Tēnā koutou katoa

What a wonderful production performance on Wednesday evening by our Paetoki team! We saw some great talent, creativity, and and lots of hard work on the stage, and it’s all thanks to the collective efforts of the teachers and students.

First and foremost, I want to congratulate our children. They can be really proud of the energy and talent they shared with us - whether acting, singing, dancing, they all stepped up on the night!

Our teachers have worked collaboratively to make this happen and special thanks to Rachel Pretty for the leading role she played in co-ordinating this. Their commitment to work together to make this happen, at a really busy time of the year, speaks volumes.

To our parents and caregivers - from helping with costumes, getting children to the show on the night, or simply being present in the audience. Your applause and encouragement during the performances means a lot and reminds us all of the joy and importance of the arts in education.

Ryves

It was a beautiful afternoon to have our final Vogeltowner Assembly for the year. We also welcomed the trophy awarded to Vogeltown School from the recent puanga festival. Mia Vooght won 1st place for kaitātaki wahine, and we are thrilled that her family could be here today to be welcomed with this precious taonga.

The Vogeltowner Awards today were presented to:

Room 1: Scout Wooller and Charlie Conroy

Room 2: Frankie Benton and Bree Donnelly

Room 3: Reeve Jones and Aubree Ardianta

Room 4: Maverick Bumbesevic and Harper Lowl

Room 5: Ryder McIntyre and Chloe Chapman

Room 6: Daichi Shimada and Mason Lowl

Room 7: Angus Webling and Chloe Miller

Room 8: Jaime Siau and Cotto Rapira

Room 9: Ava Ackerman and Lexi Muller

Room 10: Otto Foltz and Anika Cowley

Room 11: Beah Schoeman and Katie Xu

Room 12: Rinto Shimada and Sarah Martins Saotome

Room 13: Harmony McDonald and Emma Rawhiti

Room 14: DJ Kuvarji and Oscar Bird

Room 15: Caleb Dixon and Fraya Payne-Craigie

Room 16: Amalia Tyrrell and Harper Coates

The Paetoki team are very excited about their Big Day Out on Thursday 5th December! They worked hard during Build a Business and this day is to celebrate their successes. We are still waiting on a couple of signed permission forms - please message your child's teacher on Seesaw to give permission if you haven't yet signed a form.

Teachers have been working to put together classes for next year.

At our school, class placement is a carefully considered process aimed at ensuring the best outcomes for all students. The guidelines below reflect our commitment towards creating a supportive and inclusive learning environment.

CORE PRINCIPLES

Focus on the Whole Group: The priority in class placement is achieving the best mix for the entire year group. While individual considerations are important, the overall group dynamic comes first.

Opportunities for Growth: All students deserve the chance to have both academic and social role models in their classroom.

PLACEMENT GUIDELINES

Gender Balance:

• Ensure a fair distribution of male and female students in each class.

Fair Representation in Composite Classes:

• Composite classes should have a fair mix of students from different year levels.

Promoting Diverse Connections:

• Students will be mixed each year to ensure they have the opportunity to work with a variety of peers. All students will have at least one peer they can connect with in their class.

Inclusivity in Learning Needs:

• Distribute students with learning or behaviour needs evenly across all classes.
• High-achieving learners should also be distributed across all rooms, ensuring they have at least one like-minded peer for collaborative learning opportunities.

Varied Teacher Experiences:

• Where possible, provide students with the opportunity to work with different teachers during their time at school.

Age-Appropriate Year Groups:

• Students should be placed in classes that align with their time at school.
• Note: In 2025, students who start in Cohort 1 and 2 of Term 1 and Cohort 1 of Term 2 will be classified at Year 1, while those who join us from Cohort 2 of Term 2 and onwards will be classified as Year 0.
• Any reclassification should involve consultation among the teacher, Principal, and parents, ideally at the transition between Year 0 and Year 1.

The true heart of sports lies in how we play the game and how we treat each other.

Being a good sport means respecting the rules, listening to our coaches and referees, and supporting both our teammates and the other team. When we play fairly and respectfully, we show others what it means to be part of our school community. It’s about giving our best, celebrating the efforts of others, and handling decisions nicely.

It is equally important that all parents are supportive of the coaches and referees. They are giving precious time to help, so lets ensure they feel supported through our actions and words.

Remember, the scoreboard might show the score, but it’s our attitude and actions that show our character. Let’s make sure that on and off the field, we’re a school known for our respect, our fairness, and our great school spirit.

At Vogeltown School, anyone who wants to bring a matter to the attention of the school should follow our procedure for raising concerns and complaints.

Anyone who has a concern or complaint should raise it as soon as possible with an appropriate person at the school. This can be done verbally or in writing and usually involves the staff member directly involved.

If this is not appropriate or if there is no staff member directly involved, concerns may be raised with another relevant staff member (e.g. the syndicate leader, a member of the management team, or the Principal). The person who receives the concern or complaint may refer the matter to a more appropriate person if needed, or involve another person.

If you feel that your concern or complaint hasn't been resolved by speaking directly with a staff member involved, or it doesn't feel comfortable speaking with that person, or is very serious in nature, you may contact a member of the management team, or the Principal.

We expect all parties involved to respect privacy and confidentiality. This includes not publicly sharing information about the matter (e.g. on social media).

More information can be found out about our Concerns and Complaints Policy and procedures by heading to https://www.schooldocs.co.nz/

The 2025 Weet-Bix Kids Tryathlon is being held in New Plymouth on Tuesday 25th March 2025 at Ngamotu Beach.

If you wish to enter your child and register them under the Vogeltown School group, here is the link to do this:

http://raceroster.com/events/2025/93896/new-plymouth-weet-bix-kids-tryathlon/register?team=714836

We will have a Vogeltown tent up for children to meet but parents are responsible for their children on the day.

TERM CALENDAR

Put all these dates in your diary or your phone! Remember we will put all updates on Facebook, Skool Loop and Seesaw.

TERM 4

26 November - BOT meeting

26 November - Road Patrollers trip to aquatic centre

27 November - Huatoki production matinee/night

28 November - Hāngī sleepover (Year 6 students)

29 November - Four Year Old Friday, 9:00am to 11:00am, Junior School

29 November - Hāngī day

4 December - Taranaki production matinee/night

5 December - Paetoki team Big Day Out

6 December - Whole school assembly

10 December - Whānau tabloid sports

11 December - Year 6 farewell assembly

11 December - Meet the teacher for 2025

11 December - Year 6 leavers night

13 December - Last day of school for 2024. School finishes at 3:00pm.

TERM 1 2025

31 January - Mahi tahi meetings (to be confirmed)

3 February - First day of school

5 February - Powhiri for new students

6 February - Waitangi Day - SCHOOL CLOSED

14 February - Vogeltown Adventure (TBC)

18 February - BOT meeting, 6pm

19-21 February - Paetoki Camp at Vertical Horizons

21 February - Four Year Old Friday

Stay safe and be kind to each other. Thank you for the ongoing support of Vogeltown School, we really appreciate the efforts everyone makes to ensure our kura is such a great place to learn and work!

On behalf of the Vogeltown team, ka kite ano!

Ryves Hunt and the VS team

Email: office@vogeltown.school.nz
Website: www.vogeltown.school.nz
Location: Vogeltown School Huatoki Street, Vogeltown, New Plymouth, New Zealand
Phone: (06) 753 6843

Our school policies, like many schools, are now in an online system through a portal called 'Schooldocs'. Any time you want to bring up a school policy, just log in to schooldocs and you can access the policies.

The login is: vogeltown

The password: huatoki

The website link to Schooldocs is below.