The Connection Week 9 Term 1

We had our first in person staff meeting this year on Tuesday. It was so wonderful to have everyone in the same place and although we were masked and unable to see smiles, we could certainly feel them!

We have nearly everyone back at school - averaging 58 students away this week.

We have a softening of some aspects of the mandates

And best of all we are keen to see you, our parents, back in the school.

As from Monday 11:59pm the rules change again so from Tuesday, we are very happy for parents to walk into the school. You do not need to wear a mask whilst in the grounds of the school. If you need to enter classrooms please wear a mask. Please know that while the teachers are very keen to see you again, this is not the time for a ‘parent interview’. We know that for many students, parents remaining on the driveway has brought about a positive new level of independence. Please bear this in mind when considering a change in routine.

Our driveway will now be locked and primarily restricted to vehicle access. We will be discouraging children from using the driveway as a walkway from now on. Pedestrian access is encouraged across the front of the school and footpaths, rather than the driveway. As the limits of outdoor gatherings have been lifted, we will move the full school back to our regular break times from next week.

Masks remain a requirement for Year 4+ students in “red” as well as in “orange” - which can be expected to continue for some period.

Our hybrid learning online programmes have now ceased; we now expect all students to be in school.

We are also really conscious that we have not been able to gather, welcome new people and acknowledge students with awards. We are planning on creating an outside event to address this on Thursday 14th April at 2.00pm - this will be the last day of Term 1. We are so pleased to be able to invite every Huapai family to this afternoon. Please note it in your diary and more details will come next week.

Above all else, we are looking forward to pushing on with all we have planned for this year.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the way you have worked with the school in seeing these restrictions applied over the last few months - we really appreciate this.

Thanks so much for your continued support.

John Petrie

Principal

• Thursday 14th April - Last Day Of Term 1
• Monday 2nd May - First Day Of Term 2

Khloe (Year 5) says: “I love Huapai because it’s a great school. I like that we have a good uniform and lots of playgrounds. I think our teachers are cool. My favourite things to do are swimming and playing outside. I like all the sports we do here!”

Fantastic, incredible, awesome - thank you thank you thank you!

Last week we had another great response in our call for help by paying your school donation.

To get your tax refund please pay today - last day of March.

Results so far: $34,116.00 received, 37.57% support rate.

This graph shows the pattern of return to school:

Do you hate selling chocolate or raffle tickets? Are you keen to show your support for the school… but don’t really have a huge amount of time? Is your workplace looking for a ‘good cause’ to help? WE NEED YOU!

Our school has been offered a fundraising opportunity that is too good to turn down. It requires us to provide 20 adults to be marshalls each day for the Tough Guy And Gal Challenge which is being held in Kumeu this year, at the showgrounds.

Dates and times:

Wednesday 3rd August 8:30am - 12 noon

Thursday 4th August 7:45am - 12 noon

Friday 5th August 8:45 am- 1pm

If you can commit to any or all of these days please email our HFN president Katie Lean katie.lean@huapaidistrict.school.nz and let her know. Please pop these dates in your diary.

If your child is keen to be involved in the mud run this year, please use the below link to register the children directly. Entry options are open for students Years 3-8.

Transport to and from the event will be up to families however, if you cannot arrange transport, don’t let this stop you - at Huapai we always try to find a way!

Our before and after school programme is owned and managed by the school. Any profits are used for the school. Under the great leadership of Huapai + from Luke Kearney, we have a well established programme and brilliant reputation.

We are struggling to find staff for our growing programme. This could be a good option for senior students (must be 16 years or older) and also for parents or contacts of our school community. This could be during the school tremor over the holiday break.If you can assist in suggesting our programme for casual employment to anyone that you think might be suitable, we would appreciate this.

Please contact: luke.kearney@hds.school.nz

Netball registrations close TOMORROW. Players must be registered directly with Kaipaira using the link below.

Please follow the directions to download the Scholastic app today.

As a strongly encouraged and highly beneficial supplementary resource to our Year 7&8 science programme, a Start Right Science Workbook is available, payable through HERO ($17.50) with collection from your child's teacher.

The units in these workbooks cover the New Zealand Science curriculum in preparation for Year 9&10 science and fit in nicely with the topics covered in science at school as a pre or post-learning revision/consolidation. Though not compulsory, we will reference, mark and use this resource to supplement the school-based programme. As this book is an optional resource, it is, however, encouraged for our Year 7&8 students to have a copy.

Our good friends at MusiqHub are looking forward to another awesome year of music in 2022 at Huapai School! They will have some slots available for Guitar, Drums, Piano and Ukulele lessons in Term 1. If you're interested, be sure to get in touch to reserve your spot or ask any questions you may have. Contact details below:

Drums - paul.barry@musiqhub.co.nz

Guitar, Keyboard and Ukulele - scott.wotherspoon@musiqhub.co.nz

Our 2022 Term dates are:

Term 1 - Thursday 3rd February - Thursday 14th April

Term 2 - Monday 2nd May - Friday 8th July

Term 3 - Monday 25th July - Friday 30th September

Term 4 - Monday 17th October - Friday 16th December

Additional to this there are two planned Teacher only days:

• Friday 4th March

• Friday 3rd June (making Queens Birthday a 4 day option)

We use HERO to send classroom updates, to share regular learning posts and now for payment on all in-school costs. HERO sends push notifications or emails. You can now choose how you receive HERO notifications as well as manage devices that receive them.

To set your own notification preferences:

1. Click on your profile image

2. Select EDIT PROFILE

3. Scroll down to My Devices and select your preferences.
   

Or please see the full instructions linked below.

Email: office@hds.school.nz
Website: https://www.huapaidistrict.school.nz/
Location: Huapai District School 40 Station Rd, Kumeū, New Zealand
Phone: +64 09 412 5042
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/huapaidistrictschool