| | | | | | IMPORTANT DATES Term 1
Week 5
Pod 8 Swimming
Week 6
Pod 7 Swimming
Week 7
Pod 3 Swimming
Tuesday 15th March - WPS Senior Athletics (TBC)
Week 8
Monday 21st March - Otago Anniversary Day - School Closed
Tuesday 22nd March - Upper Clutha Athletics (TBC)
Week 9
Wednesday 30th March - Central Otago Athletics (TBC)
Week 11
Thursday 14th April - Last Day of Term 1
IMPORTANT NOTICES
Bus Lane
Please remember the bus lane is not to be used to get to the bottom car park after school. Also a timely reminder to keep off mobile phones whilst driving. We want to ensure our children remain safe in this busy area during drop off and pick up times. Thank you for your cooperation. |
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Somewhere Under the Rainbow |
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Parent Voice Meetings We had about an 80% overall turnout to Parent Voice meetings and it was SO nice having the sounds and sights of parents and children coming into the school again, albeit in limited numbers. I hope you shared your thoughts and feelings about your child's learning with their teachers. Remember you can email a teacher at any time to arrange a meeting or a phone call to talk about your child and their life at school. Teachers enjoyed getting to meet you as parents and learnt a lot hearing you talk about your child. So thanks so much - having the positive home/school connection is so important for a child's learning at school.
P.A.T.s - Progress and Achievement Tests This week Kerry, Jennie and I are administering these tests (maths, reading comprehension, listening comprehension and reading vocabulary) in all Year 4 - 6 classes, with the Year 3 classes only completing the listening test. As Pod 8 have had swimming it is their turn for these tests next week. These are standardised tests that are moderated over all of NZ so give us good normed data as to where our students sit individually and as a whole compared to the whole country. We monitor these results from year to year as a year level moves through the school.
Charter and Strategic/Annual Plan This document is currently at the printers and once we have it back we will put it on our school website. Our main targets are Maths (investigative maths as part of a balanced programme and ALiM - Accelerated Learning in Maths), BSLA (Better Start to to Literacy Approach), writing (inspiring writers), The NZ Histories Curriculum, MOVE (a PE active movement initiative), and of course continuing with the 6Cs (Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, Citizenship, Character) as part of our Deep Learning mahi aimed at developing informed, critical and creative thinkers with strong ethics, resilience, well-being and caring qualities. This professional development feeds straight into the learning of your children which is why we invest so much into professional development; a quality staff is a school's greatest asset. We are so lucky to have such a team at Wānaka Primary School, from our support staff to our TAs, teachers and leadership team. We are fortunate to have a very strong, capable Board of Trustees and a PTA committed to ensuring our tamariki have the best learning environment we can offer.
Omicron and other sniffles and ailments out there As of 2pm today we have not heard of any Omicron active cases in our school community, although there are cases in other schools around us, so please keep an eye out for any symptoms of colds or sore throats and keep your child home. We are continuing to maintain our hygiene practices and ensure that we keep up all the protocols. If we can limit unwell children coming to school whether it is the sniffles or tests positive for Omicron, we can mitigate having a lot of children or staff off with any flu like symptoms. Please let the office know when your child is unwell and if there is a positive Covid case in your household. Your children only have to isolate/stay away from school if there is an active case at home.
Kids and Covid: Minimising Risk and Maximising Resilience Neuroplasticity educator and parenting expert, Nathan Wallis, was on the radio last Thursday discussing children and Covid. Thank you Jenny Baumgren for sending us this link to the radio show. |
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Sandals We have been donated 15 pairs of brand new children's black sandals - 5 x size 7, 5 x size 8 and 5 x size 9. If you would like some for your child (at no cost) please come and collect a pair from the office. Thank you to MAC for this donation. |
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Good Grief and Seasons for Growth Programmes Central Otago REAP offer a suite of Good Grief and Seasons for Growth Programmes plus a range of information to support local families and professionals.
Seasons for Growth is an innovative grief and loss education programme that uses the imagery of the season to illustrate the experience of grief. It aims to strengthen the social and emotional wellbeing of children and young people (aged 6-18) who are dealing with significant life changes.
Trained adult 'Companions' facilitate the small group programme, where participants support and learn from each other in age appropriate and engaging activities.
Young people learn that they are not alone in dealing with the effects of change, loss and grief, and build their communication, decision making and problem solving skills within a supportive peer group.
If you think that your child would benefit from the Seasons for Growth programme you can find out more information here or complete an enrolment form by clicking here. The programme is held in a private classroom here at Wānaka Primary and usually runs for 40 minutes in the afternoon between 1.30 - 3.00pm on Thursdays. |
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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 prepared, organised and on task'. |
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PTA Gift Packs What a great way to spoil mum this Mothers Day, or that perfect gift for that special someone's birthday celebration! Whatever the occasion these fantastic Gift Packs consist of the beautiful Wānaka Primary PTA Bite Cookbook, a voucher for two to tour the Cardrona Distillery and a yummy box of chocolates. Proceeds from the sale of these packs will go towards assisting with the fantastic property projects that we are focusing on this year. Our fundraising efforts last year were severely impacted due to Covid so we would love to have your support in 2022.
The PTA committee looks forward to having a bigger presence this year and being involved with some fantastic events and fundraising opportunities. If you would like to be involved on any level, from sausage sizzle to coordination, or you would even just like to sit in on a meeting - Please contact Adele on pta@wanaka.school.nz for further information and dates.
Get in quick - 70 gift packs available! Email pta@wanaka.school.nz to order.
Gift Packs $50.00 |
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Wānaka Primary School Netball Club
A reminder that registrations are open for the 2022 Wānaka Primary School netball teams. All children in Years 3 - 6 are invited to play. Register here - https://www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/191547
The season runs in Term 2, beginning 7th May, with games played at the Wānaka Recreation Centre on Saturday mornings. Practices are usually held after school or during lunchtime.
Registrations close this Sunday 5th March to allow time to sort teams and coaches for the season. No late registrations will be accepted.
Please contact the Wānaka Primary School Netball Committee wpsnetballers@gmail.com if you have any queries. |
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Library News
Click here 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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Positive Parenting During COVID-19 To support mental health, resilience and emotional wellbeing for our tamariki and rangatahi, the Ministry of Health has partnered with Whāraurau to offer parents, whānau and caregivers free online versions of the Triple P: Positive Parenting Programme across the country.
Find out more about Triple P and register for programmes.
There are three free Triple P online programmes available to help positively support children to reduce anxiety, build emotional resilience and life skills and cope with challenges: Fear-Less Triple P Online – for parents and caregivers of children and teenagers (aged six to 14 years) who have significant anxiety Triple P Online – for parents with toddlers to 12-year-olds Teen Triple P Online – for parents with ‘tweens’ or teenagers aged 10 to 16 years. These programmes will also provide whānau a toolkit to help them to guide behaviour positively and encourage children’s learning. |
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Parenting Course NEXT CHAPTER PARENTING offering Individual, or group, PARENTING
SESSIONS via Zoom. Ten one hourly sessions, weekly at a time convenient
to you, available evenings. Topics covered include Communication,
Empathy, Setting Limits, Quality Time, Consequences, Choices,
Redirection, Pick your battles with your child, Problem Behaviour,
Praise vs Acknowledgement, Time In vs Time Out, The Pause, Sibling
Rivalry, Teenage Boundaries, Erickson’s Stages of Growth, Personality
Types and how it affects your children.
WINZ funding assistance where eligible. |
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Fundraiser - Cat Rescue Wānaka |
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Celebrate Slow Fashion this March It's that time of year again when we turn the spotlight on clothing consumption and waste. But this year, we’re focusing on Slow Fashion.
What is slow fashion? In short, it's quality-based, thoughtful and intentional, where consumers invest in lasting (and hopefully secondhand) clothes. And it's a reaction to fast fashion, the excessive, poor quality, and over produced. Join us over March as we share more about choosing well and making things last. (And look out for some fun repair/creative sewing events).
We know you're interested in sustainability, and we’d like to ask you a few questions about slow fashion and the issue of textile waste. There is a Google form HERE. It should only take 5-10 minutes. There will also be a survey prize drawn at the end of March.
We will be using the information to help us raise awareness and share simple stories about what people can do to slow fashion down. Your answers are anonymous, unless you choose otherwise.
Business Waste Minimisation Workshop Thursday 3rd of March, 9am - 12pm, Edgewater
In partnership with Ignite Wanaka, we are hosting a workshop for businesses looking to reduce their waste.
Kath Buttar from QLDC will talk about waste reduction, the big picture and the council's priorities for waste minimisation in the future.
Gina Dempster from Wastebusters will give you the facts about recycling in our district and how to use the waste hierarchy as a decision-making tool.
We'll also hear from RealNZ Sustainability Lead Ewan Mackie sharing Cardrona and TC’s experiences on their waste reduction journey.
This is a great chance to get together, learn from the experts and collaborate with others on your zero waste journey. Come along to get the lowdown on how to reduce the amount of waste going into the bin.
Four businesses will be selected from interested workshop attendees to receive a waste minimisation consultation and audit with Wastebusters.
The workshop is free, registration is essential as spaces are limited.
Register here to attend. |
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Kahu Youth Caring for the Environment - 11 years +
When: Mondays 3:30pm - 5:00pm during school term
Where: start and finish at Kahu Youth
Who: For 11 years +
Led by: Markus Hermanns |
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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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