| | | | | | IMPORTANT DATES
Term 1
Week 4
Friday 24th February - Tribe Day and Coin Trail for Cyclone Fundraiser
Week 5
Pod 8 Swimming
Monday 27th February - Parent Voice Meetings 3:15pm - 5pm (except Pod 2)
Tuesday 28th February - Teachers Paid Union Meeting - SCHOOL CLOSES AT 12noon
Wednesday 1st March - Parent Voice Meetings 3:15pm - 5pm
Thursday 2nd March - Parent Voice Meetings 3:15pm - 5pm (Pod 2 only)
Friday 3rd March - El Gregoe Performance - 9:15am and 11am
Friday 3rd March - Pod 5 Assembly - 2:15pm - Hall
Week 6
Pod 7 Swimming
Monday 6th March - Teacher Only Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
Tuesday 7th March - Run, Jump, Throw - Years 1-3
Week 7
Pod 3 Swimming
Tuesday 14th March - Athletics Day - Years 4-6
Week 8
Monday 20th March - Otago Anniversary - SCHOOL CLOSED
Tuesday 21st March - UC Athletics
Thursday 23rd March - Pod 3 Assembly - 2:15pm - Hall
Week 9
Monday 27th March - Board of Trustees Meeting - 5pm - Staffroom
Monday 27th March - Pod 7 trip to Arrowtown Museum
Wednesday 29th March - COPSSA Athletics
Friday 31st March - Pod 8 Assembly - 2:15pm - Hall
Saturday 1st April - Wānaka Trail Ride
Week 10
Thursday 6th April - End of Term 1
Term 2
Week 1
Monday 24th April - Teacher Only Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
Tuesday 25th April - ANZAC Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
Wednesday 26th April - First Day of Term 2
IMPORTANT NOTICES School Fees 2023 Thank you to those parents who have paid their child's school fees for 2023.
To those parents who still need to pay please be aware that the Activity Fee is now overdue and is required to be paid as soon as possible. The first performance for the year is on Friday 3rd March and students whose Activity Fee is still outstanding will not be able to attend.
If you need assistance please do not hesitate to contact Lucy either by phone 03 443 7687 or email lucyj@wanaka.school.nz.
Parent Voice Meetings Bookings for our Parent Voice Meetings are open. Please go to https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/code to make a booking. Time slots are available between 3:15 to 5pm.
Pods 3, 4, 5, 7 and 8
Monday 27th February and Wednesday 1st March 3:15 - 5:00pm
Event Code: yj5nn
Pod 2
Wednesday 1st March and Thursday 2nd March 3:15 - 5:00pm
Event Code: 7d654
Please click here for a Parent Voice Script containing a variety of questions for your consideration. Please feel free to make notes and bring the script along with you. The parent voice meeting will be a time for you to discuss your child with the classroom teacher in a one to one situation with the teacher doing the listening.
School Closures Remember school is closed for instruction at the following times, please make sure you have made alternative arrangements for your children: - Tuesday 28th February - Teachers Paid Union Meeting - SCHOOL CLOSES AT 12noon - please pick your children up promptly
- Monday 6th March - Teacher Only Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
- Monday 20th March - Otago Anniversary - SCHOOL CLOSED
- Monday 24th April - Teacher Only Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
- Tuesday 25th April - ANZAC Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
Scholastic NZ Brochure The latest Scholastic NZ Brochure is available from classrooms. If you wish to place an order, please follow the instructions on the inside back cover using Option 1 – Credit Card / LOOP. No cash / orders are accepted at school. If your order is a gift, please tick the ‘GIFT’ option, otherwise all orders are handed out to the children. Orders will close at 3pm on Monday 27th February.
Watches Found  Please come and collect from the office. |
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WPS Children Show Great Citizenship so... Let's Help Children Impacted by the Cyclone at our Tribe Day Our hearts go out to the communities who have been impacted by the cyclone. There are many charities and groups around collecting items and offering support so I urge you to support us, as we will have, as part of our Tribe Day this Friday, a coin trail to raise funds for the children affected by the cyclone. Please send along a gold coin to help our fellow New Zealanders. Remember to come dressed in your Tribe colours too.
Challenge Wanaka Last Friday the whole school headed to Glendhu Bay for the 2023 Challenge Wanaka. Although there were no timing chips, as these were stuck in the North Island, it was a magnificent day with blue sky, smiling children and a festive atmosphere. The Year 3 children were up first and showed their determination and spirit to tackle the run, bike, run course in the cool morning. By the afternoon the Year 5-6 children were challenged by the baking sun and the run course was shortened because of this - a great call. I'm sure they loved the warm, calm waters of Lake Wānaka. It was wonderful to see and hear the parental support bellowing from the sidelines as they jostled for positions (parents and children) around the course. A wonderful day and a few things to grow and develop for 2024!
The final bikes were delivered back to school on Monday afternoon so please ensure you have collected all bikes from the courts in the coming days. Safe Walking and Bus Safety Last week Constable Phil and the QLDC were in our junior classes and at the kerb learning about Safe Walking and the Kerb Drill. They will be working with the bus children on expectations on Friday and then Year 6 with Bike Safety on the roadside. These programmes are run and funded by the QLDC and we appreciate their time and effort to help our children stay safe in our community. Please check in with the children's learning and see if they are putting it into practice in the real world! School Closed for Instruction On Tuesday 28th February school is closed at noon to allow all staff to attend a paid union meeting in Alexandra. Please pick up your children promptly. They will be eating lunch at home that day.
On Monday 6th March all primary schools in the Upper Clutha are closed for instruction to allow all staff to attend a maths Curriculum Refresh workshop day.
Also please be aware that teachers are very unhappy with no real response to a cry for better work conditions (your child's learning conditions) such as more staffing to allow smaller adult to student ratios in the classroom, more expertise and funding for students who require extra learning and behavioural support, amongst others we have been fighting for over three years now. Many parents have offered their support and we look forward to that continuing through this present award battle.
Parent Voice Meetings These meetings are being held next week and the booking system for booking an interview slot is open so get in quick. See this info under Important Notices in this newsletter. This is your chance to tell teachers everything you think they need to know about your child and also to get some feedback as to how your child has settled into their learning for the year. As always here is a link to a prompt list of questions to help you and the teacher make the most of this time together. Often teachers will make notes during these times to remind them of the important things they need to remember so they can tailor the learning and work environment to suit individual needs as much as possible.
Board of Trustees Update The Board had their first meeting of the year last night. Brendan Hearle was elected as the Chairperson again for 2023. Other members of your Board of Trustees are: Mitch Campbell, Andrew Howard, Jen Jurczyluk, Melissa McFarlane, Niamh Shaw, Stephanie Welch, Francis Jasper and the Staff Rep is Karina Sharpe.
At the meeting last night the Board were presented with the 2022 end of year achievement report in reading, writing and maths as well as the end of year report on the writing moderation conducted at the end of the year. We will include a link to a summary of these reports in next week's newsletter.
The Minutes for the meeting are available on our school website under the Board of Trustees tab. If you wish to review our Policies and Procedures these can be accessed through SchoolDocs at the following link.
Events Coming Up
Swimming is starting. Pod 8, you need to get your swimming gear sorted for next week, the week beginning the 27th February and Pod 7 the week after, beginning Tuesday 7th March.
El GREGOE is putting on his last performance of magic and comedy, with a focus on our Values on Friday 3rd March. This will be their final performance ever, as after 25 years of great work in schools they are hanging up their magic hat and funny sense of humour. We wish them well for the future. As we had such a hard job getting in the activity fee last year, we are requesting this is paid before children can access any performances that are user pays, such as this. These performances are often the fun, entertainment you can access at a theatre in the city. We collect $10 a term or $40 for the year, rather than asking for $5 or so when each performance arrives. This is over and above what we can provide from the operational grant or your school donation. We are just bringing those little extras to you. |
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Challenge Wānaka
Lost Property
Lost goggles, towels, clothing, bags etc...are in the office for the rest of the week. They will be taken to Wastebusters next week.
Bikes
We still have 21 bikes that were delivered back to school yesterday. Please collect these from the green courts beside the hall.
Thank you to all parents who made this day so successful! |
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Coffee Cart  Wānaka Primary School are seeking a coffee cart to come to our special events throughout the school year. Please email office@wanaka.school.nz or phone 03 443 7687. |
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Positive Behaviour For Learning - PB4L PB4L School-Wide looks at behaviour and learning from a whole-of-school as well as an individual child perspective. The framework is based on international evidence and is helping New Zealand schools build a culture where positive behaviour and learning is a way of life. Each fortnight we focus on a school wide goal to encourage positive behaviours. The current goal is: 'We are kind, gentle and considerate of others and their property'. |
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Wānaka Show Raffle The PTA are planning a raffle fundraiser for the Wānaka Show and are looking to parents or companies who have a stall at the Show to help us to sell the raffle tickets, without parents having to trudge around with a wheelbarrow, as we have done in the past. If you can help us with this, by selling raffle tickets on our behalf, please contact the school office. We need your support as this is our major fundraiser for term 1. We haven't heard from anyone yet, so please HELP. We are hoping for at least 5 or 6 stalls to offer to sell these on our behalf.
We are also asking that parents send along a donation item to go into the hampers to be raffled. These items could be food/beverage, chocolates/nibbles, vouchers, beauty products, magazines, anything that could be put into a hamper and would be great to receive in a raffle. Donations can be dropped off into the large boxes in the office and we would love to have these by Friday 3rd March. |
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Wānaka Trail Ride – Marshals needed please!
*Ssh – ALARM!! We are in desperate need of experienced trail riders to join the marshalling team.
Marshals are integral to a safe and successful event. Riding the tracks in small teams, they are described as “the eyes and ears of the event” (although in my mind, a birds-eye view would suggest marshals are more like the circulatory system…), ensuring people are riding safely, adhering to the signage and rules, and assisting in the event of accident or breakdown.
The marshalling role needs to be filled from approximately 6am until 6pm, but split shifts can be arranged to enable marshals free time to head out with young family or other rider mates.
Feedback from previous years is that, while it’s a long day for marshals, it is an awesome day. Marshals are right in amongst all the action, passion, and thrill of the ride, while during breaks they get to rest up, socialise with the other marshals, and enjoy a hot cuppa and home baking in the volunteer tent. What could be better?
Don’t delay – help us to keep up the momentum for WTR 2023 by signing up for a volunteer role today.
Cheers, on behalf of the WTR crew – Alix, Anne-Marie, Gillian, Jen, Lucy, Phil, and Steph
Rachel Allibone (Volunteer Coordinator) M: 021 1029 130 rachel@wanakatrailride.org
*In case you were wondering, “Shh…ALARM” is an anagram of Marshals. That seemed to work
better as an attention grabber than Sham Rals!, Ham Slars!, or even Lams Rash!
 Photo credit: Stu Tooley, Meantime Images |
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Library News Click the image below to view our wonderful Library Webapp.
Feel free to email Melissa at any time if you have any questions. Ebooks and Audio Books The Wānaka Public Library has 2 fantastic Ebook Platforms which are highly recommended. All you need is a library membership which is free. Click on the image below to find out more and browse to see what is available: 
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Contact for our local Public Health Nurse Pip McLean is our local Public Health Nurse - should you wish to get in contact with Pip her contact details are: 03 440 4309 or 0272 839 395 or email Pip.McLean@southerndhb.govt.nz |
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The Incredible Years Parenting Programme  Family Works are pleased to be able to offer our Incredible Years Parenting programme again in 2023. It will be held in Cromwell on Wednesday evenings
6 - 8.30pm, starting 15th of March 2023. It runs for 14 weeks and is for any parent/caregiver
with a child aged between 3-8 years.Please click here for the brochure |
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Upper Clutha Junior Rugby |
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| Delicious, nutritious and popular with kids, Subway delivers school lunches every Friday. Order online at subwayexpress.co.nz by 9am. |
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