Winchester Rural School

Running Events

We had a perfect day for running cross country last week and the children so appreciated the wonderful support of caregivers and whanau cheering them on. It was great to see the running skills of our children and the stamina and resilience showing through. Well done to all who gave it a go!

Results are as follows:

Here are some of these placegetters getting their certificates.

From these results the older children selected to compete in the South Canterbury Cross Country on 13 June are, Isla Forsythe, Annabelle Portman, Greta Bowan, Neve Johnson, Stella Schrider, Oliver Wise, Liam Thomas, Laitia Tuilau and Rylan Hopkinson.

We are looking forward to our whole school Amazing Race on Friday 9 June which will focus on fun and participation. We welcome parents to come along to watch or even join in!

This will be held on the Winchester Domain and will start at 1.30pm. We ask that the children wear rainbow or brightly coloured clothes, the brighter the better.

New Policy About Reducing Child Distress and Use of Physical Restraint in Schools

Our board is committed to our kura being a supportive and caring environment where all children and staff are kept safe from harm and treated with dignity. Along with all other schools nationwide it is mandatory that we develop and share with our community a policy that outlines where physical restraint is necessary in order to prevent imminent harm, including significant emotional distress to a child, teacher, staff member or another person.

While this is very rarely needed it is important that we follow the guidelines in order to treat everyone with respect and keep all at our school safe.

This policy sets out that only the principal and teachers can use physical restraint on a child and that this is as a last resort. Situations where it may be appropriate, but not exclusive to include:

• Breaking up a fight

• Stopping a child from moving in with a weapon

• Stopping a child who is throwing furniture close to others who could be injured

• Preventing a child from running onto a road

In these circumstances teachers will use behaviour management techniques and classroom skills to isolate and restrict a child from injuring themselves or others. If teachers do need to restrain a child they will always seek the principal’s assistance and parents will be informed on the same day that the restraint has been used and told how it was managed. The principal will notify the Ministry of Education and Board of any incidents.

If a child come into our school with challenging behaviours the teacher alongside parents and principal will put together a Behaviour Plan that will outline support aspects jointly agreed about physical holds that may be used if necessary to prevent any imminent harm, how these will be managed and what steps will be taken to eliminate the use of restraint.

All our teachers over this year will be completing a Ministry of Education module concerning understanding the rules and guidelines of these new requirements of schools. We also hope to have some training in this matter at staff meetings.

Traffic Along Rise Road and the Village

The road works on Ewen Road continue and so we may still have heavier traffic and in particular more trucks along Rise Road over the next few weeks. We ask that you are mindful of this when coming to school in the morning and picking up in the afternoons.

Also please remember to park well away from the intersection/corner of Maddren Street and Rise Road.

Teachers Negotiations Settled

It’s great news to hear the teacher’s union announce that primary school teachers have accepted the last offer made to them by the Ministry of Education. This means all industrial action ceases and we can look forward to settled times ahead. 

We are pleased that these complex negotiations have resulted in our teachers gaining some more contract release time for planning outside of class over the next two years and that wages have edged closer to increases in the cost of living. Our teachers deserve this recognition of their mahi.

Bananas in School

From time to time we have children who suffer from allergic reactions to certain foods and we put plans in place to reduce the risk. 

Presently we have a child in school who has an severe allergic reaction to bananas if they touch, or eat this fruit, whether it is peeled or unpeeled. Although they are able to self manage at eating times and will move themselves away from any area where they can see this fruit, we have put together a safety plan to support this child's wellbeing. 

Part of this plan is that we will ask children to eat their bananas during morning tea time at read and feed in class and either wash their hands or hand sanitize after eating. The children will give peels to their teacher to dispose of this safely. Teachers will explain to children around the school the reason for this. 

Also if your child is on the Country bus (the one that Adrien drives) there will be hand sanitizer as the children come onto the bus in the mornings just in case they have had a smoothie containing bananas for breakfast or an eaten an actual banana. The children are not allowed to eat on the bus or open up their lunch boxes on the way to or from school, so this will eliminate any other potential problems.

Of course we are still very happy for children to bring along bananas to eat as part of their play lunch. We are just being cautious and we appreciate your child's support in this matter.

Nga manaakitanga - with best wishes,

Tre