Principal's Message...

This week children have had the opportunity to participate in

• Swimming lessons

• Afterschool touch

• EOTC road trips to look at our community and discuss the Waitaki District Council's 9 Year Plan.

I'm incredibly grateful for our supportive staff and enthusiastic students. Special thanks to Sharon Wilson for organising all the sports teams.

OIS offers a range of opportunities, many of which are new to our students. We encourage students to embrace these experiences as chances to learn and try something different in a safe and supportive environment. Please encourage your child to participate in a cultural activity or a sporting team this year. Remind them that it’s okay to branch out and make new friends.

Today, Constable Jay Morris spoke to the school about how we can keep ourselves safe, this includes biking, and making good choices in our free time. I then followed this with a reminder about our digital footprint and how important it is to keep ourselves safe online. I also encourage you to be involved in your child's after-school activities. These experiences with family and friends create lasting memories and ensure their safety.

As parents and caregivers, we play a vital role in nurturing, protecting, and guiding our students where children learn from our responses and behaviours. At school, we use a positive behaviour for learning model to support students in making positive choices, providing them with routines and guidelines to help them thrive.

Today we did our first Evacuation drill for the year, and our students did this in a record-breaking time of 4 minutes. We have an exceptional group of students at OIS and we are super proud of how well our year has started.

Have a great weekend!

Rebecca Meek

Principal