Newsletter No. 01
ONEWHERO AREA SCHOOL - 17th February 2023
Newsletter proudly sponsored by
THANK YOU GJ GARDNER FRANKLIN/PAPAKURA
GJ Gardner Homes - Franklin / Papakura is excited to release a generous fundraising referral offer to the Onewhero School Community. With titles due in Kaipo Heights in September, the new development offers large sections with options for elevated views. With pre-priced house and land packages available or the option to design your own dream home, contact the friendly team at GJ Gardner Papakura/Franklin.
For every unconditional build contract entered into before the end of September MJB construction will donate $2500 to the school, so please be sure to mention Onewhero Area School.
If you are interested in more information please email clinton.herring@gjgardner.co.nz
Principal's Message:
Kia ora e te whaanau,
We haven’t quite had the start that we would have hoped for with all the interruptions caused by weather, but it is great to have everyone back and settled so well considering the circumstances.
First welcome to all our new staff, students, and whaanau. It is great to have you on board and we look forward to our journey together.
Over the break some staff have sadly left our school. Mr Wynn has returned to the UK, Wheaea Lisa has moved back to Wellington to be with family, Mrs Harper has moved down the line, Mrs Pollack has retired after being at the school since 1977. We wish all these staff the best with their new journeys.
We also have appointed some new staff. We welcome Michelle Anderton as the Music teacher, Nicole Kennedy-Smith as the new English and Social Sciences teacher. We have Janni Zwarts and Wendy Cole helping us out in Wood Technology and Room 7 while we work through the appointment process. Trevor Bills has been helping us in Room 13 until Prem Singh the new Year 7 and 8 teacher could start this week. We are very lucky to have amazing teachers to help us and are grateful for them giving us their time.
Also, over the break our fencing project has almost been completed. The fence looks great and will help keep all our students and property safe. During the school day if you need to come onsite you will need to use the pedestrian gate by the main gate. The other pedestrian gates are locked at 9am and unlocked at 2:45pm. The gate across the driveway is an electronic gate. If you require access to the carpark e.g to pick up an injured child from sickbay, then the office can buzz you through.
The big focus in our first term is connection. We heard in our strategic review that whaanau want more communication from classroom teachers about how their students are going at school. As a staff we have worked on consistent communication expectations which we will share with you once finalised. Communication is a two-way process and so we do need you to communicate with us as well. Its important communication goes to the right person so that we can process things quickly. If you have concerns, they should firstly be addressed with the person immediately responsible for the area e.g., if learning related to the classroom teacher, if behaviour related the whaanau teacher for Years 9-13 for Years 1-8 the classroom teacher. An email will come out later this week with reminders of some key processes and policies you need to be aware of, plus our communication infographic. All our policies are available in full through the school website.
A focus for our student leaders this year is invigorating house spirit in the school. House events will be held each term and house points shared at each assembly. The current leading house will have their flag flown on the flagpole to help encourage house participation. Sporting events are not the only way students can earn house points. Completing waka cards, earning values certificates, and participating in curriculum whole school events also contribute to house point totals.
Lastly if your children are struggling after the cyclone, please let us know. We have a counsellor onsite; students can be referred to or we have contacts for publicly funded support. Please don’t hesitate to ask for help, if we can’t help ourselves, we may be able to point you to the right people.
Ngaa mihi,
Rebecca Bills
Tumuaki/Principal
Onewhero Area School
School Lockers
Scholastic Lucky Book Club Issue No. 1 - last day to order 27th February 2023
Receive 1 FREE Book when you spend over $30
Receive 2 FREE BOOKS when you spend over $50
Receive 3 FREE BOOKS when you spend over $70
Go to scholastic.co.nz/LOOP
Any orders through the school office are CASH ONLY with the order. The preferred method is ordering via LOOP.
Whole School Assembly 2.30pm - Monday, 20th February
Ag Day Committee Meeting 7pm-8pm - Monday, 20th February
Non-Uniform Day & Ice Cream Sale - Thursday, 23rd February
Swimming Sports and Tabloids
22nd Feb - Swimming Sports - This is a ‘sign up’ sports event. Year 3-6 - races are 25m (1 length) sign up is done through their classroom teachers. Year 7-13 - races are 50m (2 lengths) sign up is done by the students themselves; sheets are in the school hall foyer to do so. If your child doesn’t sign up for the event, this will be a normal school day for them. Parents and whaanau are all welcome to come and support throughout the day. A program will be available closer to the time. We will also need a hand full of helpers on the day - please let Anna know if you are happy to do so - a.ronaki@onewhero.school.nz
24th Feb - Tabloids is a full school event - focused on participation and House spirit! Starting with relays and then into games/house competitions.
Year 1-6 - will be in the little pool from 9.15-11.30. Year 7-13 will be in the big pool during periods 3 and 4; 12.20 - 3pm.
ALL students need to come to school in uniform and bring togs/swimwear and house colours to get changed into.
Parents and whaanau are welcome to come along and watch.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS 2023
Kia ora whaanau!
Onewhero Area School is getting ready to once again welcome short term International Student Groups to our school after three years of Covid.
This is an exciting opportunity for our students as well as for the whole community to learn about different cultures, games, food etc through connection and friendships. We host groups from 6 to 30 students at a time, from four days to 6 weeks.
For these exchanges to go ahead, we need host families that are wanting to open their hearts and homes to these students and show them our kiwi way of life. Homestay families will be compensated for their costs and effort ($280 per student per week or $40 per night). We try to host students 2 per family, but sometimes there might also be single placements.
If you are keen to host, you need to be able to offer them a room with a bed, desk etc and provide meals and transport to and from school. (School busses may be an option) You need to treat them as part of your family.
Interested families will need to be police vetted under the vulnerable children's act, and approved by the school. By hosting these students, you will be part of our homestay families group and be invited to cultural parties etc. It is a great way to connect with likeminded families and a fantastic way for your children to learn about other cultures. Most International students love interacting with young children and playing games with them.
Full support will be given from our International Student coordinator.
We are keen to hear from families, couples and singles who may be keen to be part of this!
If you are interested to find out more without any obligations whatsoever, please click on this link to request more information:
OAS SPORTS 2023
Kia ora,
Welcome back to 2023! We have an exciting year of Sport waiting for you!
Students can represent our school in the following sports:
Netball (year 3-13)
Basketball (year 5-13)
Volleyball (year 7-13)
Rugby (year 9-13)
Hockey (year 9-13)
Ki-O-Rahi (year 9-13)
Rowing (year 9-13)
Motocross
Equestrian
Tennis
Squash
Etc.
We also hope to once again send a netball team and either a boys rugby or basketball team to AIMS games in Tauranga.
OAS SPORT Website:
https://sites.google.com/byod.onewhero.school.nz/oassport/onewhero-sport?authuser=0
SPORT COMMUNICATION
We communicate through the following channels:
1/ Our Newsletter, sent out to all email addresses in our school database. If you change your email address, please inform the school office.
2/ School app – it is important to download the school app and register for the alerts you wish to keep up to date with. (ie ALL sport, or specified sport).
3/ Kamar notices ; for students, read out at the start of the day. These notices are also visible for parents in the school app and via the website.
4/ School Facebook page and website.
5/ School Instagram page (more directed to students and a celebration of sport).
6/ For specific tournaments and opportunities, letters and permission slips will be handed out to the students. Please return permission slips before the cut off deadline or your child may not be able to participate. This is because of our own registration deadlines to event organisers, organisation of transport arrangements and Risk Assessment preparation deadlines, all of which will need to be done well before the event.
6/ General sports info is on our Sport website, accessible via the school website.
Please visit our school sport website for all regular updates:
https://sites.google.com/byod.onewhero.school.nz/oassport/onewhero-sport?authuser=0
ALL SPORT REGISTRATIONS WILL BE DONE ONLINE VIA GOOGLE FORMS. THERE WILL BE A LINK POSTED PER SPORT ON THE SPORT WEBSITE AND LINKS WILL ALSO BE SENT THROUGH THE NEWSLETTER AS WELL AS VIA THE SCHOOL APP.
RUGBY 2023 IMPORTANT
ALL players YEAR 9 and ABOVE, can only play rugby through the secondary schools system, NOT through club. Therefor if your child is year 9 or above, YOU NEED TO REGISTER THEM FOR RUGBY THROUGH SCHOOL.
Grading of the team, or players will be done once we have an idea what sort of players we have for that year.
NETBALL 2023
NETBALL REGISTRATIONS ARE OPEN.
If your child is in years 5-13, they can play netball for the school! Our teams play on Saturday mornings at Pukekohe Netball courts from April to August. There is a team for everyone!
Registrations close on 17th February. Trials will be held for year 9-13 players and Year 7/8. Year 5/6 play in age groups with their peers building a sound foundation of defensive and attacking netball skills.
Future Ferns play later in the year, starting 27th October. They will have separate registrations.
NETBALL TRIALS
YEAR 9-13: Wednesday 22 February 3.15-5.00pm
YEAR 7-8: AIMS Trials: Friday 24th February 3.15-4.30pm
Any questions please contact Anke van Dijk A.vandijk@onewhero.school.nz
Fees for 2023:
Year 5-8: $170 (includes $30 refundable uniform bond)
Year 9-13: $190 (includes $30 refundable uniform bond)
A $30 non refundable deposit is due by 17th February (when registration closes). The balance of the fees is due by Wednesday 9th March.
Should your child decide to pull out after registration closes, the $30 is forfeited. This is to ensure that players commit to their registration so that we can reliably create teams without players pulling out afterwards.
After the season, all players that return their uniform in good condition by the due date, will have their uniform bond credit back to their school account.
Fees can be paid online to the OAS Trust Account
ANZ 06 0405 0217064 00 reference: name and Netball fees.
If fees are unpaid by the due date, the registration is automatically voided.
Players in year 7/8 can trial for our AIMS team. This team will play together in the Saturday competition and attend the AIMS games in Tauranga in September. Entry into this team is competitive and commitment to trainings and games is a top priority. Extra costs to participate and travel to the tournament are involved.
Players in year 9-13 can trial for our UNISS team that will attend the UNISS netball championships from 4th-9th September 2022. Extra trainings and a lot of commitment is required. Extra costs are involved to attend the tournament. There will be separate trials for our UNISS team later on in the year, as this team is separate from the usual Saturday competition.
To register your child for netball, please click
YEAR 1-2 FREE NETBALL INITIATION SESSIONS
We are kicking off the year with a FREE 8 week netball initiation program for our youngest students in year 1 and 2. And YES this includes boys!
The purpose of this program is to 'Explore' Netball. The aim is for players to catch, pass and shoot from day one, providing a fun introduction to Netball.
This will start Wednesday 8th February and run weekly from 3.15pm to 4pm.
Last day will be 5th April 2023.
The sessions will be run by Natalie Smith and we will need some parent helpers each week to assist. No netball experience necessary.
Parents will need to register their children via this link please:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfr_p-qelnKCTlnTKJlK4DXomoJ2Viqnl39k43k-nVyOE89tA/viewform?usp=sf_link
NZ Modern School of Music
Looking for a fun activity?
Enquire now about in-school guitar/ ukulele lessons for term one 2023.
Fun, creative and convenient. All levels. Learn to play your favourite songs!
One on one lessons or buddy up with a friend.
Opportunity to enter into local music competitions and music exams.
Limited numbers, so be quick!
Contact Donna Allely for lesson information.
Phone 021 1858553
Email allelydj@gmail.com
Website www.nzmsmcounties.co.nz
NEW UNIFORM AVAILABLE AT SCHOOL OFFICE FROM OLD STOCK
Junior culottes – sizes : 4/8/10/12/14 $26.60
Junior polar fleece vests – sizes : 8/10 $15.00
Skirts (can be worn from Year 7) – sizes : 52/57/92/97 $39.20
Senior shorts (have button/zip) sizes : 10/12/14/76/96/100/104/108 $22.90
Senior trousers (have button/zip) sizes : 76/80 $30.70
Senior white boys shirt size 12 x 2 only $33.90
We also have the PE tops available in every house colour.
Sizing : 5-6/7-8/9-10/11-12/13-14/Small/Medium/Large $36.00
Please feel free to send your child up to the office to try anything on for sizing if you are unsure. Payment can be made online or at the office. You can contact us on office@onewhero.school.nz
Please name every item of clothing so if it ends up in our lost property the office staff can return it to your child.
We also have a second hand uniform department which is run by Brenda McLean in Room 7. She is available for you to visit on Mondays only from 3pm. If you would like to know what is available please email her on : b.mclean@onewhero.school.nz
COMMUNITY NEWS
Free Children's Clothing Available for Students 0-12 years
Outdoor / water opportunity for girls and boys aged 14 and 15 years old
Tuakau District Sea Scouts has a reputation for providing fun activities outdoors for our young people / rangatahi. With us, youth learn amazing life-skills and meet other like-minded young people from all over the region and the country.
We have a long list of ex-Venturers who have found that Scouting looks great on their CV's and provides glowing references. Most Venturers stay with us until they are 18.5 years.
Venturers meet on Thursday evenings during terms and there are often weekend activities that take them all over the place. Learn or get better at kayaking, sailing, rowing, camping, tramping.
We respect that these are busy years at school and we try to help our young people learn work-life balance.
I look forward to answering your questions or welcoming you along to try us out.
Nga mihi nui, Bridget
Group Leader / Venturer Leader
Tuakau Districts Sea Scouts
09 2328250 / 022 6011615
Dates ahead:
26 Feb - Kayak Leader Certificate - Leaders & Vents 16+
10-12 Mar - Northland Regatta - Scouts & Venturers
26 Mar - Sailing training day - Scouts & Vents
7-10 Apr - Auckland Regatta - Scouts & Venturers
11-15 Apr - ATLAS - Scouts - LOOK OUT FOR REGISTRATIONS
21-23 Apr - Camp @ Waikaretu - Cubs
30 Dec-7 Jan - Jamboree - Scouts (11-15yrs on 30 Dec)
Free Junior Chess Coaching Days
Good Afternoon all our Counties Chess Club is hosting 5 FREE open Junior Chess Coaching Days for all levels of player ,Coaching this weekend will be provided by the number 1 ranked New Zealand under 18 women’s player who is a member of our Chess Club.
As I said these Free days start this Saturday the 11th February and will continue on the 25th February, the 11th March, and 1st and 15th April to be held at the Counties Chess Club rooms at the Mauku Victory Hall at 430 Union Road Mauku ,they all start at 10am and finish at 12pm (midday) these are opportunities to learn how to play or improve anyone’s Chess ability.
This invitation also means that if anyone just wants to come and checkout our setup, they are more than Welcome to do so.Tea,Coffee and Biscuits provided.
We look forward to introducing or improving the great game of Chess to anyone that is keen to learn.
Regards
Ron Lanning
President Counties Chess Club
Mobile 0272128232
Our Club website is www.pukekohechess.co.nz.
Our Facebook Group Page https://www.facebook.com/groups/1081781205362596/
2023 Fully Funded Outward Bound Courses for students with physical disabilities
Enrolments are now open for the following Outward Bound courses for secondary school students with physical disabilities. These courses run once a year in April.
These courses are fully funded. The only cost to students is getting a pre-course medical done by a GP and getting themselves to and from Picton via bus, ferry, personal vehicle or air.
These 8 day courses and are based in the Marlborough Sounds. Students build confidence, resilience, and make new friends through activities such as sailing, waka ama, ropes course, and camping.
LEAPS & BOUNDS ACTIVATE 2023
A course for physically disabled youth (13 to 16yrs) to attend with a parent or caregiver.
Fri 7 - Fri 14 April 2023
YOUTH ACTIVATE 2023
An 8 day course for physically disabled people aged 16-17 years.
Thur 20 - Thur 27 April 2023
To find out more see www.outwardbound.co.nz/adapted or contact us:
Email: adapted@outwardbound.co.nz
Freephone: 0800 688 927
Dandelions and Dragonflies
We provide:
- High teacher to child ratios
- All meals, nappies, wipes
- Free play and structure
- Preparation for school programme
- Individual Learning portfolios
- Primary caregivers for infants
- Support for children with allergies
- Participation in school activities like Ag Day
- A recently renovated fresh and homely environment
- A very large outdoor space to explore
- Extended operating hours of Mon-Fri 7:30am-5:30pm
- Care from 3 months to 5 years
The Centre was initially operating on a standard Probationary Licence as a newly re-opened Centre, but in November 2022 easily passed its Ministry of Education Full Licencing Review. Enrolments have continued to grow steadily and the Centre is now fully staffed and bustling.
To find out more or to arrange a Centre Visit, please contact:
Dandelions and Dragonflies
Centre Manager, Kerryn Smith
(09)242-9100
info@dandelionsanddragronflies.co.nz
Computer & Network Engineer:
J & D Computer Services - Jane Young
Phone: 09 2328 007 Mobile: 021 067 1195
Email: support@jdcomputers.co.nz Web: www.jdcomputers.co.nz
We offer a wide range of services to help you get the most out out your computers...
- computer repair & upgrading
- virus removal
- business documents
- sales - new & used
- data recovery
- internet security
- networks
- tuition
Canteen:
Download The Onewhero Area School App
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"Being The Best We Can - No Limits!"
Email: office@onewhero.school.nz
Website: www.onewhero.school.nz
Location: 29 Hall Road, Onewhero, RD2, Tuakau
Phone: 09 232 8866
Facebook: facebook.com/Onewheroareaschool