Newsletter Issue 5

Kia ora, Nameste, Talofa, Konnichiwa, Guten Tag, Gidday, Vannakkam, ni Hao, Kia orana, Hola, Salam, Sa wat deekha, Dia Dhuit, Goeie Dag, Bonjour, Καλημέρα, Greetings everyone

The school is buzzing with preparations for our Matariki celebration on Thursday evening!

Today I walked through classrooms adorned with wonderful art work, I was greeted by giant taniwha art and I overheard small groups of students recording their retelling of the Ngake and Whataitai story.

This promises to be a special way to end yet another fantastic term of learning at Bellevue so we hope to see all of our families between 6.15pm and 7.30pm (from 5.30pm - 7pm for Hub 5 only) to celebrate together. Don't forget to order your hāngī through the link in the FUNdraisers post below.

Staff sickness

We have been battling through to the end of the term with much sickness so we are very grateful to Mandy Toms and Nita Staite who have been helping to keep things ticking along in our school office this week, as well as all the family members who kindly offer their support. We also appreciate your patience when our response times may not be as swift as we would like.

Support Staff Week

This week we celebrate all our wonderful support staff - our librarian, teacher aides, office staff, cleaners and maintenance contractors who work their magic often behind the scenes to keep school life running smoothly. We thank every one of them for their huge contribution to our kura.

Growing Community Conversation Station

On our Matariki evening Room 1 will also be open with tea, coffee and biscuits and the chance to share your thoughts with us. These conversations are to inform future school planning so please drop by and have your say. There will be the opportunity to share your thoughts on:

• The Matariki evening
• The hāngī for the evening
• How our school is going generally and your suggestions for the future
• There will also be hard copies of the Google Form available - also here: https://forms.gle/5aEorianaYjGtkBf9

Our Board members will be easily identifiable on the night with a green badge, so feel free to make yourself known to them, and have a kōrero with them.

A reminder that this conversation process will run throughout July and August, during which time we encourage you to get involved.

Reports

Reading our students comments in their reports has been a privilege. It is a wonderful window into how the children feel about their learning and progress against their goals, while also capturing the special events or learning activities that they have enjoyed from our action packed first half of the year.

Please look out for your child's mid year progress report coming home with them today. We encourage you to talk with your children about these - to share in their celebrations and consider how they will work towards their next steps. We know that when families and schools have a strong partnership we achieve the best learning outcomes for our young people.

Property Update

Work will continue over the coming term break with some work on the interior wall of Room 6 to minimise impact to the students working in this room during term time. We hope that our families will make the most of our school grounds during the break and, if doing so we ask that you keep a special eye on our kura during this time.

Thanks for another great term!

As we complete the final days of the term we would like to thank our fabulous school community for your ongoing involvement in and support of your children's learning, our staff and our school. We thank our teaching and support staff for the huge amount of themselves they pour into every day at Bellevue and our Board for their guidance and governance.

Finally a reminder that our fortnightly newsletters can also be found on our Bellevue Website - scroll down to view 'previous Bellevue Newsletters' - and for more timely updates, you could follow our closed group Bellevue Facebook Page, if you are not already.

Kia ora rawa atu

Annette

Thank you to the parents who supported Northern Zone Hockey on Tuesday 20 June, and an extra special thanks to Mark Dermer who refereed all of our matches!

Sadly at the end of this week we farewell Gabrielle Gilbert, one of our treasured teacher aides. Gabrielle has been with us for almost four years and has brought much to our team. She has worked closely with Hubs 3 and 4 as well as across the school, been a valued member of our PB4L team as a whānau representative as well as representing support staff and of course been an involved and supportive parent of children in our kura. This is positive news as it means we will still see her around! Gabrielle is heading off to pursue her interest in the field of digital design and we wish her well.

At the beginning of term 3 we welcome Roxanne Grace to the Hub 5 team. Roxy is an experienced kaiako with strengths in literacy, communication and a passion for supporting neurodiverse learners. She has recently moved from Hamilton where she has experience in teaching, tutoring and leadership before moving to part time work to focus on her young family. She has been relieving in our school a great deal so you may have got to know her a little already. We are very excited to welcome her to the team for the remainder of the year.

Mid year reports will be coming home today.

We report twice each year on how students are progressing and achieving in relation to the National Curriculum. The purpose of reporting to parents is to provide clear, meaningful information about children’s learning. We report on reading, writing and maths because doing well in these areas ensures students are equipped with the range of skills, knowledge and attributes needed to access other areas of the curriculum - science; technology; learning languages; the arts; physical education and health.

We also report on student personal and social development - their learning dispositions because these are the attitudes essential for becoming a life-long learner. If you have any queries about the information in your child’s report you are always welcome to organise a time with their whānau or hub teachers to talk about this.

While we understand that there has been higher than usual sickness this year, attendance at school remains a priority for our school and the Ministry of Education. As this article from the Education Review Office states, children who miss a week of school each term will have missed a full year of school by the time they are 16. If your child's absence or punctuality is of concern, you will receive a letter outlining the importance of attendance with your child's report. We encourage you to discuss this with us so we can work together to support improved attendance in Term 3 and beyond.

The year 3-6 students who attended Swimming Sports last week had a wonderful time. This friendly competition between schools in our hub brought out the best in our swimmers - it was great to see! We were very proud of everyone who participated, and hope to see even more students sign up next year. Thanks to Cassie Woodhouse and the families who gave up their time to make this happen.

Hub 1 was having fun using our new water channeling setup during Discovery time.

Our tamariki was able to manipulate the flow of water which is both fascinating and challenging. As we are learning a lot about respect this term, they were reminded that this activity requires teamwork and cooperation. It was great to hear the conversations and positive comments amongst the children.

Incidentally the money raised by our FUNdraisers for wet weather equipment was put towards buying the pipes etc for the set up below as we can use them inside without water using ping pong balls and cars instead! Thank you to our community once again!

New Entrants—Enrol Now!

We encourage you to enrol your preschoolers as soon as they turn 4. This assists with future planning for our kura and classes. Out of zone enrolment applications close approximately six months prior to commencement date so it is important to submit these early to ensure you are in the ballot. We accept up to five out of zone new entrant applications per term.

Important information about the Bellevue School enrolment scheme (zone)

If you have preschoolers at home that you are planning to enrol at Bellevue School in the future, here are a few important things to know and put into action:

1. If you are living outside of the Bellevue School enrolment zone, then your preschooler(s) will need to be processed as an out of zone application. Please let us know, if you haven’t already, of any future enrolments at Bellevue School from your family. It helps greatly with our planning to know well in advance. And if we know then we can also prompt you as to when you need to get your out of zone application in.

2. It is very important that out of zone applications are received by the application deadline of 9am Friday 30 June 2023, for enrolment from Saturday 23 September 2023 to Friday 15 December 2023. We cannot accept any out of zone applications if they are not received by the deadline advertised for the enrolment period your child is due to start school in. The deadline can sometimes be up to six months prior to your child actually starting school.

3. Even if your preschooler(s) are in zone, please get your enrolment in to us as soon as possible to enable us to plan ahead. We need this information to be able to work out how many out of zone applications we can accept in each enrolment period.

If you have any questions or are unsure about anything, please call the school office and talk to Amanda.

Casual vacancy for a parent representative

A casual vacancy has occurred on the school board for an elected parent representative.

The board has decided to fill this vacancy by running a by election. More information about this is included below. Please note that nominations for candidates with skills in property would be a huge advantage for the school.

Nga mihi nui

Kelvin Russell

Presiding member

Bellevue School Board

Parent Election Notice

Nominations are open for the election of one (1) parent representatives to the school board.

All eligible voters will receive a nomination form via email. Use this form to nominate yourself or someone in your community. You will also receive a nomination cover letter calling for nominations. Information on who is not eligible to be a board member is provided with the nomination form.

If you need more nomination forms, contact the school office.

Nominations close at noon on Friday 30 June 2023. You may provide a signed candidate statement and photograph with your nomination.

The electoral roll is held at the school and can be viewed during normal school hours.

As nominations are received there will be a list of candidates’ names kept at the school up until election day, which you can view.

Voting closes at 4pm on Friday 4 August 2023.

Signed Amanda Beauchamp

Returning Officer

The Bee Healthy Dental Van was due to visit our school in Term 4, but due to a number of School Events happening in Term 4 this has been postponed until Term 1 2024. A date has yet to be confirmed. If you have any concerns about your child's dental health or need to make an appointment please contact the Dental Hub on 0800 825583.

Enjoy the break and READ LOTS!

For all you wonderful book readers...

The big Wellington City Libraries book sale is happening:-

Where? St Patrick’s College Hall, Kilbirnie

When? from 7-10 July,

Time? 10am – 4pm daily.

This is only the second book sale they've had since the Central Library closed, and there are literally tens of thousands of stockpiled items to pass on to loving new homes!

The book sale includes all kinds of items from children’s and YA fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, and picture books through to CDs, music scores and songbooks, ‘coffee table books,’ DVDs and Blurays, magazines, and much more.

Most children’s and YA items will be 3 for $1, with other prices as marked.

Bellevue School offers interested families the chance for their children to participate in the ICAS Assessments in:

• English (Reading)

• Writing

• Mathematics

• Science

All of these assessments are online. The cost of each of the assessments is $20.70, EXCEPT Writing which is $27.03.

This competition takes place each year in schools throughout Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, the Pacific region and South Africa. ICAS Assessments are designed to recognise and reward academic excellence. Students are asked to demonstrate a deeper, integrated, and thorough level of learning. For more information please follow THIS LINK.

The assessments are challenging and provide an opportunity, particularly for students of high academic ability, to gain a measure of their own achievement in an external assessment situation. We would not advise that your child sit these if they are a less confident learner or would become anxious in an exam situation.

If you are uncertain about whether or not your child should participate please talk to their whānau teacher.

The dates for the ICAS Assessments at Bellevue in 2023 are:

• Writing - Thursday 10 August

• English - Thursday 17 August

• Science - Thursday 24 August

• Maths - Thursday 31 August

A notice has already been emailed to all Hub 4 and 5 families about registering for these assessments. A reminder that entries and payment must be in no later than 3pm on Tuesday 18th July (first week back in Term 3)

Newlands Intermediate is holding 2 events in the coming weeks for Year 6 students, our 2024 year 7 students.

Open Evening - Thursday June 29th 7pm, in the Intermediate school hall.

School in Action Morning - Thursday July 20th 9am, meet in the Intermediate front office.

Enrolments are open and completed online. www.newlandsint.school.nz

Miniball Results:

19-20 June

Thunder lost 18-28 against Cashmere Saints. Sebastian was player of the day.

Storm lost 41-20 against Khandallah Kiwis. Rufus was player of the day.

Lightning had a bye.

26-27 June

Thunder won 18-12 against St Bens Bucks. Milo was player of the day.

Hurricanes lost 3-8 against Khandallah Kingfishers. Lara was player of the day.

Lightning lost 30-59 against Wadestown Wizards. Jerry was player of the day.

Storm lost 34-14 against St Bens 79ers. Kalia was player of the day.

Good Afternoon to our Bellevue Family, and wow, what a week it is at school!

The days have been busy filled with school photos on Tuesday, Pyjama Day Dojo Point reward on Thursday, then End of Term Pizza lunch on Friday… AND on Thursday evening, we are coming together for our very own Matariki Celebration!

I (Rebecca) might have had a chance this week to pop into a couple of classrooms, and not only do the students seem excited for Thursday evening, their efforts in their classrooms looks pretty neat!! I personally can’t wait to experience it all for the event!!

FUNdraisers will have a very quick survey out in Room 1 regarding the Hangi at this event – in advance, we really appreciate your feedback, we look forward to receiving it! Also, there will be a table with product samples of what the Kids Art Work/Calendar Art products will look like. Please feel free to take a look at the samples of what you would be ordering!

Updates on our two current events as below -

Hāngī for the Matariki Celebration – Thursday 29 June

If you have ordered a hangi, these will be available for collection between 6pm and 6.15pm from the school hall. Please remember to bring your own cutlery with you!

If you haven’t, but would like to order a hangi meal, there are still some available to purchase. Though please be aware that the meal types (flavours) may be limited.

The link for online ordering is: https://forms.gle/xkoirAX8e1DkSiGk8

End of Term Pizza Lunch – Friday 30 June

The processing for these orders has been completed, and we look forward to having these pizzas delivered to the students at Friday lunch time!

Can you help us? FUNdraisers Committee Meetings

Our little team of 5 need more support – WE NEED YOU!

Gosh do we LOVE to bring the FUN to our kids with events through the year, and we have some really interesting ideas we would like to bring to the school. We however don’t have quite enough resources to make it all work. Do you have some of that elusive ‘spare time’ and would you like to give back to our cool school? If so…

Our next committee meeting is scheduled for 7pm on 20th July 2023, location TBC.

We hope to see you there! Or get in touch with Rebecca: fundraisers@bellevue-newlands.school.nz

What’s all this fun and FUNdraising for you ask?

What are we fundraising for? What have we spent our funds raised on?

Our wish list is updated often, and is linked via our FUNdraisers webpage:

https://www.bellevue-newlands.school.nz/fundraisers

If you work for a company that may be interested in supporting our school with any of these targets, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our principal Annette with details :)

Upcoming Events or Activities for Term 3 and Term 4

Kids Art Work! End of Term Pizza Lunch. Alana Estate Wine Fundraiser

More information to come as and when it is available.

Kapai Kidz Holiday Programme:

We are operating from the school hall from 3-13 July. Space is limited, book in ASAP. All enquiries to linda@kapaikidz.co.nz or 021 409641

Wednesday 28 June

Reports go home

Thursday 29 June

Matariki Celebration

Thursday 29 June

Newlands Intermediate Open Evening for 2024 Year 7's

7.00 - 8.00pm

Friday 30 June

Last day of term 2

Thursday 20 July

Newlands Intermediate School in Action Morning for 2024 Year 7's

9.00 - 10.30am

Thursday 27 July

Whānau Māori hui 6 - 7.30pm Room 2

FUNdraisers Meeting - 7pm (location to be confirmed)

Wednesday 9 August

BOT Meeting - 6.30pm - 8.30pm

Thursday 10 August

Year 4-6 ICAS Writing

Thursday 17 August

Year 4-6 ICAS English (Reading)

Friday 18 August

Northern Zone Swimming

Thursday 24 August

Year 4-6 ICAS Science

Wednesday 30 August

Pōwhiri to welcome new students and staff 10.40am

Thursday 31 August

Year 4-6 ICAS Maths

Newlands Intermediate enrolments close for 2024

Wednesday 6 September

BOT Meeting - 6.30pm - 8.30pm

Thursday 7 September

Whole School Circus Challenge Day

Friday 15 September

Road Patrol Orange Day Parade

El Gregoe School Show

Whole School Emergency Evacuation Practice

Friday 22 September

Last day of Term 3

Monday 9 October

First day of Term 4

Tuesday 24 October

Teacher Only Day for NZC Refresh - School closed

Wednesday 25 October

BOT Meeting - 6.30pm - 8.30pm