Our Tumuaki / Principal
Updates and developments to share with you this week include the following...
Good Attendance: Quality attendance at our school is defined as 90% or more and so many of our children reach those levels with ease. It ensures that they get the benefit of being at a school. It is like being a member of a gym and attending each day to get fitter and stronger. Schools are like that, but for the brain.
Thank you to parents who have established strong home routines to support their child's learning at school.
Donations Scheme: Several years ago the government introduced a Donations Scheme that if schools did not ask for a donation from their school families they would receive $150 per pupil. To qualify for this a school had to have a decile between 1 and 7. Our decile was 8.
With the shift to a new Equity Index the qualification level changed to be 432 or greater to receive an adjusted amount of $154.13 per student. Our new Equity Index is 431 so we still do not qualify.
We are grateful for the tax-deductible donations families make to our school, and because we miss out again on the scheme, we continue to appreciate this support into 2023.
2023 Class Lists: We are now onto the numbers side of our class list construction. We seek to keep the junior rooms slightly smaller to give our younger children a strong start. With that, we have to leave space in Team Kea for new entrants starting in 2023. This does mean our senior rooms are slightly larger. So, with the knowledge that we have at this present moment, (being aware that things change and can change quickly) this is what is emerging:
- Team Kea: NE - Year One 18 (13 / 5 split of year levels)
- Team Kiwi: Year Two and Year One 20 (6 / 14)
- Team Pukeko: Year Three and Year Two 20 (9 / 11)
- Team Tui: Year Four and Year Three 24 (9 / 15)
- Team Kereru: Year Five and Four 24 (11 / 13)
- Team Kahu: Year Six and Year Five 24 (17 / 7)
Here's the process we are working through:
- Monday 27th September to Thursday 10th November: we draft up class lists, taking into account teacher input, parent information (if able to), class numbers, social combinations, academic performance, distribution of student learning needs, and teacher workload.
- Friday 11th November: Class lists finalized.
- Monday 21st to Friday 25th November: Sharing next year's class at school interviews.
- Thursday 8th of December: Bring the 2023 classes together for half an hour so that they can see who is with them in their next year's room.
Uniform Excellence: Teachers are working to ensure that our uniform is worn to a high standard. They will, and are, having conversations with children about non-compliant items such as branded shorts, non-regulation or wrong colour tops and incorrect caps. Can I please encourage parents to keep an eye on this as well so that our school presents itself with excellence? Thanks so much. Together we keep our school looking smart and to a high standard for each other, each family and the community we are part of.
Christmas Cards: In the last two weeks of the school year (November 28th to December 9th) the Christmas Postie Elf emerges to deliver cards that the children make for each other. It is a fun way to end the year. Last year hundreds of cards were delivered over the last two weeks. Children really enjoyed neatly writing out cards to their classmates that they had shared a whole year with. There was also excitement in receiving a card, knowing that someone had thought about them. This 'give' and 'receive' reciprocity is a great lesson for children.
Three-way Interviews With Reports: Our Term Four Three-Way Interviews with Reports are in Week Six (Monday 21st November to Friday 25th of November). These are for you, your child and the teacher, to discuss the year that has been and the learning that has occurred, through the Term Four's report. At these meetings, you will learn which class your child is in for 2023. (Remember, if you have information that we should know in preparation for building the 2023 class lists we need to have this by Friday 11th November).
To help our interviews be the best they can be pre-schoolers need to be supervised outside of the interview.
Parents are also welcome to bring along a key support person who may input in their child's life (e.g. a grandparent) as we know how important wider family is to the growth and development of children.
The link for booking is below. It's best to get in early to get the times that suit you.
Pet Day - Tuesday: As of writing, the current forecast for Tuesday is for a fantastic day which is wonderful. We look forward to meeting the children down at the Wyndham A & P Showgrounds (at the end of Balaclava Street - Wyndham's main street). Remember, they go straight down there with their parents as there are pets and displays to be taken that simply couldn't be brought to school and then taken down. Teachers have the initial task of judging the many and different categories to be done. It's a fun whanau day that everyone enjoys.
Acknowledging - Team Edendale
- Rosalie Lumley: This year, a very kind lady called Rosalie Lumley, who is a past teacher, offered to come and help our children who need that little boost of support. We took that offer up and faithfully Rosalie comes down from Gore each week and has become a valued regular community help in our school. We really appreciate her warm smile and chatty contributions to our staff. We know that the children benefit from her experience and detailed focus on their learning. Rosalie is a precious gem to our school!
Our Events Coming Up
Term Four 2022
Week 3 (of 8)
- Monday 31st October - Home and School Meeting 7.30pm in staffroom
- Tuesday 1st November - Pet Day
- Tuesday 1st November - BOT Meeting 6.30pm tour of school 7pm meeting
- Thursday 3rd November - Year 5 Big Day Out
- Friday 4th November - Celebration Time (2.20pm)
Week 4 (of 8)
- Thursday 10th November - Bush School Kamahi Reserve
Week 5 (of 8)
- Tuesday 15th November - Sports Activator
- Friday 16th November - Celebration Time (2.20pm)
- Saturday 19th November - Southland Athletics
Week 6 (of 8)
- Friday 25th November - LMV Swimming Sports
Week 7 (of 8)
- Monday 28th November - Senior Triathlon
- Wednesday 30th November - Levi Goodall Show
- Friday 1st December - Celebration Time (2.20pm)
Week 8 (of 8)
- Thursday 8th December - Concert Matinee 1pm, Evening 7pm
- Friday 9th December - Year 6 Farewell
Our Kura News and Information
To Give Away - In the Bike Shed
Remember we have a few items surplus to our requirements that we have put in the bike shed near the west driveway gate. Help yourself.
LMV Zone Athletics - Southland Qualifiers Event
Due to an uncooperative forecast for Wednesday 26th October and Thursday 27th of October, the LMV Zone Athletics were put off this week. We've had lots of rain.
Getting a date that suits the programmes and timetables of all zone schools and our hosting school is proving a real challenge.
The current plan by the Lower Mataura Valley Zone Committee is to run a Southland Athletics Qualifiers Event. This ensures that our capable athletes from each Zone school get the opportunity to head through to the Southland Athletics should they meet the right standards.
Therefore, schools in our Zone are putting forward their top five athletes, per age-group and per each Southland qualifying events, and we are running a peeled-back event, hoping for this Monday morning, once again, weather permitting.
The athletes who have been selected will bring home a notice today (or will be contacted at home if they are absent today. They will bring a schedule of event with them. Parents at the events will be asked to assist the staff members; we appreciate your cooperation in advance.
The athletes and staff will go to Wyndham by bus at 9am on Monday, ready for a 9.30 start to the event.
Everything should return back to normal next term, Term One 2023. COVID is proving less of a feature so we should get into our normal rhythm again.
Our Kaitiaki School Board
School Board Staff Representative: The School Board staff representative is going to be Mrs Aleisha Schrader. We welcome her onto the School Board and look forward to her input and perspective.
There are two formal meetings for the School Board in Term Four.
- Tuesday 1st November, starting at 6.30 pm for a tour of the school and then 7.00pm for the formal meeting in the staffroom.
- Tuesday 29th of November, starting at 7.00 pm in the staffroom.
School Board Training - Governance, Management and Being Strategic
On Wednesday evening, 26th October Lower Mataura Valley Community of Learning Kahui Ako School Boards met at Menzies College library to receive training from Ann Bixley, the Otago Southland New Zealand School Trustees Association advisor. The focus was governance, management and being strategic.
Our Contact Information
Email: admin@edendaleps.school.nz
Website: https://sites.google.com/edendaleps.school.nz/edendale-primary-school
Location: Edendale Primary School, 24 Salford Street, Edendale 9825, New Zealand
Phone: 03 206 6959
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EdendalePrimarySchool
Twitter: @EdendaleSchool
