Notices and information

 3 May 2024


Kia ora whānau,

Welcome to our fortnightly newsletter for term 2. We hope you all had a wonderful break with your tamariki. A huge welcome to all our wonderful new families/whānau that have joined us this term in Whaea Tash’s class. It has been lovely to get to meet you all and work with your amazing tamariki. They are settling in beautifully. 


Library: Books can go home for two weeks, however most tamariki have them for one week. Lost or damaged books need to be paid for. Please ask your child's akomanga teacher where they would like library books to be returned. 

Library days are below (subject to change): 

Teretere 1: Mondays

Teretere 2: Thursdays

Teretere 3: Tuesdays 

Teretere 4: Wednesdays


Pink Shirt Day 2024 

Ararira Springs Primary is joining the movement by hosting a  Pink Shirt Day on Friday 17 May 2024, and encouraging our staff and students to Kōrero Mai, Kōrero Atu, Mauri Tū, Mauri Ora – Speak up, Stand Together, Stop Bullying! Bullying in Aotearoa is a real problem. We have the third-highest rate of school bullying out of 36 OECD countries and one in five workers feels discriminated against or bullied at work. Those bullied are far more likely to experience mental health issues. 


Pink Shirt Day works to reduce bullying by celebrating diversity in all its forms and supporting schools, workplaces and communities to be safe, supportive, welcoming and inclusive for everyone. To celebrate this important kaupapa we’ll be wearing pink (alternatively wear school uniform) on Friday 17th May. 


We’ll also be fundraising to support Pink Shirt Day. A gold coin donation will be appreciated. Money raised goes to The Mental Health Foundation. By taking part in Pink Shirt Day, we are part of a powerful movement to spread aroha and kindness and end bullying. The focus this year is: 'Being an upstander". More information can be found here. 


Illness: We have the following illnesses in the hapori: 

Please be vigilant and follow the latest Ministry of Health Guidelines to stop them spreading. Notify the office before 9am if your child is unwell. It is great if you notify the classroom teacher, but please let the office know as well. We do not always get the message on time or may be away ourselves. 


Sharing day: This is every Friday. Tamariki may bring something to school | kura to share and talk about it. This is part of our oral language programme. This may be something they have made, a photo or a small toy. Children are not to play with items during learning or breaks - please remind them of this. Please do not bring very precious items to school, as staff cannot be responsible for lost or broken items. Ask your child's akomanga teacher where to put their items on Friday. Items are not to come to school on other days. Thank you for your support with this. 

Learning:



Dates for your diary:









Please refer to the schools newsletter and the website for further information and dates.



Have a wonderful weekend.


Nga mihi nui,


Lesley, Angela, Nicky, Tash, Nancy & Megan

Teretere team

 11th April 2024

Kia ora whānau,


A very 'Happy Eid' to those whānau who are celebrating this week. Eid Mubarak!

It was lovely to have our new tamariki visit the last two Thursdays with Whaea Tash. The new class will start at the beginning of term 2. We sadly say 'good bye' to Nevaeh and her whānau early next term. We will miss you and wish you all the best in your new life adventure. 

During our non-contact time, the teachers will be busy catching up on paper work, Professional Development and planning. We hope to have a bit of a holiday too! 

Road Safety walk with Constable Jim: A huge thank you to our wonderful parents/grandparents who supported the children this week with road safety and crossing the road with Constable Jim. Your time was appreciated. 

Old school uniform: We'd love any old school uniform you may be throwing out. We take these to our local pre-schools to use for 'dress ups'. Please give items to your child's akomanga teacher (cross out your name or it might come back)! Thank you.

Library: If you have an overdue book, this will have been either emailed to you or will have been glued into your child's structured literacy book. Lost or damaged books need to be paid for (including reading books). If you think you have already returned book/s, please email Charlotte to let her know, rather than the class akomanga teacher:  charlotte.mcmenamin@ararira.school.nz Thank you. 


Learning:


Dates for your diary:


We hope you have a lovely break with your whānau. 

Nga mihi nui,


Nicky, Angela, Lesley, Tash, Nancy & Megan

Teretere team

 28th March 2024

Kia ora whānau,


A huge welcome to Base and his whānau who started last week in Angela's akomanga class.  Happy school days to you! 

Last week we had the magician and ventriloquist 'Elgrego' at kura | school. The focus and the message of his show reinforced our school value of 'Caring' -  how to create positive behaviour and a bully-free environment.  "Be proud to be a student that cares". 


Trip: A huge thank you to Sean, Lynne, Amanda, Briar, Sarah, Anna, Kawal, Gemma, Hayley, Chamindu, Siena F's nana, Paul and Sally, our wonderful parents/grandparents who came with us and/or took time off work to parent help and attend our trip to The Christchurch Art Gallery and Imagination station. Without your help we cannot go on trips. We appreciate you and thank you. The tamariki had a wonderful time. We will use the information gained from the experiences over the next few weeks and early into term 2. Thank you Tash for picking up Nicky's class while she was away sick. 


Road Safety walk with Constable Jim - Tuesday 9th April

On Tuesday 9th April, Constable Jim will be taking our tamariki on a walk around Lincoln. Please ensure your child has sensible walking shoes and a jacket on this day. We would love some parent/grandparent helpers on this day/times. Please speak to your child's akomanga teacher if you can help. Thank you. 

Teretere 3 Nicky : 9.10- 9.50am


Teretere 1 Angela: 9.50 - 10.30am


Teretere 2 Lesley: 1.35 - 2.10pm



Term 2: On Fridays, Teretere 3 will be taught by Whaea Nancy. Whaea Tash will start the new Teretere 4 akomanga class, along with Annabelle, Isabella, Liam, Maddison and Millie who started a few weeks ago. Whaea Tash will be working collaboratively within the team on Mondays to Thursdays and will be based in the shared space with Lesley (at this point in time)! Fridays will be covered by Whaea Megan. The teachers | kaiako contact details are linked at the top of the page under 'Kaiako'. Whaea Megan and Whaea Nancy will cover the teams release days for the rest of the year, where possible.


Old school uniform: We'd love any old school uniform you may be throwing out. We take these to our local pre-schools to use for 'dress ups'. Please give to your child's akomanga teacher (cross out your name or it might come back)! Thank you.


Illness: We have the following illnesses in the hapori: 

Please be vigilant and follow the latest Ministry of Health Guidelines to stop them spreading. Notify the office before 9am if your child is unwell.


Hi-vis vests/sunhats: Due to the lack of sponsorship and administration, the school no longer provides these to our tamariki. Please purchase your own. These can be purchased from The Warehouse or similar. We have a few left available to purchase on Kindo. All tamariki are required to wear these to/from school every day. Sunhats are optional in terms 2 and 3. 


Library days are below (subject to change in term 2). Please return all library books (and reading books) by week 11. Thank you. 

Teretere 1: Mondays

Teretere 2: Thursdays

Teretere 3: Tuesdays 

Please ask your child's akomanga teacher where they would like books returned. Please do this before school. Book can be borrowed for two weeks, although most children have them for one week. Lost or damaged books need to be paid for (including reading books). If you think you have already returned books, please email Charlotte to let her know, rather than the class teacher:  charlotte.mcmenamin@ararira.school.nz 


Sharing day: This is every Friday. Tamariki may bring something to school | kura to share and talk about it. This is part of our oral language programme. This may be something they have made, a photo or a small toy. Children are not to play with items during learning or breaks - please remind them of this. Please do not bring very precious items to school, as staff cannot be responsible for lost or broken items. Ask your child's akomanga teacher where to put their items on Friday. Items are not to come to school on other days. Thank you for your support with this. 


Learning:


Dates for your diary:

On Tuesday 9th April, Constable Jim will be taking our tamariki on a road safety walk around Lincoln. Please ensure your child has sensible walking shoes and a jacket on this day. We would love some parent/grandparent helpers on this day/times. Please speak to your child's akomanga teacher. Thank you. 

Teretere 3: 9.10- 9.50am (Nicky)

Teretere 1: 9.50 - 10.30am (Angela)

Teretere 2: 1.35 - 2.10pm (Lesley)

A very happy Easter to those that are celebrating this weekend.

Have a lovely long Easter weekend. 


Nga mihi nui,

Nicky, Angela, Lesley and Tash

Teretere team

14th March 2024

Kia ora whānau,

A huge welcome to our new cohort of tamariki and their whānau who started on Monday: Annabelle, Isabella, Liam, Maddison and Millie. Happy school days to you! 


Trip: We still require a number of parent/grandparent helpers to enable us to go on our trip on Thursday 28th March (more details below). Please fill in this google survey if you are able to help. Thank you. 


Illness: We have the following illnesses in the hapori: 

Please be vigilant and follow the latest Ministry of Health Guidelines to stop them spreading. Notify the office before 9am if your child is unwell.


Hi-vis vests: Due to the lack of sponsorship and administration, the school no longer provides these to our tamariki. Please purchase your own. These can be purchased from The Warehouse or similar. We have a few left available to purchase on Kindo. All tamariki will be required to wear these for our trip at the end of the term.


Library days are below (subject to change): 

Teretere 1: Mondays

Teretere 2: Thursdays

Teretere 3: Tuesdays 

Please ask your child's akomanga teacher where they would like books returned. Please do this before school. Book can be borrowed for two weeks, although most children have them for one week. If you think you have returned books, please email Charlotte to let her know, rather than the class teacher:  charlotte.mcmenamin@ararira.school.nz 


Sharing day: This is every Friday. Tamariki may bring something to school | kura to share and talk about it. This is part of our oral language programme. This may be something they have made, a photo or a small toy. Children are not to play with items during learning or breaks - please remind them of this. Please do not bring very precious items to school, as staff cannot be responsible for lost or broken items. Ask your child's akomanga teacher where to put their items on Friday. Items are not to come to school on other days. Thank you for your support with this. 


Learning:


Dates for your diary:

Christchurch Art Gallery | Te Puna o Waiwhetū: Explore the Gallery & discuss a range of artists’ work and explore ideas of navigation, belonging, identity and how we are connected across time and place. During the guided tour students will use signs and symbols to create a pictorial map of their own identity and journey. 

Tūranga | library (Imagination station): Look at Movement through WeDo 2.0 Robotics builds. With the Waka and how people travelled, in the past we have  worked with Maori services here in Tūranga Library and we did Stop Motion movie making of how navigation was and challenges for Maori in the Pacific Ocean. The tamariki will explore digital technology (robotics) and cover some NZ histories content as well.


Have a lovely weekend. 


Nga mihi nui,

Nicky, Angela, Lesley and Tash

Teretere team

5th March 2024


Kia ora,


On Thursday 28th March, we will going on a trip to The Christchurch Art Gallery | Te Puna o Waiwhetū and Tūranga | library (Imagination station). More information about our learning can be found on our blog. We will travel by bus leaving around 9am and we will return before 3pm. We will be splitting into two groups and switching over activities at lunchtime. 


Ākonga | children are required to wear their school uniform and sensible walking shoes. All ākonga are required to wear a hi vis vest for the duration of the visit. Please ask your child to leave this on in the morning when you arrive at school |kura. If you do not have a hi vis vest, we have a few available for sale on Kindo. The ākonga will be taking their own backpacks and it should contain a filled water bottle and morning tea/lunch. Reading folders and library books are to be left at home on this day. 


Your child’s teacher will carry your child’s medication (if relevant e.g. epipens). Please arrive no later than 8.50am. Your child will come to their usual akomanga teacher/hapori and a roll check will be made. 


We will require parent/grandparent helpers on the day. Unfortunately we cannot accommodate preschoolers. If you are able to parent/grandparent help, please fill in this google form no later than Thursday 21st. Without parent help, we are unable to go on this trip.


Many thanks for your support with this.


Ngā mihi,


Nicky, Angela, Lesley and Tash

Teretere team



29th February 2024

Kia ora whānau,

It was a wonderful experience last week when the Christchurch Museum outreach programme came and brought their resources to our hapori. The tamariki learnt about how early people came to Aotearoa |NZ; navigation and how they found land. The tamariki also learnt what food they took and how they carried water. Take a look at our photos on our 'Home' page above. This was a great start to our inquiry this year which is 'Movement'. We will further connect this learning to our NZ Aotearoa histories learning and weave this in with local pūrākau | traditional stories over the following terms. 

We have had a lot of our local pre-schools visiting over the past few weeks. This week we welcomed: Annabelle, Amelia, Isabella, Liam and Maddison to Teretere 3 for their first pre-entry visit. These tamariki will start with Nicky and Tash on Monday 11th March and will then move to the new class with Tash in term 2. This class will share a space with Lesley. 



Hi-vis vests: Due to the lack of sponsorship and administration, the school no longer provides these to our tamariki. Please purchase your own. These can be purchased from The Warehouse or similar. We have a few left available to purchase on Kindo. All children will be required to wear these for our trip at the end of the term.

Learning:


Dates for your diary:

Christchurch Art Gallery | Te Puna o Waiwhetū: Explore the Gallery & discuss a range of artists’ work and explore ideas of navigation, belonging, identity and how we are connected across time and place. During the guided tour students will use signs and symbols to create a pictorial map of their own identity and journey. 

Tūranga | library (Imagination station): Look at Movement through WeDo 2.0 Robotics builds. With the Waka and how people travelled, in the past we have  worked with Maori services here in Tūranga Library and we did Stop Motion movie making of how navigation was and challenges for Maori in the Pacific Ocean. The tamariki will explore digital technology (robotics) and cover some NZ histories content as well.


Have a lovely weekend. 


Nga mihi nui,

Nicky, Angela, Lesley and Tash

Teretere team

15th February 2024

Kia ora whānau,

Another fabulous few weeks of fun, friendship and learning. The tamariki have settled into the new routines and are enjoying the school environment. It was great to see so many of you at our presentation and connect at our school community picnic on Tuesday. If you missed the presentation, a copy of this is on this blog. Go to the 'Structured Literacy' link (above). 

Hi-vis vests: Due to the lack of sponsorship and administration, the school no longer provides these to our tamariki. Please purchase your own. These can be purchased from The Warehouse or similar. We have a few left available to purchase on Kindo. All children will be required to wear these for our trip at the end of the term.

Sharing day: This is every Friday. Tamariki may bring something to school | kura to share and talk about it. This is part of our oral language programme. This may be something they have made, a photo or a small toy. Children are not to play with items during learning or breaks - please remind them of this. Please do not bring very precious items to school, as staff cannot be responsible for lost or broken items. Ask your child's akomanga teacher where to put their items on Friday. Items are not to come to school on other days. Thank you for your support with this. 

Reading folders: Please ensure your child's reading folder and structured literacy book is at school every day. Reminder that there are 'heart words' to learn in the back of their book. To help learn the first few phonemes | sounds you may like to play this clip. Start with the 'yellow' sounds first. We slow this down to 0.75. 

Illness: please notify the school office before 9am if your child is unwell. It is great if you notify your child's akomanga teacher as well, but we may not always get the message in time. Please note that we do have cases of covid in the hapori and school | kura at the moment. Please follow the latest Ministry of Health guidelines. 

Lunches: If your child has packets, please cut/snip this so it is easy for them to open it. Yogurt with a screw top lid, please undo this and tighten so your child can open this themselves. Water bottles should be at school daily especially in this hot weather. Thank you. 

Library days are below (subject to change): 

Teretere 1: Mondays

Teretere 2: Thursdays

Teretere 3: Tuesdays (note new day)

Learning:


Dates for your diary:

Christchurch Art Gallery | Te Puna o Waiwhetū: Explore the Gallery & discuss a range of artists’ work and explore ideas of navigation, belonging, identity and how we are connected across time and place. During the guided tour students will use signs and symbols to create a pictorial map of their own identity and journey. 

Tūranga | library (Imagination station): Look at Movement through WeDo 2.0 Robotics builds. With the Waka and how people travelled, in the past we have  worked with Maori services here in Tūranga Library and we did Stop Motion movie making of how navigation was and challenges for Maori in the Pacific Ocean. The tamariki will explore digital technology (robotics) and cover some NZ histories content as well.


Have a lovely weekend. 


Nga mihi nui,

Nicky, Angela, Lesley and Tash

Teretere team

2nd February 2024

Kia ora whānau,

Welcome to our fortnightly newsletter and a huge welcome to all our wonderful families/whānau. It has been lovely to get to meet you all and especially work with your amazing tamariki. They are settling in beautifully and we know there will be a lot of tired children (and teachers) over the next few weeks. 

The schools newsletter (Click to Connect) and this notice on our blog is where you will find information regarding our hapori | space. We are trying to limit the amount of emails whānau are receiving. We apologise in advance for this long email. 

Staffing: Whaea Tash will be working in Teretere 3 on Fridays. She will also be releasing the other Teretere teachers throughout this term, before she starts the new class in term 2. We also welcome our fabulous learning assistants who you may also see around: Fable, Charlotte, Debbie, Kim, Etrechia and Jeni. Please make yourself known to our staff. 

Homework: Please read to your child a variety of books every day. 

Maths: enjoy reading numbers together e.g. number plates; in the supermarket. Ask your child to count forwards and backwards from any number (not just 0 or 1). What number comes before or after it? Count objects together e.g. can you please get me 6 apples?

Karakia: Our morning and afternoon karakia are at the bottom of this page to learn if you wish. 

Structured literacy: Reading folders will be going home from week 3 after assessments have been completed (from 12th February-). Heart words are in the back of their books to learn and worksheets in the front. There is an information sheet for you to read. Please note that if your child already knows their 'sounds' or alphabet 'names', they may repeat these letters throughout the programme. This is to ensure that they can also write these letters using the correct formation (lower case), quickly and automatically. If your child is reading books, these may also be repeated as we revise reading and writing sounds and books, after a long break. This is to ensure your child is confident with their structured literacy skills and with their new teachers.  Please ask if you have any questions. 

Sharing information sheet: please return this to your child's akomanga teacher by the end of this week. You are welcome to email this. Thank you to those of you who have already handed these in. Another copy of this was attached to the Hero notice on Friday 2nd. 

Hats: Please ensure your child has a named full brimmed sunhat at school everyday (even if it is cloudy or wet). From Monday any tamariki who do not have a hat will be required to play in one spot in the shade. No hat = no play. Apply sunscreen before school. Thank you for your support with this. Please leave the hat in the side pocket of your child's bag, so it is easily accessible. 

Sushi and Subway lunches: Sushi day is Wednesday (please bring a spoon) and Subway is on Fridays. If you wish to use this service, please pre-order on the Kindo app. 

Blog photos: please email your child's akomanga teacher if you do not want photos of your child on our blog or on the schools facebook pages. 

Lunches: We are a 'water only school'. Please no juice or flavoured milk (or sweets) at school. Please leave these items for home. Thank you. 

Library: Books can go home for two weeks, however most tamariki have them for one week. Lost or damaged books need to be paid for. Please ask your child's akomanga teacher where they would like library books to be returned. 

Library days are below (subject to change): 

Teretere 1: Mondays

Teretere 2: Thursdays

Teretere 3: Wednesdays - new day now Tuesday

Items from home: Please do not bring items from home to kura | school. These items can get lost or broken. 

Learning:


Dates for your diary:


Have a lovely weekend. 


Nga mihi nui,

Nicky, Angela, Lesley and Tash

Teretere team

28th January 2024

Kia ora Whānau,

We are looking forward to seeing you and your child at the drop in day on Tuesday. 

Please click on this link to follow our blog. This will take you to our weekly notices, photos of our learning and other information. 

Please bookmark this link for future use. This is how we communicate with you, so please check this and the school newsletter frequently. 

Important dates for the first week is below:

Reminder: Please ensure your child has a named full brimmed sunhat at school everyday. Thank you. See you on Tuesday! 

Nga mihi nui,

Nicky, Angela, Lesley and Tash

Teretere team

16th January 2024

Kia ora,

Some of you may have missed the Stationery email from last year. As an Enviroschool, we encourage you to bring in any half used books back to school for use in the learning space. 

Stationery items can be purchased from the website: Qizzle. Click on: School packs>Ararira Springs Primary>Teretere. Please name all books and the reading folder. The other items are shared, so they do not need to be named. Give these items to your child's akomanga teacher on Tuesday 30th January (which is a drop in session - no school uniform is required on Tuesday). More information about the drop in session will be sent out next week. 

School begins on Wednesday 31st January. Please ensure you arrive between 8.30am and 8.50am. Pick up is at 3pm. Your child's akomanga teacher will let you know what door to pick your child up from on Tuesday. As parking is at a premium at the end of the day, please allow for this or walk. Please do not be late, as this can stress new learners and we do have meetings after school. 

More information can be found on our blog. This is presently a work in progress. Please make yourself familiar with this site as this is where we share our notices, photos of learning and other information. 

We hope you are all having a happy summer holiday and we are looking forward to seeing you in the next few weeks. 


Ngā mihi,

Nicky, Lesley, Angela and Tash

Teretere team

Morning karakia

Afternoon karakia