Waikari School Newsletter

Confident, Curious & Respectful Kids

Email: principal@waikari.school.nz
Website: https://waikari.school.nz
Location: 23 Princes Street, Waikari, New Zealand
Phone: (03)314 4250

Kia ora e te whānau,

Can you believe it is already Term 4?

I must say, it is nice to see the sun shining and to have held our first event of the term with Athletics.

I was very impressed with the sportsmanship I witnessed at Athletic Sports. Many students congratulated each other, made friends, persevered, and tried things that were hard. A massive thank you to the parents who helped and to the FAST for the BBQ—it created a great atmosphere.

There has been a busy start to the term with staff professional development.

• Recently, Kerry, Zoe, and I attended a Maths PLD session with Rob Proffit-White. Staff have been participating in one session per term with Rob alongside teachers from across the Kahui Ako (Hurunui Schools). We have found this really useful, and I am sure students will be able to tell you all about MoveNProves and other fun math activities we have been weaving into our lessons.
• Kerry and Zoe also attended Literacy PLD with Helen Walls, where we taught students how to structure sentences correctly. Make sure you ask them what the two things a sentence needs!
• I have been participating in a te reo Māori language course over Terms 3 and 4, which has enhanced my knowledge and pronunciation.
• Kevin, Caryn, Phoebe, and Kerry all recently attended First Aid courses, and I can assure you that all staff have their current First Aid certification.

This term is going to fly by! Staff and students are looking forward to many exciting opportunities, including the Big Day Out, singing at the hospital, the Musical Soirée, and the End of Year Prizegiving.

Thank you for your continued support.

Noho ora mai,

Phoebe Todd

What an amazing day we had for our combined athletics day with Greta Valley school on Tuesday. The weather was just right and everything ran without a hitch. A huge thank you goes to Kerry for organising yet another amazing sporting event - we really appreciate the hours that she puts in to making this happen.

We are so proud of our Waikari children. Everyone participated and gave each event their very best. Not only was it pretty special to see them being fair competitors and persevering throughout the day, but also congratulating each other on their successes.

We have eagerly been awaiting the arrival of our fantastic new Art Award kindly crafted and donated by Dave Sandford. After some hurdles for Dave, today was the day. We gathered to proudly give the award to Zara who was named the top person for Excellence in Art for 2023. Well done Zara!

What an amazing night it was. We have had fantastic comments from the community about the performance including; the singing, dance and music, the realistic acting, the way it depicted our history and how audience members even learned something new.

We were all so proud of the children and how they performed on the night.

Whakawhetai ki a koe mo to tautoko - thank you for your support, we are glad you enjoyed it.

Quick Reminder:

If you have any of the school costumes e.g. black t-shirts or shorts make sure to pop them back to the office.

On the 18th of September, it was Kiwisport at the Scargill Domain. All of the little schools went.

At Kiwisport, the senior teams played archery, rugby, bucket golf, soccer and cricket.

Tug of war was the last activity that we did. My team lost!

My favourite station was archery. By Emily A

Last week, Waikari School went to Kiwisports.

We did lawn bowling. We rolled the bowl on the grass and tried to get the bowl in the obstacles.

Then we went to mini golf. You had to hit little balls on the yellow targets. The man that was at golf tricked my group. He said it was someone's birthday when it wasn't. My favourite station was mini golf.

By Bridie

Jenni McQuillan from Mana Ake has been working with a group of senior students on a Monday afternoon for the past 2 terms. They have been learning about Te Waka Mauri Ora - Tamariki , A Journey of Resiliency. As part of their learning they have produced a painting of their Te Waka Mauri Ora. On Monday they shared their learning with the whānau, and it was lovely to hear the different aspects of their waka and what each aspect means to them.

Something new pulled up at school this morning, students (and Caryn) were very excited to go and check it out. Can you guess what is was?

We just need to get a few final passenger license requirements before it can be used on the bus run, so for now the old faithful van will be doing the run. But we are excited to get the new one up and running as soon as possible.

A huge thank you to the Waikari Fire Brigade who came down to school on Tuesday night and helped us pump and clean our school swimming pool. We are excited to begin the journey of getting it all set up for the summer of swimming. A huge thanks to the Reynolds Family who have taken on the responsibility of maintaining the pool. Without your time and energy our children wouldn't have the opportunity to swim at school. Also thanks to Nicky who has been helping us get the pool up and running - we are really appreciative of your continued knowledge and support!

Thanks to everyone who came along to the whānau information session on Wednesday with Constable Ken, it was great to hear the questions and concerns.

Our curriculum starts this coming week, please see the breakdown of what is being taught each week so that you can follow this up with rich discussions at home or answer any questions the students might have.

Quick reminder that our draft health curriculum delivery statement is under review (see attachment below). If you would like to have your say on how we deliver the health curriculum please complete this survey by Friday 1st November.

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Congratulations to Max, Charlotte, Odin & Zara for being awarded certificates for looking after their and school belongings.

Congratulations to Bridie, Fergus & Rosie who received Principal Awards at the end of last term, for their fantastic attitude while practicing for the Performance.

This week, we discussed looking after our and school belongings!

We find lots of jerseys left around school, and often the teachers spend their time picking up children's jerseys at the end of the day!

We expect all school uniform to be named so that we can return it once found.

This fortnight students are working on:

• Putting their jersey into their bag or cubby when they are not wearing it.
• Making sure they put their hat back where it belongs after being outside.
• Making sure their belongings are named.
• Packing up all their belongings at the end of a learning session.

Absences

• If your child is not going to be at school please contact the school before 9:00am. This can now also be done through the HERO app.

School Bank Account

• Automatic payments are also welcome (weekly & fortnightly) and our Student Management system can also handle Payments in Advance.

Office Hours

• School office will be manned by Caryn from 9.00-9:30 and 1:30-3:00

Break Times

• 10:45-11:10 Morning Tea
• 12:45-1:20 Lunch

Can you please return any cups of trophies that you were awarded at the End of Year Prizegiving. These need to be returned by Friday 1st November.

Waikari School uses SchoolDocs to maintain a comprehensive, up-to-date set of policies and procedures online. These policies and procedures follow guidelines and legislation and best practice, and have been tailored for our school.
Policies being reviewed this term are:

• Finance and Asset Management Policy (board)
• Managing Income and Expenditure (board)
• Financial Conflicts of Interest (board)
• School Donations and Student Activity Payments /
  Attendance Dues and Other Income
• Expenditure
• Asset Management and Protection (board)
• Property Planning and Maintenance
• Prevention of Bribery, Corruption, Fraud, and Theft

You can use the SchoolDocs website to participate in a review. https://waikari.schooldocs.co.nz/Logon.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f

Username: waikari

Password: pride

We as a B.O.T really value your feedback.

Thanks to those who came in the holidays and helped clear the hedge trimmings. We really appreciate all of the mahi (work) everyone did to clean up our school! Special mention to Huw, Zara, Rosie, Amelia, Ethan, Lisa, Charlie, Bart & Tanner.

Members of our school Board have recently participated in some training on concerns and complaints. Please read below to understand the steps to follow if you or a member of the community have a concern or complaint.

• Monday 28th October - Labour Day
• Tuesday 5th November - Hurunui Athletics (pp 7th)
• Wednesday 13th November - Teacher Only Afternoon (school will close at 12:30 supervision will be provided if you can't pick up your child).
• Thursday 14th November - Teacher Only Day
• Friday 15th November - Canterbury Show Weekend
• Wednesday 20th November - Hurunui College Transition Day
• Thursday 28th November - Musical Soiree 5pm at School (Sally's Music Recital) please note date change
• Wednesday 4th December - Singing at the Hospital
• Wednesday 4th December - Board Meeting 5pm
• Thursday 12th December - Big Day Out - tbc
• Friday 13th December - End of Year Prizegiving
• Monday 16th December - Last Day of Term 4 - School Finishing at 12pm

Saturday 2 November – gates open from 5pm.

This night is set to be a blast! Held at the Waiau Rugby Club Grounds with heaps of family-friendly entertainment. Tasty food stalls, live music and a fantastic fireworks display!

Entry $10 cash per person with Under 5s free. Postponement date is Sunday 3rd. Follow the Waiau Fireworks Facebook page for updates.

www.facebook.com/waiaufireworks

FUNDRAISING OPPORTUNITY

Dear Waikari School,

I am reaching out to introduce an exciting fundraising opportunity

Having had three children of our own grow up in a North Canterbury rural school environment I understand the importance of community support in ensuring these valuable resources continue to flourish. To support local schools like yours, we are offering a unique fundraising initiative.

McDonnells Tree Trim have been servicing the Hurunui district for 30 years. We specialise in professional hedge trimming and shelter belt maintenance, servicing large farms and lifestyle blocks. With families moving and properties changing hands over time we want to reach out to the wider community to ensure they continue to have the opportunity of our great service.

In doing this we would like to offer a mutual solution that supports local communities.

Here’s how it works:

We (McDonnells Tree Trim):

For each hedge trimming service booked and completed over the summer period Nov 2024 – March 2025 we will donate $20-00 of each hour charged on that job up to the value of $100 per customer, directly to your school.

Your Community Customers:

Contact us to book in over the dates above

Mention the offer

Name your school.

Get us in to do the work.

Pay their bill.

We believe this partnership can benefit your school while providing local families and

businesses a professional, efficient, quality job to enjoy. If you are interested, I would love to

discuss this opportunity further.

Thank you for considering. I look forward to the possibility of working together to support

your school’s fundraising efforts.

Warm regards,

Clint Hatherell

Operations Manager

Clint@mtt.co.nz

0272 384 624

www.treetrimltd.co.nz