Kia ora whanau and caregivers
It is very exciting to back as I return from my T1 Sabbatical. Many, many thanks to the courageous, committed staff, BoT, Whanau and Parent Link who ensured the continuity of learning for all here at IPS. As a Leader, I formally would like to acknowledge the BoT, Staff, ParentLink, Students and Whanau for supporting my much treasured Sabbatical time as I continued my learning through research and also enjoyed valuable time with my Mum and whanau.
The winter weather is certainly stunning, with the superb sunrises, cool frosty mornings followed by beautiful sunny days. The weather sure does assist all to have a bounce in their step.
Over the non-contact time, our Teaching Staff were involved in Professional Development to strengthen and stretch our knowledge of New Zealand history. We worked with a researcher Tamsin Hanley, who has written six modules of learning, which we as a staff are working through over the next six terms.
We look forward to having a sharing time with you all as we further develop our local and national curriculum of learning. The other five days of break time (not including the 4 Stat Holidays) Staff were engaged in researching, planning, meeting and refueling their tanks in readiness for the term.
We are delighted to welcome Mrs Michaela Krook and Mrs Wendy Williams to our teaching staff. Michaela is teaching in Whaea Marcelle's class for Term 2 and Wendy is a Specialist Teacher working alongside our SENCo Rachel Marshall-Smith and our Special Needs students and families.
Over the break, our fantastic Caretaker John Harland and Cleaner Linda May, have been working their magic in maintaining our grounds, buildings and classes. We have our new Swimming Pool Heater in and our pool is now up and running. Many thanks to Rose Lepper and Aimie Woodhead for their patience as they have not been able to have Swimming Lessons to date.
We have also had a development in the Junior Playground area, with a fabulous deck being built around one of our large trees. The Junior children are enjoying their new area, with lots of imaginative play going on. Many thanks to Cookie Construction (Mack Cook, an ex student of IPS) who built this for us. There will be another one built around the other large tree in the near future. Thanks also to Pat Kennedy and Value Timber for sourcing the timber for us. However, the biggest thanks must go to our fantastic ParentLink Team and all the families who support our fundraising ideas. Without a dedicated team, we cannot have lovely additions to our areas such as these.
This week, we were delighted to see another one of our ex students gaining success in acting. We are super proud of young Jacob Dombroski who is now featuring on Shortland Street. Well done Jacob.
