Kia ora koutou e ngā mātua, e ngā whānau, Talofa lava, Malo e lelei, Konichiwa!

Well, we are almost at the end of another term with many learning opportunities still happening right through to the end of next week inside and outside of the classroom!!

This week our fantastic intermediate learners have been participating in the local Koru Games, meeting other intermediate learners from schools around the South Island.  What a great opportunity to experience learning outside the classroom,  establishing new friendships, learn about co-operating, fairness, supporting others and learn new skills sports!

A special group of children were presented with the title of Runners Up in the "Story Telling" category Tuesday evening for their movie they entered in the recent Grow Waitaha Digi Awards. We are so very proud of Celia, Micah and Eleanor.  We had the opportunity to congratulate them at our Celebration of Learning this morning as they shared their movie and the experiences of receiving the award. Many thanks to Carolyn Sutherland who spent time coaching our three successful learners. We also entered other year groups into the Digi Awards who did not receive awards. Nonetheless as always we are very proud of you all and the opportunity to participate and learn is a real opportunity.

Teachers Only Day/Professional Development

On Tuesday evening, 18 staff revalidated their First Aid Certificate with Red Cross. This was a fun evening and our trainer Louise did a great job trying to keep a somewhat tired but enthusiastic group engaged and focused on learning all about keeping safe!

On Monday November 19 the school will be closed.  This is Canterbury Show Weekend - an extra day holiday for you! This is to enable staff to participate in professional development and discuss school organisation for 2019.  Thank you for your support.

Reporting to Parents

Next week on Wednesday, students in years 1 - 3 will receive their anniversary or progress reports as part of our Reporting to Parents policy. We are working hard behind the scenes as to what this may look like in the future.

We are currently working on the following:

• Tracey Riley and Aaron Taylor attended a training day on an alternative tool teachers can use for gathering information on student learning

• A recent review of the student led conferences by staff, learners and community is supporting our decision making

• We are evaluating the why, what and how of assessment

• Current research and its effectiveness - does it meet our needs?

We are hoping to pull together a draft package to share towards the end of term 4 seeking feedback from our community.

Staffing

We are pleased to announce Hannah Fifield has won the Bursar’s position after the recent appointment process. Hannah is a parent, a strong advocate for our school and is currently working closely with the Fete Committee in preparation for our Fete on 31 March 2019.

Hannah will commence part time at the beginning of term 4 working closely alongside Trine as part of the induction process. As Trine leaves at the end of this year, Hannah will be full time in 2019. We are delighted with this appointment and look forward to working with Hannah!

We are pleased to welcome Rebecca McPhail to the fixed term position working in the Tī Kōuka Community from the 12 November till the end of the year. Rebecca will replace Chloe when she takes up her new position. Rebecca currently works in Tī Kōuka in a part time capacity! 

2019 School Organisation

We have received our staffing from the Ministry of Education for 2019 for a roll based on our predictions of 517 learners by the end of next year. Teachers and leaders will be evaluating, reviewing and preparing the organisation for 2019 early next term. At this stage no decisions have been made. This is a very involved process which is a major focus for the first half of term 4. Staff have an opportunity to contribute to the decision making process as a result of our self-review processes.

It would be very helpful if you have a child or know of someone whose child will be starting in 2019 that you ensure they are on the school roll by November this year to support decisions.

Announcements will be made after Show Weekend on teachers collaborative groups and teaching spaces for 2019.

Early next term we will be reviewing transitions/orientation for 2019 placements in Communities to ensure our learners are familiar with 2019 placements.

End of Year School Prizegiving

What a great opportunity to support our local Community Center in being able to hold our end of year prizegiving locally!!

The following timetable is shared for your information:

All prizegivings will be held on Thursday 6 December

Learning Community                                                          Venue                                                                               Time

Kōwhai                                                                                       West Melton School Wharenui                         11.30am

Mānuka                                                                                      West Melton School Wharenui                         1.30pm

Tī Kōuka, Totara, West Melton Intermediate         West Melton Community Centre                    4.30pm

Student - Parent Communications

It is becoming increasingly difficult to manage communications when students message their parents from their device rather than following the school procedures during school times. We respectfully ask that if there is a concern you contact the school office so the school can deal with it. We also ask that you discuss with your child the inappropriateness of messaging during class time. Here is the link to our Responsible Use Agreement which can also be found on our school website www.westmelton.school.nz

Property work

Work over these school holidays include repairing the drainage and soak pit outside the Tī Kōuka Community. This involves lifting our Whāre which will be blessed by our local rūnanga. We are hoping this will alleviate flooding issues.