Kia ora

Welcome back to school for 2025.  We hope you have all had a wonderful break and are ready for a fantastic school year. 

We welcomed many whānau to the W.A.T.P Hui (Waihangatai ngā Ākonga Tino Pai Building the Best Learners) last week.  In each hub there was a range of activities to show how learning happens, kaiako to korero with you and items to take home to support learning.  In the hall was a video about the Refreshed Curriculum and a question and answer session with Melanie.  The video will be up on the website for anyone who would like to watch it.  Some of the questions that were asked were around ensuring that all learners are learning what they need - we will continue to differentiate our programmes for ākonga, teaching them where they need to be, accelerating or extending their learning.  Another question asked was how Learning Through Play fits - all ākonga have explicit teaching in reading, writing and maths as well all other curriculum areas.  Learning Through Play falls within this teaching, often driving how tamariki further explore concepts, it is not 'on top of' but within.  There was some conversation about the Phases and reporting.  We will continue to report with timely comments on HERO and at the middle and end of year you will receive a post on HERO describing where your child is working, which will be similar to the past with slightly different wording.  Closer to the time there will be a greater explanation of how this will work.  Some asked about maths - as a school we are taking part in maths professional development with the rest of our Kahui Ako (primary, intermediate and colleges in the Eastern Suburbs), and this will help us to know more about the refreshed maths curriculum.  How will you know where your child is at?  From Celebration of Learning posts, Curriculum posts, mid and end of year, Learning Conversations end of term 1 and end of term 3, or you can make a time to pop in and see kaiako before or after school. 

This week, there is another opportunity for you to meet with Kaiako.  There will be a coffee cart at school, so you can grab a coffee, hot choc, tea, etc, a 'waffle tree', and have a korero with others.  The cart will be up in Onepū near the Library, we look forward to catching up.  It is the launch of Wheels Day too, so tamariki are welcome to bring their wheels and helmets up and show you their tricks! 

We also have desks to give away (or for a koha) on this day, if you would like a desk for at home please see Kate Millner in Taniwha. 

Some te reo for you... He kawhe māku, I'll have a coffee.  He aha hei parakuihi māu, What would you like for breakfast?  Te eka hoki, How delicious.  Māku e utu, I'll pay.  Kia tirohia te rārangi kai, Let's take a look at the menu.  He aha tāu i tono ai? what did you order?  Mākau tēnā, I'll grab that.  Kātahi te kai reka ko tēnei!  This food is absolutely delicious!

Newsletters are sent out in weeks 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 each term.  There is a lot more information on HERO from kaiako for you too. If you are not seeing more information on HERO please let us know and we will try to fix that for you. 

It is important that tamariki attend school every day we are open.  We already have 10 tamariki who have been absent for more than 30%, 24 who have been absent for more than 20%, and 21 who have been away for more than 10% of the days at school for 2025.  The more tamariki are away from school, the harder it is for them, both socially and academically.  If you are finding it tricky to get your tamariki to school, let us know and we will work something out to support you.  If we see attendance is dropping, we will get in contact with you to see how we can help.  Tamariki are expected at school unless they are unwell.  Please contact the office or put absences through on HERO so when we check them we know the reason is relevant.  We will contact you about any absences if you have not let us know.  This is to keep tamariki safe. 

Throughout the year we focus on different curriculum areas, aside from English and Maths & Statistics which is taught every day.  This year our focus will be The Arts - Dance and Music, Science - Planet Earth and Beyond, Technology - Design.  Tamariki often shine in these learning areas, so the more access they have, the better their learning.  See more information below. 

In 2024 we had 74% of our tamariki working within or above their relevant curriculum level in Reading, 73% in Writing and 80% in Maths.  The more tamariki are at school, the easier it is for them to learn and to Build to be the Best Learners Waihangatia ngā Ākonga Tino Pai.

Who are we?  We thought it might be pertinent to introduce you to our staff so you can learn a little more about us. 

I am Melanie and I was born and raised in Masterton in the Wairarapa.  I am one of four children, an older sister Viv, older brother Stephen and a younger sister Lissa.  Mum (Barbara) was also born in Masterton, and Dad (Bill) was born in Napier (just before the Napier earthquake).  I am married to David (also born and raised in Masterton) and we have three children, Ashleigh, Brianna and Alex who have all flown the coop.  We have four mokopuna, Maisie and Charlie, Eloise and Tilly, and even though their parents were born in Blenheim, Edinburgh and Wellington, they all live in the Wairarapa now.  As a child, I loved sports, especially athletics and netball, as well as dancing.  Reading was a favourite pastime, as was playing on the beach and in the sand dunes. Now my spare time is spent with whānau, on the beach, and watching sport!

Kia pai te wiki

Melanie

Board of Trustees Summary of the latest meeting.

Welcome to the 2025 School Year from the Board of Trustees

It has been a fantastic start to the year and a busy few weeks at Lyall Bay School.

The Board would like to begin by expressing our gratitude to Lloyd Percival for his six years of service as Presiding Member (previously called Board Chair) of the Lyall Bay Board.  Lloyd has chosen not to continue in this role in 2025, but will remain on the Board until the next elections in September, at which point he has indicated he will not be standing again.  We sincerely thank Lloyd for his years of dedication, leadership, and the invaluable support he has provided to both the Board and the school.

Each of our Board meetings begins and ends with a whakataukī or mihimihi—an important way for us to come together, reflect, and focus on our purpose.  Melanie shared our opening whakatauki. 

With Lloyd stepping down as Presiding Member, a new appointment was required.  I, Karl Emson, was nominated and have accepted the role.  I look forward to working alongside the Board and Melanie in the best interests of Lyall Bay School and our community.

A key responsibility of the Board is the regular review of school policies.  In our latest meeting, we reviewed the Health, Safety, and Welfare Policy and the Safety Management System Policy.  No changes were required for either policy.

Melanie then shared updates to our Strategic Plan, including newly established attendance goals.  Attendance remains a priority, and the school is implementing various initiatives to improve student attendance.  Attendance data is now shared daily with the Ministry of Education and will be reported regularly in the school newsletter.

We also discussed the refreshed curriculum and previewed what Melanie would be sharing at the upcoming W.A.T.P. hui. Additionally, we explored ongoing wellbeing initiatives in place for both staff and students.  The meeting continued with a discussion on the Principal’s Report and the school budget.

To conclude, the Board once again thanked Lloyd for his service, and he closed the meeting with a whakataukī.

We look forward to a great year ahead!

Ngā mihi,
Karl Emson
Presiding Member, Lyall Bay School Board of Trustees