Week 7 Term 1 2020
Tauranga Primary School Newsletter
Principal's Message
Tēnā koutou katoa
Ngā mihi nui, kia koutou katoa - Warm greetings to you all.
Thank you for your support of our Teacher Only Day on Friday. Staff engaged in some very valuable learning sessions throughout the day. We focussed on growing our professional capabilities so that we are well positioned to meet your child's learning needs. The middle and senior school teachers worked on an Accelerating Literacy Learning initiative, with a focus on Writing. The junior team teachers and teacher aides attended a "Learning through Play' workshop presented by Longworth Education.
Over the weekend, you would have seen the government announce new measures for our response to COVID-19. Please note the new requirements for self-isolation if returning from overseas. As a school we are following all recommendations set by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education and will keep school families informed of any new developments as soon as possible.
At present good hygiene practices continue to be our best defence.
Wash and dry your hands often, follow safe cough and sneeze protocols and avoid unnecessary physical contact with others.
We are also asking that children use drink bottles for their water.
We are disinfecting the drinking fountains daily, but the healthier option is to drink water from your own bottle.
Should school be closed in the future, as part of the COVID-19 response, then we will communicate work you can do at home primarily via your child's classroom Seesaw account and email. It is essential that we have the correct contact details for your family and that emails are checked regularly if this was to occur. If you have not already done so, please update the office any changes in contact details.
As shared previously, our best defense in this pandemic is good hygiene practices and physical distancing. If your child(ren) are sick, it is essential that they do not come to school. Where possible it is also worth considering who is looking after unwell children. With this pandemic older people and those with chronic health conditions are the most at risk, exposure to unwell children can compromise their health and well-being.
I have included a link below to a video that explains the virus in 'kidspeak' as well as a resource from the Ministry of Education about how to talk to your children about COVID-19.
The Friends of the School (FOTS) AGM was this week. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our past officers, Rocky Branch (Chairperson), Leanne Grant (Treasurer) and Caroline Petit (Secretary) on behalf of us all, for being a fantastic supporters of our school. Thank you also to Caroline Petit, who has generously volunteered to take on the Chairperson role, Ursula Street the secretary and ??????? the treasurer.
The refurbishment of the school playgrounds are an excellent example of the direct impact the FOTS make to our children’s schooling experience. We are always very keen to recruit more members from our school community. Please diary in Tuesday the 5th May, 6:30pm (in the school staffroom) to come along to the next meeting. Robyn Caley our Assistant Principal, and I also attend these meetings.
A very warm TPS welcome to Harveer Uppal, Jackson Hartnett, Blake Shearer, Tamaroa Hurunui, Chi Hoang, Ella Stevenson, Kelly Kang, Blake Irving, Lucia, Luna and Lukas Kang who started recently at our school. We are glad to have you and your family as part of our TPS TEAM.
Hei kõnei rā
Fiona Hawes
Principal
2020 TPS Sport Leaders
Thank you to our Year 6 Sport Leaders who lead games at lunchtimes with our students.
They are an essential part of keeping our playground peaceful and happy.
KEEPING OURSELVES SAFE programme starts next week.
Swimming Sports Results
Year 3 Girls - 1st Amelia Hill, 2nd Grace Bell-Booth
Year 3 Boys - 1st Oliver Preston, 2nd Reid Rowlands, 3rd Daniel Hooper
Year 4 Girls - 1st Cassia Tallon, 2nd Molly Hyett, 3rd Jorja Donaldson
Year 4 Boys - 1st Timothy Cresswell, 2nd Oskar Hasket, 3rd= Flynn Rowlands and Tyson Rolls
Year 5 Girls - 1st Chiara Masey, 2nd Sophie Ormsby, 3rd Jessica Teague
Year 5 Boys - 1st Fabian Hill, 2nd Max Taylor, 3rd George Moores
Year 6 Girls - 1st Hannah Greener, 2nd Brooke Valois, 3rd Heidi Gundersen
Year 6 Boys - 1st= Ryan Blair and Aiden Soper, 3rd Curtis Brott
Term 1 & 2 Important Dates
- Thursday 19th March - Top Schools Competition - Year 6 - Cancelled
- Friday 20th March - Junior School 'Splash and Dash'
- Monday 23rd March - Keeping Ourselves Safe programme in school
- Friday 27th March Frosty Friday
- Thursday 2nd April - Year 5 Waimarino Camp/Noho Marae - Postponed to Term 4
- Monday 6th April - Thursday 9th April - Kids Can Ride for Year 5/6
- Term 1 finishes - Thursday 9th April at 3:00pm
- Term 2 - Starts 28th April
- Monday 11th and Tuesday 12th May - Zero Waste Programme - Middle Team
- 15th May - Teacher Only Day (No school)
- Monday 18th May - Reports go home
- Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th May - Zero Waste Programme - Middle Team
- Tuesday 19th May - International Student Learning conferences
- Wednesday 20th May - Learning Conferences (No school)
- Thursday 21st May - TPS Cross Country
- 26th, 29th May, 2nd - 5th June - Senior Art Gallery Visit
- 1st June - Queen's Birthday
- 22nd - 26th June - Travel Safe Week
- 1st July - Matariki Celebration-TBC
FYI - Please note that the 11th and 12th November 2020 are our School Production dates. End of year dates get very busy for families, and all children will be expected to perform on these nights.
ANZAC Day
We request a gold coin donation please.
Community Notices
Mashkids school holiday programme
Contacts
Principal
Fiona Hawes
07 578 6222
Deputy Principal
Cathy Ediker
Assistant Principal
Robyn Caley
Junior Team Leader
Pam Wilkins
Middle Team Leader
Jason Morgan
Acting Senior Team Leader
Jo Howard
International Student enquiries
Cathy Ediker
Business Manager
Susan O'Neill
Office Administrator and Enrolment Officer
Barbara Turley