Newsletter Issue 1

Kia ora, Nameste, Talofa, Konnichiwa, Guten Tag, Gidday, Vannakkam, ni Hao, Kia orana, Hola, Salam, Sa wat deekha, Dia Dhuit, Goeie Dag, Bonjour, Καλημέρα, Mālō e lelei, Greetings everyone

Welcome back to our school community for Term 3.

It has been a very settled start on the classroom front, with students mostly slipping back easily into their routines after the break and great excitement about the Bellevue School Production which is already starting to take shape. This is a great opportunity to focus heavily on The Arts and exercise our creativity. On Friday, the gentle tones of a six year old singing ‘I just can’t wait to be King’ (The Lion King) filled the office at home time!

The focus for this term’s learning is ‘Celebrations’ and what a terrific ‘kick off’ it is to be right in the midst of the opening of the Olympic games in Paris. Several classes have been looking at the Olympics to make the most of this learning opportunity as sport takes centre stage around the globe.

Some of our students will next week embark upon a series of Hindi lessons, kindly provided by the Wellington Hindi School who utilise our school hall on Sundays so this is complimenting our Heritage Language hui that are already in place.

Reporting Trial Complete & Learning Celebration Reschedule

Thanks to all our families who engaged with us in a trial of our new way of reporting over the first half of this year. A summary of the feedback is included in this newsletter and the approach for the rest of the year is outlined. We had initially scheduled our Learning Celebration (an open evening with a dispositional focus) for the middle of this term, but this is being rescheduled due to a series of other events that have ‘landed’ at a similar time which impact on families, including the John Parsons whānau evening on 29 August, our production (already a sharing of our learning focus for Term 3) on 25 September and out whole school evacuation and reunification practice on 20 September.

Property

If you have been into the school recently, you will have seen there is plenty on in the property space! Our accessible walkway is in full swing with the excavation of a great deal of earth to form a pathway with a more reasonable gradient that will zig zag across the bank to the senior school.

During the break Rooms 1 and 2 had their carpet and roofing replaced - the roofing continued over the entire Junior block. Next on the schedule is Room 3 and 4 for the addition of doors and carpets once we can move students back into Room 5 and 6 where the main construction work is complete and the next few weeks will see the addition of carpet and doors between the classes. The Room 5 and 6 toilets are also nearing completion.

Our accessible bathroom in the senior area of the school is now also complete.

The students have been amazingly sensible around all of this coming and going, also quite delighted by the number of diggers!

Car Parking

Please note that the three car parks beside the fence are left for contractors working on site. Please avoid using these if you are in the car park early dropping students for Kapai Kidz.

Whānau Hui

Last term we held our first hui for our whānau Māori and it was a great evening of kōrero and connection. The notes for anyone who is interested are here - Whānau Māori Hui

Useful Resource?

Bellevue is a Netsafe School. Netsafe have recently released a learning module to support families to set their children up for success with their first phone. Families of our older students may find this useful - Netsafe’s First Phones Learning Module:

https://netsafe.org.nz/online-learning/first-phones-programme/#/

Whakawhanaungatanga Fridays - On Hold for Term 3

Due to the build work we have very limited spaces to continue with these three weekly sessions during Term 3 in inclement weather - this means larger numbers in each group and squashed sessions. As a result, we have put these ‘on hold’ until Term 4 when, even if the building work is ongoing, we have more flexibility with outdoor spaces.

FUNdraising team

Please take some time to consider joining our FUNdraising team, their update is further below in the newsletter. This is a fun way to make a huge difference to our school and they're looking for new members to join them.

Congratulations Krish

Finally we would like to extend our congratulations to Krish in Year 4, who is participating in the Karate World Cup 2024 in Australia. Krish is a very dedicated sportsman and we feel proud to have a Bellevue student participating at such a high standard. Ka rawe Krish!

Reminders -

• A reminder that next week is Te Reo Māori Kūki Āirani / Cook Islands Language Week

• Our whole school emergency evacuation and reunification practice will be held on Friday 20th September. In the next couple of weeks your child’s emergency contacts will be sent home to review and update with the office. We recommend that each family has at least two emergency contacts listed that can pick up their child from the school at short notice if absolutely necessary. Please ensure that whoever you list will be able to pick up your child on Friday 20th September. We will not be able to release your child to anyone who is not listed.

Ngā mihi nui

Annette

Remember to take a look at the Bellevue Website for longer term information (Parent Portal) or follow our closed group Facebook Page for quick updates or reminders.

Haere mai ki te kura o Bellevue. Welcome to the following student and their whānau. It is great to have you in our Bellevue Learning Community.

Moetu - Room 4

Elliot - Room 4

Jamie - Room 6

JT - Room 10

• Thank you to the community members who spent the first weekend of the term break planting our new plants around the grounds. Thank you to Mandy Mackay for organising these plants for our school.
• Thank you to the Police Managers Guild Trust for the $1,000 grant towards new covers for our sandpit which are being installed this week.

To assist our families with locating our Attendance Procedures, please note that the below link now takes you to a 'quick link' on our website to the Attendance Procedures in PDF form.

Please do always contact the office (office@bellevue-newlands.school.nz), or call and leave a message for absences. Do not reply to this newsletter as your message may not be seen.

In Term 3 our Te Puna Reo learning is about the Marae. This will begin with a focus on te pōwhiri. Over the next 3 weeks, our learning will focus on the order of the steps in a typical pōwhiri, the people involved and the mahi (activities and actions) that happens in a pōwhiri process on a marae. (Please note this order and contents will differ from marae to marae, iwi to iwi, rohe to rohe around Aotearoa)

Our learning also focuses on numeracy. Initially we will be learning the numbers from tahi to iwa tekau mā iwa (1-99) and then beyond.

We are really pleased to be able to invite parents from our wider community to listen to John Parsons on Thursday August 29th.

John Parsons is an Internet Safety and Risk Assessment Consultant working with schools, the private sector and the health sector, providing specialist advice and direction on the safe and ethical use of Digital Communication Technology.

John is a published author and a social commentator who works throughout New Zealand and Internationally.

He has been awarded a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International for his work in child protection online and in the community.

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John travels all over New Zealand presenting cyber safety workshops to those who work with young people in areas of health, education and safety. He also delivers parent/caregiver cyber safety workshops through school or community-based initiatives.

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John works with children and families. He helps individuals, young people and families who have become ensnared by predatory adults across digital networks, as well as those who have been cyber abused and children or youth who abuse others using online technologies.

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A large part of Johns' work is in class with Primary, Intermediate and College age students.

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Promoting the rights of children to be judged fairly, John recognises their rights to use communication technology safely and with respect for themselves and others. This is the foundation upon which he delivers his classroom workshops to students of all ages.

John Parsons is visiting our area on August 29th. After school he is running a workshop for all teachers.

At 6pm that evening he is holding an information and guidance evening for parents and whanau.

Everyone from our community is invited.

Thursday August 29th at 6pm in the Newlands Intermediate School Hall.

Username bellevue-newlands, password 'grow'

With the recent email informing families of a survey to be carried out by the Education Review Office (ERO) at our school, we were alerted to the fact that some time has passed since we introduced this programme and communicated in any detail as a school about this to our families.

Why do we use this programme?

In our 2018 Biannual Health & PE Survey, 66.7% of families rated sexuality education as very important and 33.3% rated it quite important.

Following this, we embarked on a process of learning and consultation:

1. May 2019 - Professional learning for teachers to be able to deliver the 'Navigating the Journey' programme effectively.

2. Late May 2019 - A parent letter was sent out, outlining the programme, the rationale and inviting families to an evening information session to engage with school and with the Family Planning experts who were trained in supporting schools with the programme.

3. June 2019 - Parent information evening.

4. December 2019 - Staff evaluation of the programme in response to which we set up our school approach.

5. December 2019 - Feedback from families gathered in response to the programme - very positive and supportive with suggestions that were acted on for 2020.

How have we refined what we do?

• Over the time the we have been using this programme we have received feedback from families which we have either shared with the programme developers or adjusted our school approach in response to.

• We recognise that we have children from very diverse backgrounds. Families are alerted to session coverage prior to this taking place so they can discuss this with their child in the context of their own family values.

• Our focus is on factual information, honest and respectful answers to student questions and remaining in line with the Health Curriculum requirements.

• Where necessary, teachers seek support either from leadership or from the programme developers in answering student questions.

How do we operate now?

• We monitor coverage of the programme for each year group so that they get a balanced programme over time and so that we can tailor the sessions offered to meet the needs of a particular group.

• We notify families through regular hub communications what will be taught and when.

• The whole programme for each year group is available in book form to view at any time in the school office (we cannot provide this PDF due to copyright). We encourage families to come in and take a look.

• Every family are able to withdraw their child if sessions are a concern to them.

If you have any concerns or further queries about this programme, please see your child’s teacher, hub coach/DP or Annette.

As we have not yet heard from ERO with a copy of the questions they intended to survey our students with, we will not now be participating in this survey.

Put it in your calendars! On Wednesday the 25th September we will be holding our school production ‘Once Upon a Time At Bellevue’ at Newlands Intermediate. This is a chance for students to immerse themselves in dance, drama and visual arts at Bellevue School.

All children will be involved in the production, with some having major and others having more minor roles to play. Most students will be involved in a dance, song or acting number but there will be opportunities such as set design, backstage crew and costuming for our students who prefer to use their skills in these areas and avoid the spotlight!

A team of nine senior students have been working behind the scenes to storyboard and write this original screenplay. Their creative writing skills have been outstanding and we are very excited to see their vision coming together.

If you have a creative skillset and wish to help with the creation of props, backdrops, costumes, makeup, hair or any other element of a production please don’t hesitate to reach out to megan@bellevue-newlands.school.nz.

Keep an eye in upcoming newsletters for more information about the production including time, ticketing, costuming, set design and cast.

Our amazing production planning team in action!

Kia ora,

My name is Shelley Olliver-Bell and I am the Learning Support Coordinator based at Newlands Intermediate School.

As part of my role, I am tasked with supporting the smooth transition of Year 6 students to us here at Newlands Intermediate. If you have a child who you understand to have:

• Social, emotional and/or behavioural needs

• Neurodiversity (either diagnosed or undiagnosed)

• Learning concerns

I would love to meet with you to learn more about them from a parents/caregivers perspective. This will help us to ensure the best support is in place for your child during their time at Intermediate.

Your child’s current teacher may also help you to determine whether a meeting with me would be beneficial.

To make an appointment please contact me by emailing: shelley.ob@newlandsint.school.nz

I look forward to hearing from you and starting your whānau’s journey with us.

Hell’s Pizza Reading Challenge

This week we are excited to kick start the ‘Hell’s Pizza Reading Challenge’.

This is a well-established programme that has been hugely successful in encouraging children to read.

Our students will all have their own Reading Challenge wheel. Once they have read seven books, children can exchange their completed wheel for a free kids’ pizza from any Hell’s Pizza store.

The rules are as follows:-

• Every student must read 7 books to fill up their wheel so that they are able to receive their free kids’ pizza from their local Hell’s Pizza store.

• There is no limit on the number of pizza wheels a student can complete (provided the wheels are stamped and authenticated by their teacher or the school librarian). Only one wheel can be redeemed per child per visit.

• The student must redeem their pizza wheels in person and before the expiry date, which is Friday 31st January 2025. Each wheel will feature rules and regulations, as well as a serial number and QR code that will be traced back to our school.

Congratulations to the following librarians on their Librarian awards:

Icazia (Bronze), Savinaya and Maddison (Silver) for completion of their Librarian awards.

Anam for completing her Librarian’s Silver Award

Please continue to make sure your child has a spare change of clothes in their bag.

The school offers free vision and hearing screening through Hutt Valley DHB on an annual basis. If you wish to opt out of this for your child, please click the link below to complete the opt out form. If you do not complete the form below we will assume you are opting in.

https://forms.gle/NTKBGBnskD1dA3Lt5

The Vision/Hearing Technician will be visiting school on Friday August 16th.

Brochures were handed out to students last week. Orders are due in to the office by Thursday 8 August. Payment is by cash via school or online by credit card (details on the book club order form). Please put your cash order in the green money box in the school office in a sealed envelope or plastic bag, with your child’s name, room number and Scholastic Book Club written on the outside.

We have an HP LaserJet 1320tn printer surplus to requirements. It’s over ten years old but does basic black and white printing and can do double-sided. It will cost us $60.00 to take it to an IT recycling company - if you want it please contact the school office on 4787037.

We encourage you to enrol your preschoolers as soon as they turn 4. This assists with future planning for our kura and classes. Out of zone enrolment applications close approximately six months prior to commencement date so it is important to submit these early to ensure you are in the ballot. We accept up to five out of zone applications per term.

Important information about the Bellevue School enrolment scheme (zone)

If you have preschoolers at home that you are planning to enrol at Bellevue School in the future, here are a few important things to know and put into action:

1. If you are living outside of the Bellevue School enrolment zone, then your preschooler(s) will need to be processed as an out of zone application. Please let us know, if you haven’t already, of any future enrolments at Bellevue School from your family. It helps greatly with our planning to know well in advance. And if we know then we can also prompt you as to when you need to get your out of zone application in.

2. It is very important that out of zone applications are received by the application deadline of Friday 28 June 2024, for enrolment from Saturday 14 October 2024 to Tuesday 17 December 2024. We cannot accept any out of zone applications if they are not received by the deadline advertised for the enrolment period your child is due to start school in. The deadline can sometimes be up to six months prior to your child actually starting school.

3. Even if your preschooler(s) are in zone, please get your enrolment in to us as soon as possible to enable us to plan ahead. We need this information to be able to work out how many out of zone applications we can accept in each enrolment period.

If you have any questions or are unsure about anything, please call the school office and talk to Amanda.

We are urging all drivers to please park and drive safely and legally around our streets, particularly in Bellevue Terrace during school drop off/pick up. This includes no parking on yellow lines.

Please also be respectful of WCC parking wardens who sometimes come up Bancroft Terrace. Unfortunately one was sworn at this week by a parent. This is not an example of behaviour we want to set for our children.

If you would like to nominate our school to win $10,000 worth of sports equipment, please click on the link below. The more nominations we get the greater the chance of us winning!

https://www.aainsurance.co.nz/big-little

Welcome to Term Three Bellevue Whānau

Our first FUNdraisers committee meeting of the term is this Thursday, 1 st August at 6.15pm and…

WE NEED YOU!

Despite our pleas in past updates, we still don’t have enough members to replace those leaving at

the end of this year.Being part of our committee is a really easy way to give back to our school. It only takes a couple of hours of your enthusiasm a term and the feel-good factor of bringing the FUN to the kids really is THE BEST.

Please come and join us.

Our update on our events is below:

Kids Art Work – Orders Closing Friday 2nd Aug 2024

Via Kids Art Works, we can get your child’s pieces of art turned into some pretty neat products for

purchase, making fantastic gifts for family & friends and mementos for your child.

Orders close Friday 2nd August 2024, the information and pricing came home with your child at

the end of Term 2. Digital links to their artwork can be provided by their teacher if you have not had

a chance to view the artwork in class.

Orders can be placed online here: https://forms.gle/Su9FQZPFmtG8BMqV7

School Production

Keep your eyes peeled for details about the production coming through in the next few weeks.

We will be supporting the school with fundraising events around the time of the production.

Details will be coming soon!

FUNdraisers Committee Meetings

Next meeting: 1st August 2024

Meetings will now be held at 6.15pm (in the school staff room when possible) in week 2 and also

week 7 of each term.

If you have capacity to take on being an incredibly valued member of our community and

committee, please join us! You can contact Rebecca by email for information at

fundraisers@bellevue-newlands.school.nz

We will be operating from the school hall for before school and after school care during term time. All enquiries to linda@kapaikidz.co.nz Mobile 021 409641 or book via our website www.kapaikidz.co.nz

Space is limited, secure your spot!

Child care needed

Urgently require care for 4yr old girl for next 6 weeks, she will attend Bellevue when she turns 5 in September. Her older sister is currently attending the school. Hours 7.30am-3pm.

Contact Carlos 022 109 1321 or closhussein@gmail.com

Thursday 1 August

Newlands Intermediate School in Action Morning 9am

FUNdraisers Meeting 6:15pm - 7:15pm

Thursday 15 August

Board Meeting 6:30 - 8:30pm

Thursday 29 August

John Parsons talk: Safeguarding children and adults online

Newlands Intermediate 6pm - 7:30pm

Saturday 31 August

Newlands Intermediate Enrolments Close

Thursday 5 September

Term 3 Pōwhiri

FUNdraisers Meeting 6:15pm - 7:15pm

Thursday 12 September

Board Meeting 6:30 - 8:30pm

Monday 16 Friday to Monday 23 September

Māori Language Week

Friday 20 September

Whole School Emergency Evacuation and Reunification Practice

Wednesday 25 September

School Production (time TBC)

Friday 27 September

Last day of term