Longitude Place, Whitby, PORIRUA 5024 Tel: 04 234-7220, Fax: 04 234-7113 [email protected] www.adventure.school.nz Newsletter No 1 – Thursday 12th February 2015 _______________________________________________________________ Dear Parents / Caregivers Welcome Welcome back to everyone for 2015. I hope you have all had a great holiday, are rested and relaxed and looking forward to the new school year. We were treated to some unusually consistent hot, still and sunny weather for about three weeks in the New Year, across the whole country; so it is great to be starting back at school, for once, not feeling that we have been cheated out of a summer. Psychologically and emotionally we should all be in a very good space. As we are one of the schools that break up on the last day available in December and therefore start on the last day allowable in February it must have seemed like the Christmas holidays were never ending. I certainly got that feeling as I wandered along a Wellington waterfront festooned with school uniforms for several days before we started; however, now we are back. We start the year with three new teachers in our school. In Totara syndicate we have Michelle Kevern (Rm 15) who comes to us from Southland Girls High and in Rimu we have Anna Bullock (Rm 14) who is the syndicate leader and comes to us from Maidstone Intermediate and Jennifer Dee (Rm 12) who comes by way of Scots Preparatory School and Porirua College. Although not new to the school, this is Amy Churchill’s (Rm 2) first full time teaching appointment. I am delighted with our appointments and the very positive start to the 2015 school year. Our new teachers bring with them a range of high end skill, underpinned by a history of good practise and experience. I am excited about what lies ahead of us this year. Needless to say, it was difficult to locate an unhappy face among parents last Thursday, or the children I must say. There was a great atmosphere in the hall as we welcomed our new staff, pupils and parents at the Powhiri; it has made for a very positive and feel - good start. A special welcome to these new students and their families: Keira Robertson, Zoe Grant-Fargie, Connor Alderdice-Sole, Stella and Ollie McLean, Lukas Wengrzik, Amelia Tricker, Patrick Bower, Georgia Lawrence, Breanna McGregor, Andrew Aristarkov, Eilidh and Caelan Davidson, Max Walker, Stevie Bowyer, Lucy Katene, Henry and Joseph McCulloch, Brylee Browne, Cody Russell, Logan Bennett, Damon and Erika Rowe, Sydney Lambert, Zuleika Isaako and Lucas Billingham. Philosophy As the ancient Roman philosopher Seneca observed, "If a man knows not what harbour he seeks, any wind is the right wind." If we don't have an agreed upon goal or focus for our efforts, then as individuals within a group, we are left to our own devices, to make our own direction and eventually believe that the path taken is the only right and true one. Education in the 21st century is a complex proposition. We are essentially preparing individuals for a future that hasn't yet been imagined. We are also presented with a multitude of different routes to take to achieve this goal. We are constantly being reminded by consultants and experts that the directions taken only a few years ago are now unsuitable for the needs of our children. This can be confusing for teachers, students and parents alike, but it is something that we as professionals have to navigate if, as Seneca observed, we are to find the right harbour. Our holistic philosophy supports the education of the whole child through offering as many learning experiences and opportunities that we can. A major part of educating for the future requires us to equip our students with the knowledge, understanding and skills they will need to be lifelong learners, in an increasingly digital society. We strive to provide a learning environment that engages all students and accelerates their learning. We do this by providing the tools and underpinning pedagogy and opportunities that sustain continual improvement in teacher capability and practice. We also believe that there is much to be gained by holding on to some of the older traditions in teaching and learning for life. Instilling in our children from the day they start school a belief in our values of respect, integrity, personal excellence, participation, empathy and resilience means they are expected to live these values every day; therefore RIPPER is an organic living thing not just a catchy acronym. We want our students to become active and positive members of their local, national and global communities. These ethics are sustained then by the RIPPER values that pervade everything we do at school. But we still keep an eye to both the present and future. Over the past year we have done much to improve our digital infrastructure and we are now integrating more eLearning tools into our daily practice. iPads have already become useful tools for bringing concepts alive in a number of curriculum areas. They are also providing many new and exciting avenues through which students can express and record their ideas. Chromebooks were useful additions to our senior pilot classes last year. We are now geared to roll this pilot out across the remaining classes. The chromebooks have proved to be invaluable tools for researching, collaborating and sharing work. They provide a great portal to a myriad of eLearning tools, with many also offering parents opportunities to directly support and encourage their child's learning. Developing children’s individual talents, creativity and self-esteem are fundamental to our philosophy. The positive relationship between the staff and pupils is a feature of our school. Children need to be safe, secure and supported so that they feel confident to take risks in their learning. Our talented and dedicated teachers and support staff are passionate about improving the learning of all students by providing classroom environments in which they can flourish. We are proud of our school and our students are our best advocates. We believe learning should be fun, and should impart a sense of accomplishment and ownership. Our challenge is to ensure our students retain their motivation to ask questions, and to give them an educational foundation that empowers them to make sense of their world and control their destiny. We foster life skills, including work and study habits, so our students can embrace life and learning with a strong degree of agency, independence and self-discipline. School Satisfaction Survey During term four last year the BOT provided the opportunity for parents to respond to a school satisfaction survey. We were provided with very useful feedback and the results tell us that there is a lot that the school can be very proud of. There are also things within our school environment that we need to look at in order to better serve the needs of our community. I want to thank all the parents and caregivers who took the time to respond to the survey. Sun Hats A reminder that it is our policy to ensure that children wear sun hats during terms one and four. This year there has been plenty of sun and the prospect is that there will be plenty more to keep our kids safe from. Children without sun hats are required to stay within the shady areas of the school. We appreciate your co-operation and support in this area. We do accept that there are days when 150 knot winds, extensive cloud cover and driving rain allow for some discretion, hopefully there won’t be too many of these in this term. Severe Food Allergy We have children with severe and life threatening allergies to nuts attending Adventure School. If these children come into contact with nuts or nut products, even by touching some nut residue left on surfaces, they can have a life threatening allergic reaction. The school needs to take every practical precaution to avoid a severe reaction and keep these children safe. Please do not send nuts or nut products along to school (including peanut butter or Nutella sandwiches). We appreciate your understanding in this matter. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly. Uniform We have a school uniform that we are proud of and that our students are very proud to wear and one that they look great in. It is always good at the start of the year to ensure that variations to the uniform don’t start creeping in. To that end I would urge vigilance in ensuring that our children are coming to school in correct and proper uniform. This will assist us enable in maintaining the high standards of dress that we are used to at this school. Dogs This is a reminder that dogs are not permitted to be in the school grounds unless they are working dogs, in school to support specific school programmes (e.g. Police Dogs; Seeing Eye Dogs). This is a protection for all concerned. As a principal, if a child is attacked or even frightened by a dog while they are at school or leaving the school grounds, I am held responsible. As a dog owner, if the dog attacks or frightens a pupil there is a possible legal consequence and, of course, at all times the risk to the safety of our children needs to be mitigated. Road Safety Our school road patrol wardens operate outside the school gate and further down Longitude Place at The Mainsail from just before 3pm until 3.15pm. Our road patrollers are becoming more confident in their role and are applying more authority when calling parents and children to cross the road. In the interests of the safety of your children and in support of our wardens, please make sure that you cross at the appointed area and wait to cross until invited by the road patrollers. Outside the school gate there are two cones to indicate the crossing area. If parents and children are crossing to the other side of Longitude Place and not getting into parked cars then we ask that you walk right around the loop as there is no patrolled area beyond the car parks. Please remember not to park across the school drive or on the bus stops. You are able to drop off and pick up from the bus stops as long as buses are not in the vicinity. My understanding is that we will lose the drop off and pick up privilege if bus drivers complain about cars being in the parks when they are trying to park. The school drive is closed between 2.45pm and 3.15pm and we ask that parents do not park in the school parks or attempt to use the the drive during this period. Like most school zones this is a high density traffic area immediately before and after school. We need to be mindful of our neighbours and not upset them by parking on yellow lines or across driveway's. Lastly, please do not use the school carpark before or after school as too many children are walking through the area at this time. We have an issue with cars parking on the grass verges on Longitude Place, particularly in the mornings before school. On the one hand we are getting complaints from residents but more seriously, when cars manoeuvre to get back on to the road, children who are walking on the footpath are at risk as are other vehicles as they come around the loop. I know before and after school it is always a problem with parking. Most schools have these issues but I am going to have to ask you to be patient and park legally. The major issue, of course, is the safety of our children on the road before and after school and this is what we are trying to protect. Parent Meet and Greet th This will take place on Wednesday the 25 February starting at 6pm in the school hall. The purpose of this meeting is to put names to faces, introduce each syndicate and to impart some information about important school strategies for 2015. More specific details will follow. Term Dates 2015 Term 1 Term 2 Term 3 Term 4 Thursday 5th Feb – Thursday 2nd April (9 weeks) th rd Monday 20 April – Friday 3 July (11 weeks) th th Monday 20 July – Friday 25 September (10 weeks) Monday 12 October – Thursday 17th December (10 weeks) Important Events Term 1 th Friday 13 Feb th Monday 16 Feb th Wednesday 18 Feb th Thursday19 Feb th Wednesday 25 Feb th Wednesday 25 Feb th Friday 27 Feb rd th Tuesday 3 – Friday 6 March rd Tuesday 3 March Wednesday 4th March th Friday 13 March th Monday 16 March th Tuesday 17 March th Wednesday 18 March th Wednesday 18 March th Friday 20 March th Friday 20 March rd Monday 23 March th Tuesday 24 March th Wednesday 25 March th Thursday 26 March th Friday 27 March st Tuesday 31 March st Tuesday 31 March st Wednesday 1 April st Wednesday 1 April nd Thursday 2 April Assembly 2pm (Totara) BOT meeting 7pm PTNi meeting 7.30pm House Captain elections Year 8 girls Gardasil injections Parent / Teacher Meet and Greet 6pm Assembly 2pm (Kowhai) Rimu Camp RIPPA Rugby Year 3-4 girls Island Bay Marine trip (Nikau) Assembly 2pm (Nikau) Year 5-8 Athletic Sports RIPPA Rugby Year 5-6 RIPPA Rugby Year 5-6 pp Capital E Arts Festival (Totara) Year 5-8 Athletic Sports pp Duathlon 5pm Parumoana Athletics Year 1-4 Athletic Sports Parumoana Athletics pp Year 1-4 Athletic Sports pp Assembly 2pm (Rimu) Parumoana Athletics pp RIPPA Rugby Year 7-8 girls RIPPA Rugby Year 7-8 girls pp Kowhai New Parents Information evening 7pm First Reports sent home Staffing 2015 Principal John Wootton Deputy Principal Tania Cox Assistant Principal Diane Pepperell (Kowhai Syndicate Leader) Kowhai Syndicate (Years 1 – 2) Rm 1 Rm 2 Rm 4 R9 Rm 10 Y1 Toni Bennett Y1 Amy Churchill Y1 Cathy Marshall Y2 Diane Pepperell / Vanessa Clarke Y2 Barbara Watson Nikau Syndicate (Years 3 – 4) Room 5 Y3/4 Rosalie Anso Room 6 Y3/4 Elizabeth Chater Room 7 Y3/4 Pippa Barrett Room 8 Y3/4 Keren Matthews Room 19 Y3/4 Zita Mckendry – Nikau Senior Teacher Rimu Syndicate (Years 5 – 6) Room 11 Room 12 Room 13 Room 14 Y5/6 Carl McManaway Y5/6 Jennifer Dee Y5/6 Adam Williamson Y5/6 Anna Bullock – Rimu Senior Teacher Totara Syndicate (Years 7 – 8) Room 15 Y7/8 Michelle Kevern Room 16 Y7/8 Mark Hughes - Totara Senior Teacher Room 17 Y7/8 Jacqui Watts-Pointer Library Room 18 Catherine Day Part Time Teaching Staff Diane Dutch, Nicola Smith, Vanessa Clark Teacher Aides Support Programmes Sharyn Woodmass, Catherine Day, Denise Strachan, Jackie Johnson, Andrea Matheson Clerical Staff Financial Officer/BOT Secretary Office Manager Clerical Assistant - Jean Hutchinson -Sharon Arrell - Sally Rose (Fridays) Custodian Services (Mikaele Pule) Caretaker 8.15am – 12.30pm, Cleaner 1.30 – 6.30pm Adventure School Board of Trustees John Wootton - Principal Tania Cox (acting)- Staff Representative Jenny Miller - Chair Mark Harris - Deputy Chair Rob Old - Parent Rep Shona Elgar - Parent Rep Darryl Pollard - Parent Rep Julian Smith - Parent Rep Community Notices ANZ WHITBY FAMILY FUN DAY 2015 Sunday February 22nd, 12pm till 4pm. Adventure Park, Whitby Come along for an afternoon of family activities. Live music, Kelly Sports, Iron man, food, Police dogs, emergency vehicles, bouncy castles and so much more. Call Becky Mitchell if you would like to be involved. Phone 234 7875 Western Suburbs Football Club 2015 Registration Days Mighty Midgets, Juniors and Seniors (all grades): th Monday 9 February 5.30pm – 8.00pm at Endeavour Park Clubrooms, Whitby th Tuesday 10 February 5.30pm - 8.00pm at Endeavour Park Clubrooms, Whitby th Thursday 12 February 5.30pm – 8.00pm at Endeavour Park Clubrooms, Whitby For further information about our Club, please visit our website at www.westernsuburbs.co.nz Forms for online registration will be available on our website just prior to the above dates Please note that fees must be paid at the time of registration. th Junior grades 9 to 14 need to have registered and paid by Thursday 12 February in order to take part in trials. MANA MUSIC CENTRE Instrument Tuition for Primary/Intermediate Children Enrolment Day Saturday 14th February 2015 10.30 am – 12 pm at Discovery School and Maraeroa School Instruments include: Recorder, Piano/Keyboard, Clarinet, Saxophone, Flute, Violin, Guitar, Music Appreciation is also taught. (Age restrictions do apply to some instruments.) Lessons are $15 per Term For further information please phone 0226466503 Mana Montessori Fair 28 February Mana Montessori would like to invite you to their annual Fair on Saturday 28th February between 12 noon and 2pm in Albatross Close, Whitby. There will be a cafe with some fantastic baked items, some great craft stalls, pre-loved toys and fun activities for the kids. Check out 'Mana Montessori Fair' on Facebook for all the details and we look forward to seeing you there. Fencing at Tawa Swords Club For students aged 9 and older as after-school classes. Holiday sessions are also offered. Contact Susan Tel: 04-9383090, Mob: 021-0276 1922, Email: [email protected] Susan is an experienced teacher and fencing coach. The sessions are fun and participants always achieve growth in personal development while developing excellent fencing skills. Kids Triathlon on Sunday March 15th 2015 Plimmerton School will be organising a Kids Triathlon on Sunday March 15th 2015. They will be sending out entry forms soon if uou would like to enter. Cheerleading term starts this week at 10 Manchester St Parapraumu A really fun way of gaining for co ordination, fitness strength team work and discipline . The best free trial times at the moment are Friday afternoons or for the very young Saturday mornings, Contact us on [email protected] or call /text Julie 02765626021 , 044773107 Arts a Go Go! Performing Arts School for Kids Award winning classes running at the Redwood Club in Tawa. “Introduction to Arts a Go Go!” - A one hour class of dance, drama and singing for 4 and 5 year olds. “Performing Arts Combo Class” - A two hour class of dance, drama and singing for students aged 6 to teens. (Wait list may apply) For more details, please see www.artsagogo.co.nz, find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/artsagogo, email [email protected] or text or ring021 144 1641. The 15th annual Photo Competition run by The Guardians of Pauatahanui Inlet (GOPI), is now under way. To encourage young photographers to enter the competition, a free photography workshop is being offered on Sunday 22nd February. The workshop is open to anyone under the age of 18 years who is planning to enter the competition. Please talk to your children about this wonderful chance to improve their photography skills. All they need to bring is a camera, appropriate clothes and a bottle of water. We will gather at Stout Cottage, in Pauatahanui Wildlife Reserve, (entrance in Pauatahanui Village) at4.30pm. The workshop lasts about three hours. Registration is essential. You will find the registration form on the website www.gopi.org.nz/photo-competition/ Should you need to contact a member of GOPI you could phone 04 233 2557 and leave a message, or email [email protected]. Art /Craft Classes for 9-12 year olds. All skill levels welcome. Various media and techniques will be explored. Sessions: Wednesdays or Thursdays, 3..30 - 5pm at my home studio in Porirua.. Cost: $15.00 per session (includes all materials). Limited spaces!!! For more info Contact: Denise 0272377042
© Copyright 2024