Tēnā koutou

Welcome back to school and a great beginning to the 2023 school year.  Last week you will have received a newsletter that gave many details of what is happening at school for all tamariki in the different teams of Huetepara - Yr 0-2, Maranui - Yr 3-4, and Onepū - Yr 5-6.  If you have any questions, thoughts or comments around your tamariki that you would like to share, please contact the kaiako (teacher/s) from the team first, as they will be able to help you best. 

We welcome three new kaiako to our Lyall Bay School community this year, Julie Whitehead who is teaching in Hautonga (Onepū), Arielle Filippi who is teaching in Taniwha (Maranui) and Annie Ruddock who is teaching in Te Wheke (Maranui).  We know that you will welcome them kindly and be supportive of them learning about all of us. 

In last week's newsletter a survey link was shared, thank you to those who have already filled this in, it takes about 6 mins.  This survey is part of our review of our behaviour procedures that we started last year.  We would like your input that we will consider alongside conversations with tamariki and staff to build our framework..  Our rules link with our school values of Manaaki Respect, Whakapono Integrity, Pākiki Curiosity and Hiranga Excellence.  What are the behaviour expectations that are important for education and wellbeing in relation to our values?  Please let us know through this survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/behaviourexpect2023  The link has been sent to you through the hub kaiako too.  ​This survey will close at the end of this week.  

We had a fantastic team of Floorballers in 2022 who won their competiton.  According to our sources the final was a close-run thing in the first half, but expert parent coaching (Chetana Dahya) and expert parent yelling (everyone else), saw the team run away with it in the second half.  Congratulations. The team is in the photo below. 

We have some cases of COVID at school.  Please keep an eye out for symptoms and test if you think there could a possibility of COVD being present.  If someone is COVID positive, just that person from the household needs to isolate for seven days.  The rest of the household can continue as normal, but do need to test regularly.  If a child tests positive for COVID and was present at school when they could have been infectious, a notice will go out to the affected hub on HERO. 

The newsletter will be coming out every two weeks on Tuesdays from now on, it will be available on HERO and on our website.  In each newsletter I will be sharing some kupu with you to help with all of our understanding. hui:  to gather, assemble, a meeting;  harirū(tia):  to shake hands, handshake;  kawa:  protocol.

All Principals in our Motu Kairangi Kāhui Āko met last year and discussed the MoE confirmed extra Teacher Only Days.  These days are to help support the significant changes occurring to strengthen our schooling in the refresh of the NZ Curriculum.  We were given a period of time from MoE to hold the first TOD, so all members of Motu Kairangi Kāhui Āko have decided that we will all have this on the same day which is 24th April (the current first day of term 2). 

There is a Paid Union Meeting for kaiako (teachers) planned by the union for 1st March at 2pm. Most of our kaiako will be attending this which means we wioll only have a small number of kaiako left at school. We will be open for supervison but will be asking if possbile that you pick your tamariki up at 1.30 on the day. We will send out a survey on HERO to see how many will be here and arrange suitabel supervision for them. Thank you for your support. 

All whānau are invited to our W.A.T.P. Hui (Waihangatia ngā Ākonga Tino Pai) on Wednesday next week.  Kaiako will share general information about learning and you can have a look around, korero (chat) to kaiako, and also share what you would like the next hui (term 2) to focus on.  See more information in the poster above for times.  We look forward to working together to Build the Best Learners Waihangatia ngā Ākonga Tino Pai.

Ngā mihi nui

Melanie