We are very excited to be starting the year - and have begun in a very positive, fun and 'Vogeltown' way!
I hope you have all had a fantastic break over the Christmas/New Year period and have enjoyed some special time with family and friends. It has been amazing listening to all of our students and teachers holiday adventures!
It has been an amazing first week back at school filled with happy faces everywhere. Our Vogeltown whanau has continued to grow, seeing us welcome 29 new learners and their families. Our school roll for the beginning of 2024 is 365!
On Friday we had a great Powhiri for our new learners and Kaiako (teachers) to Vogeltown School. We were blown away by the amount of families who attended this special occasion where we welcomed our manuhiri (visitors) to become part of our Vogeltown whanau! See the photos below of our Powhiri and our new Akonga (learners) and Kaiako (Teachers).
On Monday we had our Mahi Tahi (work together) meetings, and what an amazing day it was seeing our community reunite. During this day, our Kaiako enjoyed building relationships with their new learners and whanau. Keep an eye out for a link to a survey asking for parent/caregiver feedback that will be sent out later next week.
As usual, we are aiming to make the most of this beautiful weather, and Term 1 is shaping up to be a very busy term full of great activities! A reminder about communication of these activities - we use our Facebook page (go and like us), Skool loop app (free download), and our newsletter. We are also using 'Seesaw' again in the classrooms this year. This is an amazing tool for the teachers and links to individual classes.
A massive thanks to everyone who has returned the communication sheet we had at Mahi Tahi meetings on Monday, we rely on this to update our school systems.
We have our Vogeltown Adventure on Friday the 16th of Feb. On Monday, at Mahi Tahi meetings, we gave out permission forms which included all the information. If you missed out on a form, let the office know and we can send a form home with your child. Alternatively you can give your permission on Skool Loop - just go to the 'Forms' tab on Skool Loop and you can fill out the form that way too.
We also have our 'Whanau Fiesta' on the 21st of Feb - this is our school start of the year picnic and is always a great evening!
To add to the list we have tryathlons, Swimming sports, whanau events and loads of learning happening as well!
Our teams are beginning the year with units of work around getting to know their class, themselves and their teachers - making 'connections' or Turangawaewae. They are also learning more about our Localised Curriculum, in particular our Maunga. Our team had a great 'Teacher Only Day' last week to get ready for the year, including a car trip around the coast ending up at Mount Taranaki. This was a fantastic day where a lot of bonding was done!
Aroha nui whanau,
Mrs Seed and the VS team
A massive welcome to our new akonga (kids) to Vogeltown School, we know you will enjoy your time with us! Haere mai, Haere mai, Haere mai!
We had a fantastic powhiri (welcome) on Friday and welcomed our manuhiri (visitors) to become part of our Vogeltown tangata whenua (our land/place).
Welcome to:
Xavier O'Neill (Rm 1)
Tim Haskell (Rm 1)
Scout Wooller (Rm 1)
Charlie Conroy (Rm 1)
Max Gnoth (Rm 1)
Nellie Stone (Rm 1)
Sylvia Robinson (Rm 4)
Jack Rawson (Rm 6)
Marlow Coutts (Rm 6)
Maringi Warren-Tiplady (Rm 6)
Thomasin Coates (Rm 6)
Franco Viljoen (Rm 6)
Lola Pymar-Harris (Rm 6)
Amelia Duffy (Rm 6)
Grayson Williams (Rm 6)
Aaliyah Wealleans (Rm 6)
Archie Brewer (Rm 7)
Reuben Miller (Rm 7)
Tayah McLeod (Rm 7)
Michael Brown (Rm 7)
Ruby Jane Duthie (Rm 7)
Frankie Benton (Rm 7)
Joshua Robins (Rm 7)
Coby Raxworthy-Crewe (Rm 8)
Jamie Siau (Rm 8)
Elsie Stone (Rm 12)
Riley Siau (Rm 13)
Ettie De Buisson (Rm 16)
Maggie Stone (Rm 16)
Welcome also to our new kaiako (teachers) at Vogeltown, Ms Pitcairn, Ms Debrecini and Mrs Webling, along with our new kaiawhina (teacher associates), Claudia Hamilton-Posthuma, Hannah Harvey and Tracey Flay, nau mai haere mai!
We are looking forward to a great year at Vogeltown School!
Come along and join us for our annual ‘Whanau Fun Fiesta’. This will be held at the Senior school on Wednesday 21st February 5 - 7pm.
There will be food for sale on the night: sausage sizzle, burgers, pizza, vege nachos, hot chips, desserts, popcorn, ice blocks and drinks.
Even some fun activities: Horizontal bungee, bouncy castle, tug o war and sack races.
We are asking all families to donate baked goods for our very popular cake stall. On Monday the 19th February, the eldest child from each family will be given a plate to take home and return with some lovely baking on the day of the ‘Whanau Fun Fiesta’.
We are really looking forward to this wonderful community event and hope to see you all there.
A big thanks to Mr McAuley who got the pool ready over the holidays - it is looking great!
We are selling keys to the pool for our Vogeltown school whanau - these cost $45. We do need a 'pool committee' again in 2024 - this committee looks after our pool in the weekend and holidays when we do not have staff around to check the pool. If you are keen to be on the pool committee, then please let me know - email: principal@vogeltown.school.nz We will need about 8-10 volunteers for the committee.
Thanks whanau
Sunhats
Please ensure your child has a bucket hat for use each day at school. These hats need to be named. Vogeltown School hats can be purchased at the office for $17, but any bucket hat is fine to be worn. Your child will also need suitable sun protection, applied before coming to school. We do have some sunscreen in each classroom - however this is not suitable for sensitive skin.
Drink Bottles
Please ensure your child brings a drink bottle to school every day. It's really important that our kids keep hydrated in this hot weather.
School Stationery
It is very important that students have the correct stationery to start the term. Please phone the school office if you require another copy of your child's stationery list or for further information regarding stationery requirements. You can still purchase stationery from any of the local stores in New Plymouth, e.g Warehouse Stationery, The Warehouse, Paper Plus etc.
Attendance
All students and parents should strive for 100% attendance. School is a busy, active environment and non-attendance simply means that students fall behind with their learning. This can adversely affect friendships and limit opportunities. Please phone 753 6843 or text (021753680), email office@vogeltown.school.nz or use 'Skool Loop' to notify us of a student absence.
Leaving the School Grounds
Children may not leave the grounds without being collected by a parent or caregiver. If you need to collect your child early or take them to an appointment, please sign them out at the senior or junior office and take the sign out slip to your child's teacher. If your child is returning to school after an appointment then they will need to sign back in at the office when they return.
Lucky book club
The catalogues for Lucky book club have been handed out this week. We take online orders only and they are due in by the 16th of February
A reminder to everyone that we do not ask for a school donation/fee at Vogeltown school. The Vogeltown Board opted in to the Ministry of Education donation scheme for 2024, which means we get paid a donation from the government and we do not ask families to contribute to any 'curriculum related' costs - including transport and events like Life Education.
More information can be found on the Ministry of Education's website.
Mrs Seed
VOGELTOWN SCHOOL CONTACTS
Email: office@vogeltown.school.nz
Website: www.vogeltown.school.nz
Location: Vogeltown School Huatoki Street, Vogeltown, New Plymouth, New Zealand
Phone: (06) 753 6843