW ENTRANT PARENT/ PROSPECTIVE PARENTS EVENING:
Wednesday 7 July, 7pm, Room 10
This is an information evening we hold twice per year. At this time of the year we welcome all the new parents whose children will be starting school between July and December. If you are the parent of a New Entrant child and have missed out on an earlier meeting, you’re most welcome to attend this meeting. We also welcome any prospective parents who are looking at schools.
EXCITEDLY LOOKING AHEAD TO TERM THREE:
Our wonderful year 2/3 teachers Elisabeth Christy Jones, Delia Hunt and Teresa Keeley are preparing for a great Kōwhai Years 2/3 Showcase.
During term three it's a tradition to hold an a-thon. This time around, it is a Read-athon. Next week the children will bring home more information about the activities related to the read-athon. On Tuesday 24 August, the Read-athon will culminate in BOOK CELEBRATION DAY where children can dress up as a book character or bring along their favourite book to school.
Ka kite ano and Happy Holidays everyone.
Joyce
We warmly welcome Alex and Paula who have joined Room 11.
Pizza Day: Friday 2nd July
Year 6 Experience Day at EBIS: Thursday 1st July
Kapa Haka Matariki Performance: Saturday 3rd July
New Entrant Information Evening: Wednesday 7th July
Our school’s full calendar can be found here: Full Calendar
LOST PROPERTY:
Please check the lost property rack outside room 8 for any of your child’s belongings. It is very full at the moment. At the end of the term anything left on there will be donated to charity.
FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES:
The MNS Board of Trustees met on Monday 14th June.
New board members
We warmly welcomed Alistair Mason and Robyn Moriarty who were elected in our recent byelection. They both bring a wide range of skills and experience to our board and we are lucky to have them.
Community proposal
At our May meeting, community members proposed we explore the idea of "recapitating", or adding Years 7 & 8 to MNS community. Unfortunately it has been confirmed by the Ministry of Education that recapitation would need to be accommodated within our existing buildings. As we don't have the resources to provide for this, we won't be going forward with the proposal. We would however, like to thank the community members for the mahi they did to raise the proposal.
School Donations
Every year we ask you to contribute to the rich curriculum MNS provides by way of a school donation. We understand that it's not easy coming up with a lump sum, so there are many ways you can make payments on your school donation. You can set up a weekly payment, just contact reception to get the bank details. Or you can pay it bit by bit on Kindo. Also, did you know it is tax deductible, see link for more information. And here is info about how we manage our funding.
Road safety
Weka Street entrance is proving to be problematic and unsafe for our tamariki.
Please drop off ONLY in designated drop off or parking spots. Cars that pull up to the driveway on yellow lines block the line of sight for the road patrol kids and cause confusion. We definitely don't want any accidents! Don't forget that there is often plenty of space for parking in the morning at the Miramar North Road entrance.
Pride in Schools
We'd like to take this opportunity to thank Joyce and all the kaiako of MNS for supporting Pride in Schools for the first time. We know that the messages of inclusivity, acceptance, respect and kindness are so valuable for our tamariki, and we look forward to seeing this week grow each year.
Covid-19
Our thoughts are with all the children, teachers, parents and whanau who put work into the Red Choir, Kahui ako Motu Kairangi kapa haka performance, Matariki festival and the Wellington Music School who have had to postpone these activities. We are aware this may be an unsettling time for people as we wait for more information, please reach out if you need more support or have queries about how Level 2 works at MNS.
Please continue to refer to the Unite against COVID-19 (covid19.govt.nz) website for updates and COVID-19: Contact tracing locations of interest | Ministry of Health NZ for up to date location of interest information.
FROM THE HOME AND SCHOOL:
Happy mid-winter everyone! It’s hard to believe we are halfway through 2021 already! Just a reminder/update about the upcoming events for the remainder of Term 2:
The “BIG” Raffle:
This is going to be BIG! We’ve had some really amazing prizes offered up by many generous sponsors. Just check out the list of sponsor logos! You could be zipping down the hill on your new red Micro Scooter – or perhaps putting your feet up with a stay at the Sofitel – or admiring your new artwork from Juliet Best on your living room wall?!
The raffle tickets will come home with your child during the last week of Term 2.
Similar to last year’s raffle – the cost will be $5 ticket – with prizes separated into 3 incredible prize packs. The raffle will be drawn mid-August, after the school holidays – so you’ll have a good length of time to sell to friends, family and colleagues. You certainly don’t want to miss the chance to win some of these awesome prizes! This is Miramar North’s major fundraiser for the year – so please do get behind us – and help support our awesome tamariki!
Winter Disco:
We usually do this at the end of Term 2, but with the current uncertainty around Alert levels, this will now be held in Term 3 – on Friday 6th August. More information will be sent out at the start of Term 3 – but this will be a night of mid-winter fun! So start practicing those dance moves!!