Our Tumuaki Principal
Vaccination Mandate for Parents/Volunteers: The MOE is steadily clarifying how parents / volunteers are able to interact in a school setting under the Public Health Order vaccine mandate.
- When parents are coming in 'being parents', for their own children, then there is no vaccination requirement and we will not ask for anything.
- When parents are coming in to 'provide a service' to the school, where they interact with other children, they will need to be vaccinated with at least the first dose by 15th November and the second dose by 1st January 2022. In these cases we will need to ask for evidence (e.g. vaccination card) of vaccination. This will be photocopied, stored confidentially and entered onto an electronic register.
As we are at Alert Level Two, the in-school support that our parent community normally provides to the school is still at distance with only minimal engagement occurring.
Vaccine Mandate for Staff: Schools across New Zealand, including our school, have been required to manage a compulsory vaccination mandate for all school staff. It is a very dynamic, sensitive and challenging space that education is in right now, with things continually changing and being constantly clarified by the Government, Ministry of Education and the New Zealand School Trustees Association.
The Public Health Order (see the link to this below) has given education staff up to Monday the 15th of November 2021 to be vaccinated with their first dose in order to be able to be on-site working with the children from Tuesday 16th onwards (covering the last four weeks of the school year). From there all education staff must have their second vaccination by 1st January to be able to work in schools in 2022.
I understand how the uncertainty of this must be so unsettling for you as you wonder what's happening here. It is certainly very unsettling for us as well. We are trying to plan and have in place potential contingencies in a world of constant uncertainties and fluidity. Please be assured that we are doing everything that we can, to the best of our knowledge and abilities, to finish the year as strongly as we possibly can, for everyone concerned.
I am so grateful for your gracious and mature understanding in this.
COVID Level One??: For many of our end of year events to continue we need to be at COVID Alert Level One. This is looking more unlikely with each passing day and so tune in to next week's newsletter for our cancellations and/or modifications of events based on this COVID uncertainty.
Christmas Holiday Property Work: Things around the school will be busy during the Christmas holidays. My office is being changed into a Learning Support Coordinators Office and I will be going into a revamped resourced room. Our ponding in the west of the basketball court is set to be solved by connecting two soak holes to lift capacity. We will continue with our concrete path rejuvenation with work happening around the junior block. Please be careful if coming down to the school to watch out and keep away from the areas of work. Thanks.
Bus Routes 2022: The MOE has retendered all the bus routes for 2022. We are working on a few subtle parts of routes that we would like to be amended to meet our school needs. We await responses from the Ministry of Education regarding these. We want to have these all sorted before the new year bus routes start.
Confirmed Class Lists 2022: Thank you for your communications over the past several months regarding the placement of children in composite classrooms.
We have finalised our 2022 class lists and your child's 2022 class will be shared with you at school interviews.
On Thursday 9th December we bring together the new classrooms, in their new rooms, to help children become familiar with their 2022 school year.
Uniform Amendments 2022: We are currently working with The Warehouse as they have indicated that several items (polar fleece top, tartan skirt, long sleeve polo and Aussie hat) are being phased out. The Warehouse has provided some options and at our last Home and School meeting, attending parents got to share their thoughts around potential changes which I am following up on. More information will come to hand as we work through this process. Please note, that all current uniform items, will remain as uniform items as the updates are phased in.
Christmas Postie Elf - Week 7 and 8: A reminder that the Christmas Postie Elf will begin his Christmas card deliveries on Monday 29th November through to Friday 10th December. There will be a postbox set up outside the staffroom at the start of each day to collect all the Christmas cards.
Last year the Christmas Postie Elf delivered hundreds of cards to the children. It is a lot of fun.
Thank You - Team Edendale
- Glen Perkins: Glen is our IT guy from SouthernIT. I really don't know what I would do without him. He knows our system so well and has journeyed with us for many years. His calm 'nothing is a bother' manner is so appreciated. He works to solve our problems, some of which can be quite technical in their nature. Every school needs a Glen. We are so lucky to have him.
Principal's Term Four Challenge: Sun Flower Competition
Due Date
Judging will occur at school on Friday 3rd December. We will line them up along the front fence for all to see as they drive past.
Prize Categories
There are five categories for prizes.
- Tallest Golden Crown sunflower
- Tallest Moulin Rouge sunflower
- The tallest combined pair (heights added together)
- The widest flower.
- Best decorated pot/container.
Points to Note
- Height: Measured from the base of the stem to the highest point of the plant.
- Diameter: Measured across the widest portion of the flower, through the centre.
- Named: Plants will need to be appropriately named so we know whose is whose.
Our Events Coming Up
TERM FOUR
Please Note: All up and coming events are subject to Covid-19 pandemic alert levels. We are at Alert Level Two at present, with many events needing us to be at Alert Level One to operate.
Week Five (of 8)
- Tuesday 16th November - Sports Activator
- Friday 19th November - Senior Swimming Sports
Our Kaitiaki School Board
Board Elections - 2022
Board Elections for 2022 have been delayed until September 2022.
We will be looking for parents who have strength in strategic thinking, teamwork and analysis of trends and patterns to help build the school of tomorrow.
Talk to a BOT member and even come along to a meeting to see how this works in practice.
Our Home and School
End of Year Christmas Hamper - Raffle Items
The Home and School would like to ask each family to please donate non-perishable (check expiry date) grocery items for our Christmas Hampers Raffle.
Please drop these items in your classroom donation boxes by Wednesday 24th November. Thanks very much.
Team Kea: Christmas decorations
Team Kiwi: Packets eg cereal, jelly, crackers, chips, biscuits, etc
Team Weka: Fun to do eg cards, games, colouring pens/books, etc
Team Pukeko: Sweets eg lollipops, marshmallows, popcorn, etc
Team Tui: Condiments eg food topping, jams, sauces, etc
Team Kereru: Drinks eg fizz, juice, water, etc
Team Kahu: Cans of food eg fruit, corn, spaghetti, tomato sauce, etc
Thank you to Mrs Denise Fodie for being our coordinator for this.
Cattle - Fundraising
We are most grateful for the support of our farming community in relation to cattle raising and grazing. It is providing the Home and School we a strong income stream to support the school.
If you can help please contact Hamish Blackmore on 027 636 0421 or hamishandcaroline@gmail.com.
Next Meeting - Term One 2022
The Term One 2022 meeting of the Home and School is scheduled for Monday 28th February starting at 7.30pm in the school staffroom.
COVID 19 - School Information
We are at COVID Alert Level Two.
At Edendale Primary School this looks like...
- If children are sick with flu-like symptoms they should remain at home. We would encourage that they get tested to ensure that it is not COVID-19.
- Classrooms are for school personnel.
- Kiss and Hug Drop Off/Pick Up Zones: There is a specified point where parents drop off and pick up their children from.
- Communication should be kept as best as possible to email, app and phone.
- Children require named drink bottles as the fountains are turned off.
- Children on buses are encouraged, but not required to wear masks.
- Children eat their lunch outside their own rooms.
- School fitness is with their class only.
- Interclass mixing is kept to a minimum.
- Celebration Time is not occurring and certificates are presented to each class.
- Events that are publically faced have thresholds of 100. This impacts what we are able to do as a school.
Protocols - Dealing with a Covid Case in our School
When there is a COVID case in our school community we would take advice from the Ministry of Education and Public Health. Depending on the circumstances surrounding the case it is possible that the following could happen.
- The school would close for three days for cleaning and contact tracing.
- The school would then most probably close for a further 14 days to restrict the spread of the virus.
We would be grateful for any information should you or your family member contract COVID. We would contact the MOE and take advice from them.
E-School - Being Prepared With a Strong Home Set-Up
We anticipate in the coming months that we will need to reactive our E-School for our students.
- E-School uses Seesaw Class app (which is different from the Seesaw Family which you currently connect through.)
- Your child's teacher will provide you with a QR code to directly link your child to their Seesaw Class activities.
- Activities are provided by the teachers for reading, writing, mathematics and inquiry. They are set for a week.
- Teachers will respond back and forth through the school day supporting the children with their learning.
For E-School to work best a home needs to have...
- Good WIFI
- A keyboard device such as a laptop or Chromebook. We have found that using a cell phone is frustrating for children as it is too small.
We would encourage you to invest in a strong home infrastructure so that we can quickly activate E-School at a moment's notice, knowing that all our school community is ready. Check out the Noel Leeming link below for Chromebooks.
The new Public Health Order has mandated that to be onsite working with children, everyone must be able to demonstrate a full vaccination record.
This directive also applies to "unpaid workers, such as volunteers (including parent volunteers) and any members of the community " (Ministry of Education, Bulletin: 12th October 2021).
The implications are that to be a parent help in class, trip helper when we go away, camp helper etc you will need to demonstrate full vaccination.
From the 16th of November, any adult interacting with children when providing a service to the school must have had their first dose. From 1st January you must have had your second dose.
We will be required to have proof of vaccination to confirm any volunteer involvement in the school with children. This proof will be copied, stored securely, and entered into a register of parent and volunteer vaccination status. The advice we have been given is if parents are 'offering a service' to the school then we need to request your vaccination status. Please note, that not providing any evidence is seen as not being vaccinated.
Where parents are coming in as an observer/spectator of their children the advice we have been given is that the vaccination mandate does not apply. The MOE Bulletin dated 2nd November states "the COVID-19 Required Vaccinations Order covers those who work (paid or unpaid) in the education sector and who will be on-site when children or students are present. The Order doesn’t require parents to be vaccinated where they are on-site for the purposes of 'being a parent' ".
Our Kura News and Information
The school library is now finished issuing books for 2021. All library books need to be back to school by Thursday 18th November 2021.
Outstanding Accounts - Paid Up
We would really appreciate all outstanding accounts to be paid up as soon as possible to help us with our end of your financial processes. Thank you.
Character Values (Positive Behaviour for Learning - PB4L): Term Four Integrity Ponotanga
When we come from so many different families our values draw us together as one big school whanau.
Integrity means behave to a high standard of character everywhere we are and is shown through honesty, truthfulness, accuracy, consistent behaviour, selflessness and self-discipline.
At all times and in all places we can show integrity when we
- Are honest and trustworthy.
- Do the right thing even when no-one is looking.
- Make positive choices that we are proud of.
Every time our values 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 Harry Smyth for being a strong contributor, living out our school values every day.
Most Valuable Pupil: Team Kereru
Iyland Roberts is Team Kereru’s MVP this week for Ponotanga - Integrity.
Iyland’s honesty and trustworthiness are evident at all times, both inside and outside of the classroom and she shows that integrity means doing the right thing, even if no one is watching.
Iyland actively participates in all classroom activities and she works hard, staying on task to make sure her work is finished in a timely manner. She is not afraid to ask for help when it is needed.
Iyland has shown me that when something is difficult and she is at the bottom of the ‘learning pit’, she can persevere, sometimes having to change her mind from a Fixed mindset to a Growth mindset, by telling herself “I can do this!” Using this mantra, Iyland has been able to set herself a goal in life of becoming a Black Fern and she is working very hard to make this goal a reality.
Iyland walks into the classroom every morning and greets me with a smile and a ‘good morning’. She shows respect to herself and all those around her. Iyland actively listens to adults and classmates alike. She is able to give feedback, that is constructive and kind, to her classmates during buddy checking or sharing time.
Iyland, we are very happy and proud to have you as a member of Team Kereru. Setting goals for yourself and working hard, will help you to realise your dreams. Keep reaching for the stars.
“Whāia te iti kahurangi, ki te tuohu koe, me he maunga teitei”
“Seek the treasure that you value most dearly, if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain.”
Most Valuable Pupil: Team Weka
“Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.”
Angus McRae is receiving the MVP award this week for demonstrating the value of Ponotanga - Integrity in Team Weka.
This young man enters the classroom every day with a great big friendly smile on his face and always greets the teacher. He unpacks his bag, and gets himself organised for the day without us having to remind him.
In all interactions we have with Angus he is polite; always using his manners as well as speaking kindly to his peers. Angus is honest and truthful and has very good self-discipline to make sure he is doing the right thing. This is demonstrating integrity.
Angus is making super progress academically because he is working with integrity. He has shown all of our values of Respect, Responsibility and Excellence this year. Angus helps take care of our classroom and school environment.
Thank you for all this Angus.
Angus, you are a truly valued member of Team Weka.
You make positive choices that we are proud of and wish you well for the future.
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there!”
Most Valuable Pupil: Team Pukeko
Ashley Smith is Team Pukeko’s MVP this week for Ponotanga - Integrity.
Ashley is a quiet friend and classmate who can be relied on to make positive choices about doing the right thing at the right time. She follows instructions and gets on with doing her tasks without making a fuss.
She is a good role-model of honesty and we can trust her to look after her own belongings, as well as the equipment in the classroom. She uses the school playground items with respect as well.
Ashley is always polite and helpful. She uses her manners all the time, and she speaks kindly to others as well as showing she cares about them by listening carefully to what they say.
Ashley, you show all of our school values so well, and Ponotanga - Integrity is one of the most important as it is the value by which most people will remember you.
Keep being kind, hard-working and all-round wonderful - the world needs people like you, Ashley!
Writer of the Week
Joshua Smyth
We were writing about finding a dragon egg.
Rumble! Rumble! The thunder roared. Sizzle! Sizzle! The lightning flashed. The next morning there was a strange egg outside so I brought it inside.
I wrapped it in a blanket and slipped it under my bed. Two hours later when I was reading my book, I heard a cracking noise. At first I thought it was my window but then I realised it was the egg! It was starting to hatch! It was hatching into a… DRAGON! “It’s breathing fire!” I yell.
The next day I asked Mum if I could take it to school to share news. But when I was walking to school, disaster struck…
To be continued...
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
