Kia ora e te whānau - Welcome to Te Hapua
Welcome back to the school year for 2023! We hope you had a wonderful break. We are super excited to see you all and can not wait to begin the next stage of your child’s learning journey! We will see you on the first day of school on Wednesday 1st February. The following newsletter contains some information that will help you as you begin your journey in Te Hapua.
Our Team and Learning Environment
Te Hapua (The lagoon) represents the safe, shallow waters that support tamariki at the start of their learning journey. Te Hapua is rich in nutrients as families join and bring new life to our community.
Our team is made up of 9 Kaiako which includes 6 classroom teachers; Jo Bartlett (Team Leader), Adelle Thompson, India Graham, Logan Moore, Suzy Fraser and Toni Ryan. We are also supported by Cindy Meyers and Ana Martins our Teaching Assistants and Annie Easter our Learning Support Coordinator.
Each child has been provided a pākeke teacher who is their caring adult and point of contact when needed. Throughout the year a number of adults in Te Hapua might work alongside your child so our focus in term 1 is on building relationships and developing connections with all tamariki. Attached to this newsletter is a document with a little more about our team.
Our Learning Spaces
In Te Hapua we have a number of learning spaces which are named after native birds and plant life found in or around the lagoon. The names of these spaces are:
Harakeke - Learning Space and Pākeke room for Miss Ryan
Te Kete - Learning Space and Pākeke room for Mrs Fraser
Kōtuku - Learning Space and Pākeke room for Mrs Graham
Pūkeko - Learning Space and Pākeke room for Mr Moore
Te Wai - Learning Space and Pākeke room for Mrs Bartlett
Te Mata - Learning Space and Pākeke room for Miss Thompson
Te Raupo - Learning Space for roll growth
General Information
We will start the year getting to know your child and settling them into their new spaces. In the first two weeks we have planned a number of activities to introduce school wide expectations with creativity and team playing skills at the forefront. Our Literacy and Numeracy learning programmes will begin in Week 3.
Stationery
Please send all named stationery to school on Wednesday in a bag for us to keep at school. Children are required to have a reading folder (or book bag) as this helps to protect library books and is required to be able to take library books home.
Sun Hats and Uniform
As part of our Sun Safety plan we require all children to wear a brimmed sun hat throughout Term 1. These can be purchased from The Warehouse or school office. They can be kept in the child's cubby or on their hook but please ensure they are clearly named. Please remember to name all clothing. If your child loses an item, lost property is kept in the classrooms however it is not named it will be sent to the office.
Whare Manu Groups
At Woodend School, all students are placed into a whare manu (house bird) group. The whare manu groups are also connected to a colour and are called Tui (black), Weka (red), Korimako (yellow), Kereru (white) Tauhou (green) and Kotare (blue). In the first few weeks of the year the students will be getting to know their house names and colours. We will be holding regular whare manu days where the students across the school will get to know each other as well as the teachers in their house. Further information about these days will follow.
Lunch Boxes and Eating Breaks
Healthy food is vital for our busy children. Each child needs at least 6 separate items in their lunchbox. This is because we have 3 different eating times throughout the day. They are likely to eat more if their lunches are cut into smaller pieces. We are encouraging the children to take home all rubbish, so that you can monitor what your child is eating or not eating. Please encourage your children to have a named drink bottle of water. Only water will be available in the classroom and is encouraged during kai and when required during learning sessions.
Fitness and Sport Canterbury
Te Hapua children will break for physical activities between 11:30 and 11.50 every day. The focus will be on fun activities to develop gross and fine motor skills. Tutors from North Canterbury Sport are at school every fortnight and will also teach fundamental sport skills.
Morning Routines
It is important that children are at school before the 8.55 am bell (children are not permitted in the school grounds before 8.30am). After the 8.55am bell has gone, it is helpful if parents leave the class so children can start the day alongside their peers and teachers.
Toys at School
Please remember that toys need to stay at home. Each child will be invited to share a toy by their teacher at some point during the year and this needs to be given to the teacher before school for safe keeping.
School Blogs
Check out and bookmark our Blogs which will hold all our newsletters
We hope this has explained a few things as you and your child enter a year of learning in the Te Hapua team. You can always contact your child’s pākeke teacher by email if you have any questions.
We look forward to getting to know you all throughout the year.
Kind regards,
Te Hapua Team