Waikari School Newsletter

Confident, Curious & Respectful Kids

Email: principal@waikari.school.nz
Website: https://waikari.school.nz
Location: 23 Princes Street, Waikari, New Zealand
Phone: (03)314 4250

Kia ora e te whānau,

As we gear up for the festive season, it's a perfect time to reflect on the year and express our gratitude to those who've made it special. Recently in Kea Class we have discussed how it is important for leaders to 'give back' to others, they have practiced this by making cards and letters to members of the defense force serving overseas, spreading cheer and appreciation.

Our recent outing to the ballet was a blast! The teachers were not only impressed but also immensely proud of how well-behaved our Waikari students were during this cultural event. It's moments like these that showcase how fantastic Waikari Students are.

Amidst all our school festivities, Kerry and Debra have been diligently working on assessments and reports. We're thrilled to share that the results from our school have been pleasing, and you can anticipate receiving reports at our end-of-year prizegiving.

The upcoming weeks are jam-packed with exciting events, including singing at the hospital, participating in Top Teams, enjoying the Big Day Out, and embarking on a school trip to the Rock Drawings. We're wrapping up the school year on a high note, filled with enthusiasm and joy.

A huge shout-out to our school board and staff for their unwavering support over the past two terms. I can hardly believe we're nearing the end of the year. My time at Waikari has been incredibly enjoyable, and I eagerly anticipate all the exciting plans our staff has in store for the coming year.

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season and looking forward to the adventures that await us in the new year!

Ngā Mihi Nui,

Phoebe Todd

Principal | Tuamuki

Waikari School

Waikari School will be moving to a new parent communication app and student management system in 2024 called Hero. This will be replacing Skoolloop. This new app has many different features such as:

• push notifications (like a text notification) - so you always know when we have sent a message
• digital permission forms
• attendance
• school newsletters
• school digital reports
• Sharing Learning - students and teachers can share learning (similar to seesaw)

Hero will be the only form of communication for any school notices, newsletters and events. In order to prepare for new method of communicating, we ask that you please download the Hero app from your app store. Soon you will be able to login with you email address, however I am still working alongside Hero to set this up I will communicate once its ready to go. I will be more than happy to help people download the app and login, so please feel free to pop in and visit once it is all set up.

What - Fun Sports and team building activities
Where - School Field

Who - Greta Valley & Waikari School

Need - Change of clothes

Need - 3-4 Parent helpers, will need to be at school at 9

When - 9:30 - 11:30

Get ready for the fun

What - heading to the Waikari Hospital to spread some chirstmas cheer

When - 1:30pm Wednesday 6th December

Need - a Santa hat or Christmas decoration to wear i.e. reindeer ears (if you have one at home, we do have some at school).

I can't wait for my first Big Day Out event and I am sure everyone's excited once again.

What - Annual Big Day Out to Hamner Springs Pool it is a Family Fun Event

When - Monday 11th December - leaving at 9 back by 3 (unless your parents take you or you stay late)

Need - Togs, Towel & a Picnic Lunch

FAST will be providing some treats at the end.

During the picnic lunch we will be having our final assembly and awarding the PRIDE & Hurunui Athletics certificates for this part of the term.

We do require some support for transport and we know many family members like to join us on this trip so if your coming please let us know asap.

We will be walking to the Māori Rock Drawings for a picnic lunch, we have not finalised which route will be taken we make have some students going through Timpendean and some over the hill (this will be decided based on stock movements in paddocks). If you would like to join us for a walk and a picnic please let the office know.

CLICK HERE to see the End of Year Calendar with all the dates on it - feel free to print it.

End of year family invoices have been sent home. Don't forget to put your child's name in the reference when paying and if you have any questions regarding school accounts please see Caryn in the Office or chat with Phoebe. Any credit/debit will be transferred over to the new HERO system early next year.

Waikari School is a Cash Free School

This means that we do not accept cash for payments i.e. stationary & camp.

We are happy for families to set up regular internet payments weekly/fortnightly to cover all school expenses.

The only time we accept cash is when it is not directly for school purposes i.e. mufti days, sausage sizzles (sports day lunches) and market days.

Congratulations to the following students for their success at the Hurunui Athletics and to all of those who participated. Its great when our small school punches above our weight.

Year 5:

Fergus - 2nd Shotput, 2nd Discus, 3rd 60m, 3rd 80m, 3rd Long jump

Max - 2nd 1000m, 2nd 60m, 2nd 80m, 1st Long jump

Year 6:

Nico - 3rd 1000m

Maddison - 2nd 1000m, 2nd Discus, 2nd Long jump

Year 7:

Lotti - 3rd 100m

Shakaiyah - 2nd 1200m, 2nd Discus, 3rd 60m, 2nd 100m, 1st Long jump

Tom - 2nd Shotput, 2nd 1200m, 2nd Discus

Year 8:

Peppa - 3rd 1200m

Also to Max and Shakaiyah who completed at the Canterbury Athletics this week. Special mention to Max who got 9th in Long Jump and 10th in 60m Sprint.

Look at us all in the Royal Isaac Theatre enjoying the Hansel and Gretel performance by the Royal New Zealand Ballet. It was an amazing performance.

Our end of year prize-giving dance extravaganza is almost here so we are sorting out dance costumes.

The children will be wearing plain black t-shirts and black pants/leggings along with their accessories etc. If your child has their own plain black t-shirt and black jeans/pants/leggings - please send them to school in a named bag on Monday next week.

Please do not purchase these items new - they are only on stage for one exciting minute. Borrowing from someone or even using a t-shirt inside out will work. We do have some clothes here if you can't find anything. Just let Caryn know in the office and we will sort it out.

Students were given the Scholastic Book Club brochure last week. Remember to get your orders in early if you want them to arrive before Christmas. To order visit: https://scholastic.co.nz/LOOP

Waikari School had a wonderful day supporting Diabetes New Zealand last Thursday. There was BLUE everywhere. A huge thank you to Rosie's parents for coming along and teaching us more about diabetes and raising our awareness. They also brought Kate and 2yr old Dan who has Type 1 Diabetes as well. Some of the Keas tested their blood sugar levels which gave them a greater understanding of how it all works. Our mufti day raised $65.00 for this important cause - Ka pai!

And......thank you so much Rosie for helping us understand your Type 1 Diabetes journey - you are a real superstar!

Charlotte had a ball floating around the pool on the noodles.

Our Reward Day was a huge success and what better way to top off an afternoon of fun on a hot day, than with an ice-block. Thank you to Will for sharing his birthday treat with the whole school.

Kea and Weka joined together last week for some collaborative activities. It was great to see the children demonstrating their PRIDE skills while sharing and learning from each other. This activity was creating colourful tessellations.

Maggie from Canterbury Country Cricket Association visited our school to last week to coach the students. The Wekas had a great time learning and practicing new skills and the Keas were honing skills they had been shown at previous visits. These visits from sports specialists are a fantastic support to our PE curriculum area. Take a look at these budding cricketers below.

The Wekas have been re-visiting their narrative and re-count writing - look at these two excellent examples.

The Lost Reindeer.

One Christmas Dancer woke up early in the morning. He looked one way and he saw a light glistening behind the mist. He walked three steps forward then he heard something under his foot. It sounded like metal. He picked it up with his mouth. It was a mini lantern. Its candle inside was starting to tower up with flames. Dancer walked towards the shining light. He started to see the shape of the thing that the light was in. It had a rectangle on the bottom and a parallelogram on the top. He went in and looked around, then he decided to magically live there. Emily A

Ballet Recount

On Friday the 24th of November Waikari School went to the amazing ballet show called Hansel and Gretel. The ballet was in Christchurch at the Isaac Theatre. First we got on a bus and headed to the theatre. We were early so we went to the Public library and I played with the lego. Then we went back to the theatre and took a seat. Whenever you stood up the seat folded up. The witch wanted to fatten the boy up to eat him. He had lots of delicious desserts. Then the witch showed her true self and let him out. After that, the witch told Gretel to turn the oven on but she said "I can't see" so the witch did it. Gretel pushed her into the oven and shut the door. I liked it so much I would want to go again. Thank you to the Royal New Zealand Ballet for allowing us this experience. Ethan

(Look above at the photos)

The Keas have been working hard this year to develop their writing skills. Their focus recently has been learning the content, language and layout of 'reviews' with some fantastic results. Check out Manaaki's concise review of a short film.

FILM REVIEW

Title:

This film is called The Present.

Genre:

This is an animated short film.

Audience:

This is good for any age, but if you want to understand it you should be 9+.

Characters:

There is a 10 year old boy, who likes gaming on the couch. There is his mum who is kind and is just a side character. There is a little golden puppy with three and a half legs.

Setting:

The setting of this film is the lounge at the boys house.

Plot:

The boy was gaming but then his mum came in with a box and was telling him how nice it was outside. But he wasn’t listening so she told him to open up the present she got him and walked off.

The boy stopped the game, opened the box and out came a puppy with three legs. He was disappointed with it. He kicked the dog away, told it to go away and he carried on with his game.

However, the dog kept trying to play with him, but still he was gaming. The dog was walking around and he kept falling over but he always got back up with a smile. The boy started to watch the puppy but he was still frowning at the puppy.

The puppy found a red ball and brought it to the boy. Frustrated, he threw the ball into the box. The puppy thought he was playing with him so he chased the ball but then the box fell on it.

As the puppy was trying to get the box of it the boy was watching. The boy was smiling but then he went back to frowning.

The puppy finally got the box off and gave the ball back to the boy.

The boy got up and told his mum they were going outside.

Sound Effects

The gun shots from the game were good because when it was loud he wasn’t listening and when it was quiet he was listening. The music was perfect for the mood.

Opinion

I think this movie was good because it had meaning behind it.

Rating

9/10 Manaaki

Check out these awesome individuals—Max, Odin, James, Ethan, and Aiden—who have received certificates in the past fortnight.

This week, our challenge was to demonstrate respect by giving people space to manage their emotions. We all know what it's like to feel upset, frustrated, angry, sad, etc. As we approach the end of the term and everyone gets a bit tired, these emotions can become more intense and challenging to handle. Therefore, we discussed the importance of recognizing when someone has taken some 'time out,' walked away, or headed inside for some drawing. It's crucial that we give them the space they need and welcome them back when they're ready.

Can you model how to be an active listener at home?

At times we can be busy and actively listening disappears, see if you can catch yourself and model being an active listener.

Absences

• If your child is not going to be at school please contact the school before 9:00am.

School Bank Account

• Automatic payments are also welcome (weekly & fortnightly) and our Student Management system can also handle Payments in Advance.

School App

• Reminder to check Skoolloop regularly so see any updates from the teachers and the office.

Office Hours

• School office will be manned by Caryn from 9-9:30 and 1:30-3:00

Break Times

• 10:45-11:10 Morning Tea
• 12:45-1:20 Lunch

• Waikari School uses SchoolDocs to maintain a comprehensive, up-to-date set of policies and procedures online. These policies and procedures follow guidelines and legislation and best practice, and have been tailored for our school.
• Policies being reviewed this term are:

Curriculum and Student Achievement Policy

Student Achievement/Assessment Policy

Home Learning

Distance Learning

Identify Learning Support

Religious Instruction/Religious Education

• You can use the SchoolDocs website to participate in a review. https://waikari.schooldocs.co.nz/Logon.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f

Username: waikari

Password: pride

We as a B.O.T really value your feedback.

• Tuesday 21st November - Respect Jar (bring your togs)
• Thursday 23rd November - Diabetes Awareness Day (Mufti Day)
• Friday 24th November - Ballet - Christchurch
• Thursday 23rd & 30th November - North Canterbury Cricket Skills
• Monday 4th December - Top Teams Competition
• Wednesday 6th December - Singing at Waikari Hospital
• Monday 11th December - Big Day Out
• Thursday 14th December - End of Year Prizegiving
• Monday 18th December - Last Day of School Open