The Connection Week 8 Term 4

Our year is quickly coming to an end.

We are delighted to finish the year strong. We have seen the return of so many of the things that make schools great places. We have had a great run of camps, assemblies, events and opportunities for children. Most encouraging, is our recent review of our children's achievement levels, which has shown we have made up the lost ground we experienced through COVID. We are all looking forward to a solid and uninterrupted year next year. Thank you for all your support.

Next Wednesday, we will be releasing online your child’s report, as well as their class placement for 2023. A lot of time and focus has gone into both. Last year we found a key issue for children was knowing who was in their class for the coming year. This year we will release this information to the children at the same time and provide an opportunity on Wednesday to visit their new class, meet their 2023 teacher and see who else is in their class. We expect this will reduce any of the concerns children might carry.

Just released this week to schools was the Government’s approval to include two (2) additional Teacher Only days for professional training on the new curriculum initiatives in 2023. We have yet to confirm the actual dates in the 2023 calendar.

Next week our year concludes around 12:30pm Friday, with a grand farewell to our Year 8’s.

Thank you again for your support.

John Petrie

Principal

• Thursday 15th December - End Of Term Assembly
• Friday 16th December - Year 8 Assembly
• Friday 16th December - Last Day Of School (School will finish at the end of Year 8 Assembly, approx 12:30pm)

Brothers Arahi (Year 2) and Ihaka (Year 8) say:

Arahi - Our school is a really big school and I like the playground here at school. I love learning maths, it’s quite easy and quite tricky at the same time. My teacher is great because she lets us do lots of really fun stuff. She makes us get better at learning.

Ihaka - Our school is awesome because we are able to do lots of different sport activities. I really enjoy learning maths at school. Our amazing teachers are really nice. We are fortunate to have so many different fields and play spaces available.

The last day of school for 2022 will be Friday 16th December.

School will end at approximately 12:30pm, at the conclusion of the Year 8 Assembly.

Friday 9th December

Picnic starts at 5pm, first item is 5:30pm.

If the weather is inclement, we will hold a Christmas concert in the hall. Doors will open at 5pm and concert will start at 5:30pm. If the concert is in the hall, there will be no picnic element.

Please bring cash for the Year 5&6 Christmas market.

Photolife have updated us to let us know that photos will be delivered by Wednesday next week. So they will be back in time to hand out before school ends for the year.

Once we have received the photos we will get these handed out so students can bring them home.

We are fortunate to have two vouchers for a season of girls’ cricket to give away to one of our families. FREE FEES. Please use the following link to find out more information and to register your interest.

Form closes tomorrow, Friday 9th December.

Throughout the past five weeks, our Year 3 to 8 students have formed class teams and competed against each other in the annual Mowatt Cup tee-ball tournament. Each and every team played with drive, determination and discipline, in the hopes of becoming Mowatt Cup champions for their year level and earning the chance to be named the Champion of Champions winning team.

Congratulations to our Year 3/4 Champions Room 2, our Year 5/6 Champions Room 8, and our Year 7/8 Champions Studio 3A!

Each of these teams will now compete against each other in the Champion of Champions games, with the winning team playing against a team of teachers next week for the coveted All-Stars Cup. Good luck to all!

Congratulations to our Huapai students representing at the Tag National tournament on the weekend.

Congratulations to our Junior Leadership Award recipients and their families. We are so proud of you!

Last week Cathy, our wonderful school librarian, completed a complete stocktake of every book in the library after requesting that all teachers return any library books from their classrooms. As of Monday 5th December at 2.30pm we had 192 library books missing for the year.

If your child has issued a library book out during the year, and this has not been returned to the library, you will receive a lost library book charge on your Hero account, which is the direct cost of the lost book at the time it was purchased.

If this charge appears on your Hero account please have a really good look around home for the book, as once returned the lost charge will be removed. If you end up finding the book after paying the lost library book fee the charge will be reversed on your Hero account, or refunded to your bank account if you prefer.

As a school we budget thousands of dollars annually for new library books to keep our library as amazing as it is. To put this into perspective the current list of missing/lost library books is OVER the library book budget for an entire year. As such any books that are lost need to be replaced and not come out of the schools budget, the same as a borrowed and lost book from the Auckland Council libraries would.

Your assistance in either returning the books this week, or paying the lost book replacement fee, is appreciated.

Back to school stationery – order now!

We’ve teamed up with OfficeMax to make your back to school shop super easy. And if you order in December, you’ll go in the draw to WIN 1 of 5 $1000 cash prizes — plus, you’ll get a FREE A4 Magnetic Whiteboard Family Organiser*.

Your child’s class list is already loaded. Just go to myschool.co.nz or click the link below. Simply add your details, check that you want everything on the list, then click and confirm — and OfficeMax will get your delivery underway with free delivery on orders over $60.

You can pay by internet banking, credit card or debit card. Laybuy is also available, so you can pay in 6 weekly, interest-free payments and still get your order right away. Plus you’ll be helping our school earn school rewards that we use to purchase much needed extra resources for our school.

We encourage you to order early to ensure your child has all their stationery requirements ready to go in plenty of time for the start of Term 1.

So go ahead and beat the back to school rush, order today and give them the best start possible.

In 2023, there will be a change to the senior uniform. An optional item of a Year 7&8 hoodie will be introduced. This smart navy and red looking hoodie will replace the polar fleece and current senior jacket, which is neither waterproof, nor warm. The cost of the hoodie is $70 and will be able to be ordered through our uniform shop in the usual manner. Year 7&8 students are still able to wear the school polar fleece and school jacket for 2023 and 2024 should they wish, as the fleece and jacket are phased out for this age group. From 2025 the hoodie will be a compulsory uniform item for Years 7&8.

There will be strict guidelines around the wearing of the hoodie to ensure that the students represent the school values. Sizing must be appropriate for the child and not oversized fashion items. Hoods must be down indoors.

More information to come.

Book in for the Huapai Plus Summer Holiday Programme now.

Our Huapai Plus programme is moving to a new booking system in the New Year. Please use Aimy Plus to book for any December Holiday Programme days and the new Enrolmy system for any days after the 1st of January 2023. Both have been linked below.

Aroha Skate are running a holiday programme here at Huapai District School, 11am - 1pm, on the 19th and 26th January 2023. Book at the link below.

Creative Matters are back for the 2023 year. With classes on Mondays, 3pm - 5pm in Room 17. Book at the link below.

MusiqHub are looking forward to another awesome year of music in 2023 at Huapai School! They will have a bunch of slots available for Guitar, Drums, Piano and Ukulele lessons. If you're interested, be sure to get in touch to reserve your spot or ask any questions you may have. Contact details below:

Drums - paul.barry@musiqhub.co.nz

Guitar, Keyboard and Ukulele - scott.wotherspoon@musiqhub.co.nz

These are the Term Dates for 2023:

Term 1: Thursday 2nd February - Thursday 6th April

Term 2: Monday 24th April - Friday 30th June

Term 3: Monday 17th July - Friday 22nd September

Term 4: Monday 9th October - Tuesday 19th December

There will be one Teacher only day and this will be held on Tuesday 6th June (King's Birthday weekend). This day will be for a combined schools teacher only day.

Our 2022 Term dates are:

Term 1 - Thursday 3rd February - Thursday 14th April

Term 2 - Monday 2nd May - Friday 8th July

Term 3 - Monday 25th July - Friday 30th September

Term 4 - Monday 17th October - Friday 16th December

We use HERO to send classroom updates, to share regular learning posts and now for payment on all in-school costs. HERO sends push notifications or emails. You can now choose how you receive HERO notifications as well as manage devices that receive them.

To set your own notification preferences:

1. Click on your profile image

2. Select EDIT PROFILE

3. Scroll down to My Devices and select your preferences.
   

Or please see the full instructions linked below.

Email: office@hds.school.nz
Website: https://www.huapaidistrict.school.nz/
Location: Huapai District School 40 Station Rd, Kumeū, New Zealand
Phone: +64 09 412 5042
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/huapaidistrictschool