Newsletter No. 03

ONEWHERO AREA SCHOOL - 11th March 2022

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Principals Message:

Kia ora Whaanau,

Congratulations to these amazing students who sat their exams for music. Normally, they would have sat them in August last year, but due to COVID were not able to. The students had to keep going with the practice as the exam date was constantly changing, but they stuck with it and did very well on the day. Results were as follows:

Preliminary - Stanley Foote Passed with Distinction, John McGowan Passed with Honours

Preparatory - Reagan Kelsall Passed with Merit, Jess Shortt Passed with Honours, Jason Scott Passed with Honours

Grade 3 Kanya Kawarau -Wilson Pass

The school uses linewise to filter and monitor device use. As part of this we also have a parenting support site that helps parents understand the sites and apps that are popular with young people. Details on how to access the site and the link to the site are in this newsletter.

Last Friday we had a teacher only day. The day was postponed from Term 4 last year and is one of the required teacher only days for the NCEA changes. This Friday all of the teachers across the school focused on local curriculum and te ao maaori and how these can be included in unit and course design. Both of these are key features of the NCEA changes.

It is with sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Mattie Kroonenburg on the 17th of Februaury. Mattie was Chair of the Board of Trustees from 2004-2007 and was a trustee and patron to the Onewhero Early Childhood Centre.

Alex Cathcart also passed this week. Alex has supported our school for a number of years, and our thoughts are with his family in this very tough time.

Lastly, we are continuing to adapt to COVID in the community and the ever-changing status of this, which is causing us to have staffing shortages/complexities. We do have a small number of cases that are across the school, however we are finding that most of the notified cases were not at school during their infectious period hence the small number of cases we are seeing at present. This is good news and shows that the community is doing a great job of staying home when sick and isolating with household cases. Unfortunately, due to staffing, we are now at the stage where we will need to move to a rostered timetable for onsite and at home learning in Years 7-13. For students under the age of 14 who have no supervision at home for their rostered home learning days we will continue to provide onsite supervision for those that require it. This will not be a student's normal timetabled classes/teachers.

For the next 3 school days we are asking the following groups to work from home:

Thursday: Room 13 and Room 15 homeroom classes (Mr Lang and Mrs Harwood), Year 12, and Year 13.

Friday: Year 10, Year 12, and Year 13

Monday: Room 13 and Room 15 homeroom classes (Mr Lang and Mrs Harwood), Year 9, and Year 11.

The decision to keep these students learning from home has been made due to the coverage of absent staff and the classes needing to be covered each day. We have tried to keep it balanced but it is not always possible. We appreciate your support with this.

Ngaa mihi,

Rebecca Bills

Tumuaki/Principal

Onewhero Area School

NZMSM Practical Exam Results

Congratulations to these amazing students who sat their exams. Normally, they would have sat them in August last year. The students had to keep going with practice as the exam date was constantly changing. Everyone was happy and relieved to get them over and done with!!

Preliminary - Stanley Foote Passed with Distinction, John McGowan Passed with Honours

Preparatory - Reagan Kelsall Passed with Merit, Jess Shortt Passed with Honours, Jason Scott Passed with Honours

Grade 3 Kanya Kawarau -Wilson Pass

Donna Allely

NZMSM Teacher

NON UNIFORM DAY - Friday 11th March

Fundraising for the Rowing Team to go to Maadi Cup.

Introducing Family Zone

Our school recognises that children today are growing up in an increasingly online world and that it's important that we do more to support and guide them to navigate this digital landscape.

Successfully developing healthy and responsible digital citizens requires a holistic approach, and that's why we are pleased to provide access to parents and whanau to our school's online safety ecosystem, Family Zone.

To access the Online Safety Hub search/go to this link https://onewhero.onlinesafetyhub.nz/.

There is a tab specifically for Parents, with a range of up-to-date resources and information including;

A quiz for parents to assess the online safety needs of their children
Suggestions for creating rules and agreements with your children
Age advice (what is appropriate at different ages)
Hot topics (risks of current high use apps and games)
Information guides – e.g. cyberbullying, sexting, screen time, gaming
Plus a whole lot more

We hope you will be able to make great use of this resource at home. Please let us know if it is being useful or if you require further support.

Next week we will share information about what we are doing at school and how we are using Family Zone and Classwize to protect and support students while online at school.

Tooth Group Dental - Years 9-13, Term 2 - 16th May 2022

Kia Ora!

As we move forward into 2022, our team would like to thank you for allowing the opportunity to provide quality on-site mobile dentistry to your child.

The Ministry of Health and DHB have an obligation to ensure all students under the age of 18 have access to FREE dental care. Our team of clinical experts take pride as we play our part, providing oral health services, helping to empower and improve the smiles and wellbeing of the adolescents of Onewhero Area School.

What is your child entitled to?

All students up until their 18th birthday (who are eligible and meet the criteria) can access FREE basic dental care. The dental care is provided on-site at Onewhero Area School so your child's experience is as seamless and convenient as possible.

These services include:

Examinations

Radiographs (if required)

Preventative treatment such as fluoride application and fissure sealants
Scale and Polish
Restorative treatment (white fillings)
Non orthodontic extractions

Root canal treatment

Increased awareness of good oral health practices including a FREE Oral Health Kit

How Do I Enrol the service available to my child?
Enrolling or declining the service is simple! Simply click the link here

How Do I Decline the service available to my child?

Already have your own dentist? Simply click the link here

Already enrolled your child to our service?
Great! We look forward to providing quality dentalcare to your child.

Community Notices:

ZUMBA CLASSES!

Come and dance and have a laugh. Very casual atmosphere. 2 classes available every week. Bombay Scout Den, 31 Paparata Road on Wednesdays 7-8pm and Tuakau Town Hall, 70 George Street on Thursday 7-8pm. Gold coin entry and vaccine pass required.

Dandelions and Dragonflies

The Childcare and Early Learning Centre on the school grounds has now been fully renovated. We’ve extended the operating hours and are now open Mon-Fri from 7:30am-5:30pm. We’ve also been through all the licencing requirements to now be able to provide spaces for babies for the first time, so we can cater from 3 month olds through to 5 year olds. We’ve also installed a Commercial Kitchen and hired a Qualified Chef to provide nutritious meals to children for the first time.

To find out more or to arrange a Centre Visit, please contact:

Dandelions and Dragonflies

Centre Manager, Jade Lane

(09)242-9100

info@dandelionsanddragonflies.co.nz

www.dandelionsanddragonflies.co.nz

www.facebook.com/DandelionsAndDragonfliesOnewhero

Auckland Regional Dental Service:

Kia ora

For information about the Children’s Community Dental Service (Auckland Regional Dental Service) during COVID-19, please refer to our website: https://www.waitematadhb.govt.nz/home/ards/.

Our website will always contain the most up-to-date information for our service at each Alert Level.

Due on site at OAS Term 4.

Kind regards

The Children Community’s Dental Service