Week 3 Term 1, 2020, Weekly Newsletter

We are very excited to welcome you to our new website. Each week we will send an email link to our school community, when that week’s newsletter is available to view on the website.

I hope your children have settled or are settling in happily. It can take a bit of time and all the new routines and learning can be exhausting especially in this heat.

A big thank you to everyone who attended our Meet The Teacher Evening last Thursday. We had a great turnout and were able to share with parents & caregivers some important information about our school routines and organisation for this year. 

For those unable to attend this evening, we have provided an overview below. 

Curriculum & Teacher Only Days:

This year our curriculum will also incorporate the new – Digital Technologies Curriculum mandated by the Ministry. We will be linking our staff and student learning for this through Creativity and Inquiry Learning. It will be literacy based with the Sciences and Arts integration. We will be having a Teacher Only Day with facilitator Paula Jamieson on Monday 2nd March at the start of Week 5. We do apologise for another interruption, but Paula was unable to cater for us before the Term started. The Ministry, in the last teacher negotiations, gave teachers a further 8 Teacher Only Days over the next three years, which will obviously impact on parents and caregivers. We will be using two of the days this year and will endeavour to attach them to weekends. Mindfulness – Health & wellbeing will still be integrated into our programmes. 

When should we come to School? 

Between 8:15am to 8.20am is a good time to come to school. With our School day commencing from 8:30am, our teachers need to spend time before and after school preparing. We have teachers on duty from 8.00am, however before this time no students should be left unattended on our school site. 

Any students that arrive before 8.00am must go to Before School Care (BSC) in the Koromiko Suite for their safety. They must be signed in by their parent or caregiver and you will be invoiced. The fee structure for BSC is set at $10.00 per day, per child, capped at $40.00 per week, with the fee for a family capped at $100.00 per week.

After School Care:

Our Teachers have many meetings to attend and are not able to supervise students after 2:45pm. Any child left on the school grounds at this time, needs to go to After School Care (ASC) to ensure their safety. 

Swimming: 

We ask that all students please have their togs, towel and swimming cap ready for each swimming lesson. Hair tied back makes life a lot easier for everyone and we encourage the use of rash shirts in this very hot weather. Class lessons are an important part of the curriculum and we want all of our students to be able to swim well before they leave us. 

Communication Channels:

If you have any concerns or worries at any time please come and talk with us, rather than letting you or your child have a problem festering. If we don’t know there is a problem we can’t try to fix it. Please start with your classroom teacher and if they can’t help, then it may need to be taken up with the Syndicate Leader or later on to myself, Lee Boyd or Annette Howard, our Deputy Principal and Assistant Principal. Lee will be coordinating the Special Needs area again this year, for those needing specific support with this area.  

Launching of our new Website: 

You will find our most up to date information in the weekly newsletter on our website. We are hoping to make this an easily navigable one-stop shop with paying facilities on the site in the future. 

Please look under the Key Information tag to find information about our Kids Clubs, Musical tuition opportunities, etc

Health & Safety: 

• Road Patrol – If you are crossing from the other side of the road, please use our Road Patrol, which is available from 8.10 to 8.25am and from 2.30 to 2.50pm.
• Healthy Eating – We do have a lot of health conscious families, but this is just a general reminder, that as part of our health and wellbeing, we are a Water & Milk only School and we are trying to keep sugar to a minimum. As such, we ask that you support this initiative by not bringing along sugary birthday cakes and treats to school for classes to share. This is a very lovely thought but some families feel pressured and over a year some classes get up to 30 sweet morning teas, that their parents are not expecting. 
• Peanuts & nut products can cause anaphylaxis for a number of our students, so we ask that nut products e.g. peanut butter is kept at home, to keep everyone safe.
• Disability car parks – we have a few of these close to the bus bay and near the front gate. Please be aware of our disabled parents and grandparents, leaving these spaces clear for these families. 

New Property Developments:

The Ministry will be constructing two new classrooms this year, in a collaborative style with a third space to become a staff room, with the current staff room altered to accommodate an improved First Aid area, along with meeting rooms for visiting specialists who support our students and their families. 

Donations / activity fees 

As a Decile 10 school, we get the least funding possible, and are always trying to make ends meet and fundraise to achieve quality outcomes for our students. Thank you, we have an amazing school community who help us to achieve incredible things. The money received in school donations is essential to keep our budget afloat and to provide some of the extra things that our students would otherwise have to go without. We encourage everyone to contribute if you are able.The School Donation is a donation on which a 33% tax rebate/credit is claimable.

We do appreciate the start of the year can be very expensive. Some families like to operate a direct credit, to cover such items as activity fees and camp costs, which can really help to spread the cost over the year and Lisa Boyd in the Office can help you with this. We would like to point out that we have elected not to increase our school donations for many years. 

Harakeke 18 News:  

At the start of 2020 the Teacher Aides along with Lee Boyd set up a new learning space in Harakeke 18. The special name of this place is Wānanga Whakangaā (A Peaceful Place To Learn). Our Teacher Aides are utilising this space on a daily basis, to work with students who need extra support for learning. It is also a place for students to go when they are feeling anxious or overwhelmed. It is a beautiful space with quiet areas, cushions, beanbags and is also conducive for learning opportunities. We are already finding huge value and look forward to taking full advantage of this area.

PTA & Dad’s Army  

Our PTA Chairperson Mike Calvert spoke about the activities of our very active PTA, who support the school, teachers, families and community. The PTA organises social occasions, family events, community projects, mum’s dinners and school fundraisers.These events are all fun and a brilliant way to meet others. The PTA’s current fundraising focus continues to be raising funds towards improving both our Junior and Senior Playgrounds. Playground equipment are big ticket items.  

The PTA also operates a very efficient Class Rep system, which is a great tool for your children’s classroom teacher to liaise with parents/caregivers on PTA matters.The role of the Class Rep is to:

• facilitate social occasions with class parents and families
• organise parent helpers to assist at school events
• share PTA information with your class
• attend the monthly PTA Meetings

Being involved in Dad’s Army is a great opportunity for our school Dad’s to not only help with the school’s environment, but also socialise! Once per term a social activity will be planned for Dad’s to get together and have a bit of fun, e.g. golf, wakeboarding, meeting at a local establishment.

Towards the end of each school term the Dad’s Army comes together at school one Saturday or Sunday morning to do odd jobs. This may involve shovelling mulch, playground maintenance, general gardening and if you’re lucky using power tools.

Nanette Lister

Kia Ora my name is Nanette Lister.  I moved from windy Wellington to the sunny Waikato to take up an amazing teaching opportunity at Tamahere.  I am an experienced Junior teacher and passionate about seeing children reach their full potential. I have loads of energy and love the outdoors.  I am excited about the year ahead and look forward to getting to know you.

Jennie Jarvis

Hi, I’m Jennie Jarvis. Many of you will already know me as a Tamahere parent, with my daughter Millie in Year 5 and son Asher about to start in Term 2. However, for those who don’t know me I’ve been living here for the last 4 years, after moving down from Auckland.  During this time I have worked part time at Hillcrest Normal School and Matangi School. Prior to that I taught in Auckland and also for seven years in the U.K. When I’m not at school I enjoy going for a run, reading and cleaning up after my husband and children…. It has been a lovely start to the year and I have enjoyed meeting so many happy, friendly and welcoming students and  parents!

Hollie Cooke

Starting my teaching career here at Tamahere has been surreal. Having been a past pupil myself it is a unique opportunity for me to now be on the opposite side of the classroom. Outside of teaching I have been very involved in Lacrosse, having coached, umpired and played with teams that have travelled internationally. I am hoping to introduce some of the students to the sport as the year goes on. In my spare time you’ll often find me at the beach or on a hike, taking in everything that New Zealand has to offer. I’m excited to have started my teaching journey here at Tamahere and am looking forward to getting to know everyone better and getting involved in all the upcoming opportunities.

Tim Ross

Hi, my name is Tim Ross and you can find me in Mahoe 17, teaching a year 5 and 6 class in the Maungatautari Syndicate. This is my first-year teaching at Tamahere Model Country School. I moved to New Zealand with my partner around a year and a half ago. We are both South African and met while teaching English abroad in Taiwan. I studied a Bachelor of Commerce, but felt the profession was not suited to me, thus I jumped at the opportunity to move abroad and teach. I had originally planned to move to Taiwan for a year and then return home to work in finance again. I fell in love with both teaching and Taiwan and ended up living there and teaching in a collaborative school for almost 4 years. I have now completed my teaching certifications in New

Zealand in order to continue my teaching journey. I enjoy trail running, mountain biking, and am a sports nut so will play anything on offer. My other hobbies are playing drums and music. I also love learning languages, and while abroad, learned as much Chinese as I could. I have started learning Te Reo since moving to New Zealand.

Deena Parr

Kia Ora! My name is Deena Parr and this year I have the pleasure of teaching in Totara 10 with a lovely group of Year 2 students. I completed my teaching degree at the University of Waikato at the end of 2018. I spent last year as a relief teacher in schools around the Waikato while I continued studying towards a Graduate Diploma in Theology. In my spare time I enjoy spending time with friends and family, exploring our beautiful New Zealand, and baking cakes. I am very excited to be able to begin my teaching career at Tamahere Model Country School, and am thankful to all those who have welcomed me into the Tamahere community over the last two weeks. I am looking forward to all that is ahead this year and to meeting many more of you as the year progresses.

We wish to remind all families that our School will be closed on Monday 2nd March. This is due to our staff being involved in a Teacher Only Day.

Our Maungatautari and Pirongia Swimming Sports event will now be structured as follows:

Tuesday 3rd March – 7 and 8 year old heats, starting at 9.00am

Wednesday 4th March – 9 and 10 year old heats, starting at 9.00am

Friday 6th March –  Finals for 7, 8, 9 and 10 year olds.

                            –  Medley Relays

                            – Whanau Relays

We are offering the following winter sports, to be played on a Saturday:

• Netball
• Soccer
• Rugby
• Hockey

Please note that students can only select to join one Saturday sport.

We also offer Friday night hockey and Basketball, which is played midweek.

Further information will be shared, as it becomes available.

Pirongia Syndicate Museum Trip – Tuesday 25th February (Kowhai 4 & Matai 11)

                                                        –  Wednesday 26th February (Nikau 1, Kauri 2 & Kawakawa 3)

Teacher Only Day – Monday 2nd March

Maungatautari & Pirongia Swimming Sports – 

Tuesday 3rd March – 7 and 8 year old heats, starting at 9.00am

Wednesday 4th March – 9 and 10 year old heats, starting at 9.00am

Friday 6th March  – Finals for 7, 8, 9 and 10 year olds.

                             –  Medley Relays

                             – Whanau Relays  

Pumpkin Night – Saturday 4th April