| | | | | | IMPORTANT DATES Term 4
Week 7
Wednesday 22nd November - COPSSA Triathlon in Queenstown
Saturday 25th November - Panto Practice 9am-1pm
Week 8
Monday 27th November - Board of Trustees Meeting - 5pm Staffroom
Tuesday 28th November - Parents Deep Dive 11-12.30pm,1.30-3pm or 4-5pm
Wednesday 29th November - COPSSA Orienteering in Alexandra
Friday 1st December - Year 6 Transition Visit to MAC
Friday 1st December - Pod 2 Assembly - earlier start - 2pm - Hall
Friday 1st December - Reports sent home
Week 9
Tuesday 5th December - Panto Dress Rehearsal (school performance for all students) - 10am
Tuesday 5th December - Kapa Haka performing at Citizenship Ceremony - 1pm
Wednesday 6th December - Matinee Pantomime Performance - 1pm
Thursday 7th December - Pod Shift (Pods 3, 6 and 8) Parent help urgently needed
Thursday 7th December - Pod 4 trip to Domini Park
Thursday 7th December - Pod 2 trip to Butterfields
Thursday 7th December - Year 5 Student Leadership Training
Thursday 7th December - Evening Pantomime Performance - 6pm
Week 10
Monday 11th December - Pod Shift (Pods 1, 2 and 4) Parent help urgently needed
Monday 11th December - Year 6 Leadership Celebration afternoon
Tuesday 12th December - Tribe Water Fun Afternoon
Wednesday 13th December - Senior Kapa Haka Morning Tea to farewell Mary-Anne at Take Kārara - 10am
Wednesday 13th December - Year 6 Leavers Graduation Assembly - 1pm
Thursday 14th December - An assembly is being held to farewell Jo Roberts and Kerry Guise - 2pm. Everyone is welcome.
Friday 15th December - Last day of school for 2023 - school closes 3pm - buses are running.
Term 1 2024
Week 1
Wednesday 31st January - First day of Term 1, 2024
Week 2
Monday 5th February - school open
Tuesday 6th February - Waitangi Day - school closed
IMPORTANT NOTICES PTA Survey We are reviewing the events the PTA organise to raise funds for the school and to provide social events for the school community. We would love to have your feedback so we can be more effective in gaining parent support for our activities. Please click here for the survey. Every survey response goes into a draw for a gift voucher. Please complete this survey by Friday 24th November. Netsafe and Murray Gadd Writing Parent Workshops Please click this link to access online recordings of these workshops. Lost Property Please come to the office to claim your belongings before Friday 1st December, it will all then be taken to Wastebusters. Click here to see the collection of lost property we have in the office. 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. |
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Scholastic Book Fair is Now On ...until 9.30am Friday 24th November |
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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. 
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Star Warts - The Umpire Strikes Back  Tickets now available from the school office |
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Staff Changes in 2024 ...a loss for us but well deserved new next directions for much loved members of our team
We are very lucky to have a stable staff at Wānaka Primary School over many years. However, sadly, we have a couple of our longer term staff members moving on. - Kerry Guise, who has been working at WPS for 27 years is retiring, or should I say more aptly, resetting and taking another pathway, after many dedicated years working with our staff and students. I personally am certainly going to miss her as she has been such an outstanding teacher and a key cog in our leadership team and has been working so closely with me for the last 19 years through the highs, of which there have been many and through the tough times. She is an amazing educationalist, colleague, and school leader and we are so going to miss her gentle, kind and caring ways. But she is ready for this next step, has plans and schemes and is looking forward to the next phase of her life with travel, time for her arts and crafts, garden and of course, family.
- Jo Roberts, who has been at WPS 17 years also is leaving us at the end of this year, as well as leaving Wānaka, to also follow a different pathway, and like Kerry involving travel and family and other life interests. Jo has been a much loved junior school teacher, pod leader and of course Enviro and Garden to Table lead teacher as well as having been a teacher in the Reading Recovery programme. Jo is a calm, matter of fact, high performing teacher who just gets on with the job in the classroom as well as taking on other roles and responsibilities throughout the school. Jo, who will I turn to to get things done??
We are going to miss both of these talented, passionate teachers. We have been through an appointment process to appoint a new Deputy Principal and we are pleased to announce that Jennie Croxford is appointed as DP position as of January 2024, in the role Kerry will vacate. We have not had to reduce our classroom teacher pool next year, and so start with the same teaching personnel we have currently, with Ben joining the junior school in a classroom right at the beginning of the year.
We are also moving pods again shortly now the reclad is completed. The Maker Spaces are ready to go, having been through the tender process and are most likely to start being constructed at the beginning of next year rather than the Christmas holidays.
Pantomime Props...can you help? Items urgently required for our school pantomime...can you please help?
If you are sending along anything please name it and make sure it is older or no longer works as they always say when working on stage - don't work with children and animals...we can't guarantee your best pair of binoculars won't get dropped.
Our list of props: - a plastic saxophone (or something similar or a whacky/way out looking toy instrument)
- plastic binoculars or real ones but old in case they get dropped!
- plastic walkie talkies or old ones again in case they get dropped!
- fluffy dice - the type you hang from mirrors in cars
- 2 torches
- large joy sticks - like the old gaming controllers or similar to put on our spaceship dashboard
- a child's or small adults black leather jacket
- white t-shirts and shorts (tennis gear) for size 12 or 14
Pantomime Rehearsals...Final Weeks...Yikes It was fabulous to see just about every actor turn up to the panto practice on Saturday. They are a great bunch of Year 5 and 6s this year and to add to their amazing acting and singing we just need to work on incorporating the dance routines, costuming and props. Claire Haskins who used to teach at WPS is now back in Wānaka and has designed some wonderful makeup designs that will really help our actors get into role.
SO... - Panto practices at lunchtime all week (and during the day when I can wrangle some time from busy classroom routines).
- SATURDAY 25th - Practice in school hall....with the stage up...9am - 1pm...actors and dancers for this practice please.
- Next week, beginning 27th November we will be practising each day between 11am and 1pm, except Tuesday which is the Parent Deep Dive day, in school time. No practice on Friday 1st due to Year 6 transition visit in the morning and of course the Pod 2 Xmas assembly in the afternoon.
- During the week beginning Monday 4th December we have dress rehearsals all day, on Tuesday 5th December there is a morning dress rehearsal at 10am to which the rest of the school is invited.
- The MATINEE performance is 1 - 3pm on Wednesday 6th December and our evening performance is on Thursday 7th December 6 - 8pm. The show is about 90 minutes in length...we think!!
Tickets for both the matinee and 6pm performance are on sale NOW from the school office at $10 per seat. This entry fee helps us to pay the production's costs of makeup, costumes we need to make, props we need to buy and make etc. We are fortunate that Ian, our ICT support person and Jason have over the last few years set up our own sound and lighting systems so we save a lot of extra costs in these areas. Any profit made from seat sales goes back into improving these systems for the future (e.g. updating the hall data projector).
Reporting to Parents about student learning starts next week - You can book an interview with your child's teacher at any time from now - just email them directly. There is no booking system for these end of year interviews.
- Tuesday 28th November is your chance to come into your child's classroom and be shown, by your child, the work they have been doing over the last 2 terms in their workbooks, around the walls, along with their assessments etc. These Deep Dive slots are 11-12.30, 1.30-3pm, 4-5pm
- Friday 1st December - written reports will arrive in your email box
You have 3 opportunities to get as much information as you need about your child's progress, achievements and life at school.
Other End of Year Dates to Note - We have our big shift of 6 of our pods to a new pod. We have set aside 2 days to do this shift - Thursday 7th Dec and Monday 11th Dec starting at 9am. We are seeking parent help with a car and trailer and also strong arms to shift as some of it is very heavy. If you can help contact the school office as soon as possible.
- Tuesday 5th December: Senior Kapahaka group are performing at the QLDC Citizenship Ceremony 1.15-2.30pm. We are bussing the children to and from the Lake Wānaka Centre. Look out for a notice this week.
- Monday 11th December - Year 6 Student Leaders Celebration afternoon.
- Tuesday 12th December - Tribe Water Fun Afternoon.
- Wednesday 13th December - Year 6 Graduation Assembly - 1pm.
- Friday 15th December - Final day of school for 2023. School closes at 3pm. Buses are running.
- School starts for students in 2024 on Wednesday 31st January. We will be open on Monday 5th February, (but closed for Waitangi Day), along with MAC. Please note some of the other UC primary schools have decided to close for instruction on this Monday.
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Tribe Day   We had a great time on tribe afternoon, with a focus of kindness. |
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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 take ownership of our learning and behaviour'. |
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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:
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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. 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.  Quote of the Week  |
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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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Year 6 Only Drop-In at Kahu Youth |
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Wastebusters Sustainable Christmas Market |
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Alpha Challenge - Kids Event |
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Lighting of the Christmas Tree |
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Connected Parenting Workshop |
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Hawea Christmas Wonderland |
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Sustainable Transport Network
Can you help us create a more active and sustainable transport network in the Southern Lakes?
Climate action non-profit Wao Aotearoa and working group GET SMART, GET Moving has launched its second localised transport survey, to help understand the current transportation challenges in our community. Creating a more active and sustainable transport network is a long term vision for the southern lakes and the survey will help inform the planning process and ensure future transport networks align with our communities needs and preferences, while championing low emission sustainable modes of active and resourceful travel. Following the 2021 Survey, Wao wants to find out how the way we move around the district has changed in the last two years. The survey (which takes less than 5 minutes to complete) will provide valuable information that will inform future planning. Wao has established the transport working group GET SMART, GET Moving and it comprises Wao trustees and staff, secondary school students and passionate community members. Transport emissions make up 50% of our total emissions as a district and changing the way we move is one of the easiest ways we can make an impact on reducing these. Changing the way we move means more biking, walking and collective transport options. But first, we need input from our community to find out how we move now. That's what this survey is about. With this knowledge Wao will identify barriers and opportunities to change lives and track our impact over time to see how long it takes us to flip the fleet. To complete the survey follow this link To find out more about GET SMART visit www.wao.co.nz Closes 1st December |
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Wanaka Kids Club Holiday Programme |
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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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