Newsletter 1 Term 2

Kia ora e te whānau,

I am sitting here wondering if it is ever going to stop raining. We are all very saddened about the tragic outcome during that heavy rain which has impacted us all and we send aroha to his whanau and the wider community involved. I am sure, like me, you hugged your loved ones much closer that night. If anyone needs support around this event, please reach out.

Our tamariki have settled very quickly back into school, already enjoying exciting and engaging learning experiences. We have a lot more to look forward to, so keep an eye out for information about upcoming events.

Our school whanau also extends its sympathy to Meredith and Elly at the recent passing of their mum. We are also wishing Gareth a speedy recovery from his nasty football accident and subsequent surgery. Having had a number of relievers in the school for various reasons, we are thrilled with the resilience and adaptability of our tamariki when things have needed to change. You can be proud of them also and we thank you for any extra support you might have needed to give them.

Thank you so much for all your support with the break in of the bike shed and thefts that occurred over the holidays. We have had some bikes and 4 scooters back and we will work on replacing equipment in the near future. It is times like these we recognise how important it is to stay positive and be grateful for the good things in our lives. There are many great things ahead for us which we look forward to with great anticipation.

Kia kaha. Kia manawanui. Arohanui.

AnnMaree MacGregor

Tumuaki/Principal

I have thoroughly enjoyed the company of the following students who shared morning tea with me last term to recognize how amazing they are every day at Onerahi School. Sometimes Mrs Williams gets to do this for me and we both agree it's the best part of our week!

R1 Lucas Browning, R5 Ryker Ziebe-Lovell, R18 Bowen McNeil, R19 Evie Beardsall, R12 Zeke Cleaver, R17 Kate Biggins, R2 Qyle Dela Cruz, R6 Georgia Zwart, R16 Mivaan Patel, R14 Angeline Wihongi, R16 Star Pepene, R12 Emily Stanbridge, R9 Tayyibah Buksh, R22 Caiden Phimester, R5 James Scott-Davidson, R3 Arapeta Tuhiwai, R2 Kayne Turner, R1 Noah MacDonald, R15 Cressida Marino-Hepi, R13 Jamie Kervell, R9 Skyler Willemen, R19 Luna Junge, R8 Manawanui Paraha, R19 Layla Gardiner, R15 Danielle Meagher, R17 Myah Robinson, R6 Ruby Taylor, R3 Patrick Dearn.

So far this term I have had the pleasure of the company of R13 James Gibbs, R14 Israel Rapana, R3 Elizabeth Read, R5 Billy Morgan, R22 Georgie Kake, R10 Lexah Gamble, R12 Chloe Abraham, R17 Avera-Leigh Ashby-Leaf, R8 Luke Bowers, R9 Tia Wright, R14 Amy Biggins, R16 Breeze Turner, R6 James Lester, Riley Tissink

These tamariki make our school a great place to be.

Our talented ākonga create some fabulous art and pieces of writing when they learn about a wide range of topics at Onerahi Primary. It has been some time since we featured some examples in our newsletter and we are delighted to have some great contributions this time.

Room 12 is all about collaboration. They recently worked together to capture and retell an important story from Aotearoa."

At the beginning of time, Tane pushed his parents apart. He lay on his back and pushed his father up into the sky with his muscular legs. Life floated into the world.

Tane created grass, bushes and flowers for the wild life to live amongst for eternity. He clothed his mother in nature.

With the speed of light, Ranginui flew up in to the sky. He became the sky father and was covered in clouds, rainbows and beautiful colours. Ranginui started crying because he missed Papatuānuku.

Whakairo Art:

Room 5 combined traditional elements of carving a stylized face which represented the face of the student. We discussed the structure of carvings and looked carefully at Whakairo motifs. We created a contemporary piece of art, blending knowledge of tradition and the student’s own symbols. Pencil, paint and vivids have been used to create these original masterpieces. We have some lovely examples of these by Cayden, Dylan, Eva and Ryker. Cayden explains his art (pictured left) below:

"My whakairo art represents me and whānau. I have eight koru patterns. The top two koru represent my older sisters. Their names are Makayla and Kyra. The koru above my eyes are my other sisters named Mia and Kaylee. The bottom koru patterns are my other sisters Chanique and Tyra. My parents sit beside my smile. They are spirals and they are special to me. The scales around my eyes remind me of my dad and when he takes me fishing. I drew multiple swirls because I have a big whānau. The cross symbol is important to me because I got a cross earring that my sisters got me for Christmas"

As part of our journey this year we are going to be creating outdoor interactive spaces through art. We plan to have some murals painted to bring colour and meaning to our outdoor spaces. These will depict scenes that are important to our school, either of our pepeha, the story of Reipae and Reitu, our relationship with Matakohe/Limestone, and other connections to our whenua. They will be used as learning inspiration for years to come.

We would love your feedback on what you would like to see displayed around our kura. We would also love to have whānau involved in this process. If you are an artist or know an artist with a connection to our kura and hapori, please get in contact with us.

You can pop into the office or email elizabeth.t@onerahi.school.nz

We have been advised that due to staff shortages, the Dental Clinic in Onerahi will be closed until further notice. All appointments for dental treatment should be booked via 0800 MYTEETH.

Kia ora,

We are participating in the Hell Pizza reading challenge again this year.
Here is how it works in 6 easy steps.

Step 1:
Read a book
Your favourite book, a book that makes you laugh, a book that makes you cry, a book that you can’t put down until you have finished, a book that challenges you, a graphic novel, a picture book, a chapter book, any book, the book that's right for you.

Step 2:
Reflect on your book

Write a review, draw a picture, make a video, redesign the book cover, write an alternative ending….
(there are some templates available in the library for you to use or you can create your own)
Year 1, 2 and 3 students can skip this step

Step 3:
Get a Stamp
Show your reflection to Kirsty or tell her about your book, Kirsty will stamp your Hell Pizza card
(Your teacher can also stamp/sign your card if you show them your reflection)

Step 4:
Read more books!
Every book
Read them all

Step 5:
Get More Stamps
Repeat steps 2-4 until your Hell Pizza Reading Challenge card is full.
Then Kirsty will put a special school stamp on your card.

Step 6:
Eat Pizza
Take your completed stamped card to Hell Pizza before the 31st of January 2024 to swap for a Free 333 Kids pizza.

Happy reading (and eating!) everyone.

Kirsty Oliver

Librarian/Resource Coordinator

Onerahi School

Many of our staff are familiar to our whānau but we would also love for you to get to know other regular faces at Onerahi Primary. This month, we are introducing our new RTLB - (Resource Teacher Learning and Behaviour), Kate Fenton.

Kia ora koutou. Ko Kate Fenton ahau, My name is Kate Fenton.

I am a Resource Teacher of Learning and Behaviour and part of the Learning Support team at Onerahi Primary.

I was a classroom teacher for many years and about 5 years ago moved into a specialist teaching role. I was very happy to be given the opportunity to get alongside the students, teachers and whanau at Onerahi Primary.

I have lived in Onerahi and have many fond memories of this area.

If my surname is familiar to people they may remember my parents. Dad taught at Raurimu Avenue school and Mum taught at Onerahi Primary back in the 80s and early 90s. Mum and Dad then left to teach overseas. They have retired back in New Zealand and now live in Maunu.

I have three sisters: a twin sister, Gina, and two older sisters Anna and Tania. My sisters and I used to keep horses at the pony club grounds on Cartwright Rd. We spent a lot of time riding our horses all around Onerahi.

I still have horses and have been very involved in equestrian sports. I’m currently chairperson of Whangarei RDA because I can see the benefits of equine therapy for many people. I also spend time helping my partner on his farm and like to grow veges in my garden. I have two children, Jonty and Laura, who are now in their 20s and living in Brisbane.

On Church Street, we have a dedicated pedestrian crossing, patrolled each day before and after school by our responsible road patrollers and their adult support.

The speed limit in this area is 40km/hr. Cars should not exceed this speed and also be prepared to stop when approaching the crossing. When at a pedestrian crossing controlled by signs, it is not mandatory to stop unless the sign is out. Our students are trained to put the sign out when there is a gap in traffic or when people choose to stop.

https://education.nzta.govt.nz/teacher-resources/school-policy-and-practices/school-traffic-safety-teams/legislation-school-patrols-school-wardens-and-school-crossing-points/

We kindly ask all parents bringing their children to school who cross Church St to support us modelling safe behaviour for our tamariki by ensuring they are crossing this road at the dedicated crossing. We appreciate taking the extra steps required at times, to take advantage of safely stopped traffic.

It is also very important that if you are collecting your child from our Church St entrance you do not park on the yellow lines or across driveways. Our road patrollers are unlikely to be able to see past your vehicle to check if the road is clear if you have parked over these.

Lets all work together to keep our tamariki safe on their way to and from our kura.

We are fortunate to have an offer out to whānau of our Onerahi Primary School akonga from a local lady - Maureen Dunphy. She is more than happy to undertake minor uniform repairs, such as button replacements and hem repairs, free of charge. If this is something you would be keen to utilize, uniforms can be dropped in to the school office on a Wednesday.. Repairs will be done as soon as possible and uniforms dropped back to the school. They will then be returned to tamariki to bring home.

• Friday 19 May - Bright Dress Up day. Concluding road safety week.
• Monday 29 May - Mid-term cohort entry Term 2
  
• Tuesday 30 May - Storylines Tour Author Visit (Ben Brown and Eirlys Hunter)
• Wednesday 31 May - WPSSA year 5 & 6 Winter Tournament
• Monday 06 and Tuesday 07 June - Kings Birthday and Onerahi School Term Break
• Wednesday 08 June - Inter School Mathex
• Tuesday 13 June - Jumping June
• Wednesday 14 June - School Matariki Celebration
• Friday 30 June - Last day of Term 2

AUTUMN

Now that the rain is starting to return (did it actually even leave?) and the temperature is cooling, we recommend sending a spare change of clothes with your children each day. This is just in case they discover mud or enjoy the extra water play during the day. KidsCan jackets can be worn as an alternative to school jumpers and jackets, and are also helpful on wet days. Although not compulsory in terms 3 and 4, hats are still strongly advised. We also recommend footwear.

SCHOOL HOURS

8:15am School gates open to students and whanau

9:00am School begins

11:00-11:30am 1st Play Break

1:30-2:00pm 2nd Play Break

3:00pm School finishes

3:15pm School gates close

There are two eating breaks within the day, taken at times that suit each class. Please ask your child's teacher when their times are. We would like to remind all whanau that during school hours, your child is expected to be present and learning. Where possible, we ask that appointments be scheduled outside of school hours, so as not to impact on your child's learning. We also ask that every effort is made to arrive at school in time for learning at 9am.

Medication: If your child requires medication to be brought or kept at school, please be aware that due to health and safety concerns, this must be kept secure in the school sick bay. It is not to be kept in children’s schoolbags during the day. This is to protect the safety of not only the child requiring the medication but also all other students. All medication requires an accompanying permission/approval form signed by their parent or caregiver. This includes epi-pens for allergy management, inhalers for asthma or any other medication your child requires on a short-term or as needed basis.

Email: office@onerahi.school.nz
Website: https://www.onerahi.school.nz/
Location: Onerahi Primary School Church Street, Onerahi, Whangārei 0110, New Zealand
Phone: +64 9 436 0521
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onerahischool

Playball @ Onerahi Community Hall

We promise to provide your child with a fun, positive, and confidence-building environment to learn a broad range of sports skills. Our innovative, energetic, and structured classes are designed to help your child develop a well-rounded sports skill set while also teaching practical social skills that will be invaluable throughout their schooling. With Playball, your child will experience a sense of fulfillment and positive self-image through achieving success in a fun and engaging environment.

When: Thursdays 3:15 - 3:55 (starting 27th April)

Who: 5-9 year olds (boys and girls)

Where: Onerahi Community Hall

Cost: $109 per child (10 week term) - FREE trial available - email dean@playball.co.nz

Register at www.playballkids.com/franchise/northland or email dean@playball.co.nz