Wānaka Primary School Newsletter for Term 4 Week 6

Newsletter Term 4 Week 6

14th November 2023

IN THIS NEWSLETTER

IMPORTANT DATES
IMPORTANT NOTICES
Netsafe Workshop for Parents - Tonight
Tribe Afternoon - 17th November
School Photos
Leaving Wānaka Primary School
Lost Property
Scholastic Book Fair - Next Week!
School Disco
Netsafe Information Presentation for Parents TONIGHT - 7pm
Senior School Pantomime
Senior Kapa Haka Performance
COPSSA Orienteering Event
Illustrating Authors Visit
Trinity Music Exams
South Island Makos Swim Champs
New World MasterChef Stickers
Year 6 Leavers Clothing
Cookie Time Christmas Cookies
Central Otago Primary School Sports Association
Junior Challenge Race Information
Library News
Digital and Audio Resources
Scholastic Loop
Contact for our local Public Health Nurse
QLDC Library Card
Northlake Skate Jam
Dance Wanaka Presents Narnia
Year 6 Only Drop-In at Kahu Youth
Watercolour Workshops
Calm Minds Parent Group
Wastebusters Sustainable Christmas Market
Santa's Grotto
Alpha Challenge - Kids Event
Harry Potter Quiz Night
Lighting of the Christmas Tree
Bike-A-Palooza
Wanaka Coeliac Kids Club
Connected Parenting Workshop
Hawea Christmas Wonderland
Summer Reading Challenge
Wanaka Kids Club Holiday Programme

IMPORTANT DATES

Term 4
Week 6
Tuesday 14th November - Netsafe Parents Workshop - 7-8.30pm - Hall
Wednesday 15th November - No music lessons with Helen today
Friday 17th November - Tribe Afternoon
Week 7
Wednesday 22nd November - COPSSA Triathlon Championships in Queenstown
Week 8
Tuesday 28th November - Parents Deep Dive 11-12.30pm,1.30-3pm or 4-5pm
Wednesday 29th November - COPSSA Orienteering Championships in Alexandra
Friday 1st December - Pod 2 Assembly - early start 1.45pm - Hall
Friday 1st December - Reports sent home
Week 9
Wednesday 6th December - Matinee Pantomime Performance - 1pm
Thursday 7th December - Evening Pantomime Performance - 6pm
Week 10
Tuesday 12th December - Tribe Water Fun Afternoon
Wednesday 13th December - Year 6 Leavers Graduation Assembly
Friday 15th December - Last day of school for 2023 - school closes 3pm

Term 1 2024
Wednesday 31st January - First day of Term 1, 2024

IMPORTANT NOTICES

Netsafe Workshop for Parents - Tonight

Tribe Afternoon - 17th November

Time to dress up in tribe colours again!

Our penultimate tribe afternoon will be held on Friday 17th November. The fabulous tribe leaders will be running activities for their tribes, that link in with World Kindness Day this week.

School Photos

School photo proofs have been sent home with the children. If you wish to place an order, please follow the instructions on the Heritage leaflet included and make your order online.

You have until Sunday 19th November to get free shipping with the bulk school order. After this date $7.00 will be added and your order will be posted to your home address.

Leaving Wānaka Primary School

If your child / children are leaving WPS at the end of this term and you have not yet advised the office, can you please do so as soon as possible as we have started planning classes for 2024.

Lost Property

We have heaps of lost property. Please come to the office to check whether any of your belongings are here. All lost property will go to Wastebusters in 2 weeks time.

Scholastic Book Fair - Next Week!

Monday 20th November - Friday 24th November

Things you need to know about our Scholastic Book Fair

When is it on: Monday 20th Nov - Friday 24th Nov 8.30am - 4.30pm EXCEPT Friday which is 8.30am - 9.30am then we pack up.

Parents are welcome to come in during the day to shop

Where: Wānaka Primary School Library - signs will be out

Pay: by Eftpos, Credit Card or Cash

We get a percentage of the sales back as a credit to spend with Scholastic. This is our biggest annual fundraiser for the library. Wānaka Primary is the top school for sales in the South Island.

The children will come in with their classes during the week to see the book fair but they can't spend money in this time. They need to come in before or after school, preferably with a parent. It is made very clear that every family is different and not to put pressure on parents.

Please do not send children to school with large quantities of cash. This has happened in the past.

We would like to thank all parents in advance that support the fair. It's all for the children and buying books for the library in 2024.

CURRICULUM COMMENT

School Disco

What a fabulous time everyone had. Booming music even I could dance to, amazing lighting, the excited sound of children dancing and interacting and parents milling around outside waiting for their children. Well done to Andrena and her team. Thanks for hosting such a wonderful event. The children were so well behaved and the DJ, Layton Craig who donated his DJ skills and equipment, his sidekick Andrena who has another career other than teaching up her sleeve, and bouncer Gerard Bonny (aka entertainer, security guard and comedy act) made the event even more realistic and fun.

Netsafe Information Presentation for Parents TONIGHT - 7pm

PLEASE COME AND JOIN US
Please be seated ready to start at 7 o'clock sharp. We are holding this in the hall, however be aware that we may change this to the staffroom, depending on numbers. This is a free session provided by Netsafe to help us all implement strategies and mindsets that keep our children, and ourselves safe in the digital world.

Senior School Pantomime

'Star Warts - The Umpire Strikes Back'

We are in full rehearsal mode and practising 2-3 scenes each lunchtime and a full 3 hours rehearsal THIS SATURDAY 18th from 9am to noon. Please ensure our actors have a full drink bottle and some snacks/morning tea. We are feeling pretty pleased with the progress so far but now things are ramping up. Next week we will be sneaking more time during the school day and we are also underway with costumes, makeup design, props and stage sets. Such fun!

Our next weekend practice is on Saturday 25th November from 9am to noon.

All students at the school will be invited to watch a dress rehearsal on Tuesday 5th December - 10.15 - 11.45am. Morning tea will be at 10am with lunch at 12.30pm.

Performance Dates:
Wednesday 6th December - 1pm Matinee performance
Thursday 7th December - 6pm evening performance.
The performance is about 90 minutes in length.
Tickets/Entry is $10 per adult for the matinee and evening performances. All WPS classes will have seen the panto on Tuesday 5th, and we would prefer you not to bring preschoolers to the performances. This entry fee is to cover costs of our panto expenses such as stage makeup, materials for our staging and props and of course the costumes. Tickets will go on sale at the end of next week from the school office.

Senior Kapa Haka Performance

The Senior Kapa Haka Group have been invited to perform at a Citizenship Ceremony at the Lake Wānaka Centre on Tuesday 6th December, at 1.15pm. We are delighted to have been asked by the QLDC, to sing the National Anthem and waiata at the ceremony, to celebrate our new citizens. As a few of our Kapa Haka group are also in the panto, we will have the panto dress rehearsal in the morning to allow the Kapa Haka members to be ready to get on the bus to the LWC leaving school at 12.30pm, after a bite of lunch.

They will perform in their Kapa Haka uniforms and be bussed to and from the LWC. Anne and Wendy will be supporting the group.

Silver Enviro School Award Reflection Walk

- Tuesday 21st November

We are welcoming Robyn Zink from Enviroschools and Damian Foster our local Enviroschools co-ordinator with a mihi whakatau at 11.45am on 21st November. This welcome will involve the whole school with the senior Kapa Haka group, Jo Roberts (our WPS enviroschools leader) and Jason as our welcoming speaker leading us. Then there will be some kai for our guests, compliments of our own garden to table programme, followed by a walk around the school to share the many developments and learning that has been happening since we were awarded our bronze medal.

COPSSA Orienteering Event

The COPSSA orienteering event is being held next week on Wednesday 22nd November. This year it is being set up in Alexandra.

End of Year Reporting to Parents

Our end of year reporting has three opportunities for you to be involved in finding out about your child's progress and achievement over the last 2 terms.

You are welcome to talk to teachers at any time about your child's learning and progress either before or after these opportunities.

Parents; Deep Dive: Tuesday 28th November 11-12.30pm or 1.30-3pm or 4-5pm. During this time students will share their workbooks and other evidence such as assessments, work on the walls, digital formats to show their learning, progress and achievement. Prompts will be provided for parents by teachers, and children are well supported and practised in what to share with you before the Deep Dive. As you arrive children leave their class work and join you with their evidence and 'checklist' to make sure they cover everything. The teacher is there should you have any questions about finding information about your child's learning.
Written Reports: Friday 1st December. The link for these will arrive in your emails.
Teacher/Parent Conference: If you would like an interview after these two opportunities, or if you need more info or have some questions to ask, please email your child's teacher directly for a meeting time or let the school office know. After reports go out you will have Week 9 and 10 to have this meeting. We also ask that teachers get in touch with any parents with issues or information, before this 3 tiered process, so hopefully there are no real surprises when reports are received.

Illustrating Authors Visit

Mat Tait and Michel Mulipola, both illustrators, artists and authors, came into school this morning to present their work to the year 3s and up. Both were engaging and it was great to have 2 well known Māori and Samoan creatives visit and share what they do. Mat's books are in our school library and used by the teachers as part of our NZ Histories Curriculum. Michel's art is prolific amongst many of our NZ school journals.

The children were enchanted by Michel's many jobs including illustrating for Disney and Marvel.

A big thank you to Anne and the Kapa Haka for performing a Waiata at the end.

SCHOOL NOTICES

Trinity Music Exams

Congratulations to Lola O'Regan for passing her grade 1 piano exam with a merit.

South Island Makos Swim Champs

The Apollo Projects Junior Makos Swim Festival took place over the weekend in Timaru. It is a South Island wide swimming competition that is swimmers pinnacle event of the year.

Winston Harper came away with three second placings in the 11yr old category and had an incredible swim with the 12yr old 200m medley relay to hold off the older kids and achieve a third placing.

Tenki Watanabe swam in a whopping 13 events in his 11 year old category over the weekend and made good improvements on his times!

Sam Morris, who is 9 years old, swam in his first South Island champ event in the 10 and under category. His goal was to achieve PBs in all of his 10 events - which he did. He came 4th overall in three of his events, and 6th overall in the other 6 events.

The students had lots of fun and conducted themselves beautifully showing great sportsmanship. Congratulations Winston, Tenki and Sam.

New World MasterChef Stickers

A massive thank you for your donations of New World stickers which has enabled us to replenish our cookware in our senior pods for our students to use.

Year 6 Leavers Clothing

Link for Ordering Year 6 Leavers Clothing.

Cookie Time Christmas Cookies

'Tis the season for FAMILY, FRIENDS and a few rounds of CHRISTMAS COOKIES!

We are again offering the chance for families and friends to purchase
Cookie Time Christmas Cookies.
Christmas Cookies are proudly New Zealand made, owned and loved.

Orders need to be placed by
MIDNIGHT SUNDAY 19TH NOVEMBER 2023.

Six flavours to choose from - 2L buckets hold 600g of bite size cookies
(approx 85 cookies) - $20.00 per bucket.

Strawberries & Cream
Chocolate Chip
Apricot Chocolate
Chocalicious
Salted Caramel
Cranberry White Chocolate

Gluten Free options - 1L buckets hold 275g of bite size cookies
(approx 39 cookies) - $18.00 per bucket.

Chocolate Chip
Berries & Cream

CLICK HERE TO PLACE YOUR ORDER

Payment can be made via direct credit to WPS Account - 02-0673-0023784-001 (please include your name in the reference) or by Eftpos or Cash at the School Office.

SPORT NOTICES

Central Otago Primary School Sports Association

COPSSA has 2 remaining Championships left for 2024.

COPSSA Triathlon Championships in Queenstown on 22 November
COPSSA Orienteering Championships in Alexandra on 29 November

We are currently sorting out our individuals and teams for both competitions and will be in touch in the coming week about who has been selected/qualified for the events from the Upper Clutha Schools.

Junior Challenge Race Information

The Junior Challenge is a whole school event for all Wānaka Primary Students from Y1 to Y6.

Friday 16th February 2024
Location: Glendhu Bay
Event: Junior Challenge
Compulsory for Wānaka Primary School Students

Registration – local Wānaka students – by December 1st 2023
All Wānaka Primary school children must register online via the following link:

*Students who are starting a new school at the start of 2024
register with the name and year at WPS

Registration closes for all Junior Challenge events on 1st December 2023

All event Information can be found on the Challenge Wānaka Junior Challenge webpage.
or on the school website.

Current Year 6 register here for Intermediate Challenge

LIBRARY NEWS

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.

Digital and Audio Resources

Borrow box is an amazing resource which you can have free access to for digital reading and audio resources for your children. Click on the image below to look at the amazing range. You need a QLDC library membership (which is free) to borrow.

Scholastic Loop

The last Scholastic NZ Brochure for the year is available from reception for all parents interested. It closes on Monday 27th November. 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 on Monday 27th November at 9am.

Quote of the Week

HEALTH SNIPPETS

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

COMMUNITY NOTICES

QLDC Library Card

Our school values literacy and has partnered with Queenstown Lakes Libraries to provide all of our students with a library card. We encourage the whole family to sign up for a free library card, please click on the link which will take you directly to the QLDC Libraries enrolment form. Then pop into the library to pick up your cards!