3 June 2022

Kia ora Parents and Caregivers

It's hard to believe that we are halfway through term 2 already. We hope that you are getting through these days well, as the weather becomes colder and we start to juggle winter bugs.

National Young Leaders Day

I had the privilege yesterday of attending the annual Young Leaders Day in the Town Hall with our House Leaders. The speakers shared their thoughts on building resilience and they were truly inspirational. The speakers were William Pike, Sam Johnson, Georgia Latu and Georgia Lines. Our senior people came back “ buzzing” from this experience. Here's what they had to say...

• “ My favorite speaker was Williams Pike not only because of his incredible story about how he overcame challenges after losing his leg, but also his three points, (Better Never stops, Whanau first, and Believe In yourself). I found his presentation very inspirational and I have learned a lot from him about how to be a better leader and person.” by Hayley Watson

• “I also learnt to step out of my comfort zone and not to let anyone or anything stop me, also to put yourself around the people that will encourage you and not put you down.” I also learnt a saying "Do the job get the rewards" by James Watson

• “ NYLD (National Young Leaderś Day.) was an inspiring experience because of all those people who shared their stories of tough times and how they stayed resilient through it all. All of the Speakers were so amazing but my favourite was probably Georgia Latu as when she was 12 she created her own business called Potiki Poi and wrote her own book about how poi came along.” by Maia Van Arendonk

• “ My favourite speaker from NYLD was Georgia Latu. She was really inspirational to me because she showed that no matter what age you are you can do things no one thinks is possible. She never gives up when a lockdown happens or when people are being rude; she just fights till the end. Some of my favourite quotes she said are 'Surround yourself in the people that help you grow' 'Do the Mahi get the treats' and lastly 'To know what you stand for'.”by Katie Gray

On this day I was reminded about the huge number of talented & passionate young people we have in our community and wider community. Our future is in good hands if our children can take on board these messages.

Culture Day 9 June Gold coin donation “ Wear your culture “

On this day we are planning to celebrate the many cultures that we have represented across our school. We want our children to dress up for this day according to their own culture. This will be a fun day. This will be a great discussion point at the tea table for our families.

Unwell children and staff / Pick up and drop off protocols

You will be aware that we have a nasty gastro infection illness that has spread rapidly through our school causing large numbers of children and staff away at present. On top of this we are experiencing another surge with Covid cases at school. PLEASE KEEP YOUR CHILDREN AT HOME IF THEY ARE SHOWING SIGNS OF BEING UNWELL.

This is causing us some staffing problems with regards accessing relieving teachers for sick staff. In some cases we have had to double up classes just to get by when we have not been able find relieving staff.

This is a reminder to us all that we need to continue to be careful with regards to hand washing routines and mask wearing as we combat the bugs that are around.

Our pick and drop off routines for our children at the front and back of the school will continue until further notice as a key part of our strategy to protected our staff and children. We continue to have staff coming and going as a result of covid.

Gaga Pit

Our QPS Gaga Pit has arrived and is a big success with the students! They are having a great time playing in this. Ask your child if they have had a turn yet and what they think of the new addition to the playground!

For those who are unfamiliar with how the Gaga Pit works, here are the rules. All classes have had discussions this week about the QPS 3Rs expectations and how to play fair.

Teacher Only Days:

A reminder about our upcoming Teacher Only Days. Note; there have been some changes to these dates. These are now the confirmed dates for your calendars:

Confirmed MOE Teacher Only Days for 2022:

Term 1 - Week 1 - Monday 31st January

Term 1 - Week 11 - Thursday 14th April

Term 3 - Week 2 - Monday 1st August

Term 3 - Week 5 - Monday 22nd August

Term 4 - Week 5 - Friday 18th November

These dates are on the school website and your Hero app.

Have a great long weekend everyone

Regards

Ross Willocks

Principal