Pembroke Panui

It is hard to believe that we are heading into Week 6 of our first term already! We are really pleased with how the children have settled into the school year and are living out our ASPIRE Values, ensuring that our school is a great place for them to make the most of their learning and friendships and grow in their personal self-confidence.

Thank you to all the parents who were able to come along to the recent Learning Conferences with your child to discuss their learning and how you can work together with the teacher to support your child in reaching their highest potential in 2025.

An important reflection that came out of the Learning Conferences is that it would really help us to understand if there is any history of learning challenges or neurodiversity, such as Dyslexia, Dyscalculia (challenges understanding number-based information and Maths), ADHD, or Dysgraphia (challenges with writing, including problems with letter formation/legibility, letter spacing, spelling, fine motor coordination, rate of writing, grammar, and composition) within your whānau (it does not have to have been officially diagnosed).

My hunch has always been that we have a higher percentage of neurodiversity within our school and town, as it is a place built on the success of people who are hands-on, big-picture thinkers. We have neurodiversity within our own family and have lived the journey of supporting and celebrating our own whānau members. Knowing if there is a family history helps us to be aware and mindful so that if anything does present in your child's learning, we can start to 'connect the dots,' so to speak, sooner.

If you have not yet had this conversation with your child's teacher, it is well worth letting them know. You can do this through a face-to-face conversation or via email.

As mentioned in my last pānui, our teachers are undergoing a lot of Professional Learning this year. Two big curriculum areas, Maths and English, have been refreshed, and the government is funding a number of Professional Learning opportunities and programmes to support raising achievement in these areas. You will notice the need for a few more relief teacher days to allow them to do this. Along with this, there is an increased workload for teachers, which we really appreciate. We can all work together to support our teachers by being understanding.

We have been focusing on ensuring that our tamariki show our ASPIRE Values of Respect and Ambition when having relief staff in their classrooms. With the current teacher shortage, we are incredibly fortunate to have access to our relievers so that we can grow and upskill our teachers.

We are very fortunate to have a supportive community. On Friday, some of the classes enjoyed a trip over the road and through the field, down a freshly mown track, to the Mangarangi Stream. This is the focus of our learning this term. Mr. Dent has provided a wonderful, safe, and easy-to-access route to the Mangarangi through his property, and both teachers and students were really excited to be able to learn in such a beautiful location and authentic local learning context.

Mr. Dent also put us in touch with the Ostler Trust, which supports local initiatives to engage students in horticulture and has given us a $1,500 donation towards much-needed garden equipment so that classes can get stuck into their gardens with class sets of gardening gloves, tools, etc., and we can put a tank down near the gardens for watering.

Kia maiea tō rā

Wendy Single

This year, as part of our Annual Achievement Plan, one of our goals is to increase our overall attendance rates and ensure that all students are on time to start the school day. Ideally, students should arrive no later than 8:50 a.m. to allow them time to settle into school before starting their day.

The government target is for 80% of students to be attending 90% of the time. You may be shocked to know that in Term 3 last year, only 50% of Pembroke students attended school regularly. In Term 4, our regular attendance rate improved to 77%, with only 68% of students arriving at school on time. Of those not attending regularly, 63% of absences were unjustified according to our school policy.

If our tamariki are to reach their highest potential and make the most of their learning, they need to be at school unless absent for a justified reason. When a student misses even one day, they are already on the back foot, playing catch-up with their peers as they have missed key information that they then have to review before they can fully grasp new learning.

To date this year, we have had only 61% of our tamariki attending school regularly—meaning they are present 9 out of 10 days per fortnight.

We want our tamariki to achieve their highest potential, and a key part of supporting them in this is ensuring that they are at school all day, every day, unless they have a justifiable absence.

See more information in our school office and below.

We know that getting out the door in the morning takes the patience of a saint to achieve.

The key to minimizing stress for your whānau is having a set routine.

If you are consistently late for school, then you need to set your alarm clocks earlier and get everyone up earlier to start the day.

For some whānau, making lunches and having uniforms ready the day before works well to take the stress out of the morning routine.

A few tips and tricks:

• Get up at the same time every day.
• Have a set routine, e.g., have breakfast, get dressed, tidy room, brush teeth, brush hair, pack bag, and do chores. Having this on display for your younger children will help them be more independent. If this is new or a challenge, you may want to have an incentive or reward (at the moment, we are using the Minecraft Cards from Woolworths).
• Keep items in the same place: bag, shoes, uniform, lunchboxes, and book bags. This obviously means having a good end-of-day routine—putting these things in their place when they get home.
• Set a timer for 15 minutes before you need to leave so that everyone knows it’s time to hurry up and get in the car.
• When things go sideways, don’t beat yourself up! Instead, think about what you can do differently next time... tomorrow is a new day!

It is not long now until our Pembroke School Show and Shine fundraising event. Please pop your name down on the sign up sheet to indicate how you can help. This is in the school office. If you are not sure what the show and shine is all about, head over to our Pembroke School Facebook Page.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/793225748212406

Where you will find a video and photos of our 2024 event.

Another key Annual Goal for 2025 is strengthening partnerships with whānau to best support your child in reaching their highest potential. You are a key player in your child's learning and have a significant influence on their success in school. A whānau culture that values and supports learning and sees itself as a partner in their child's learning will give your child the best chance to achieve their highest potential in school and open up opportunities as they head into Secondary Education and, eventually, a career pathway.

At Pembroke School, all students have Home Learning. In Years 0-4, a key part of your child's Home Learning involves helping them develop reading skills by giving them opportunities to practice, consolidating their learning, and transferring it into their long-term memory. The reading skills they develop are transferable to writing and help set them up with crucial literacy skills that will support success in other areas of their learning.

In Years 5-8, Home Learning focuses on allowing your child to develop important organizational skills and take increasing responsibility for their learning. It provides time for practice, helps consolidate learning, and supports improvement in reading and spelling skills.

Having a home routine from the start that works for your whānau is the key to success. In our whānau, we complete Home Learning after dinner and before bed—it is a special time of the day to connect with each child. We appreciate that challenges can arise, particularly if your child finds learning difficult, so please reach out to your child's teacher if you need support.

Thank you to all the whanau who have completed our Community Consultation! Next Tuesday 11th is the cut off date for your chance to win one of four $20 Baking Co Vouchers and House Points for your tamariki as our way of saying thank you for your time.

If you would like to complete a digital copy of the consultation you can do so

HERE: PEMBROKE SCHOOL 2025 COMMUNITY CONSULTATION

Your feedback is valuable and will help to shape the future focus and strategic direction of our school for 2026-2028.

A big shout out to these three awesome boys who happily volunteered to rake the new bark across the playground last week! #Service

If you have not managed to come along to one of our Action Days you are really missing out on a great day, the atmosphere is always a lot of fun with music blasting, happy cooperation and we are well spoilt with our BBQ King and his fellow BBQ Crew Oliver and Jessie serving up our sausage sizzle and we cooled down after a hard mornings work with ice blocks. Our school is now looking great! Thank you to the parents who came along to help and to Vicker's Quarry for the new pathers and the stones that we will use as part of the mindfulness garden.

Addison (Tawa) and Darcey (Rātā) and whanau!

We are so happy to have you join our Pembroke School whanau!