Te Kura o Te Pāroa

Ko te Tamaiti te Pūtake o te Kaupapa.

The Child – the Heart of the Matter.

This week I want to acknowledge the hard work and effort of our kaiako at Te Kura O Te Paroa. Thank you for your unwavering dedication and tireless efforts to provide exciting, stimulating and engaging learning experiences for all of our students. It is important to recognize that we are all learners, continuously striving to share our skills and strengths while supporting one another to perform at the highest level.

Next Thursday 27th of June will be an opportunity for all whānau to come into school and acknowledge our kaiako by spending time in your tamaiti’s classroom. Our classrooms will be open for you to come in and engage with your tamaiti or mokopuna. Each classroom and syndicate will be holding different activities on this day so please contact the individual kaiako for more details.

Nga Pūmanawa o Te Kura o Te Pāroa.

The Principal's awards this week of Mauri Matauranga acknowledges the outstanding leadership and hard work of our senior students in their classrooms.

Mikaere Morunga has been recognized for his focus on task and deep research into treaty settlements.

Sharnae Porter has been commended for her dedication to task completion.

Timatanga Wera Cook has been acknowledged for consistently taking on leadership roles in class and making positive decisions.

Weraniko McLean has been praised for always giving her best effort in all areas of school.

Manaaki Rameka-Pouwhare demonstrates the school's core values every day.

Piki McGarvey consistently shows great determination in completing all his tasks.

Nga mihi nui ki nga tauira tuakana o te kura! Kua tutuki pai koutou i nga mahi nui me nga pūmanawa o Te Kura o Te Paroa.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Closure of New Student Enrolments in our Junior Department

We hope this letter finds you well.

We regret to inform you that, at this moment, our school has reached full capacity in the junior department, and as a result, we are unable to accept any new students for the entire 2024 academic year. We understand that this news may be disappointing for those seeking admission for their children in Years 0-3.

In order to assist you in planning for the future, we encourage all parents and guardians to collect an enrolment pack from the school office and start the enrolment process well in advance, as early as a year before your child turns 5. By submitting enrolment forms early, you can secure a place for your child in the upcoming academic years.

To ensure a smooth enrolment process, we kindly request that all parents submit completed enrolment forms along with the necessary documents, including immunization records, birth certificates, and relevant school reports. This will help us expedite the enrolment process and keep your child's admission on our priority list for future openings.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding in this matter. If you have any questions or need further assistance regarding enrolments or timelines, please do not hesitate to contact our school office.

We value your interest in our school and look forward to the opportunity to welcome your child in the future and when space becomes available. We will ring you directly when this occurs.

Thank you for your cooperation and support.

Nga Mihi.

Ramia Honatana (Assisting Principal at Te Kura O Te Pāroa)

Tena Koutou e nga whanau o Te Kura o Te Pāroa,

Kei te mihi atu ki a koutou i runga i nga ahuatanga o te wā

I raro i te tawaharautia ō to tatou waka ō Mataatua

He panui hira mā tatou katoa kia whai whakaaro, kia whakawhiti korero!

Kia Ora, e nga whanau ō Te Kura ō Te Paroa!

We're thinking about a new way to welcome our youngest learners next year, in 2025. It's called Cohort Entry, and it means tamariki would start school together, as a group, at the beginning or middle of a term, once they've turned five.

Starting school with a group of friends (cohort entry) can help your child:

• Feel more comfortable: They'll be surrounded by other new students, making it easier to settle in.

• Make friends faster: Starting together means more chances to play and bond with classmates.

• Learn smoothly: Teachers can focus on everyone's needs at the same time.

Starting school with a group of friends (cohort entry) can help the Kura:

• Plan and prepare better: Teachers can set up the classroom and curriculum specifically for the new cohort, ensuring a smooth learning experience from day one.

• Reduce disruption: There will be fewer interruptions throughout the year as new students are welcomed in larger groups at designated times.

Starting Kura at Te Kura ō Te Pāroa is easy! New entrants can join us in two ways:

• At the beginning of each term: If your child turns 5 before the term starts, they can join us then.

• Mid-term cohort entry: If their birthday falls between the term start and mid-term, they can wait for the mid-term entry date.

Our cohort entry dates for 2025 are as follows.

Other information.

If a child has already started school and moves to Te Kura ō Te Pāroa, they will start at a mutually agreed date.

If you are getting a childcare subsidy please go to the following link for more information on support.

https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/online-services/cohort-entry/index.html#null

If you would like more information please follow this link.

As part of the process for potentially implementing cohort entry we need to consult with staff, our current school community and also parents of prospective students to our school.

If you have any questions, thoughts or comments you would like to make on this potential change to how we enrol our New Entrants please fill in this survey Cohort Entry Survey or phone the school on 073086652.

Ngā mihi nui

Ramia Honatana & Erin Te Pou

Principal I Tumuaki

It has been three weeks since planting began at Mataīpuku. All students have completed a rotation of planting a native shrub, tree or grass. We have had one community open day and another which was held on Sunday 16th June. Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Ōriini ki Ngāti Awa has also come to support.

To date about 500 people have been on site to help plant the 2,600 native plants. We are on the last few hundred plants now. A celebration will follow to mark the beginning of nurturing the wellbeing of the whenua and wai. Thank you all so much for helping! Ko te awa, ko au. Ko au, te awa.

Our Wai Science monitoring students have been upskilling in Micro wetlands. Thanks to Whaea Liz for giving opportunities to our kura to build knowledge capacity in our tamariki! Big mihi to Whaea Hayley for help with supervision and encouragement.

These are some of the things our tamariki did with Whaea Liz:

• Test the water quality

• Take water samples for macro-invertebrates

• Take samples for invertebrates that live in the vegetation

• Test for methane discharge from appropriate areas

• Look for animal tracks in muddy areas and for other signs of animals

• Identify birds that are present

• sort the insect samples and have a look at these under the microscopes

EBOP Cross Country - Thursday 13th June

Congratulations to all our tamariki who participated in last week's cross country at Woodlands in Opotiki.

Kei runga noa atu koutou

Two of our tauira qualified to go to BOP Cross Country in Welcome Bay next Tuesday. All the best and give it heaps!!

9 yr Boys

Tristan O'Brien

10 yr Girls

Ihimaia Herewini-Clay

EBOP Ki O Rahi (Yrs 5-8) - Thursday 20th June

Ki O Rahi - Nga Taonga Takaro. Based on the Purakau (legend) of Rahitutakahina and the rescue of his wife Tiarakurapakewai. The tākaro is a reflection of Tupuna storytelling at its best.

Our tauira took to the fields of Opotiki to participate and show their skills in Ki O Rahi. Ahakoa te makariri, he rangi ataahua ano hoki. We had three teams and all teams did extremely well.

Paroa A - Yr 5-6 (picture below)

Overall Winners

Special Award

Awarded to Harleigh-Rose Takiari (chosen by another kura).

Taha Tinana - Physical Wellbeing Award

Someone who shows great effort and keeps pushing themselves during Kī o Rahi. Showing the value of Ako - A willingness to learn and try new things.

Big mihi to all the organisers and matua Hemi Wahapango for coming into kura to teach some of our tauira.

Holiday programme available.

KEY INFO:

Time: 9.30am - 12.30pm

Age group: Year 3 up to year 8 ONLY

Dates - Mt Maunganui 9th July 2024 (@Blake Park)

Whakarewarewa 10th July 2024 (@ Westbrook Fields)

Whakatane 11th July 2024 (@Rugby Park)

LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE - booking cut off 2nd July

https://www.boprugby.co.nz/COMMUNITY-RUGBY/girl-code-1

Up and coming events

Term 2

Week 9

BOP Cross Country (Qualify from EBOP) - Tuesday 25th June

Week 9

Tackle 5's - Chiefs Region Finals Day - Wednesday 26th June 2024

Whānau please contact the kura when your tamaiti is away.

When you are reporting absences please give students full name, class, reason and how many days away.

Ways of reporting student absences are:

Ring the school office - 3086652.

Send Txt message to 0274471900.

Send via skool loop app.

Send message to classroom teachers.

Every day counts.

Attendance + Attitude = Success.

Covid cases within the community

• If unsure, on the side of caution inform the school. Let them know your child has symptoms and follow their specific instructions. This might involve keeping your child home until they get tested or showing improvement.
• Here's what the school might ask:
  • Specific symptoms your child is experiencing.
  • Whether they have been tested for COVID-19.
  • When your child can be expected to return to school (depending on test results and recovery).

Benefits of informing the school:

• The school can track potential outbreaks and take appropriate action if needed.
• They can advise on next steps based on their specific protocols.
• It helps to keep other students and staff safe.

Remember:

• Contact the kura with reason for absence.
• Even if your child doesn't have COVID-19, keeping them home when they're unwell prevents the spread of other illnesses as well.
• It's important to follow the Ministry of Health guidelines for testing and isolation.

Review Instructions

In term 2 we are reviewing topics in the Employer Responsibility Policy section. See the full Review and Board Assurances Schedule

Who reviews our policies and procedures?

• All reviews are open to board members, staff, students, and the school community (parents/caregivers/whānau).
• Anyone can review any policy/procedure that has a review button.

The board is responsible for board-level overarching policies. The table below shows which topics the board should review. Note that other reviewers can review these topics too; they're not exclusively for the board.

Get started

The review opens Monday 29 April: to start reviewing, click on a topic name below, then click the Start your review button. If a link is inactive, your school doesn't have the topic.

Note that if you'd like to provide feedback on a topic that's not listed below, you can still do so if it has a review button.

At Te Kura o Te Pāroa, we have a responsibility to ensure the safety of our students under the Children's Act 2014, Education and Training Act 2020, and Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. One of the ways we meet this responsibility is by carrying out safety checking to limit the risk of harm to students. Safety checking involves a risk assessment of a person's suitability to have contact with our students.

Under the Children's Act 2014, the board of Te Kura o Te Pāroa is responsible for ensuring all children's workers employed or engaged by the school are safety checked before their employment or engagement begins, and then every three years. We may also safety check others as appropriate.

Who we safety check

We safety check core and non-core children's workers as required by the Children's Act. The Children's Act defines children's workers as those working in, or providing, a regulated service that may involve regular or overnight access to a child/children without a parent/guardian present. The board determines whether a children’s worker is a core or non-core worker at Te Kura o Te Pāroa based on their role. Part of the safety checking process involves police vetting.

We may use our safety checking procedures for others employed or engaged by the school (even if not required by the Children's Act), including those we are required to police vet under the Education and Training Act 2020 (Schedule 4). See Police Vetting.

How we safety check

The board or their delegate is responsible for completing the following safety checking within the required timeframes and before the person starts work at the school. We are mindful of potential or perceived conflicts of interest when carrying out safety checking. See Conflicts of Interest.

1. Identity confirmation – We confirm identity according to the Children's (Requirements for Safety Checks of Children's Workers) Regulations 2015 (s 5). For a list of approved identity documents see Confirmation of Identity .
2. Any information about previous criminal convictions. See Police Vetting.
3. Other information – We gather details about work history and professional organisation membership, and verify licences, registrations, and qualifications. We interview the person and assess their working experiences and relationships with children, and carry out referee checks for children's workers.
4. Risk assessment – We evaluate all information gathered as part of our safety checking to make a professional judgement about whether the person would pose any risk to the safety of children if they were employed as a children's worker. We consider the relevant indicators in context and seek further evidence if necessary. Our risk assessment takes into account:
   • the safety and best interests of students
   • the nature and seriousness of the information, and the relevance and risk to the role
   • the length of time since relevant matters occurred
   • the person’s age at the time of relevant matters and their conduct since
   • whether there is a pattern of similar information, and whether there are any other aggravating/mitigating factors.

   See Guidelines for risk assessments of school staff and contractors under Schedule 4 .

   Our risk assessments may involve further investigation or discussing any concerns with the person we have safety checked.

Safety checks by others

Teaching staff are police vetted and risk-assessed by the Teaching Council as part of registered teachers gaining a practising certificate, or unregistered and uncertificated teachers gaining a limited authority to teach (LAT). We conduct a safety check of all teaching staff before they are engaged or employed, and every three years (see the steps above).

In some instances, the school may choose to accept safety checks carried out by other organisations (e.g. relieving agencies, teacher training providers, transport service providers) on behalf of the school, or as part of their own organisation's certifying, enrolment, or employment processes. The other organisation's safety checking may include police vetting. We may choose not to rely on a safety check by another organisation, and to instead carry out our own. We do not accept safety checks supplied by individuals.

If we choose to rely on a safety check by another organisation, we ask permission from the person being safety checked first. We agree in writing with the other organisation which parts of the safety check they will do and that their safety checks for that specified person are done to the standard set out in the Children's Act 2014. We complete our own identity checks and risk assessments.

Keeping safety checks up to date

As required by the Children's Act, we safety check existing children's workers within three years after the date of the last safety check. This includes confirmation of any name changes, police vetting, and registration checks with professional organisations and authorities. The board or their delegate completes a risk assessment at the end of this process to determine whether the worker poses a risk to the safety of children.

Record keeping

The school maintains a record of all safety checks and police vets, including the dates. We also keep records of assurances and risk assessment information if checks were conducted by others.

All safety checking information is kept confidential and managed according to our privacy and records retention policies. Records are kept securely for seven years from the date of the last action before being destroyed. See Privacy and School Records Retention and Disposal.

Term 2

25 June - BOP Cross Country

26 June - Tackle 5's Chiefs Region Finals Day

27 June - Matariki whanau engagement day.

28 June - Matariki (Public holiday)

5 July - Term 2 ends

Term 3

22 July - Term 3 starts

23 to 26 July - Life Education

31 July - Y7 Boostrix Vaccination

6th & 7th Aug - Rangitaiki Kapa haka festival

Sept -Written reports weeks 9.

Sept - Parent interviews week 10.

Term 4 -

14 Oct - Term 4 starts

16 Oct - Class/Individual School Photos

Whanau engagement day

Prize giving day

For more infrmation and to make bookings please click on link https://www.edventure.co.nz

Please DO NOT park across the road when dropping off or collecting tamariki. You need to drive around into the bus bay area.

Drop off and pick up times in the bus bay area :

AM: Between 8am-9am

PM: Between 2.40pm and 3pm.

Some parents are still parking across the road waiting to collect their tamariki in the afternoons. We do not want to see any near misses or fatal accidents with any of our tamariki outside the kura.

Email: office@paroa.school.nz
Website: www.paroa.school.nz
Location: 34 Paroa Road, Whakatane 3191
Phone: 073086652
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/910834023142312