Kia ora

As you can see we have changed the layout of our newsletter.  We do hope that this makes is easier for you to read and access information.  Please let us know what you think. 

Last week we held our athletic sports at school.  It was wonderful to see many of our whānau here supporting the tamariki in their endeavours.  All our tamariki took part in throwing, jumping and sprints, showing our school values of manaaki, whakapono, pākiki and hiranga throughout the day.  Some of our Yr 4-6 tamariki will have other EZ qualification opportunities for sprints. 

On Thursday we took part in The Great Shake Out.  The whole school evacuated to the tsunami line so all our tamariki know what to do in case of an emergency.  Please take the opportunity to chat at home as to your plan in an emergency. 

During our Teacher Only Day staff came together with Longworth Education to do some more work around Learning Through Play.  This was so beneficial to be able to have the experts here with everyone in the same room.  We also welcomed some board members to morning tea who spoke with staff about their wellbeing. 

We are starting to plan for 2023.  If you would like some input into the kind of environment that your child does best in, then please let me know.  Kaiako are not yet in set spaces, so please do not request a particular kaiako as that kaiako may not be in that room for 2023!  We also ask that you do not ask for your child to be with a particular group of friends.  This can get tricky if other parents have asked for something quite different.  Our kaiako do know our tamariki well and always try to make sure they are with others they know.  As our classes all work collaboratively, there are always opportunities for tamariki to be with different groups.

Thank you to whānau who indicated they would like to attend 'transition' sessions.  We will be holding a W.A.T.P (Waihangatia ngā Ākonga Tino Pai) Hui on the afternoon of Wednesday 23rd November and the morning of Friday 25th.  This is an opportunity for you to come and hear about Huetepara (Yr 1-2) Wednesday @ 3.15 - 3.45, Maranui (Yr 3-4) Wednesday @ 3.45 - 4.15 or Onepū (Yr 5-6) Wednesday @ 4.15 - 4.45, so we can continue to live our vision of Waihangatia ngā Ākonga Tino Pai Building the Best Learners.  The Friday session will be in the hall before school at 8.30am. Please email myself (principal@lyallbay.school.nz), Amanda (amandaw@lyallbay.school.nz) or Jo (jo.graham@lyallbay.school.nz) any questions you have so we can be prepared. More details will come out closer to the time. 

As it is the beginning of the month there is always the opportunity to have a chat with me on the first Friday.  This will be available through zoom (link will be sent out on Friday morning) or you can join me in person in the library.  

Everyone should be up and running with the Readathon now.  All information is on HERO and was also sent home the first Tuesday of the term.  Now is the time to be gathering sponsorship.  FoLBS have managed to get prizes for a lucky draw for anyone who brings sponsorship money in.

We have had a few new cases of COVID in our community, so please be vigilant with reminding tamariki about hygiene and getting tested. 

Noho ora mai,

Melanie