Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou katoa. Kia ora, Hello, Talofa, Mālō e lelei, Bula, Hola, Fakaalofa atu, As Salam Alaykom, こんにちは, Hallo, Hoy, હ લ ો, Hē leu, Mauri, न म त, Ola , Chum reap suor, Kumusta, Nihao, Xin chào

The countdown until the end of the year is well and truly on. As stated in previous newsletters, if you know that your child/ren won’t be returning in 2018, please let us know asap, as we are finalising classes etc for 2018. Also if you know of people who are in zone and looking to enrol, please point them in our direction. 

Please have a good read of the end of year details so that you are totally informed as to what is happening.

End of year report comments via Linc-Ed.

As stated in previous newsletters end of year reporting, assessment and progress comments will vary depending on what you have already received throughout the year. Please look at all of the information that you have received throughout the year as one big ongoing report/portfolio of your child’s learning. We have been looking at them over this week and there is some really impressive information there about each child.

It looks likely that this will be the last year of reporting against national standards. We will continue to provide information to you next year about your child’s progress against the curriculum, as we did before national standards were introduced. A teacher by the name of Christine McNaughton recently explained National Standards perfectly on the New Zealand Teachers Facebook page;

“This is how I explain National Standards to parents .....

Pretend there’s a Ministry of Parents and they arbitrarily decide that all babies should be able to walk at 13 months because that is the National Standard. Babies who walk at 10 months are above standard. Babies who walk at 15 months are below. Babies who walk at 17 months are well below. Then they start to say that parents whose children are below need to accelerate their walking progress. If the parents don’t succeed the Ministry says they are poorly performing parents who are under serving their children. Then the parents start to feel like they are bad parents.

But the fact is they’re not bad parents. It’s just that human beings are not commodities. We are individuals who develop at different rates, in different ways, at different times. ...

We need to embrace diversity, creativity and difference, not standardisation. People are not robots and National Standards cannot capture the diversity and breadth of human talent. What they do is limit growth, kill creativity, create a narrow focus and dumb down our children.”

It is fair to say that we are looking forward to the end of National Standards. So when looking at how your child has achieved this year, please look at the bigger picture of how your child is doing across the curriculum including the progress they have made, their wellbeing and happiness and whether they are a Responsible, Respectful, Real Learner.

Staff Leaving 2017

As is normal at this time of year, we will be saying farewell to a number of staff.

Jen Tyro is moving on to another teaching position at New Brighton Catholic School. Jen has worked at Riccarton for the last two and half years and is a teacher with a very warm heart who sees the very best in all students. She has done some excellent work within the school in her area of responsibility with the Arts - this year introducing an Art week which included work across all of the Arts disciplines. We will miss Jen but would like to wish her all the very best for the future.

Fiona St John came to us in the middle of this year to start up a new junior class in Room 12. She is moving on to another teaching position at Ashgrove School. Fiona has been a very positive and professional member of our teaching staff and we would like to wish her all the very best for her future.

Shelley Johnson from Kidscan Nitbusters will have her final day at Riccarton Primary on 8 December, as KidsCan are making the transition from a service based programme to a product-only programme. Shelley has been a bright and friendly addition to our school and we wish her all the best.

New staff for 2018

Leona Chambers will join our teaching staff in 2018. Leona is an experienced teacher who has worked in a number of Christchurch Schools, including as a Deputy Principal at Tuahiwi School. We are very pleased to welcome Leona to our staff for 2018.

We are currently in the process of appointing one more teacher for 2018.

School Structure for 2018

The structure of the school will be largely unchanged in 2018 from 2017. We will be starting the year will 11 classes and four teams, as we did this year. They will look like this:

Team Patiti: Year 1-2

Team Harakeke: Year 2-4

Team Kāpuka: Year 4-6

Team Kahikatea: Year 6-8

Please note that these are subject to change based on enrolments and leavers over the summer break.

End of year details;

We are fast approaching the end of the school year. The last week and a bit of school looks like this;

Monday 11th December - Wednesday 13th December: Normal school days.

Thursday 14th December - A normal school day but the whole school goes to Riccarton High School at 9:15am for a practice of the final assembly and prize giving.

Friday 15th December - We have our final school school prize giving and assembly starting at 1pm at the Riccarton High School Hall. This is a formal occasion with a number of invited guests and items. This assembly generally finishes between 2 - 2.30pm. All students return to school following the prize giving.

Monday 18th December - Normal School Day. The last day for Rooms 1,2,3,4,5,6,12 and Year 4s in Room 7. Last day for students in Year 1-4.

Tuesday 19th December - This is a clean-up half day for our senior students and we close at 12.30pm (no lunch). We also have Riccarton idol in the last part of this day. There is no after school care programme on this day and all students must leave the school grounds as soon as school closes.

Start of 2018

School opens at Riccarton on Thursday 1st February at 8.55am. All students/families are to meet either in the hall or outside Rooms 1-3 (depending on the weather) and we will announce the new classes. Please note different schools have different opening dates, so take note of ours not other schools.

Stationery lists for 2018 will be emailed out soon, they will also be on our website and there will be a copy held at Bush Inn Paper Plus. So just purchase the stationery required for the Year level that your child/ren are in for 2018.

Final words for 2017

As this is the last newsletter of 2017, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the people who help contribute to making Riccarton such a fantastic school. People are our best and most valuable resource and the attitude that everyone brings to RPS each and everyday is fantastic and adds to the culture that we have here.

We do our very best at all times to provide a school environment that raises student achievement in reading, writing and maths, but more importantly develops well rounded Respectful, Responsible, Real Learners. Students who are strong in their identity and culture, fit, healthy, resilient and strong in the key competencies. Students who know how to learn!

Primary School education is about opening students eyes to the endless opportunities that they have in the world and is also about having FUN! We try our best to get the balance right and create an environment where students feel comfortable.

When we look back on the year, it is the many and varied experiences that the students have that makes us proud! From the Wearable Arts Show to the recent Camps! From the back to school BBQ to the Umu Celebration Evening. Riccarton Primary School is about creating many and varied learning experiences! We have had an engaging and fun year!

To our hard working staff, thank you for your efforts this year. You all work extremely hard, so do have a well deserved rest over the summer! To our Board of Trustees, thank you for your continued fantastic work for our school; your contributions are appreciated and valued! To our volunteer helpers - thank you for your time and effort. I would like to make special mention of the La Vida Youth Trust for the work that they contribute to our school and the Big Brothers Big Sisters programme for providing mentors to our students. Thank you for your ongoing support this year.

To the wider parent population, thank you for the effort that you put into supporting your children’s education. To our amazing Riccarton kids, thank you for being Respectful, Responsible, Real learners. You are the best!

To everyone - have a very merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year. Put on your jandals and relax!

Ngā mihi nui,

Paul Irving

Principal

Tumuaki