Kia ora Vogeltown whānau,
Our theme this term is Courageous. Being courageous means doing something even when you feel afraid. As a context for learning, we will be exploring this through two main units: Remembering Gallipoli and Keeping Ourselves Safe. Sandwiched between these will be a visit from the Life Education mobile classroom.
We’ll begin the term with Remembering Gallipoli. During this unit, teachers will select some age-appropriate learning from the following learning outcomes:
- Students will identify ANZAC Day as a significant national event.
- Students will explain how and why the Gallipoli campaign is commemorated in Aotearoa New Zealand, and why people remember and honour the ANZAC soldiers.
- Students will describe how different groups of people showed courage during this time.
- Students will explain how New Zealand’s involvement in WWI affected individuals, whānau, and communities.
- Students will explore different perspectives on the Gallipoli campaign, including Māori, Turkish, and Australian voices.
- Students will understand how the technology of the time influenced events.
- Students will examine how history is remembered—and whose voices are included or left out.
Later in the term, we will take part in Keeping Ourselves Safe. This is part of the Health and PE curriculum and something we’ve prioritised in response to some behaviours we've observed. We’ll send out more detailed information closer to the time so that parents and whānau are clear about what will be covered.
We hope the holidays went well for everyone, with plenty of time to rest and reconnect. It’s been lovely to see a relaxed and happy atmosphere around the school this week.
Ngā mihi nui, and have a great week!
Congratulations to all the tamariki who received a principal's award at today's whole school assembly:
Ariah Martin, Quinton Coombe, Aeva Dalleg, Curtis McDonald, Reeve Jones, Ruby-Jane Duthie, Emma Johnson, Tim Haskell, Marlow Coutts, Skyla Cameron, Hazeleiye Gear, Charlyse Wall, Abigail Stevenson, Dani Raison, Maggie Stone, Emma Rawhiti, Zachary Amer, Anouk Bonzon, Mila Donaldson, Dylan Bisset, Connor Stevenson, Mia Vooght, Carla Visagie, Jacob Rose, Amber Hawkridge, Harriet Baird, Tobiah Pretty, Elsie Miller, Riley Siau, Archie Hedley, Maverick Bumbesevic, Lukah McDonald.
Ka mau te wehi!
A huge thank you to all the whānau who completed our Term 1 community survey. Your feedback helps us better understand what’s working and where we can grow as a school. Here's a snapshot of what you told us:
Our survey included responses from across all three syndicates. We're proud to share that 93% of families feel Vogeltown School provides a quality education, and 91% would recommend our school to others. Additionally, 86% believe Vogeltown brings out the best in their child - feedback that truly reflects the heart of our mahi.
You told us the most valuable things to include in written reports are: information about your child’s attitude or effort, achievement levels described clearly, specific comments in reading, writing, and maths, and a general comment.
In face-to-face conferences, whānau most want to hear about their child’s: social, emotional or behavioural development, academic progress, and how to help at home.
When it comes to how you’d like to receive reports, 50% of you prefer both hardcopy and digital. We're also excited that 80% of families that responded would attend information evenings, with 5–7 pm being the most preferred time.
We appreciate your input – it helps us continue to grow and ensure Vogeltown is the best place to learn and belong. Ka mau te wehi!
In our senior area, we're back into the interschool sports scene. This is a competitive sports scene and because of that we have selected players for each sport - rugby, netball, and football.
We realise that sometimes this can cause some children to feel upset but please understand that teachers in charge of sports find making selections tough going, and they do their very best to ensure that this is done in a sensitive way.
Interschool sports fixtures that have been confirmed for next term:
- Wednesday 7th May vs Frankley (home)
- Wednesday 14th May vs West End (home)
- Wednesday 4th June vs Woodleigh (away)
- Wednesday 18th June vs Welbourn (home)
- Wednesday 25th June vs Central (away)
Those children not involved in interschool sports have been given the option of electing into either an arts or PE programme at the times that practices or fixtures are happening. Many thanks to the teachers of the Paetoki team for collaborating around providing opportunities for all of the children.
It is important that every child attends school regularly. A day away here and there adds up to a lot - for example, learners who miss a week of school each term will have missed out on a year of schooling by the time they are 16! Attendance also affects achievement levels, impacts wellbeing, and is a crucial factor in setting up habits and routines for higher levels of schools.
If your child is away please contact the school - you can call, text, email or use the Skool Loop app. It is important that we understand the reason for the absence because we need to record this in our system. Knowing that a child is going to be away at the start of the school day saves us valuable time because we need to call and follow up on any unknown absences.
If you need to remove your child from school at any stage during the school day you need to sign them out using the tablet in the school offices. This way we have a record of who has left, the reason for this, and who they have gone with.
If you would like to remove your child from school during term time for something like a holiday then this needs to be discussed with the class teacher and the Principal. It is important that we have documentation around this and that there has been consideration around the learning that will be missed during the planned time away.
We’re keen to work with you to ensure all children have access to regular learning. If you have any aspects of attendance that you need to discuss, I recommend making a time to talk with your child’s teacher.
The awesome team at GameChanger have Vogeltown School Hoodies available to order. You can try a sample on for size at their store, which is on the corner of Huatoki and Carrington Street. The link to order is below:
