Our Tumuaki Principal
Kia ora koutou.
Welcome back to Term Two of 2021. I do hope you all had refreshing, relaxing and fun holidays.
Here are some snippets from me...
- ANZAC Day: Thank you to our Student Council for representing our school at the ANZAC Service and laying a wreath on behalf of the students, staff and Board of Trustees. This year two of our students (Zoe and Beau) read poems in the service itself. This was a great way to contribute to our community.
- Picket Fence: Mr Rhys Wyrill (Cut-n-Edge) worked during the holidays to put up the framework fence for our Year Six pickets. These are the pickets that the Year Six children complete at the end of their final year with us. They used to up as part of the east paddock fence prior to the external remodel. We wanted to get them back up and displayed again. They'll go up next week. Keep an eye out for them. As part of this fence we have put up our Edendale School sign, which was made by past students in the 1970s, and used to be at our front entrance.
- Playhouse: During the end of last year and Term One this year Menzies College students have been building for us a playhouse. This arrived on Thursday 29th of April, ready for our junior school children at the start of Term Two. Thank you to Simon Pearce (Menzies teacher overseeing the project) and Brent Shepherd (transport to school). Thank you to our Home and School who supported this project financially.
- Garden Tidy: We have tidied up the garden area on the school side of the pool that used to be near the old dental clinic path. We have removed stumps, weeds etc and have put it into grass. This keeps the school looking smart and tidy.
- Mini-jumps: As part of encouraging an active recreation focused playground we have added in some mini-ramps for our scooter and skateboarders. In five minutes of arriving they were being used and enjoyed.
- Jamf: We now have 81 iPads spread throughout the school. This takes some coordination and to do that we use a Mobile Device Manager (MDM) programme. We have used Lightspeed but during the holidays we have transferred to Jamf. Through a computer interface, all iPads are managed which helps with things such as WIFI connections, deployment of apps, a consistent organisation layout and ease of rolling out updates.
- Kapa Haka: We have a Kapa Haka tutor for this year and Miss Nicol is our supervising teacher. We would love to have some parents joining us as well. Please contact Kim Nicol at kim@edendaleps.school.nz if this is something you can commit to. We are looking at starting with a group of senior children (Year Four to Six) on Wednesday afternoons (with the first on the 19th of May) going from 1.30 pm to 2.45 pm each week.
- Teacher Only Day (TOD): This coming Tuesday 11th of May we are having a Community of Learning Kahui Ako Teacher Only Day hosted at Wyndham Primary School for teachers, support staff and office managers from Tuturau, Wyndham, Menzies, Glenham, Tokanui, Gorge Road and Edendale. That same evening the BOTs are joining together for shared professional learning around interpreting school data. It is a big day for our Community of Learning, giving real value back to our schools on multiple levels.
- Updated Defibrillator: We have updated our defibrillator to a new model. We hope we never have to use it but it is there for any emergencies and accessible to the general public when we are open. You can find it in the office. All Edendale Primary School staff will undertake their first aid refresher work on Friday 4th of June (which is also a TOD). Part of that includes a refresher on how to use a defibrillator.
Thank Yous - Team Edendale
- Tracey Lockhart and Amy Smith: Thank you to Tracey and Amy for their work in cleaning the classrooms over the holidays. It is great to come back to a school that is clean, neat and tidy.
- Jack Ramage: Jack is our groundsman who works during the week, at the weekend and during the holidays to keep the outdoors of our school looking spick and span. It is great to have the front of the classrooms tidied, windows washed and rubbish all sorted. It helps to present our school to a high standard.
- Mums and Grandmothers: Happy Mothers Day to our mums and grandmas that are part of our school community. Thank you for all the work that you do behind the scenes and at work, supporting the school.
Ka kite
David McKenzie
Principal's Term Two Challenge - Being Authors and Illustrators
The Challenge
Become an author or illustrator OR BOTH by entering the Term Two Principal's Challenge.
Section Two: Become an Illustrator - In a style of your choosing, create an original winter-themed picture that can be put alongside our poems as illustrations.
Age Groups: There will be pages dedicated to...
- New Entrants
- Year One
- Year Two
- Year Three
- Year Four
- Year Five
- Year Six
- Open Section (mum, dad, grandma, grandad, teacher, etc)
The End Result
Successful entrants (authors and illustrators) will be put into a book that we will print for the school that will go into our school library and a copy for each class.
We will then sell copies to the general public.
The Requirements and Rules
- The theme is WINTER so the poem and/or picture must reflect this.
- The word limit for the poem is 200 words.
- The illustration style can be of your own choosing, A4 in size (landscape or portrait) but it must be able to be scanned into a jpeg.
- The entries are due by Friday 11th June.
- On all entries make sure you put your name, age, year level and room on the back. (Unless you are in the Open section where your name will suffice)
- You can enter as both an author and illustrator.
- You can only enter one piece of work for each section.
Our Kaitiaki Board of Trustees
BOT Meeting - Term Two
The next BOT meeting is to be held on Tuesday the 18th of May starting at 6.00pm in the staffroom. This is a tea meeting where BOT members will get to hear from several teachers about their classrooms.
Situations Vacant - Relief
We are looking for a person or people who could be a relief cleaner or relief After School Care coordinator. Email: principal@edendaleps.school.nz with your CV if you are interested.
Our Kura News and Information
Smoke Free and Vape Free - Clean Air
Schools are now required to be both smoke-free and vape-free. Please refrain from either (smoking or vaping) when on school grounds. Thank you for your cooperation regarding this.
Tractor Trek - Tuesday
On Tuesday we had the men from the Thornbury Vintage Tractor Club stop by our school as part of their tractor trek from Invercargill to Christchurch and return raising funds for the Southland Charity Hospital. It was great to host them and hear about what they were doing.
If you want to help support them log on to www.tractortrek.co.nz or text Tractor to 4644 which automatically donates $3.
Moving Schools - Things to Consider
At this time of the year, changes can occur in family circumstances relating to jobs and you may find yourself shifting out of the area and the children going to another school.
If you do find yourself moving we would encourage two things.
- Let us know: We really appreciate knowing in advance as we have internal processes around a child leaving that are required. This includes things such as library books and any outstanding accounts. Make sure you have picked up all your child's items from their room. If you do not require their uniform anymore you are welcome to donate it to school as we have a small supply of preloved uniforms for new families.
- Let the next school know: This is so helpful for the next school. It helps them to know about which room the children will go into, names onto lists for classes, buses, whanau, cloak bays etc. There may be an enrolment zone, bus requirements or a uniform to be purchased. Being prepared for your child makes the transition as smooth as possible for them so that they settle in positively.
Absences - Use the App
Remember, all absences must be communicated directly to the office.
We are encouraging 2021 to be the year when all absences are notified to the office through the school app. This works so well for our teachers and office staff.
We do not want any absences coming through Seesaw as this is not cleared by the office.
Bus Arrangements - Thanks for Letting Us Know
Thanks to our mums and dads for letting us know, before 2:30pm, regarding the change of bus arrangement especially associated with winter sports practices.
This is so helpful for us to get children to where they need to be, as fast as we can, at the end of the school day.
We like to have an accurate roll at the start of each term. Please contact the office for any changes from what might have been on the Term One bus roll pickups.
Scholastic Book Club - Issue Three
Issue Three has been sent home.
Should you wish to order from this please have your order form, along with payment, into the school office no later than Friday 21st May 2021.
You can also order online by following the instructions on the order form.
Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) - Term Two Haepapa Responsibility
When we come from so many different families our values draw us together as one big school whanau.
We show haepapa responsibility when we...
Are ready for our learning
Work right through from start to finish.
Care for people, property and places.
Look after our belongings.
Involve ourselves in our school whanau community.
Every time these are shown they make our school a great place to be for children and adults.
Principal's Values Award
This week the Principal Tumuaki would like to acknowledge Morgan Elliott for being a contributor of values to our school.
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
