2024 Newsletter - Week 2, Term 1
Greenmeadows School, 9th February 2024
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Tēnā koutou kātoa,
Nau mai, haere mai! Welcome to the first newsletter of the year, especially if you are one of our newer families.
Last week, we were able to welcome new students and their families with a mihi whakatau. It was great to meet you all and I hope that your children have settled in well. Below, you will find details of our upcoming Meet the Teacher Interviews, Whānau Hui and Pasifika Fono. Please get involved!
Next week marks the anniversary of Cyclone Gabrielle touching down in Hawke's Bay. On 14 February we will be having a moment of reflection (in classrooms) to acknowledge those who were adversely affected. If events last year were particularly traumatic for your child, please ensure that their teacher is aware so that we can ensure sensitivity during our moment of reflection. All children are invited to wear black and white for the day - there will be no gold coin collection. A reminder will be sent out on the app next week.
Ka kite anō,
Darren Holloway
Principal
WELCOME TO GREENMEADOWS SCHOOL
We welcome Kylah Duncan, Kingsley Zhao, Chase Priestley, Dakota & TeIriroa Hemopo, Lexie Naude, Rehan Patabendige Don, Ray Hao, Olivia and Mikayla McCool, Taine Wilson, Finley Bambarawana, Ngaio Riley, Adeline Robinson, George Irvine, George Isaac, Willow Tihema, Kitt Jefferys, Piper Miskell, Gavinne Dizon, Alyssa Gillespie, Charlie Lambert, Ruairi Gallagher, Jinan and Jumana Eldawi, Thea Helm, Harlem Chase Katene, Oakley Basford and Japji Sidhu.
Our roll is currently sitting at 437.
We wish every one of you, all the very best for your time at Greenmeadows School.
MEET THE TEACHER INTERVIEWS
These interviews are a great chance for you to share with us your aspirations for your child, and for you to find out about the learning opportunities that lie ahead from the teacher. It is also an opportunity for the teachers to find out more about your child, which helps them immensely.
We urge all families to participate in these interviews and have set aside two afternoons for these to occur:
Monday 26 February 2.15 pm – 5.30 pm or 6.15 pm – 7.30 pm
Tuesday 27 February 2.15 pm – 5:30 pm or 6:00pm - 7.00 pm
You can request an interview by booking online at: https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/code/n45v9
or via the school website, click on the "Parent Interviews" tab and use the code n45v9.
Once your booking is completed you will receive an email confirming your interview. These details can be rescheduled if your availability changes. If you are unable to access the school’s website, then you can ring, or visit, the school office and Carolyn or Sara will book a time for you.
We expect a 100% attendance of families at these interviews, so please let us know of any difficulties you may be having booking a time. Due to the interviews, school will close early at 2.00pm on both Monday and Tuesday.
WHANAU HUI AND PASIFIKA FONO
We hold these meetings annually to help ensure that we are improving educational outcomes for our Māori and Pasifika children (groups which have historically underachieved). The meetings are reasonably informal and at the very least, offer a chance to network with other Māori or Pasifika families that attend Greenmeadows School.
Each of the meetings will take place ahead of the Meet the Teacher Interviews this year, so if you should forget to mention anything on the night, you can always catch up with teachers at this later date. We would really love to hear your ideas about how we can help each other succeed.
Whānau Hui - Thursday 15 February 5:30 - 6:30 pm in the staffroom.
Pasifika Fono - Thursday 22 February 5:30 - 6:30 pm in the staffroom.
Each meeting starts with shared kai - you are welcome to bring a plate, if you wish, although we will also provide a range of pizzas. After kai, staff will look after your children in the library while we discuss the matters that are important to you with regards to the success of your child at Greenmeadows School.
For catering purposes, please RSVP to darrenh@gms.school.nz, or phone the school, or just catch up with me on road patrol.
CANTEEN NEWS
Mrs Batt is back on deck and the canteen is open again for term 1. The Canteen is open on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. If you are new to the school you need to register with Kindo to order. You can find details of how to register for Kindo on our school website under the "Canteen" tab.
Please ensure you have the correct room number when you register and if you are already registered please change your child's room number to the room they are in this year.
Thank you for supporting our canteen it is a convenient option for parents to provide lunches three days of the school week.
HEALTHY HABITS
The start of the year is a great time to reinforce some of those habits that help keep us healthy. This is particularly important as COVID cases appear to be on the rise again. We will be doing some reminders here at school about keeping healthy generally, and it would be great if you could please reinforce these at home:
- Coughing or sneezing into your elbow
- Washing your hands, especially after using the toilet
- Staying away from school if you are ill
- Not sharing drink bottles (and please remember that the only acceptable drink at school is water)
- Wearing hats and sunscreen when outside during Term 1
ENVIRO SQUAD
Of course, we wish Mr Hicks a speedy recovery and we hope to see him back at school soon.
PROFILE REPORTING
Te Ara Huarau is the evaluation approach that the Education Review Office (ERO) is using in our school. This a developmental approach to evaluation where ERO and our school work together over time rather than one off reviews that happened previously. Te Ara Huarau is used in most English-medium state and state-integrated schools.
ERO maintains a regular review programme to evaluate and report on the education and care of young people in schools. Our school worked alongside ERO to write our Profile Report. This type of report will only happen once as part of our initial engagement with Te Ara Huarau. The profile report reflects our strategic goals and a shared evaluation focus in one or more areas that are important to us as we work together to improve outcomes for all our learners. ERO, like us, have a strong focus on equity and excellence. Future reporting will show our progress and achievement towards meeting the goals we have set. Public reports like the Profile Report are published on ERO’s website.
A Board Assurance Report that shows how we are meeting regulatory and legislative Requirements has also been published.
KEEPING OURSELVES SAFE
In week 7 (starting 11 March) we will be delivering the Keeping Ourselves Safe programme in school. Please follow the link to see the session content and resources that will be used. Closer to the time we will run a Q&A session, if there is demand.
SENIOR PLAYGROUND
Please do your best to leave our grounds promptly at the end of the day. This helps ease congestion in surrounding streets if you have driven. Taking your children to the playground also attracts other children who may not be supervised. When you leave with your child, there is a risk that other children remain, unsupervised. This can cause confustion for staff if we are under the impression that those children had left the grounds, and panic for parents who are possibly waiting for their child to arrive home.
PTA NEWS - YUMMY APPLE STICKERS
Please keep collecting the Yummy Apple Stickers in 2024.
Shop at your local New World, Pak’n Save and participating Four Square stores. Purchase Yummy apples, either bags with cut-out labels or individual apples with Yummy stickers. One cut-out label is worth 10 apple stickers.
Send the stickers into school to be placed on collection sheets in each class. However, if you would like your own collection sheet for home please collect one from the school office. Competition runs until the end of Term 3 2024
The more we collect, the more sports gear we can order, so get going and start collecting your Yummy cut-out labels and stickers! It would be great if we could all get behind this and collect as many stickers as possible.
For more information visit: http://www.yummyfruit.co.nz
PTA PHOTO FUNDRAISER - SATURDAY 16TH MARCH (more info to come soon)
GMS SCHOOL APP LINK
This is how we communicate with the school community any importmant messages or reminders.
Contact Us
Email: admin@gms.school.nz
Website: http://www.gms.school.nz/
Location: Greenmeadows School 45 Osier Road, Greenmeadows, Napier, New Zealand
Phone: +64 06-844 7024
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gmsnapier