Kia ora Parents/Whanau,

As a staff we have had a great deal of positive feedback from parents/whanau about the positive start to the year, the learning that’s going on and the efforts of our staff. Thank you to those parents who do take the time to recognise the efforts made by us to do the best for your tamariki. A key aspect of the positive school atmosphere is the work we have done around our school motto, values and behaviour systems. This is all tied up with our Redwood Way and PB4L (Positive Behaviours for Learning) approach. Use this link for PB4L information: www.education.govt.nz/school/student-support/special-education/pb4l/

Following on from the issue recently of our concerns and behaviour information to parents, a few important points to make.

We cannot solve all the problems all the time!

We work hard for all our children, but we rely on parent/whanau support to get the best outcomes. The vast majority of whanau/parents understand that we are in partnership in educating our tamariki. The school has your child for six hours a day for about 194 days a year. That’s a relatively small proportion of their year. We do have a big influence on our tamariki, BUT we are only one influence, wider society and home have profound influence on your child’s behaviour and attitude to learning and life…

· We teach positive relationships and cooperation, we do not teach conflict and defiance

· We teach kindness and positive words, we do not teach put downs and swearing

· We teach respect for people and property, we do not teach disrespect

· We teach responsibility and taking ownership of actions, we do not teach irresponsibility and lack of honesty

Our tamariki live in society. Not all they learn from society is desirable! Many tamariki bring positive attributes with them through the gate nearly every day, unfortunately sometimes some don’t. Can the school stop the tide of negatives in society at our gate? No we can’t. But we do our best to make our school a positive place of learning… we want all our tamariki to climb high and succeed and we want all of our tamariki to be ready for life and their future. Our attitudes and role modelling, both home and school, have a huge impact on our children’s attitude to learning and life.

We ask whanau/parents to support us in this as much as possible, we cannot ‘cure’ the negatives that go on outside the gate but we can maximise the positive and minimise the negative for all our tamariki at Redwood School.

One issue we are aware of is how tamariki talk to each other. Positive relationships are key and the vast majority of our tamariki relate positively. However, if tamariki seldom hear positive words at home, are forever rushed/late and hurried up, regularly hear swearing and harsh words outside school, etc. then this is what they carry with them through the school gate.

If there is an issue at school, talk to the school

Sometimes children do not get on. Most often this is a mutual relationship issue or a falling out of friends. Sometimes it is bullying. If an issue arises at school let the school know, do not approach another child or parent of a child you think might be causing the problem.

As a parent myself, I became aware that when my child complained their perspective was only one perspective. I was hearing their perception of something second hand, I was not there when the issue arose and I had little concept of the context the issue arose in.

If a parent approaches another child and questions them, accuses them or lays blame this nearly always makes an issue worse. The school is then left dealing with an issue between children and an issue between parents. It makes things worse for the children and worse for the school.

We are very much an open school and contact with staff can easily be made.

Do have a lovely Easter break… school is closed Friday 30 March, Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 April.

John Stackhouse

Tumuaki/Principal