| | | | | | IMPORTANT DATES
Term 4
Week 3
Y5 Camp Columba
Friday 4th November - Gumboot Friday (info below)
Week 4
Pod 1 Swimming Lessons
Y3 Camp - School
Monday 7th November - Board of Trustees Meeting - 5pm - Staffroom
Wednesday 9th November - Year 6 Camp Parent Info Evening - 5.00pm in Pod 7
Wednesday 9th November - MAC Open Evening for new families - 6pm (info below)
Saturday 12th November - PTA Kiwiana Quiz - 7pm - Hall
Week 5
Y6 Camp - Dunedin - Waiora - arrive at school at 8:30am on Monday
Week 6
Y4 Camp - Bannockburn
OUR SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR - ALL WEEK
Monday 21st November - Campaign Meeting - SCHOOL CLOSES at 1pm
- Check out our book fair at pick up time
Thursday 24th November - Junior Athletics - Years 0 to 3
Week 7
Monday 28th November - Teacher Only Day - School closed for instruction
Week 8
Monday 5th December - Board of Trustees Meeting - 5pm - Staffroom
Wednesday 7th December - Matinee performance of Pantomime 'Super Stan'
Thursday 8th December - 6pm evening performance of Pantomime 'Super Stan'
Friday 9th December - Final tribe afternoon - Water based fun!
Week 9
Monday 12th December - End of year students reports sent home
Wednesday 14th December - Year 6 Graduation Assembly - 1pm
Thursday 15th December - Last day of school 2022 - 3pm finish
First Day of Term 1 2023 - Wednesday 1st February IMPORTANT NOTICES
Scholastic Brochure
Orders close tomorrow for the last Scholastic order for the year. 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 Wednesday 2nd November.
Missing Scooter A hot pink and black scooter has gone missing from the bike racks near the hall over the weekend. The helmet was there on Monday morning but no scooter. It is named on the bottom with a phone number. If you have seen it please let us know in the office or phone the owner directly.
Open Evenings for Families New to Mount Aspiring College MAC invite parents of students who will be new to the college in 2023 to take the opportunity to attend an open evening on Wednesday 9th November at 6:00 pm. There will be a presentation providing general information about the College followed by a tour of the school. |
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Our Scholastic Book Fair - Three Weeks To Go! Monday 21st November to Friday 25th November Before / After School in the Library Take advantage of the early school closure on Monday 21st
and visit our book fair from 1pm Parents welcome to come and shop during the day as well This is our main fundraiser for our school library  |
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Kiwiana Quiz Night - Tickets Now On Sale Ticket purchases at the school office
Please provide a 'Team Name'  Grab a group of six friends and join a night of fun and laughterKiwiana theme We have some fantastic sponsors who have donated some awesome prizes for the Quiz winners and a raffle. There will be presale tickets also available for the raffle.  |
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Campaign Meeting for Teachers - 21st November School will be closed from 1pm onwards I trust you have all received and read the email I sent out at the end of last week regarding the school being closed from 1-3pm on Monday the 21st of November, if not I urge you to read it now. The year 4 campers will continue with their overnight camp at Bannockburn, but for everyone else the school will be closed at 1pm and remain closed for instruction for the afternoon. Please could you pick your children up at 1pm.
Thank you to those parents who agree that the current situation with class sizes, inadequate staffing for special programmes and for learning support is unacceptable. This is a systemic issue and everyone should be reminding the government that class sizes of 34 with learning and behaviour support in the form of teacher aides, specialist teachers and resourcing severely lacking is unacceptable as it impacts on all of our kids and our teachers. Teachers are prepared to fight for this as it affects our ability to do our best for every single child. Over the last few years WPS has struggled to staff for smaller classes as we are not allocated enough teacher components and the Board can no longer fund extra teachers with the operational grant we are allocated. As a granny I want to see it sorted before my grand-daughters start school. I want them to get the individual attention they deserve in a smaller class than 26 in juniors and 34 in seniors as we have had this year.
So please support this teacher meeting and the school closure positively, even though it might be frustrating for you - the Board have no choice anyway - but we hope you will see that the current situation needs an immediate solution as 2030, which is the target year for this to be achieved, is 8 years too late for our current students and their pre-school siblings.
This is not just about teachers' conditions of work; it is also your child's learning conditions and if we don't stand up now it will just get worse!
The Next 2 Weeks in a Nutshell! Our Year 5s headed off to camp today and are away for the rest of the week. I know they will have an awesome time at Camp Columba. The Year 6s will enjoy working together at school this week. They are working on camp preparation activities and also working on the pubertal change health unit. We finish the week with Gumboot Friday (info below).
Next Monday night, November 7th, we have our first Board Meeting with our new Trustees at 5pm. Welcome to our newest Trustees, Stephanie Welch and Francis Jasper. Welcome to your governance role with a great group of people who do an awesome job for the children in our school. We are all looking forward to working with you.
Our Board has the following Trustees: Brendan Hearle (Chair), Andrew Howard, Mitch Campbell, Niamh Shaw, Jennifer Jurczyluk, Melissa McFarlane, Karina Sharpe (staff rep), Lucy Jewell (Board secretary) and myself as principal. As usual everyone is welcome to attend these meetings.
Pod 1 is swimming next week and the Year 3 overnight camp at School is spread over Tuesday to Thursday, the parent information meeting for the Year 6 camp is scheduled for Wednesday 9th November at 5pm in Pod 7 and the KIWIANA QUIZ night is on Saturday 12th November.
AND REMEMBER - The one teacher only day we have held in school time this year is happening on Monday 28th November. School is closed for instruction for the day. Please make alternative arrangements for your children.
Hooray - the new BUS LANE NO ENTRY signs are up in the bus lane connecting Ironside Drive PUDO (Pick up and Drop off) and the dental clinic carpark area. Please be aware that you are asked not to use this bus lane to go down to the bottom carpark at any time - bad habits are hard to break and we are aware this has become a health and safety hotspot for our children. So please take notice of the signs now they are up.
Pantomime Rehearsals - Weekend Slots As term 4 is so busy we are always needing to have at least 2 weekend panto practices where we can hopefully get everyone together. If your child is in the panto (there are 40 year 5 and 6 students involved as actors) we are looking at Sunday 20th November 9am -12noon and Saturday 26th 9am to 12noon. We would like as many of our actors to attend as possible. It is hard to get them all together during the school day, even at lunchtime with so much going on. In previous years children have loved coming along to these extra practices.
Fern Fuel for Schools The Fuel for Schools sponsorship programme has helped put over $1.5 million dollars of resources into more than 600 rural schools in the last fifteen years.
Schools are nominated by local businesses/farms that receive bulk fuel deliveries from Fern. For every 100 litres of bulk fuel they purchase 50 cents is donated to their nominated school.
WPS’s current total is $980, once we have reached our $1,000 target we can redeem from a range of sports, technology, literacy and music packages.
We would like to say a big thank you to the following members of the community that have contributed to our school:
Aspiring Earthmoving Ltd
Evergreen Homes & Construction Ltd
Mt Aspiring Station Ltd
Whistler Orchards Ltd
For more information or to sign up to the programme please click here. |
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It’s Gumboot Friday on 4th November 2022! Please wear your best gumboots and bring a gold coin donation
to school for this awesome charity! Raising money to provide FREE and timely counselling for young people in need. |
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Pod 1s Wao Summit Trip Last Wednesday Room 1 took part in a Wao Summit workshop as part of their Deep Learning about water. We looked at storm drains and learnt about how we can help to keep them clear by picking up rubbish and not dropping it. We used natural materials to create pieces of art based on the creatures that live in Lake Wānaka. We also went to have a look at the long finned eels (tuna). |
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Clued Up Kids Last Wednesday, Year 6s from Pods 7 and 8 attended Clued Up Kids at the Wānaka Recreation Centre.
There were workshops for us to attend to learn about what to do in an emergency. The Civil Defence station showed us what to have in a grab'n'go bag. At the fire emergency station, we learned that you should 'shut the door, stay low and get out'. In an earthquake, you should 'stop, drop, cover and hold'. All the stations were helpful, informative and fun.
Thank you to the organisers, emergency services and volunteers for inviting us to attend and to the parents who came with us.
by Honor Jones & Jordi Bright |
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School Camps We really value the parent helpers that join us on our school camps. Our camps can only go ahead with the many parents who offer to help, take leave from work and give up their time. We also have many, many parents who offer to help and are not required, this is often very disappointing for the parents and their children.
When parents are chosen to help, they are always police vetted before going on camp, which takes approximately six weeks.
This year we have had many parents pull out of attending the camp at late notice after the police vetting is complete. This leaves the school and staff involved in a difficult situation as we can only take another parent who is already police vetted. It also creates a lot more work for the staff.
NEXT YEAR, please think carefully before you offer to help, as many parents are always willing and would love to go. |
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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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Queenstown Writers Festival: 11th - 13th November The Queenstown Writers Festival is a biennial boutique festival that brings writers and readers together to celebrate the written word in many forms. At this spring event novelists, poets, short-story writers, children’s writers and non-fiction writers talk about books, share their stories and lead writing workshops.
Please click here for more information |
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Campfire Stories of Wānaka District |
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Dance Out Loud Showcase  Come & support the local students of all ages from DANCE OUT LOUD Wanaka light up the Lake Wanaka Centre stage on Nov. 12th & 13th! Our stage shows are known for being entertaining, dynamic, creative and full of passion and performance, so this is a local event you do not want to miss out on! Tickets on sale NOW via this link https://www.trybooking.co.nz/LZS |
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Auditions for Horace and the Magical Wands |
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Raspberry Creek Christmas Shop |
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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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