Welcome back, Newsletters, Communication, Staff Update, Sunhats, Lock Scooters and Bikes, WIS Digital Passport, Social Media Restrictions, School Closed Tuesday 5 February

Kia ora e ngā whānau,

I trust you have had a wonderful summer break and are looking forward to the year ahead. To returning students and their families – it’s great to have you back. To our new enrolments in Year 8 and to all the Year 7 students and their families I would like to extend a very warm welcome to the WIS community.

It’s great to be back! Year 7 students had an enjoyable ‘induction day’ on Tuesday, having the whole school to themselves. It was great to see them go straight into their classrooms and start the beginnings of new friendships. Once unpacked, others spent the time before the first bell reconnecting with their friends from last year’s school who are in different classes. I have included a couple of snap shots, taken at our first Year 7 assembly held on Tuesday. As you can see there were lots of smiles! The Year 8 students joined us on Wednesday, and likewise, it was great to see them back and making friends with new class mates.

Thanks to the parents who were able to pop into their child’s class on the first day and meet their child’s teacher. Home and school links are important, even more so at this age when the child is telling you otherwise! There will be other opportunities this term to come into school. In Week 3 we are holding our Meet the Teacher evening on Wednesday 13 February and later in the term, Term 1 Conferences on Tuesday 26 February and Wednesday 27 February. And, of course, you are welcome to make contact at any stage during the term outside of these times.

As Term 1 gets underway, please do not hesitate to ask questions to make sure you know how things work. I look forward to getting to know your children and meeting you all as the term progresses. In the meantime, watch out for your child’s syndicate newsletters, which will provide a brief overview of upcoming events. You may also find your child’s Home School Diary useful for additional information such as ICT and devices.

Communication and Newsletters: Communication is an important part of our partnership with you and our newsletters are a key part of this. A link to our newsletter is sent home every second Thursday. It will have a mixture of housekeeping information, student learning celebrations and information about what is happening in and around the school. If you do not receive the newsletter link via email, please send a message with “Email Newsletter” in the subject line to office@waimeaint.school.nz.

If you wish to contact the class teacher, you can do so via email (these are the same for each teacher – firstname.surname@waimeaint.school.nz

e.g. dianne.giraud@waimeaint.school.nz or phone the school office.

Staff Update: This year many of the teachers have changed classroom, year level and/or syndicates. Although everything is new for the Year 7 students, the Year 8 students will notice these changes. Some Year 8 students have the same teacher as last year due to these changes. This year we welcome four new teaching staff to the team: - Mrs. Olivia Greening (Room 5), Mr. Deane Taylor (Room 6), Mrs. Stephanie Elliott (Room 20) and Mr. Kevin Ward (Hard Materials - Technology). We have started the year with two part-time caretakers with Mr. Murray Hall continuing working Monday – Wednesday and Mr. Mike Cole working every second Wednesday and every Thursday and Friday. A full staff list will be available on the school website http://www.waimeaint.school.nz/

Sun Hats: Please ensure that your child is bringing a named sunhat to school every day – any style, as long as they have a hat! We provide sun screen in the classrooms, but a small number of the children don’t seem to want to use the one we provide. Could you please discuss this with your child and if they prefer to use a different brand, we would encourage them to bring their own and keep it in their bag.

Scooters and Bikes: Unfortunately, from time to time, scooters or bikes that are not locked have gone missing or even been stolen. We strongly encourage all scooters and bikes to be locked everyday to avoid this happening. Thank you for helping us keep your child’s scooter and/or bike safe. We are currently working on providing a lock up area for bikes, which will be available later in the term.

ICT - WIS Digital Passport: ICT plays an important role in enhancing educational opportunities for students. You will find a link to parent information and how our systems and rules around digital devices operate at Waimea Intermediate on our 'student portal' via a link at the top of the homepage on our school website. Direct link http://wislearningportal.wixsite.com/students/ict  

On this webpage, you will also find our new 'WIS Digital Passport'. This can be accessed at school or at home and students will be working towards completing this over the course of the year.

Social Media: Please monitor your child’s social media use out of school hours throughout the year. Nearly all social media services require users to be at least 13 years of age to access and use their services. When there are issues that parents ask the school to help them sort through involving social media the age of the student is the first thing we consider. These restrictions are there for a reason. On Monday 18 March our Waimea Kāhui Ako will be holding a Netsafe Parent evening and I encourage you to come along to this. More details about this will be sent out closer to the time.

Have a great Anniversary Day, Waitangi Day and long weekend (as school is closed on Tuesday 5th February).

Justine