Maungatapere School

Newsletter 7 March 2024

From the Principal

Y5 to Y8 School Swimming Sports

What fantastic ‘Make it Happen’ attitudes on display during our senior swimming sports last Friday. We had high competition, gutsy swims, give it a go attitudes of swimmers who challenged themselves, and the positive support of the children chanting the last swimmer of each race. The children should be proud of the values they had on display at this event.

Well done to the Y8 relay team who won for the first-time in a long time. We are not sure when they last won. This battle had the teachers in 3rd place, the parents in a first equal touch finish. Both the Board of Trustees Chairperson and myself agreed it was in fact a photo finish without a clear winner. A protest about an early parent starting technicality had the benefit of the doubt going to the children. The judges’ decisions are final. Well done to all those who participated in this fantastic event.

Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) – policy and guideline review, in particular the EOTC safety actions.

Our two deputy principals have spent significant time reviewing the staff competence, training and EOTC safety planning and risk assessment documentation. As stipulated in our policies, the school uses the EONZ: EOTC Safety Management Plan Templates & Toolkit Forms. What is evident is that there are new more stringent checks around risk assessment and management of weather/weather reports and warnings and what this means for decision making.

Y7/8 2024 Camp – EOTC event at Marsden Bay Christian Camp - Lots of photos on our Facebook page

As I write this newsletter (on Monday), the Y7/8 classes have departed to camp. This started with the parent volunteers attending a safety briefing meeting in the hall, prior to leaving. At this meeting the teachers took parents through the camp volunteers information booklet and a Q&A session. This booklet went out last week to inform parent volunteers of the programme and their role within the safety management plans. The parent volunteers will be trained by the Marsden Bay Christian Camp safety person, on how to operate the activities provided by the camp e.g. The flying fox (5 trained adults) that uses a harness safety system/ the bumper balls / the archery that involves shooting soft tipped arrows at each other etc. Maungatapere School now needs to sign off that this

training has been completed appropriately by the ‘outside provider’. This process, means that we have had to (unfortunately) turn away parents who wish to join the camp for the day. Due to the volunteer safety briefing process, visiting parents now become extra people on site to manage by staff. The Camp Volunteer agreement form is detailed for clarity of roles and to reduce risks. For example, all parents attending camp have very detailed documents to fill in. Below is just part of the parent volunteer agreement.

As a volunteer assistant in this school EOTC event I agree that

I certify that the above information is correct.

I am willing to comply with requests of staff and will follow safety procedures they have set.

I understand that I may not have my own child in the group of ākonga|students I am supervising.

I will take reasonable care that my behaviour does not adversely affect the health and safety of myself or others.

I am willing to assist in aspects of running the event according to the role I have been asked to take by the Person in Charge.

Any medication that I am required to bring will be safely stored, out of reach of students.

I am willing to complete the Police vetting and/or safety checking process.

I agree there is no place for alcohol or illegal drugs at a school EOTC event.

To parents in general, we now have more paperwork required for EOTC events, in particular daytrips and overnighters, that involve transport and parent/caregiver volunteers.

Key point! We have more paperwork legally required for safety planning, therefore more time required for parents to fill in forms, and more time required of teachers to process these forms to plan events.

Whaea Rachel, Mrs Goddison and myself each spent a day at camp. Feedback from our management was that it was an extremely positive experience. I personally had a blast on Tuesday and it really struck me that this group of Year 7/8 kids are an awesome bunch of kids and the parents were amazing, bringing a positive vibe to the camp. When I talked to a number of parents on return from camp, one parent said they had been on a few camps over the years and this group of kids was an absolute stand out. It was a real team building experience with the activities and we will be rebooking this camp.

Events like this could not happen without our parent support, so thank you so much to those parents that helped.

Y3/4 Experiencing Marine Reserves – Rooms 1,2 & 3

On Tuesday the 19th of March our next EOTC day is planned, weather permitting for Experiencing Marine Reserves.

Mrs Goodison is finalising the new documentation requirements used for the Y7/8 camp, and will have these going home asap. The key point is to watch out for the EOTC permission forms and documentation, fill it in promptly and return them to school. This will allow for this day to be planned safely and communicated with the much needed volunteers.

Temporary fencing/gates on our entrances

On Tuesday this week, we will have temporary entrance gates installed at school for student safety reasons. This will mean a high gate at the parent car park and up the staff driveway. We have some young students who require very close safety supervision in regards to leaving our boundary fences. In particular, the parent car park, St Highway 15 and St Highway 14 off Beverly Crescent is of most concern.

Prior to school starting and during school hours these gates will remain closed. This causes challenges for drop off of younger students, who will not be able to open high gates. Therefore, parents may need to park and open and close the gates for their child(ren). We will also have temporary fencing around the junior playground to assist our staff monitoring children during break times. Student safety is of high importance at this time, with a few of our younger students.

Thank you for your understanding and help keeping all students safe at school.

Pastoral Care Meeting

As principal, I have introduced a 15-minute pastoral care meeting on Fridays. At this meeting staff discuss and student pastoral care needs, so that all staff are aware of any extra assistance/support required for specific students during break times. It also helps to share information about student needs across all staff, to better support students needs.

PUMs (Paid Union Meetings)

On the 20th of March, classes will be doubled up so that teacher union members can attend a paid union meeting. These meetings are run throughout the day. This will mean a modified programme for the day for students. It is a school day for students.

Indie Morine Rm 2 Being a great role model in the classroom and showing responsibility.

Alexa Vollenhoven Rm6 For making her learning happen by working diligently to finish her work to a high standard.

Max Jamieson Rm 10 For showing great focus and making your learning happen.

Nico Cunningham Rm 14 For showing initiative in class and always making good choices with his learning.

Rosa Dunham Rm 13 For being a fantastic role model and making your learning happen.

Aiden Cliff Rm 9 ALWAYS being helpful. ALWAYS!

Maunga Mayhem

Maunga Mayhem 2.0 is just over 2 weeks away on Saturday 23rd March and tickets are selling FAST, So get in quick!

The last day for ticket sales is strictly Wednesday 20th March or until they sell out.

Visit www.maungamayhem.co.nz to get yours now!

There are over $2000 worth of spot prizes that will be given to lucky participants on the day.

Maunga Mayhem Merchandise must be ordered via the website before the 17th March to be ready for event day.

Merchandise ordered after this date will be available for pick up the week following the event.

Raffle Tickets for 2 awesome prizes can be purchased from Maungatapere Gas, Bethany Gardens, at registration on Friday 22nd March or on the day of the event.

We still urgently need volunteers to be Marshalls on the day – the event cannot run without Marshalls.

Please contact Michelle Morine - 021477330 to offer your assistance.

It is an easy, fun job where you will be assigned to an obstacle and will encourage participants over, under, down or through the obstacle.

People of all ages can help out! It’s a fun role and you will get to see the action up close.

There is a working bee to get the course ready on Sunday 17th March if you would like to come along and give a hand. Please contact Hayley Taylor if willing and able to help out. Or email: maungataperepta@gmail.com

Parking on the day is via Mannington Rd. Spectators with mobility issues that may be concerned about access to the venue, please contact Anne-Marie Kelly – 022 529 4299 at maungataperepta@gmail.com for details of a shuttle service.

We look forward to welcoming you all to Maunga Mayhem 2.0 at Land of the Lotus on Saturday 23rd March.

More info available at www.maungamayhem.co.nz

Maunga Mayhem Committee

Linewize

Linewize is an online tool to help guide parents on their child's online activity and safety.

You can view Linewize via the "Linewize" button above and going into the "For Parents" area as shown below.

Here is a link to help you set up your own online security and filtering for children's device use at home. This is a free service for you and your family, please trial it in your home. Any questions talk to Daniel Cotton in Room 1.

Parenting in the digital age

Digital learning provides children with wondrous opportunities for education, social interaction and entertainment; however, we also know the challenges many parents face with moderating their child’s technology use and protecting them from inappropriate content, activities and people.

As a school, we employ best practices and advanced technology to ensure that we meet our obligations and your expectations to keep our students safe and focussed on learning, but we can only ever deliver one piece of the digital safety puzzle.
Because students’ use of technology outside of school impacts their learning, safety and overall wellbeing, we need to create a community partnership; therefore, we are pleased to offer our school community FREE access to the Qustodio Parental Control App.