March 27 2024 Week 9
Principal's Message
Wednesday 27th March
Kia ora, Talofa, Bula, Mālō e lelei...
This week we welcome a new family to our school. Erin and Evie, we hope you have enjoyed your first few days at Northland School.
We are reminding you of our Teacher Only Day tomorrow, Thursday 28th March, the school will be closed. Our focus is on the English curriculum and sharing writing samples across our primary and secondary schools. Teachers will be working together to moderate writing samples using a combined primary and secondary rubric. This has been developed by our Kāhui Ako and outlines indicators, which includes Structured Literacy and shows the expected progression of skills and writing capabilities. We are looking forward to this professional development.
We are not far away from the end of the first term and have a few property projects that will be occurring that we would like to make you aware of. Since we have put the CCTV camera surveillance signs up by the entrances, we are pleased to report we have had no more vandalism and broken glass over the weekends. This is very pleasing. We have been working with the Ministry to have two further cameras installed and this will be funded by the Ministry and installed on Thursday 28th, the Teacher Only Day. If you are in the school grounds please be aware these will be installed and contactors will be onsite.
I am sure many of you are aware of the issues we have had with the matting on the playground surface. During the holiday break the playground will be fenced off while this is fully replaced. Therefore the play area and the courts will be unable to be used. This work is at no cost to the school and we are very pleased that this is now being completed.
I have noticed more activity from parents responding to HERO posts. Thank you for acknowledging the progress your child is making and also asking questions in a post. This is another way to develop ongoing conversations about learning with your child’s teacher. If you haven’t read your child’s learning posts, we encourage you to do so before you come to the Learning Conversations next week.
Thank you to those who have already booked for next week. We have 184 bookings confirmed and 58 bookings to be made with limited availability. The bookings for these events will be closed at midday on Wednesday 3rd April, so don’t miss out on connecting with your child’s teacher.
Below are a few progress comments from teachers across the school on individual sharing of learning posts. You can sense the focus in the classrooms that is current, and each term you will have regular feedback on progress throughout this year. This is in response to parent feedback that you would like to have more regular updates. We endeavour to provide you with this in a consistent manner across the school.
- “...works hard to complete his reading each week, and is getting to grips with the written follow up work. He will share his opinions and answer questions during our group meetings when asked directly, and through this has shown a good understanding of the text.
- “...has worked hard to become more confident and accurate when using the standard written forms for addition and subtraction, and can identify where he has made minor calculation errors. He is now applying this to calculations using decimal numbers.”
- “We are now focusing on report writing, ensuring we plan carefully to order our ideas into paragraphs, with one idea in each. We will use what we learn to write a report on our topic for mahi rangahau. Your child is able to segment and blend words with growing confidence”
- “...doing a great job with her reading. She knows her letter sounds and is consolidating her digraphs (sh, th, ch, wh, ng). She is currently learning about vowel teams (ay and ai) for the long 'a' vowel sound.
- “...comes to his maths group eager to learn and enjoys the challenge of learning new strategies. He can explain his thinking when problem solving, and is starting to use a range of strategies to help him solve addition problems using larger numbers. He uses what is taught in his group and applies it to problem solving activities during math time.”
- “...confidence in mathematics is growing as she is able to practise the taught knowledge. She does need to work on her recall of basic number operations as we move into more complex forms. We can share ideas for practise at home when we met next week”
During the next two weeks we are fortunate to have the Life Education Van parked in the car park by the Tiger Turf. All students will have a number of sessions on selected health themes that are relevant for their age group. The topics that will be covered in each team are below.
Ruru - What makes us special? How can we manage our big emotions? How can we make good decisions?
Tieke/Kōtare - Why is it important to show empathy to others? How do our body systems work and what’s inside our body?
Kākā - How do we make good decisions? How do the decisions I make online affect me and others?
Team Kākā had a wonderful time at camp, with just the right weather to allow every activity to go ahead as planned. I would like to thank all the staff and the parents who took time out from their family and work so this experience could happen for our Year 7 and 8 students.
I have been very impressed with the well crafted letters of thanks that every student has written to parents to show their appreciation. While we know camp is valued by the community, it does cost and I would like to thank those families who committed extra funds to contribute to supporting others. We are very fortunate to have people thinking of others, thank you.
I hope everyone has a lovely Easter Break and can spend time with family and friends. We look forward to seeing you back next Wednesday and to sharing children's progress so far with parents on Wednesday and Thursday after school.
If you are free on Tuesday 9th April between 2:15 and 3pm, we are having a Learning in Action afternoon, so you are able to spend time in classrooms and view the work and highlights of the term. This is instead of team hui for this term, as we will be having our end of term farewell hui for Julia on Friday 12th April from 2:15 in Te Kōhanga.
If you would like to come and chat, or have questions or concerns, please get in touch with any of the senior leadership team, Andrea, Judith and Grant.
Ngā mihi nui
Andrea
Learning Conversations Book on HERO
Learning Conversations are planned for Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th April from 3:15- 8pm. These are 15 minutes for teachers and parents to discuss progress and goals. To book an appointment time please go to the HERO app and select School Bookings. This is the first time we are using this function.
Please go to the website https://www.northland.school.nz/news-events/general-news/ for a step by step guide on how to book a learning conversation.
Home & School/H & S Commitee
The Home and School committee (which used to be known as the PTA) is made up of parent volunteers who support Northland School in a variety of ways. Organising catering for special events, fundraising, and providing resources for our school.
Please click on the link below to let us know if you would like to participate or help us in activities
Link to our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/homeschoolnorthland
It’s a great way to get involved in your child’s education and the school community.
At Northland School the committee is focusing on two areas that work hand-in-hand: fundraising for extra school requirements and creating events to bring students and their whānau/families together to strengthen our school community.
Join us in creating unforgettable experiences for our students and their families, all while strengthening our school community. It’s about building lasting connections and making memories that will last a lifetime. Get involved and be a part of the magic at Northland School!
Check out the webpage for more information on H&S
Home and School Meetings Next meeting scheduled for 9th April Tuesday due to Easter Break, from 7:30pm-8:30pm in the staffroom. All members of the school community are welcome.
To contact the Home and School Committee with any enquiries, please email: homeandschool@northland.school.nz
Home and School Pizza
Northland Home & School Committee are thrilled to share the exciting news of our new partnership with Northland Dominos! A huge thank you to Dominos for their generous donation of 10 vouchers, each valued at approximately $30 ( for 2 traditional pizzas and 2 sides), totaling a donation of $300 in voucher form. These vouchers will be a fantastic way to reward and recognize individuals throughout the school community.
But wait, there's more! We are thrilled to announce the launch of Northland Dominos Lunch Orders.
These will be available every fortnight on Fridays for the reminder of term one. For just $6 per pizza order, not only will you enjoy delicious food, but $1 from every order will be donated back to the school. It's truly a gift that keeps on giving! You can order pizza's now for Friday 5 April Orders to be in by Wednesday 3pm. Order forms on school website
LETS RAISE SOME DOUGH
Mark this date in your diary now!10 APRIL 2024 - Wednesday 3PM to 11PM
It’s official all parents and guardians are to have the night off in the kitchen and order pizza from Dominos to help raise some money for the school!Download the new Dominos App, order online dominos.co.nz or pop into the local store in Northland. You can also call them 0800 30 40 50.Lots of yummy flavours to choose from or be your own “Pizzachef” and build your own pizza on the App.Delivery & Pickup available!All funds raised will be literacy & sports equipment!
Western Zone and School Sports Days
Western Zone and School Sports Days
Western Zone sports day are usually held on a Tuesday with the Thursday of the same week being the postponement day. Information is sent home separately for each of these events, with updates on HERO or the school website.
School Cross Country 14 May
WZ Cross Country 28 May
WZ Netball 13 August
WZ Hockey 3 September
School Athletics Day 23 October (Wednesday)
WZ Athletics 1 November (Friday)
Kia ora whanau,
The annual tough guy/gal event is coming up in May and we have had a few students enter already which is great!
Due to the busy term 2 schedule, we are unable to send a school team, but you are welcome to sign up as individuals. Please see the link below if you would like to sign your children up.
https://eventpromotions.co.nz/junior-tough-guy-and-gal-challenge/
Suzanne Mccarty is happy for you to contact her on 0211331272 as she has signed her children up for the Wednesday session.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions.
Nga mihi,
Alex Munro
School Calender
https://www.northland.school.nz/events/month/
This is the link to the school calendar that is on our school website under News & Events. If you select the calendar and then select List, it provides a list of monthly events, which is updated weekly.
Term Dates
2024 Dates
Term 2 Monday 29 April - Friday 5 July
Term 3 Monday 22 July - Friday 27 Sept
Term 4 Monday 14 October - Wednesday 18 Dec
Our teacher only days are
Term 1 Thursday 28 March (Easter Break Friday 29 March to Tuesday 2 April)
Tuesday 2nd April is an Education Holiday, school reopens on 3 April Wednesday
Term 2 Friday 31 May
Term 3 Friday 30 August
Term 4 Tuesday 29 October