Hero photograph
Pink Shirt Day 2022
 
Photo by WMS

Tumuaki Pānui

Tracey Riley —

Kia ora koutou e nga matua, e nga whānau, Talofa lava, Malo e lelei, Konichiwa!

Kia ora

The most recent highlight has to be the Cross Country and Colour Run! It was a lovely day - perfect running conditions, amazing parent helpers, and a large group of supporters. The competitive section for Years 5 to 8 was held in the morning. It always amazes me how our ākonga rise to the occasion and pull out that bit extra for their event. I congratulate everyone who competed as they demonstrated the school values of determination, vitality and resilience. We have a strong team of 48 competitors heading to the Zone Cross Country being held next week. The remainder of ākonga participated in the newly adapted non-competitive colour run. I am sure many didn’t realise they were actually running as they aimed for being splattered with the different colours. Thank you to Mrs Suddaby, Ms Spadoni and their team of helpers.

Congratulations to the Student Exec. They raised $365.60 on Friday at the Pink Shirt Day, donating the money to the Mental Health Foundation. Their message this year focused around the importance of being an ‘upstander’ instead of a ‘bystander’ when seeing behaviour that was not okay! They talked about strategies that ākonga could use.

A big thank you to whānau that are using our kea crossing when needing to get across the road. There has been a huge improvement and great modelling for our children. Just a reminder that when there is a school event, the shopping centre car park is not available for parking.

We continue to have consistently high absences this week with between 100 and 110 children away each day. We have a small number of staff absent and are very grateful for this. Thank you for your support regarding the wearing of masks, continuing to be vigilant about monitoring for symptoms and keeping your child/ren home when appropriate. I believe this has contributed to being able to keep our school open for learning. Thank you also for keeping us informed of Covid and other illness and absence via email or using the Hero app. Please continue to inform us of covid cases and household isolation via the office email: office@westmelton.school.nz

Finally a reminder that we have Staff Only Day on Friday 3 June. School will be closed for learners. Busy Bumbles will be open for alternative childcare. For further information please see the Busy Bumble section in this newsletter.

Have a great rest of the week and weekend.