IN THIS NEWSLETTER

IMPORTANT DATES

Term 3
Week 4
Wednesday 12th August - Parent / Teacher Interviews 3:30 - 5:00pm (Rooms 1, 4 & 23 only, Rooms 2 & 6 will organise their own interviews)
Wednesday 12th August - PTA Meeting 7:00pm - Staffroom
Thursday 13th August - EOTC / SNOW Programme - Day 2
Friday 14th August - Pod 4 Assembly - 2:15pm - School Hall
Week 5
Monday 17th August - BOT Meeting 5:00pm - Staffroom
Thursday 20th August - EOTC / SNOW Programme - Day 3
Week 6
Thursday 27th August - EOTC / SNOW Programme - Day 4
Friday 28th August - Pod 3 Assembly - 2:15pm - School Hall
Week 7
Wednesday 2nd September - WPS Cross Country Event
Thursday 3rd September - EOTC / SNOW Programme - Day 5
Friday 4th September - Father's Day Breakfast
Week 8
Monday 7th September - BOT meeting 5:00pm - Staffroom
Tuesday 8th September - Upper Clutha Cross Country
Thursday 10th September - EOTC / SNOW Programme - Postponement Day
Friday 11th September - Pod 1 Assembly - 2:15pm - School Hall
Week 9
Māori Language week
Swim week - Pod 5
Week 10
Swim week - Pod 6
Friday 25th September - Last Day of Term 3

IMPORTANT NOTICES

Wānaka Primary New School App

Exciting news we have an App for Wānaka Primary School.

To install the App please:

Go to the App Store on your Apple or Android device
Search 'SchoolAppsNZ' to download the app
Then search Wānaka Primary School
You will then have to request Wānaka Primary School log in details which will be emailed to you.

The main features of the App are:

Absences - record children's absence from school
Buses - to record bus changes
School Info - access to the school website and other useful links
Calendar - displays upcoming events at school - you are able to tap on the event and be provided with more information
Newsletter - displays recent newsletters
Parent Portal - takes you to Edge where you can view your children's reports
Alerts - reminders sent to parents - we can now define classes, pods and years so you should only get alerts relevant to your child.

Please scan the QR code when you come into school

CURRICULUM COMMENT

Mid Year Reporting

There was an excellent turn out of parents to the student reporting sessions last Tuesday and I know that this, along with the written report, and the parent/teacher interviews, will provide you information about your child's learning, progress and achievement. I would like to thank the teachers for the time and passion they continue to invest in the reporting process which is in line with our Deep Learning pedagogies. We have an amazing staff at Wānaka Primary School who work so hard to be the best they can be to make our school great! You are all tumeke.

Next week's newsletter will include an opportunity for you to give feedback on the mid year reporting process so that we can see what works really well for parents and what may need refining.

School Bus Routes

Since returning from lockdown I have been in regular communication with the Ministry of Education transport team about buses for next year. We will be in contact with bus families to explain the Ministry's transport plan.

School Minivans

Our school minivans have been busy taking children to venues outside of school as part of Deep Learning and EOTC. These vans are an asset for the school in helping to minimise travel costs and will be used for our camps in term 4 and the swimming programme. Thanks to the Otago Community Trust, the Lion Foundation, the PTA and the Board of Trustees, who all invested funding into these vans.

Winter Illnesses and Chills

We have had a number of students and staff unwell over the last couple of weeks. Please keep your children home even for the slightest ailment such as a a sore throat or runny nose. Keep up with thorough handwashing and hygiene practices as research has shown these make a difference to the spread of contagious winter ailments.

The Ministry of Education is advising schools and their communities to think about preparation for a resurgence of COVID-19. This message is also coming through from other agencies and through the media. Handwashing and tracing are the 2 strategies schools can easily insist on if such a time does happen. Please use our QR code at the gates or come in and sign in at the office everytimeyou come into school. One of our staff realised through their own tracing methods that they were in Queenstown at the same time as the traveller who tested positive for COVID when he got to South Korea. The staff member knew to take a test and was negative for COVID, but it shows how easily community spread could be. Keep your kids and the rest of the team at WPS safe by following strict hygiene and tracing rules.

Support Staff Awarded Pay Rise

Congratulations to our wonderful Teacher Aides who have recently gained a pay rise and equity with similar work. We are also blessed to have amazing TAs so it is great their work is at last being acknowledged through their pay. Our office team (administration manager and assistants) are now the focus for NZEI and their award round has started. We will be getting behind our office team as well so they too can achieve a fair pay and equity with similar work places.

Professional Learning

Hannah from Pod 7, has been facilitating networking sessions for Beginning Teachers around Central Otago for the last couple of years. Simone, and Belinda our very own BTs attended the second session on Monday.

Robyn, Kylie, Jennie and Coral are involved in ALIM (Accelerated Learning in Maths) and have been teaching small groups, sometimes twice a day, of targeted children to give them an intensive push in maths. Viv Thompson from Otago University has been working with these teachers and their groups. She is in school next Monday to observe the groups at work and to review their progress and the teacher strategies.

Our PB4L (Positive Behaviour for Learning) and NPDL (New Pedagogies for Learning) lead teams meet twice a term for 3 hours to review, plan and report on the work that is happening in different pods and across the whole school. These lead teams drive these initiatives across the school. The PB4L team is meeting tomorrow and the NPDL team next week.

The leadership team, Kerry, Jason, Jennie and myself have been involved in a lot of online learning around leadership of student learning and quality teaching. We have had lots of rigorous discussion. Next Monday we are participating in a Global Thinking Webinar with educational guru Tony Ryan.

Our full staff have been involved in PD, mainly in NPDL and PB4L with a staff workshop or pod meeting each week. On 25th August our wonderful TAs are leading the staff workshop and upskilling us on inclusive practices. This follows on from the webinars and professional learning that TAs undertook during lockdown. Thanks for sharing your learning with us.

SCHOOL NOTICES

Teaching Position

We seek registrations of interest for a teacher for Term 4 at Wānaka Primary School. This is a roll growth position.

We are seeking a teacher with a good knowledge of the systems at Wānaka Primary School, experience in running our transition programme (Te Ara Hono) and have successful experience in teaching new entrants. We are looking for a teacher who can work collaboratively and has positive relationships with students, parents and peers.

Please register your interest by emailing your suitability for the position to jasonc@wanaka.school.nz before Friday 21st August 3 pm.

First EOTC Day with the Eco Rangers

Eco Rangers having a great day out last Thursday creating a range of survival shelters.

First EOTC Day with the Adventure Group

Looking at Nature Spaces with Pod 6

This term Pod 6 have been looking at different nature spaces. One of their projects has been to design their own zoo. Children had to research different animals and their habitats to ensure the enclosures they designed were appropriate. On Wednesday the children from Room 23 and 24 had a zoom meeting with Ken from Hamilton Zoo. He explained all the different decisions that need to be made when creating a zoo. He also took us on a virtual tour and we got to meet their latest addition...a baby White Rhino.

PTA NOTICES

PTA Meeting

There will be a PTA meeting held on Wednesday 12th August at 7pm in the School Staffroom. Everyone is welcome to attend.

COMMUNITY NOTICES

Women in Sport and Leadership

Upper Clutha Schools - Ski and Snowboard Race

Fixers wanted to join the Repair Revolution

Wastebusters are running a series of repair events as part of our Repair Revolution and we’re looking for fixers and volunteers of all kinds!

If you, or anyone you know, enjoys repairing things and sharing your know-how, we invite you to join us as a volunteer fixer.

Your repair skills in fixing household items such as computers, electronics, small appliances, furniture, clothes, jewellery, books, bikes, instruments, china, skis and more, are all welcome.

If you’re interested, please complete this form and we'll be in touch:

Volunteer expression of interest form or sign up through our website.

If you have questions, please email abbeyl@wastebusters.co.nz.

Dates and venues: