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Term 4
Week 4
Rooms 1, 3 & 4 Swimming Lessons
Y3 Camp - School
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 - POSTPONED (see note below)
Week 5
Y6 Camp - Dunedin - Waiora - arrive at school at 8:30am on Monday
Sunday 20th November - Pantomime Practice - 9am -12noon
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
Saturday 26th November - Pantomime Practice - 9am to 12noon.
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 Leaving Wānaka Primary School If your family is leaving Wānaka Primary School at the end of the year and you have not advised the office, can you please do so as soon as possible as we will begin the process of 2023 class placements soon.
If your Year 6 child is not attending Mount Aspiring College next year please advise us of their new school.
Open Evening 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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Dental Clinic Carpark Etiquette Welcome back everyone for the final term of the year. Let's make this a safe one. This is a friendly reminder about carpark etiquette.
Firstly, it has been a growing trend for parents to try and back into the parks. Unfortunately, our carpark works in a clockwise direction and you need to go nose-first into the parks, please.
Cell phone use while driving in the parking area is prohibited, the same rule applies when driving on the open road.
Watch when backing out, especially between the crossing and the bottom of the hill. This area is not always assisted, and backing out causes other cars and or buses to stop. The buses are a top priority as they have a tight schedule to adhere to.
The bus lane is not to be used. Buses are arriving and maneuvering, and children are being loaded onto buses from 3pm onwards.
Very importantly, parents, please use the footpaths, the crossing, and the path between the cars, to get to your car.
The carpark is completely full this term, and many cars daily are being turned away. Please consider coming later, say about 3.10 pm…making arrangements with your children who will no doubt be very happy to play until your arrival.
Thanks for your cooperation. |
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POSTPONED - WPS PTA Committee Kiwiana Quiz Night Unfortunately with this busy time of the year and other events being held on the same weekend (and as a result lack of ticket sales), it is with great disappointment that we have had to make the call to postpone our Quiz Night until term one in 2023.
As we have received overwhelming support from our sponsors we really want to honour that and have a big event and make this a night to remember. We thank those who have booked tables and apologise for any inconvenience this postponement may cause and we hope you are all able to enjoy the quiz night in the new year. The office will be in touch to arrange refunds.
Once we have set a new date we will have tickets for sale again from the office and we invite our families to come along for a great night and to participate in the fundraiser for the school.
We understand this is a busy time of year for all of our school community and we look forward to starting the year off in 2023 with a fun night out!
Also a big thank you to the PTA and the school office team who have put in work organising and preparing for the night and we look forward to hosting this in a couple of months time.
Thank you
Adele McKenna
PTA Chairperson |
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Our Scholastic Book Fair - Two 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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Wānaka Kids Club - Teacher Only Day |
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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 on Friday 28th October 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!
Teacher Only Day 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.
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.
Year 5 Camp at Camp Columba The Year 5s had an amazing camp last week. We promise we'll include some highlights and photos in next week's newsletter. This week it's the Year 3s turn and what a great week of weather they're going to have. Next week the Year 6s head to Dunedin for their marine based camp and the following week our Year 4s head to Bannockburn. Happy camping everyone!
School Camp Parent Help 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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It's Christmas Cookies Time! - Place Your Orders If you would like to order please fill in the attached form or orders can be placed in the office. |
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Gumboot Friday Thank you for all your support for Gumboot Friday. We raised $556.40 which will help to provide FREE and timely counselling for young people in need. |
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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 manage our emotions'. |
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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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Issues Affecting Our Youth |
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| Bring a friend, Make a friend! Girl’s Day Out at Bike Glendhu! FREE! Sunday 20th of November from 10am - 12pm at Bike Glendhu Thanks to Sport Otago’s Tu Manawa fund, we have an awesome opportunity for 7- 12 year old girls to have a go at mountain biking! Come check out what WORD is about, go biking with other cool girls, and ride at Bike Glendhu for FREE!!!! Doesn’t matter if you have been to WORD before or new to WORD. Come along with a friend and/or make some new friends! |
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Hawea Christmas Wonderland |
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Summer Reading Challenge  Click here for an entry form or pick one up from the Wānaka Library from the 1 st December 2022 or enter paperless via beanstack. Prize: $50 voucher for 1 random winner each location. Top Reader district wide: 1 x KINGPIN voucher (worth $250). |
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Campfire Stories of Wānaka District |
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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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