Kia ora West End Whānau,

It has been a wonderful week of learning here at Te Kura O Urumutu.

It was fantastic to see so many of our West End Whānau at school for our Three Way Conferences over the last few days. Thank you to all of the people who have stopped to share thoughts and feedback with us about your child’s learning. Thank you also to our amazing teaching staff who have taken great care to prepare for this important part of our reporting schedule. Please see a survey later in this newsletter to provide your feedback about Three Way Conferences. Your feedback is valued and supports future planning and reporting.

Next week is another exciting week! We are looking forward to the upcoming performance of “The Search for S.O.A.P.” Our tamariki have all been busily preparing for the performance being held on Thursday 31 August. Today we hosted our dress rehearsal in our school hall and it was tremendous to see the weeks of hard work and whakamana paying off and the increase in self confidence for our tamariki as they uncover their talents. Please see later in the newsletter for more detailed information about how things will work at the Regent.

On Monday our wonderful WES PTA are holding their annual AGM in the staffroom at 6pm. The AGM will be followed by a PTA Meeting. It has been great to see an increased number of whānau getting involved with our PTA. If you are interested please come along, all are welcome. We are also looking forward to WES PTA Quiz night in our school hall on September 15th, 2023.

As you may already be aware, we are hosting a community consultation for our WES Health and PE Curriculum for 2024 and beyond. This consultation is being held in our Library at 3.15pm. We will be running a “creche” in Room 1 and Room 2 for our tamariki who’s whānau are attending the hui. Please see further detail later in this newsletter.

Well done to everyone for the efforts to support Daffodil Day. As you may already be aware our daffodils have been planted in the far corner of our field and growing well. Thank you to our student council who hosted our fundraising efforts. We are very proud to have raised $247 for The Cancer Society. Great Manaakitanga West End School!

Lastly, I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to stop and chat over the last few days. I always appreciate the chance to connect with our amazing WES whānau and the kind words have meant a lot as I have shared my news about 2024.

As always, I wish everyone a safe and happy weekend.

Ngā manaakitanga,

.

Matt Kennedy

Principal

West End School

Te Kura o Urumutu

Our school photos are starting on Monday at 8:55am sharp - so we can get through the whole school on the day. If your child is late to school on Monday then they could potentially miss out on photos. We will be starting with Tipuranga first. A key code will be sent out with children a couple of weeks after PhotoDay so that you can view and order them online through PhotoLife. If you have any questions please phone Photolife on 0800 501 040.

Tickets are on sale at Ticketek for The Search for S.O.A.P and they're selling fast. Please click the Ticketek link above or search for West End School when you go to the website. All tickets are General Admission and are $7.50 ($5 per ticket + fees of $3.50). It would be great to see all of our West End whānau and friends see our amazingly talented tamariki on stage at the Regent.

We are putting the final touches onto our show and getting everyone ready to put on a great performance for you! We had our dress rehearsal today and it looked and sounded amazing! We can't wait until next week and hope to see all West End whānau and friends turning up to the Regent next Thursday!

Our whole school will be going down to the Regent in buses from 9.15am on Thursday 31st August. We will all take our school bags down with lunches and water bottles. We will be having lunch down there, so please pack food for your child to eat when we are there. The buses will pick us up again from 2.15pm and we will be back at school before the end of the day. Children will be bringing their costumes home as they can come dressed for our evening performance.

The show will start at 7pm at the Regent on 31st August. We will require all students at the Regent from 6.15pm in their costumes with light makeup applied (if possible) at home as well as hair done etc. It would be great if your child has had their dinner before they arrive at the Regent. Teachers will meet students at the King Street back entrance of the Regent. We ask that children do not wear shoes as we will be barefoot on the stage. Whānau can take them from their children when they drop them off, and then keep hold of them until the show has finished.

When students arrive we will take their attendance, and get them seated and get our kura ready for the performance. All students are involved throughout the entire performance - they may be on stage acting, singing, dancing or in the front of the stage singing and dancing for the whole show. We anticipate the show will be finished at approximately 8 - 8.15pm where we will have all children seated on the stage and will let them go once we see caregivers there to collect them.

We are having the whole show videoed and will send a link to view it in the coming weeks at no extra cost to our community.

We would love to hear your thoughts on your experience during Three Way Conferences. Please fill out the form below to help us know what worked for you and things we need to consider for next time.

The Student Council have organised Daffodil Day today. It was great to see so much yellow and we greatly appreciate your generosity by sending in a gold coin donation. Today we raised $247 for the Cancer Society which will go towards helping with cancer research, and awareness.

ORS students creatively flowed with the theme of Daffodil Day.

West End School's field has proven to be too tempting for a pair of birds (Spur-Winged Plover) and their offspring. Currently, our tamariki haven't been using the field due to how wet and muddy things are. We have also been keeping the children away from the birds nests as these birds can become protective of their chicks.

We are still working with DOC (Department of Conservation) about the best approach to address the situation. In the meantime, please use the gates to access our school for picking up and dropping off your children that avoid going on the field.

Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. I will be in touch once we have more of an update from DOC.

PE Tops:

All West End PE uniforms should have now been received with your child's name attached to a flyer on the top. If your child's top has not been returned please do so as soon as possible. Invoices are currently being drawn up to be sent out to those whose tops have yet to be returned.

Term 4 Sports: If you would like to register for any of the sports below please head over to KINDO

• Year 5 and 6 Netball: Tuesday evenings at Vautier Park, starting on the 5th of September and commencing the 5th of December. Cost $40.00 per person.
• Summer Hockey: All year levels. Tuesday afternoons (Yrs 1-4) and Wednesday afternoons(Yr5/6). Played at HMI Twin Turfs, beginning the 24th of October and commencing the 30th of November. Cost range between $42-45 per child depending on age.
• Summer Football: All year Levels. Wednesday afternoons at the Arena Manawatu. Game times vary. Cost is $35.00 per child. The Junior season begins on Wednesday 18th October and runs through to Wednesday 13th December .
• Touch: All year levels. Friday afternoons at Monrad Park. Cost $43.00 per student registered.

If you attend to play any of the above sports please register as soon as possible to ensure you gain a place in a team.

Riverdale Sports Exchange: 30th August 2023, West End will be sending their confirmed Ricoh sports teams to Riverdale School to participate in a range of sporting codes. Students will be walking to Riverdale leaving at 12:45pm and returning back to school for normal pick up. If you would like to support your child at this exchange games start at 1:30pm.

Ricoh Sports: Ricoh Sports are not far away, students have been busy training in their selected codes. Students will travel via bus to the designated sports grounds, majority being held at the Manawatu Arena, before spending the day competing against a range of other schools from the local area. Please remember on this day to have your child pack a full lunch and a bottle of water. Reminder that this is on the 7th of September.

DanceNZMade: On the 4th of September students will travel to the Regent Theatre to have a day full of fun. Students will be attending a range of dance workshops, before preparing for their showcase in the early evening. If you have missed any of the details for this day please email Miss Black or keep upto date on the school app.

WEEK 7 -

• School Photos - Monday 28th August
• The Search for S.O.A.P Dress Rehearsal at the Regent: Thursday 31 August (9.30-2.30)
• The Search for S.O.A.P SHOW at the Regent: Thursday 31 August (show starts at 7pm)

WEEK 8 -

• EPro8 starts for TWNOT - Monday 4th September
• DanceNZ - Monday 4th September
• Hauora Sexuality Education Community Consultation - Wednesday 6th September at 3.00pm
• Ricoh Sports - Thursday 7th September

WEEK 9 -

• Swimming starts - Monday - Thursday
• Life Education (Harold) starts - Monday 11th September
• PTA Quiz Night - Friday 15th September

WEEK 10 -

• Life Education Visit finishes - Wednesday 20th September
• Last Day of Term 3 - Friday 22nd September

Term 1: Monday 29 Jan - Friday 12 April (100 1/2 days)

Term 2: Monday 29 April - Friday 5 July (96 1/2 days)

Term 3: Monday 22 July - Friday 27 Sept (100 1/2 days)

Term 4: Monday 14 Oct - Friday 13 Dec (88 1/2 days)

Which equals a total of 384 half days for 2024.

We would have Call Back Days Wed 24 - Fri 26 Jan before the year starts.

Proposed Ballot Dates for 2024

Ballot held in Term 1 for Term 2

(To be held in Term 1 Week 3, 12th Feb-16th Feb)

Ballot held in Term 2 for Term 3

(To be held in Term 2 Week 3, 6th May - 10th May)

Ballot held in Term 3 for Term 4

(To be held in Term 3 Week 3, 29 July - 2 August)

Ballot held in Term 4 for Term 1

(To be held in Term 4 Week 3, 21st October - 25th October)

It is really important under the current circumstances you notify the school if your child is absent.

PLEASE DO NOT TXT OR EMAIL THE CLASSROOM TEACHER.

ALL ABSENCES SHOULD BE ADVISED VIA THE OFFICE.

Please remember to advise the office by 8.30am if your child is not attending school.

You can telephone 358-2465 and leave a message or txt 021 118 0156.

ABSENCES CAN ALSO BE SENT EASILY THROUGH OUR SCHOOL APP

In both cases please give a reason for absence.

Thank you.

It is very important that families register with Kindo, as this is now the only way to register your child for school sports, and ordering PTA lunches.
Below are the links to register.
If you require help please call the Kindo helpdesk on

0508 454 636

New users need this link

Existing users need this link