NEWSLETTER No. 1 February

Friday 5th  February
9.00 a.m. Whole school Assembly in the Gym – Student Leaders hosting

Monday 8th February
Waitangi Day observed – School closed today

Tuesday 9th February
Breakfast Club starts this week in the Food Tech Room
Study Centre starts for students enrolled this week

Friday 12th February
9.00 a.m. Whole school Assembly in the Gym

Monday 15th February
Fruit in Schools starts this week
6.00 p.m BoT Meeting in the Principal’s Office. All welcome [please let Barbara Ferregel, BoT Secretary – barbaraf@papint.school.nz know if you intend attending. This is to make sure extra seating is available]

Tuesday 16th February, Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th February
School closes at 2.00 p.m. today
2.30 – 6.00 p.m. Getting to know the Learner Conferences – more detailed information will be shared via a separate Newsletter

Wednesday 17th February
Cultural Group Electives introduced in class

Friday 19th  February
9.00 a.m. Whole school Assembly in the Gym – Room 13 hosting

Tuesday 23rd February
Youth Law presenting to students in teams this week
6.00 p.m Parent Information Evening. Cyber Safety [in our Library]

Thursday 25th February
School Leaders out today – William Buck in the City

Friday 26th  February
9.00 a.m. Whole school Assembly in the Gym – Room 6 hosting

Tuesday 2nd March
Boys Softball Team out today

Thursday 4th March
Swimming Sports – Papatoetoe Pools all day. [a separate newsletter to follow with details]

Friday 5th  March
9.00 am. Assembly is today on line – Room 18 hosting

Tuesday 9th March
Girls Softball team out today

Friday 12th March
9.00 a.m. Whole school Assembly in the Gym -Room 3 hosting

Tuesday 16th March
Boys Softball Team out at Interzone
Photolife in to take Class and Team photos

Wednesday 17th March
Girls Softball Team out at Interzone
5.00 p.m. Team Puanga – BBQ and Performance Night [5.00 p.m. BBQ and Meet the Teacher. 6.00 p.m. Performance starts]

Thursday 18th March
5.00 p.m. Team Rehua – BBQ and Performance Night [5.00 p.m. BBQ and Meet the Teacher. 6.00 p.m. Performance starts]

Friday 19th  March
9.00 am. On line Assembly – Room 12 hosting

Friday 26th March
9.00 a.m. Whole school Assembly in the Gym – Room 5 hosting

Monday 29th March to Thursday 1st April
EOTC Week

Monday 29th March
6.00 p.m BoT Meeting in the Principal’s Office. All welcome [please let Barbara Ferregel, BoT Secretary – barbaraf@papint.school.nz know if you intend attending. This is to make sure extra seating is available]

Thursday 1st April to Tuesday 6th April
Easter break – school is closed Friday, Monday and Tuesday

Thursday 8th April
Interzone boys and girls Tag

Friday 9th April
9.00 am. Assembly is  on line today – Room 2 hosting

Friday 16th  April
9.00 a.m. Whole school Assembly in the Gym – Room 17 hosting
Final day of Term 1 – school closes at 3.00 p.m.

School Holidays
Monday 19th April to Friday 30th  April

Monday 3rd May
Term 2

 

WELCOME

Welcome to the start of a new school year. A special welcome to those who have started here for the first time – students and staff alike. Our school roll this year is about 680 students and we are no longer accepting any out of zone students.   Please do not hesitate to contact either the school office or your child’s class teacher if you have a question or concern. With over half of our students new to school each year we appreciate that there are a large number of school systems that we all need to come to understand in these first few weeks of school. If you ring the school office your call will be taken by one of our administration staff, usually Marie Leota or Alisha Spiers.

A special thank you to the large number of parents and caregivers who accompanied their child to school on their first day, this certainly helps them feel comfortable in their new school.

This year we welcome to our school, new staff members – Bhavna Pratap, Saba Kiana, Bianca Kerr-Bell, Robert Pether, Anna Davies and Esther Nosa.

We thank all the families who attended our Powhiri on Thursday morning, 4th February to welcome our new staff, students and whanau  to our school. There was a fantastic turn out of whanau [thank you]. We were very proud of the way our Year 8 students led the powhiri and managed the morning. Our special thanks to Kaumatua, Whaea Ihia and Whaea Mere and the Kapahaka Group for leading this wonderful welcome.

Pauline Cornwell
Principal

 

STUDENT LEADERS for 2021

HEAD GIRL                         A. AILUAI             Room 10
HEAD BOY                         U. ALI                   Room 1

KANUKA
L. PRITCHARD       Room 7
S. FALA’AVE           Room 13

NIKAU
R. SHARMA             Room 6
A. COLLINS             Room 25

TOTARA
O. FINAU                 Room 18
A. HUDAFAH           Room 5

KAHIKATEA
S. LA                       Room 16
S. WILSON             Room 8

 

PARENT PARTNERSHIP

We believe that educating our young people is a three-way partnership.

The three groups are: Parents as first teachers, the students, your child’s teacher’s and school staff. All three groups working in partnership will ensure the best learning outcomes for our students.

During the year there will be frequent opportunities to meet with your child’s teacher (the first being at the ‘Getting to know the Learner Conferences’ coming up on the 16th, 17th and 18th of February. Followed by the ‘BBQ and Performance Nights’ on the 17th and 18th March) We encourage you to email or to speak with them on the phone. All staff contact details can be found on our School Website.

Our school vision is  ‘Creating and Pursuing Opportunity’ and to do that will require all of us working together.

 

AN ISSUE AT SCHOOL

If you or your child has any issue at school, over any concern whatsoever, your first point of contact is with their classroom teacher. If you feel that the classroom teacher is not the best person to deal with your issue then please refer the matter to your child’s Syndicate Leader.

In very rare circumstances the issue may be more appropriately dealt with by one of the Assistant Principals of our school.  Mrs Donna Young; Deputy Principal – donnay@papint.school.nz, Gareth Fletcher; AP, Waita Syndicate Leader – garethf@papint.school.nz, Sanjeev Kumar; AP, Uru-rangi Syndicate Leader – sanjeevk@papint.school.nz, Mrs Tracy Prout; AP, Tupu-a-rangi Syndicate Leader – tracyp@papint.school.nz  and Mrs Lynn Corderoy; AP, Waiti Syndicate Leader – lynnc@papint.school.nz

 

AFTER SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTS

Adolescent children sometimes like to ‘wander’ home and may get into trouble if not carefully monitored after school. We advise parent’s/whanau make clear their expectations about how and when children come home after school.

We ask our students to talk to their parents and caregivers before school about making arrangements to visit or play at a friend’s place after school. We do not allow students to use the phone at 3.00 p.m. to make ‘play’ arrangements. We would appreciate parents who need to make after-school arrangements phoning the office before 12.00 p.m. It can be difficult to get messages to children in the afternoon – and more so the closer it gets to 3.00 p.m.

 

GETTING TO KNOW THE LEARNER CONFERENCES and BBQ PERFORMANCES

Tuesday 16th February, Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th February
School closes at 2.00 p.m. today
2.30 – 6.00 p.m. Getting to know the Learner Conferences – more detailed information will be shared via a separate Newsletter

Wednesday 17th March
5.00 p.m. Team Rehua – BBQ and Performance Night [5.00 p.m. BBQ and Meet the Teacher. 6.00 p.m. Performance starts]

Thursday 18th March
5.00 p.m. Team Puanga – BBQ and Performance Night [5.00 p.m. BBQ and Meet the Teacher. 6.00 p.m. Performance starts]

Please read the appropriate newsletter that will comehome highlighting these evenings. Halai Chicken or beef sausages will also be available  for $1.00. We look forward to you all joining along with the start of the year celebrations.

 

SCHOOL BUSES

If your child wishes to use our school bus service, please make sure they get a Bus Contract. Our School Buses drop off and leave from Great South Road.

 

EVERY CHILD ATTENDING SCHOOL EVERYDAY

Please assist us in encouraging your child to attend school every day it is open. For those students who attend every day we award a 100% participation certificate and prize at the end of the year. We value this effort. . Even in 2020, despite the COVID lockdowns, we presented about 20 at the end of the year. We also presented 8 students for two years of 100% attendance. Our aim is to double this number of students to receive one of these certificates at the end of this year.

 

FAMILY COURT ORDERS

A number of caregivers refer to custody/family court orders when they enrol their child with us. We are unable to meet these requests until we have on file a copy of the appropriate order. If this is an issue for your family please bring in a copy of the court order and we will photocopy and action accordingly.

 

SAFETY CHECKS RE ATTENDANCE

If your child is away and you have not let us know you will get a ‘safety check’ text checking on their where-abouts.

 

NEWSLETTER

Our School Newsletter is emailed every ‘odd’ week on a Thursday. If you have not supplied an email address and would like a ‘hard copy’ please advise your child’s classroom teacher. A copy of the newsletter is available on the School Website should you not receive your copy.

 

REPORTING TO THE OFFICE

All visitors to the school MUST report to the school office and sign in. Lunches for students also need to be brought to the school office. The lunch will delivered to your child’s classroom at lunch eating time.

 

SCHOOL CHARGES

Please read the information in the Prospectus [Page 2] about this. Payment can be made to Marie Leota  our Student Receptionist.
[The only costs to families are travel expenses for trips, camps and EOTC [Education Outside the Classroom]. We aim to request no more than $20.00 per term [with exception of Camp Week and EOTC Week]. Our aim is to have all students attend field trips etc and so have some options regarding payments. Our school does receive the MoE subsidy and all costs are subsidised.
EOTC Week is held in each ‘odd’ year and Camp Week is held in each ‘even’ year.]

 

SCHOOL TIMES

Students are expected to be at school by 8.30 a.m. each morning when all classrooms are open. After 8.45 a.m. students will need a note from home explaining their lateness. School closes at 3.00 p.m. each day.
If for any reason the school is required to close early, notification via email and or text will be sent out.
If the school is closing early during term time notification will be on our school website and also noted in the fortnightly newsletter. Parents can check on the school website about these types of events.

 

SCHOOL CANTEEN – this may need updating due to the School Lunch programme

Students are able to order their lunch from our School Canteen each morning when all classroom are open. The lunchroom is open by 8.00 a.m. each morning and students need to have ordered their lunch by 8.45 a.m. Included with this newsletter is the Lunchroom Menu. This is also displayed in your child’s classroom. Orders can be made in advance and by the week.

Free Lunches in Schools are expected to be available from Term 2 2021.

 

SECURITY BOXES

Each class has their own Security Box – students are to place any valuables [e.g. cell phones] in the box first thing each morning, the box is held in the Office for the day and valuables are returned to students before 3.00 p.m.  Students ARE NOT to keep cell phones on them during the day – they MUST go in the Security Box. All money must be put into an envelope [provided] and taken to the office for safe keeping. We strongly discourage students from bringing valuables to school. The school will not take any responsibly for lost or damaged items.

 

STATIONERY

About 99% of students came to school with all of their stationery. Fantastic! This has meant a wonderful start to school work. Many thanks, parents and caregivers for this excellent support. Stationery lists and uniform requirements can be collected from the school’s main office.

 

STUDY CENTRE

The Study Centre runs on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in the Library from the start of Week 2 (Tuesday 9th February) from 3:00-4:30pm. This is not an after-school care service, but an opportunity for students to continue their learning with the support of books, computers and staff. Students are expected to work on their homework and other assignments from class. After completing these they can participate in optional activities. A light afternoon tea is provided.

There is no charge for this programme but students must be committed to using it as a serious opportunity to learn. If you would like to enrol your child in the programme ask for an enrolment form from your child’s teacher or the Resource Room.

Diane Schutt is available by email for any queries and an enrolment form – dianes@papint.school.nz

 

UNIFORMS

Many thanks to parents for sending their children along to school looking so neat in their uniforms. They are a credit to you. Please ensure that every item of your child’s uniform is named [including their shoes].

 

VEHICLES IN THE SCHOOL GROUNDS

For student safety parents/caregivers must NOT drive their vehicles in the school grounds. Please, safely, drop your children off outside the school – Motatau Road or Great South Road. We encourage you to park a short distance from the school to improve safety at the school gate and pedestrian crossing. . If your child has a disability we will, of course, make provision – just make contact with the office with the details. ALL bicycle students will arrive and leave via the Motatau Road entrance.
Bikes are not to be ridden inside the school grounds.

 

STUDENT SAFETY AROUND OUR SCHOOL

As a school we are responsible together with a number of other instances for the safety of our students.

At the start of the school day and again at the close of school vehicle congestion around the school presents a problem.

The following points are set out for the safety of all our students.
a) Inside the school grounds:
Please note that there is no parent parking or student drop-offs in the school grounds – the sign at the school entrance indicates this.
There is insufficient parking inside the grounds for all our Staff and trades vehicles, let alone parent cars.

b) Outside the school grounds:
Parent parking is clearly marked by white lines on both Motatau and Great South Roads; please use these and avoid all pavements, driveways, no-stopping-zones and the pedestrian crossing approaches for parking, turning or dropping off.

Please drop your children off outside and a short distance away from the school – Motatau Road or Great South Road.
– If your child has a disability we will, of course, make provision – just make contact with the office with the details.
–  All bicycle students will arrive and leave via the Motatau Road entrance. Students must dismount and walk with their bike in the school ground. 

Auckland City Council enforcement officers will be monitoring all school entrances this year to ensure the safety of all students. Parents picking up or dropping off students must not stop or park on the yellow lines.

Please do not be offended if staff take a picture of your infringement and send it to the NZ Police along with their report.

 

WE ARE A ‘STAR’ SCHOOL – which means that we follow a strongly valued based approach to relationship management.

Our four core values are Safety, Trust, Attitude and Respect [STAR].

Therefore, you will hear your young people speak of us as a STAR school, or that they are in a STAR classroom. STAR awards are regularly awarded and these students are named in each newsletter.