Dr Murray Gadd New Zealand's renowned guru in the teaching of writing to children has kindly agreed to hold a parent information session about children's writing and this is being held NEXT WEEK, Tuesday 25th July, at 7pm in our school hall.  The session will be approximately 1.5 hours, Dr Gadd has said he will talk for no more than an hour and then parents can ask questions or can hang around and chat to him if they wish. 

He will cover the following:

• The importance of writing/being a good writer for our children
• What our children need to be able to do as writers
• What we do at school to help students become good writers
• What parents can do at home to support the school-based work

Murray spent a couple of months this year acting as a consultant on the teaching of writing in Scandinavia so is well known internationally as well as nationally as the go to person for educationalists and next Tuesday to our WPS parents as well. 

 

We hope this session is well supported by parents as Murray is doing this as part of the wonderful work he is doing with our students and teachers.  Writing was the one curriculum area that was most adversely affected by Lockdowns and is the poorest performing foundational literacy out of the three, the other 2 being reading literacy and maths.

 

Come along and see how you can help your child with their writing skills.  Boys are most at risk in New Zealand at not performing at an age appropriate level in writing and this is an area where Dr Gadd has done a lot of research and is quite the expert.

 

Our teachers are having an afterschool session with Murray on Monday 24th July, explicitly looking at strategies for teaching boys to write.

 

We would love to have you join us next Tuesday.  Let's see if we can get heaps of you there, as this is important even in the digital age!   And Murray will tell you why.

 

We would love to have everyone complete this questionnaire/survey as it gives us crucial information about where you, the parents, see the priorities for education for your own children at Wānaka Primary School.  It won't take you long, around 10 questions to respond to.  We usually only have 20% complete these, but we need more than this to give us a clear picture of what our parents see as important school learning.  

So to add a bit of a reward (I really mean bribe) to undertake this survey for us we will put everyone who completes the survey into a draw for a prize of a donated chrome book, Tribe points for your children's Tribe, and a brand new copy of the NZ Curriculum.  This last one is my bit of levity - it would most likely put you off filling in our questionnaire.

 

This survey will be emailed out to you tomorrow and will close off 10 days later on Friday 28th July.  We will keep prompting you to complete this as we really need your input. 

 

Mark, from Dance Curriculum is back and already pods know the first part of a brand new dance.  We have Mark with us for two weeks this time so he can work in more depth with our children and so the performance of the dances will take place next week with Pod 1,3 and 7 performing on Thursday 27th July at 2 - 2.50pm and Pods 2, 6, and 8 performing on Friday 28th July at 2 - 2.50pm.  We usually have every parent come along to these performances so make sure you make a note of the correct date and time and mark it in your diary.  
 

Look at these fabulous children from Pod 6 strutting their stuff:

 

 

Script readings started today for our Year 5 and 6 pantomime, called Star Warts, which will be performed in term 4.  We will hold script readings for a couple of weeks and then allocate parts to those who turn up.  These readings take place most lunchtimes with either Jennie and/or Wendy so encourage your child to come along if you think they would be interested in taking part.

 

A group of teachers from Highfields School in New South Wales, Australia, are visiting WPS this Thursday.  They are spending a week in New Zealand, visiting schools in Christchurch and Wānaka.  During their visit, they will be looking at our learning environment and how we use New Pedagogies for Deep Learning (NPDL) in our classrooms. 

Their focus is in the junior school area.  Pod 2 and 4 (particularly Rooms 6, 15 and 16) have been working over Zoom with teachers from Wharenui school in Christchurch and Highfields, planning, sharing resources, and creating shared learning for all the children.  The learning focus has been on native plants, animals, gardening, and the night sky, which relates to Pod 4’s recent studies around Matariki.  This is a great opportunity for the students and staff, and we are looking forward to sharing knowledge and expertise with colleagues from across the ditch. 

 

Pods are continuing with their Deep Learning and going deeper into different contexts.  Below is a brief summary of what each Pod is focusing on, usually combining more than one learning area (such as science, the arts, social sciences, technology etc) in addition to the foundation literacies and PE and health.

The interior painting of the admin block was completed over the holidays and you will see we have had a colour change.  Thanks to Greg Booth, our colour consultant and to our painters, Carus.  It smells and looks fresh.
 

The reclad of Pod 3 is well underway with Pod 5 near completion.  Some of the lanterns (the structures with windows on top of our pods) were delayed due to a shortage of components and are being busily completed now.  The recladding will definitely be finished by the end of term and hopefully the repainting of Pod 7's exterior as well.

 

The irrigation and landscaping of gardens in the courtyard is well underway and looks so much neater and cared for, thanks to our landscapers Dave Spedding and Tyler Frenguelly.  The Makerspaces are in their final design stage which seems to be full of red tape for the simplistic design we have resorted to, but hopefully this will be an affordable design.

 

Pod 7 flooded on the first Friday of the holidays due to a ceiling sprinkler failure impacted by the frost we think.  The fire brigade arrived as the alarms were activated and there was a serious amount of water flooding out of the teachers' office area in Pod 7.  Luckily our wonderful carpet cleaners, Alpha Restoration, arrived promptly, sucked up excess water and then installed fans to dry out the ceiling cavity and the carpets.  We have incurred a bit of damage with some of the joinery impacted but yet to show how much.  The Ministry of Education property insurance kicks in to cover any work we need to do.

 

At the end of term 2 our leaky roofs became more apparent with the rain, with drips and ceiling stains and flooding impacting on the hall, and some classrooms/toilet areas particularly.  Problems with flashings seem to be the main cause of our leaky roofs.  We have had leaks here and there over the last 13 years but they have certainly increased with all the extra, heavier rain we have been getting recently.  

 

A review of our roofs has been done and a reparation plan put in place.  We are just waiting for final approval so we can get this work started.  There is always something to do when you are a school principal even if it is not about teaching and learning!
 

Supporting Children with Anxiety Presentation

Anxiety in Children - Session for Parents Wednesday 9th August at the Wānaka Primary School Hall.  Tickets for this valuable opportunity to listen to an expert on anxiety in children, and how you can support them, are now on sale at our school office.  Get in fast as tickets are starting to go quickly.  We have limited seats and as such door sales will be unlikely.

This anxiety presentation has been advertised in the media by Life Education Trust and has also been advertised in other schools' newsletters, so we are expecting a rush to purchase tickets in the next week or so - get yours now.

It is a live webinar with Cat Levine and there will be the possibility of questions at the end of the session if time allows.  Here is the blurb that is being sent to the media by the Life Education Trust.

Life Education Heartland Otago Southland Presents: Nurturing Healthy Minds: Supporting Children with Anxiety
Life Education Trust Heartland Otago Southland is excited to announce the upcoming event, 'Nurturing Healthy Minds: Supporting Children with Anxiety,' taking place at Wānaka Primary School on Wednesday 9th August.  This engaging and practical presentation is aimed at parents and caregivers, equipping them with valuable knowledge and strategies to support tamariki in managing anxiety.  Life Education recognises the pressing issue of childhood anxiety amongst our tamariki and is taking proactive steps to address the issue - statistics reveal that anxiety significantly affects our tamariki, with an alarming 88% of local teachers identifying anxiety as an issue.

Worry and anxiety are common emotions experienced by tamariki, but when left unaddressed, they can affect their ability to enjoy and participate in life.  As parents and caregivers, it is crucial for us to understand how to help our tamariki effectively manage their worries and recognise when and where to get help. 

During this presentation, participants will have the opportunity to learn about the triggers of childhood anxiety, recognise the signs of anxiety, and gain practical insights on how to support tamariki in dealing with their worries and managing anxiety.  The presentation will be delivered by Cat Levine, a highly regarded mental wellbeing educator, who brings 20 plus years of experience and expertise to guide parents and caregivers through this important topic.

Life Education NZ has collaborated with Anxiety NZ and Autism NZ to ensure that the content of this presentation is comprehensive and up-to-date.  These reputable organisations have contributed their valuable insights to enhance the understanding of anxiety and its management.

Life Education Trust Heartland Otago Southland takes great pride in its longstanding and successful history of delivering the Healthy Harold programme to local primary and intermediate schools for the past 25 years.  As the largest health education provider in schools, we have played a crucial role in promoting the well-being of tamariki throughout the region.  We remain committed to empowering communities and making a positive difference in the lives of our tamariki.  Join us in creating a nurturing environment that supports our tamariki to thrive and reach their full potential.

Event Details:

• Nurturing Healthy Minds: Supporting Children with Anxiety
• Date: Wednesday 9th August
• Time: 7pm
• Location: Wānaka Primary School Hall, 7 Ironside Drive, Wānaka.
• Cost: $5 per ticket (to cover presentation costs)

For further information and registration, please contact: Wānaka Primary School Office: office@wanaka.school.nz

About Life Education Heartland Otago Southland: Life Education Heartland Otago Southland is a charitable trust dedicated to delivering the Healthy Harold programme across the heartland of Otago and Southland. Through our mobile classroom and community events, we aim to empower children, parents, caregivers, and communities to make informed decisions that positively impact children's lives.

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Feel free to email Melissa at any time if you have any questions.