Update 14
30th September 2021
Kia ora e te whānau
Tēnā Koutou Katoa,
As we draw to the end of term 3, I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for your encouragement and support during what has been an extraordinary term; we appreciate it has been challenging for many. I have continued to receive feedback from the team expressing just how proud they all are of how engaged your children are. The attendance throughout lockdown has remained high, we have even peaked up to 94% attendance each week! This lockdown experience has certainly been a good test of how agentic our learners are. There are multiple examples to celebrate - each week we have been sharing videos with your children in year 3 - 8 via their email. You might like to ask them to share some of the highlights with you!
Take care and go gently
Ngā mihi nui,
Sarah and The Stonefields School Team
Community Survey: A wee glimpse
It is an important time of the year where we review our strategic direction. Thank you for taking the time to complete the 2021 Community Survey, and also for supporting your more junior learners to complete the learner survey. We received a similar number of responses to last year - a total of 219. The Board and leadership team met to review and discuss the results yesterday. There has been a marked positive trend in the community survey. The written feedback has been invaluable at informing the strategic review.
Here is an example of how we are trending in our area of communication. Building relationships and partnering in your child's education has been a strategic focus this year. It is pleasing to see the significant number of 3 (agree), and 4 (strongly agree) responses. We have high levels of satisfaction here. We look forward to sharing the full data with you early next term, once fully analysed.
Alert Level 2 at Stonefields School
We will be sending another communication update to all parents following the next Government Update, once we have further clarity on when a return to alert level 2 - and return to learning onsite at Stonefields School - is likely. Like you we are hoping for children to return for the beginning of term 4.
The Ministry of Education is keeping us up-to-date with guidelines of level 2 at schools, the guidelines are largely the same as the previous level 2. Good hygiene, hand cleaning, ventilation in hubs, frequent cleaning and stay home if you are sick continue to be the important measures. It is not mandatory for children aged 1 - 8 to wear a face covering, that is optional.
We look forward to welcoming all of our learners back to school.
Lockdown Love | Community Shoutouts
It has been wonderful to see messages of aroha (love) and support pouring in through our Community Kindness challenge. It's not too late to add one of your own - check out the padlet here!
Reminder: 2021 Out of Zone Ballot
The Board has passed a resolution to offer limited placements at the New Entrant level only (Those in Year 0/1, who have not attended primary school before). These limited placements will cover the number of siblings of currently enrolled students who wish to gain a place at Stonefields within the 2021 ballot for placement in 2022. Typically this would only be one or two children. Please note this is for out of zone siblings only, not those who are residing in zone. Please click here to complete the form.
The ballot will close on Friday 15th October 2021, and the draw will take place on Wednesday 20th October 2021.
Alert level restrictions: tips for parents
In response to concerns shared by parents and whānau, of feeling anxious about their children’s behaviour and routine changes through alert level changes and extended alert level restrictions, the Ministry of Education has asked Dr Hinemoa Elder (child adolescent psychiatrist) and Nathan Wallis (neuroscience educator) to share some tips and advice.
They have put together this video, where they describe what parents can do if they have concerns about their children showing signs of stress, including:
not eating well
spending long periods of time in their room alone
not doing any physical activity, and
disengaging from online work
Sport
Next term Nardia Turner returns from parental leave. The once leader of learning in the Year 3-4 space is now taking on our Sports Coordinator role, and is very excited about overseeing all things PE and sport. If you have any feedback, questions or ideas about how to make things better for our learners please feel encouraged to contact pe@stonefields.school.nz; Nardia would love to hear from you!
Term 4 Inter-school Sports
Preparation for Term 4 inter school sports are underway, and we are hopeful that alert levels will allow us to participate in events as planned. Coming up we have Volleyball, Touch, Athletics, Table Tennis, Tag and Cricket. Visit our Sports Website to view the Inter School Events Calendar for details.
Volunteers Wanted
We are in desperate need of support with preparing our teams for inter school events! We're not looking for experts; just people who have an interest, a bit of enthusiasm and willingness to help. If you're keen to be involved, we would love to hear from you. Please either complete the short Sports Volunteer Form or get in touch with Nardia.
Term 4 Community Sports
The start of the summer sports season is almost upon us, and there are some great local clubs and opportunities out there. Check out Local Sports Opportunities to find something new or see what you can get involved in!
Thank you again to everyone who has been collecting Yummy Fruit stickers. We can't wait to exchange them for some new sports equipment!
This is our last term for collecting, and you have just a few more weeks to collect before handing in your full sticker sheets at the start of term 4.
Please return your full sticker sheets to the office by Friday 22 October.
Remember our Sports Site is your first port of call for all information about PE programmes,
inter-school sports, whole school sporting events and community based opportunities. It is updated regularly and holds specific information on what is happening with sports as we move through the different COVID Levels.
Upcoming Events
Please note that our Community Event, planned for the end of Term 3, has been cancelled due to the extended Lockdown. We will be planning a new event for early 2022, and will communicate further details as soon as they are available.
Community Notices
Kelly Club October 2021 Holiday Programme
Pending a move to alert level 2, Kelly Club are hopeful that they will be offer their Holiday Programme at Stonefields School starting Wednesday, 6th October.
To find out more, or to book a space, please head to www.kellyclub.co.nz
2021 Term Dates
Term 4 | Monday, 18th October - Wednesday, 15th December
2021 Teacher Only Days
new date (Term 4) TBC