The Connection Week 6 Term 4

Again, it is good to be back at school with children.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Our year is heading to a quiet close out. Not all our children are back, we’re not meeting in groups and so much of what we do at the end of the year is seriously curtailed. That aside, though it's a different finish, we will finish strong.

To our families not yet back at school, we will so appreciate your decision and look forward to seeing your children back next year. We are determined to make sure we connect with and acknowledge your children as much as those on site.

We continue to respond to clarification, new directions and expectations as Auckland transitions back to or through the “traffic light” system. We acknowledge it is a challenge for children and staff wearing masks and are so impressed with their efforts and commitment to follow this direction.

Further below in the newsletter are details of how children not on site can return school equipment as well as collecting their personal belongings.

Have a good week.

John Petrie

• Friday 3rd December - Equipment Collection Day (more details below)
• Thursday 9th December - Non-Uniform Day
• Wednesday 15th December - Last Day Of School

Isla (Year 3) says: "I love Huapai School because there are lots of kind people. I like playing with my friends on all the different playgrounds. After lockdown, I was happy to see my friends and Mrs Sutherland again."

Alisha Erasmas

Hi, I’m Alisha and I teach year 5&6. Before my time at Huapai District School, I was teaching in South Africa. I have also done some tutoring here in NZ. I enjoy working with children, I love to be able to be creative and have fun while learning. I enjoy seeing progress with children’s learning. My home language is Afrikaans.

Friday 3rd December 3.30pm - 5.00pm

If your child is not returning to school this year, we would like to offer you a time to collect their books, return any computers, sports shirts or library books. This will happen on Friday December 3rd 3:30pm - 5pm. Senior Leadership will be on site to assist with this.

More details about the process closer to the time.

Thank you for your cooperation with our pick up and drop off procedures. Parents are welcome on our school driveway but must remain here. We are not able to have children on the school grounds before 8:30am. Please do not send your child before this time. To limit the time spent around other bubbles, we suggest closer to 9am.

At pick up time, we thank you for not congregating on school grounds.

On Thursday 9th December we will be holding a gold coin donation day to raise funds for the Back to School program. This is an organisation that assists children who do not have stationery for 2022. More details next week.

NO HAT = NO PLAY

A reminder that hats are compulsory for Terms 1 & 4. If a child does not wear a hat, they cannot play outside. Please check your child’s bag for a sun hat.

Each classroom has a supply of sunscreen for the children to use. Please consider sunscreening your child before school and encourage them to reapply this themselves during the day.

We are so proud of Ihaka James - he saw a need and found a way to help. Ihaka saw that our school basketball system had been broken by vandals and hatched a plan. He set up a Give-a-Little page and gained sponsorship to run 60km. Ihaka raised enough money to not only replace the broken system, but to also purchase another brand new one. Today we unveiled the basketball system that Ihaka has generously donated. What a shining example of the Huapai Way. Ihaka had the honours of the first ball and “swoosh, nothing but net!” What a great sign. Well done, Ihaka - thank you for your hard work!

If your child has a school sports top at home, now is the time to return these to avoid being charged. Please pop it into a named bag or attach a note with your child’s name and bring it to the front office. We will then remove your child’s name from the spreadsheet.

If your child completed their leadership booklet over the lockdown time, please send your child to the office with their booklet during their morning tea time tomorrow. Monday is the final day for certificates this term. Any booklets coming in after Monday, we will hold until next year. We are unfortunately unable to host assemblies at this time.

We have had a great couple of days with our Year 0-3 Online Class, learning about each other's holiday traditions! It has been a smooth transition as we continue to use Seesaw as our learning platform. To access the Online Class on Seesaw, simply:

• Log into your child’s Seesaw account

• Click on your child’s name in the top left corner

• Select “Online Class” to see the announcements and projects

If your child is in Year 0-3 and not yet part of our Online Class on Seesaw, please email Emily Soong emily.soong@hds.school.nz

Please pack your child a water bottle each day. The drinking fountains are open, but classes are often popping out for a walk. A water bottle makes life a little easier.

We are noticing that many children back at school are very tired in the afternoon. Being around other people, talking and interacting all day can be exhausting. It is fine if you would like to collect your child at lunch time during this period, but please call into the office to sign your child out. Your child will be brought up to the office for you.

All year 4-8 children must wear a mask when inside. When the weather is inclement, the indoor time is greatly increased. Please consider this when sending your child to school on a rainy day. We are crossing all our fingers and toes for sunshine each day!

Just letting you know construction traffic will be increasing in the upcoming weeks and will pick up again in the New Year as Cabra begins the next apartment building at the Country Club. This will be mainly through the gate at the start of Station Rd.

Cabra will be lowering the existing fencing at the entrance to help visibility, line marking the road and either side of the footpath.

We are keen parents and children are aware there will be more traffic in this area of Station Rd when coming to and leaving the school.

A Note To Our Year 7 & 8 Families

Lockdown restrictions have, unfortunately, interrupted this year's school-based immunisation programme.

This means your child was not fully vaccinated as part of the school-based vaccination programme.

Vaccination is free and we encourage you to have your child vaccinated through your GP.

Anyone who has questions, or is having difficulty accessing their GP, can contact a public health nurse (PHN) by phoning (09) 838 1733.

The last day of school for 2021 will be Wednesday 15th December. The school will close at 12pm on this day.

Our 2022 Term dates are:

Term 1 - Thursday 3rd February - Friday 14th April

Term 2 - Monday 2nd May - Friday 8th July

Term 3 - Monday 25th July - Friday 30th September

Term 4 - Monday 17th October - Friday 16th December

Additional to this there are two planned Teacher only days:

• Friday 4th March

• Friday 3rd June (making Queens Birthday a 4 day option)

We use HERO to send classroom updates and to share regular learning posts. HERO sends push notifications or emails. You can now choose how you receive HERO notifications as well as manage devices that receive them.

To set your own notification preferences:

1. Click on your profile image

2. Select EDIT PROFILE

3. Scroll down to My Devices and select your preferences.
   

Or please see the full instructions linked below.

Email: office@hds.school.nz
Website: https://www.huapaidistrict.school.nz/
Location: Huapai District School 40 Station Rd, Kumeū, New Zealand
Phone: +64 09 412 5042
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/huapaidistrictschool