July 24 2024 Week 1

Principal's Message

Kia ora koutou

Welcome Alice, Rosa and Zac to Northland School, they joined Ruru iti with their 1st day at school on Monday.

We hope you have enjoyed sending children back to school, rested and ready for new learning this term. On Monday there was a buzz as friends connected, patrols were on time and managed to stay dry, and learning spaces well prepared. This term we continue with our Mahi Rangahau focus across the school  ‘Beneath the surface’.  Each team has taken a different approach, using areas within the curriculum to pose questions and provide a variety of experiences and learning opportunities. During this week you will receive a HERO post from each team informing you of the focus for the next few weeks. 

We welcome Jackie Lay and Paul Wilson to our staff for the rest of the year. Jackie will start with us from 5th August (Week 3 of Term 3). Jackie is an experienced Junior School teacher. She has recently completed professional learning in structured literacy so will be familiar with the way we teach literacy at Northland School. Jackie will teach alongside Judith and Eleanor in a full time capacity. The class will remain as one class  but will be grouped as two classes and will be in the Ruru iti space. 

Paul will be teaching STEM across the school every Tuesday. This will be project based and combine the core areas of the curriculum with science and technology. Throughout this year we have committed to a deliberate focus on the core curriculum in science and physical education.  

You may be aware of the importance the Ministry of Education is placing on Structured Literacy within the English Curriculum. We made the decision two years ago to develop the teacher’s skills so every child would benefit from a structured literacy approach. This term we are working with Dr Helen Walls, who will be in our classrooms teaching and modelling writing composition. The Literacy team and all teachers will benefit from her guidance. This will be our main focus for professional development for the remainder of the year which will set staff and students up for success. 

Northland CHAMPs are a combination of our values and our expected behaviours both in classrooms and in the playground.  Next Wednesday we have a world-class performer taking our students on a 45-minute journey filled with storytelling, illusions, yo-yo tricks and humour.  We encourage you to ask your child about our mahi expectations and our school values. 

Looking forward to another successful season of Basketball and Netball for all our Northland School teams. It has been great to see parents and students enjoying using our courts and training before and after school.   Please note that the hoops closest to Te Kōhanga  have been fixed at the recommended height for senior netball and basketball, the hoop at the other end is set for junior players.  Over at the courts there are also Netball hoops installed that can be used. 

Finally please read on for the School Board update and the confirmed 2025 term dates.

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

Andrea

Board Update

Tēna koe whānau mā

On behalf of the board, a huge welcome back to everyone for term 3, and an extra welcome to new whānau joining Northland School. We hope that everyone is well rested and looking forward to a great term.

Our last board meeting was held in the final week of term 2, and I stepped in as Chair for Jono Weir, so am holding the pen for this update. 

Emma C updated the Board on how PB4L continues to be rolled out across the school, and the on-going progress in relation to bedding this approach in. With an intentional focus on positive behaviour really becoming the norm, the board thanked Emma for leading this space. 

Judith shared with us on-going work in relation to structured literacy, and the value that the past few years of focus on this area now adds to our tamariki and their learning, as well as our teachers' fluency and confidence in this approach. As a board, and as parents we are grateful for the commitment our teachers show towards our tamariki. 

Andrea reported back in relation to potential curriculum changes, and requirements for focus on attendance. As a board, we worked through a really useful exercise considering the impacts that longer term absences can have from a range of perspectives. It allowed us all to challenge our thinking, and expand our understanding of wider challenges in this space. 

We are delighted to celebrate the strong attendance and active participation of our students here at Northland School. Your commitment to ensuring your children are present and engaged in their education greatly contributes to their academic success and overall well-being. It is heartening to see our school community value the importance of regular attendance, which plays a pivotal role in fostering a positive learning environment.

However, we acknowledge that there are challenges surrounding long-planned absences from school. While we understand that family commitments and special occasions sometimes necessitate such absences, we encourage families to plan vacations and trips during school breaks whenever possible. Consistent attendance ensures that students benefit fully from our comprehensive curriculum and maintain continuity in their learning journey.

Thank you for your ongoing support in prioritising attendance and educational continuity for our students. As a courtesy please make sure that any planned absences are communicated with Andrea and relevant staff as early as possible.

One area that we regularly discuss, is how our school connects with our community and how much a part of the school the community feels it is. We noted how much everyone loved our shared acknowledgment of Matariki, and how this is now a key date in our diaries. Ngā mihi nui to all involved. Ahakoa he iti, he pounamu.

Also noted was how useful Hero has been, as more of the functions are utilised to increase communication, share learning and focus on progress reporting. This has been a big bit of work behind the scenes, so we hope that everyone has found it helpful and informative.

We'll be meeting again in a few weeks, and will continue to keep you updated through the newsletter.  In the meantime, I've spotted Early cheer flowers for sale at the dairy, so there is hope - spring is on its way!

Mā te wā

Nikki Hurst

A Structured Literacy Approach

During the holidays, teachers spent time celebrating our progress in the implementation of structured literacy at Northland. We are working hard to increase our knowledge and share best practice in a consistent manner for all. We all teach The Code and handwriting each day, all teachers are following a scope and sequence that is relevant to a curriculum level and we are noticing the changes in routines.

Northland School Champs

Developing our Northland CHAMPS is part of our positive behaviour for learning initiative. Next Wednesday we have a world-class performer taking our students on a 45-minute journey filled with storytelling, illusions, yo-yo tricks and humour. Our school received this assembly at no-cost because another school paid-it-forward to us. We want to help pay-it-forward too, and you can help by purchasing a NED-messaged yo-yo. We have purchased 20 yo -yo’s for staff and students to use in our programmes. There will be more details posted on HERO. 

Team Kākā~ Science Fair Display

Each year our senior students have the opportunity to enter for the NIWA Regional Science Fair. Explicit teaching on the nature of science, fair testing, procedural writing, statistics and graphing have all been part of learning during Term 2 focus. Some students completed their testing throughout the holidays and are now at the final stages of drawing conclusions and presenting their findings.

We would like to invite our community to view the Year 7 and 8 Science Fair in Te Kōhanga on Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd August from 3pm -4.30pm. Our students have been working incredibly hard on a range of different independent inquiries, and are excited to share this with you! 

Neds Mindset Mission

NED's Mindset Mission has three important messages that have lifelong relevance: Never give up, Encourage others and Do your best. During the assembly on Wednesday 31 July starting at 9.15am, students will learn about the importance of these three life skills while also enjoying storytelling, magic, humour and yo-yo tricks. 

http://www.mindsetmission.com/assembly.html

HERO

HERO is our main platform for communication. We are very pleased with the functions that we have available that include absences, sharing learning, mid year curriculum reports, finance, and notifications from teachers, teams, groups and events. Please make sure you do have access and have this set up. Details are on the website or contact the office if you need any help. HERO & Communication – Northland School

BSC Before School Care

At the end of last term we farewelled Ava who was providing Before School in the Library. We welcome Rose M to this position and thank parents for using this service that we offer. The classrooms are open from 8:30 am and we encourage you to have children arrive at this time, unless they are on Road Patrol or have a sport training session on the grounds. Teachers often have meetings before 8:30. 

Before School care is open from 7:30-8:30 and is held in the school library. There is no need to book, however the cost is $10 from 7:30- 8:30 or $5 from 8am onwards. Please contact the office if you need more information. 

Library News

Scholastic Book Club Term 3 2024 - Issue 5 is out now!

Term 3 Issue 5 2024 catalogues have been distributed in your child's class. Deadline for orders is on 9 August .  Please note that we do not take paper order forms or cash payments - all orders are done online via LOOP. Please go to https://mybookclub.scholastic.co.nz/Parent/Login.aspx to register. 

Should you wish to gift the books you ordered to someone, please place your order then email Erwin so she knows.  When the order has arrived, she can then put it aside and get in touch with you so you can come and pick it up.

 Any other queries to Erwin Palado by emailing librarian@northland.school.nz

What's New?

Our school library has these new book series called “Seriously Silly Stories”.   These books give a hilarious twist to much-loved fairy tales.  They can be found in  the same shelf as the books written by Susan Anita Jones in the Junior Quick-Reads area.

Also, more Rainbow Magic books are added to our current library collection.

Pizza Friday August 2nd

  Pizza Day!  Please get your orders in at the office by Wednesday 31 July.

Looking for Parent Helpers

Later this year the Home & School Committee will organise a Quiz Night and a Colour Run! We're currently in the early stages of planning, and if there're any parents who would like to help with these events please get in touch homeandschool@northland.school.nz

 All help is gratefully received and if you have any questions please reach out.

School Lunch Options

Subway  - Every Monday - order online through  www.lunchonline.co.nz

Sushi  -  Every Tuesday - order online through  www.ezlunch.co.nz

Pizza   - Once a month - available the 1st Friday of each month, $6 per pizza  order forms available on the school website or in the school office.

Apps available for Subway and Sushi through the school website.

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.

WZ Netball 13 August 

WZ Hockey  TBA 

School Athletics Day  23 October (Wednesday)

WZ Athletics  1 November  (Friday)

Term Dates

2024 Dates 

Term 3 Monday 22 July - Friday 27 Sept                    

Term 4 Monday 14 October - Wednesday 18 Dec   

Our teacher only days are 

Term 3   Friday 30 August 

Term 4  Tuesday 29 October 

2025 Dates

We have confirmed the dates for 2025. We will have an open afternoon for families on January 29th to help the transition back into school, see the class space and meet the teachers in the learning space. This is prior to the first day of school on 30th January.    We are yet to confirm Teacher Only Days and once these have been decided we will let you know.

Term 1 - 30 January - 11 April  

Public Holiday- Thurs 6th Feb- Waitangi

Please note Easter and ANZAC day are within the Term holiday in 2025

Good Friday - 18th April

Easter Monday - 21st and Easter Tuesday 22.

ANZAC Friday 25th April

Term 2 - Mon 28 April - 27 June 

Kings Birthday - Monday 2nd June

Matariki - Friday 20th June

Term 3 - 14 July - 19 September 

 Term 4 - 6 October - 17 December    Labour Day- Monday 27th October

Community Notices