The Connection Week 6 Term 4

A book I read many years back (“Stuck In Halftime” - Bob Buford) challenged me. The premise was that we spend so much time building capacity in our lives (resources, relationships, endeavours) and yet, we often fail to plan and shift to the second half of leaving a legacy.

So much of my focus (particularly with my time at Huapai) has been building leadership and capacity in others. Monday was a fantastic example of this. I was in hospital (details below) and our leadership team managed the challenging situation of a real lockdown with such maturity, capability and wisdom. Full credit to Maree Lloyd and Keryn Annan who (supported by the brilliance of our Operations team and others) dealt with this with such skill. Really proud!

The previous week I attended our year 8 camp. This camp has been such a big part of my life as an educator and teacher. I have held this camp close and been very protective of the camp and challenge it offers to staff, parents and children. Last week was a deliberate culmination of a four year transition plan to ensure this continues beyond myself. Again, to see others (in this case Stacey Watson) lead and pick up the conviction, capability and commitment to see this continue is one of the coolest things to see as a leader.

Across and throughout the school we are very deliberate in our commitment to grow leaders. It is just one of the best things to see the impacts of this in the strength and capacity we have across the school.

John Petrie

Principal

• Friday 2nd December - Gumboot Friday
• 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)

Kiaan (Year 1) says: “I love my classroom and learning and the flag and I love after school care and the hall! I love EVERYTHING here. My favourite thing to do is play legos and at playtime I go on the basket swing with my friends. This is the only school I’ve ever been to and it’s my favourite school!”

I write this week's update from a hospital bed. I came back from camp with what has been identified as a disc issue in my back.

For the first four weeks of this term I have been painfully wandering around the school. I went to camp thinking I would do what was needed and hopeful to push through it - I think I made things worse. Not sure of my return or even my “release” yet.

A warm welcome Jen Muir to our front reception as part of our Operations team. Jen is job sharing with Amanda in the Student Services role, working Tuesday and Thursday mornings and all day on Fridays. Be sure to pop in and say hi and welcome Jen to our HDS family.

Our school library will be closing for the year end stocktake as of this Friday 25th November.

Please help Cathy with this audious yearly task and ensure all library books are promptly returned as early as possible by the end of this week.

From next week any outstanding library books will be charged as lost and the replacement 'lost' fee added to Hero accounts.

Lost library book charges are only placed on Hero accounts when the library book has not been returned, to reimburse the school for a replacement book. Any returned books will naturally have the fee removed.

Both the school grounds and our school entrances/driveways are for staff usage and emergency vehicles only. Please do not park or drive on these as it creates safety issues for our students.

We would love to invite you and your family to our school carols evening. This is a lovely way to round out the year together. Bring a picnic dinner and join us for an evening of entertainment not only by your children singing, but also the secret staff item and the ukelele group from the Country Club. There will be several class market stalls selling Christmas items. It’s a great night!

Thank you to James Wiseman and his family who entered an online competition celebrating the Women’s Football World Cup coming to New Zealand. James won 20 soccer balls to donate to the school. Thank you James, for your donation!

“EVERY CHILD DESERVES A GIFT THIS CHRISTMAS”

The Blues believe every child deserves a present under their Christmas Tree. So, this festive season they’ve partnered with The Salvation Army to bring back ‘Fill the Blues Bus’ Christmas appeal this year.

They are aiming to collect 43,000 gifts - a present for every seat at Eden Park!

THE EASTGATE BOYS – Lucas and Benji, want to get behind this amazing campaign. So if you are in the position to give this Christmas, please see the details below on how you can contribute.

Please drop off your unwrapped presents to:

- Room 2 or Studio 8

Monday 14th November through until Thursday 8th December 2022.

Gift Ideas

Donations of new, unwrapped gifts for children and teenagers (under 16yrs) are hugely appreciated.

Please avoid clothes as it is difficult to allocate sizes.

Below are a few popular gift ideas to help you.

We regret to inform you that due to unstable weather conditions going forward, the state of the festival site after repeated downfalls, and concern for public and crew safety, we have decided to postpone this event with plans to reinstate the festival in the new year.

Please hold onto your tickets as they will be valid for free entry to new dates in 2023.

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.

Last week our Year 2s had a sleepover camp at school and our Year 8 students went to Tongariro for the week. Both camps provided opportunities for children to learn and grow. Thank you to all the adults who make these wider opportunities available for our students.

Congratulations to our touch rugby players who have made the North Harbour rep team. Well done on your hard work, boys!

Cooper De Villiers

Chase Hopping

Dominik Keith-Pratt

Micah Mohenoa

Troy Peterson

Nehemiah Mohenoa

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

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.

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 Friday 2nd June (Queens 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

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