Week 1, Term 3 Newsletter

It is great to see your healthy and happy children back at school, enjoying each others’ company and hopefully able to enjoy all the activities we would normally have planned for them. We have an exciting term ahead of us with the ARTS taking centre stage, all Winter Sports are now back into action and we have our Cross Country competitions coming up this term, along with a celebration of learning from Pirongia Syndicate and a Taupiri Syndicate Show. As well as this there are Jump Jam practices, Chess and Kids 4 Kids events happening.  We hope you will be able to join us for some of these exciting events. 

Don’t worry –  Literacy and Numeracy will be very much to the fore throughout the term with Digital Technologies – our newest curriculum learning area also being integrated through activities. Our Pirongia Syndicate will also be trialing having more devices within their classrooms this term and feedback from this will be shared in Term 4.  

By the sounds of all the stories everyone had fun, enjoying New Zealand and having family time over the break. We hope you and your children are rested and ready to get back into a solid term of learning and sports once again.

Although we are so very lucky, at present, to be at Alert Level 1. We still have the threat of an invisible invader just a sneeze or touch away, one that has exponential growth rates, as we can see in the rest of the world. We still need to be very cautious and keep a track of where we have been and who we have been in contact with.

As a school, we will be continuing to keep up our hygiene levels and try to keep everyone as healthy and safe as possible. Hand sanitising and extra hand washing practices will continue along with more frequent cleaning of hard surfaces used by many hands. Keeping our environment and community as bug free and healthy as possible is our aim.

Any children who are unwell and could be spreading illness to others, which could then impact on another family and their employment, will be asked to remain at home. Coughing and sneezing into protected elbows and hand bumps instead of handshakes etc are all still being encouraged.

We welcome our five student teachers to Tamahere School for the whole term. In their third year of a teaching degree, they will spend the full term in a classroom. These classes warmly welcome their students for the term:

1. Manuka 16
2. Kawakawa Three
3. Nikau One
4. Tawa 19
5. Matai 11

We also welcome back to our school our first year student teachers. During the COVID 19 lock down and for the remainder of Term 2, the students worked off site. We now look forward to having them back in our classrooms each Thursday.

If your child has been identified as achieving above or well above, we invite you to consider entering them into ICAS this year. The assessments are suitable for students wishing to extend themselves academically and take up the personal challenge of competing in an international assessment. Your child will be presented with high-quality, expert-developed questions, allowing them to apply their learning without the need for prior study or revision.

The exams are $14.50 per paper and include Science, Digital Technologies, English, Spelling and Mathematics. Forms are available in the school office or from your child’s classroom teacher and need to be returned to the office with payment by Friday 31st July.

Just a reminder that we need to know the number of children attending in advance, to assist with staffing and catering, so please ensure you have booked your child/children into our After School Care service by 12 noon each day at the latest. 

If you intend to change your usual bookings from last Term, can you please reconfirm this with ASC. 

Thank you for your assistance.

Research shows that for students to get the best out of their schooling years, a strong partnership between school and home is very important. We are so lucky at our school to have such strong partnerships and we look forward to hosting our Learning Celebrations on Wednesday and Thursday of Week Three. 

This is a wonderful time for everyone to come together and really look at each child’s learning journey.

Our Learning Celebrations (Parent Teacher Interviews) will run from 2:18pm through to 7:18pm on Wednesday 5th August and from 2.48pm until 5.12pm on Thursday August 6th.

Please note:- On Wednesday we will be having a shortened lunch hour and the school day will finish at the earlier time of 2.00pm. The bus will be running half an hour earlier and After School Care will also start half an hour earlier. 

Normal school hours will resume on Thursday 6th August with our learning day concluding at the usual time of 2:30 pm. Conferences will start after this. 

We apologise for any inconvenience caused by our early conclusion of learning on Wednesday, however with our students involved in leading and discussing their own learning journeys and celebrations we want to finish at a reasonable time. 

One Conference per child: So that each child can celebrate their learning journey with the ones they love and get all caregivers on the same page with the support required, we ask that all parents join together for this occasion to support your child and enable teachers to have the time needed for all conferences. There are not enough spaces for our split family parents to have an appointment each.  We appreciate your support in this matter.

To book your Learning Celebration:

You will soon receive an email supplying you with an event code for your Learning Celebration.  We expect this to be sent to you tomorrow. Please book your Parent Interview by visiting www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and enter the code you will be supplied with as prompted.

Book the time that you require with your child’s teacher. If you do not have access to the internet or if you require any assistance with your booking, please contact Lisa at the school office on 856 9238.

All students will be involved in Three Way Learning Conferences this year with Students, Parents and Teachers all together to share achievements, set goals and celebrate your child’s learning journey. 

Miss Parker is also available for meetings if you would like to pop in or make an appointment through the office.

We look forward to meeting with you and your child to discuss their progress and achievements. 

How cool is it to wear your PJs to school? Well, you can do just that on Friday 7th August!

How lucky are we to have warm PJs to wear and warm beds to sleep in? However, there are a lot of kids out there who don’t have any warm PJs or warm bedding.

The charity Sleep Well MoePai collects sheets, duvet covers, duvet inners (to really keep warm) and PJs and hands them out to people in need.

This is where you come in. We want you to talk to your parents and caregivers and see if you can help out by donating bedding (singles are in big need!), PJs and sleepwear (slippers & dressing gowns, etc).

Starting from Monday 3rd August, you can drop off donations to the School Office or take them to our Wharemairi learning space, which is a classroom attached to the multi purpose shed, on the cricket pitch side of the shed. Please make sure everything is in good condition and washed prior to dropping it off.

On behalf of Sleep Well MoePai and all the people in need a BIG Thank you!

Please be aware of our disabled parents and grandparents, making sure that you leave the designated disability car park spaces clear for these families.

Inspire Mindfulness will be teaching at Tamahere Model Country School in Term 3

Mindfulness classes are a great chance for your child to be taught about their brain and the awesome things that take place inside it! They will learn how to take care of their hauora/well-being and learn strategies to help them become more mindful and resilient.

This innovative science-based programme is the brainchild of the Inspire Mindfulness Programme Director, Rachel MacAllister – who is a qualified teacher.  Your child will be led through 10 sessions which will help them to develop their very own superpower: Mindfulness. To find out more about Inspire Mindfulness, take a look at our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/InspireMindfulness

Sessions will be held at Tamahere Model Country School during Term Three, on Wednesdays, 1:20-2:00pm. The cost of the programme is $18 per session, plus $5 for a mindfulness booklet for your child to work through. There will also be a Mindfulness Development class on Wednesdays, 2:00-2:40pm. This is for children who have already completed the Inspire Mindfulness beginner’s programme.

It is essential to book early due to limited numbers.

To register your child for the beginner’s programme, please click here: Beginner’s Programme

If your child has already completed an Inspire Mindfulness programme, please click here to register: Mindfulness Development Programme

If you have any questions, please email Rachel MacAllister at inspiremindfulnessnz@gmail.com

During the first week of the school holidays, we shared information about a great opportunity offered by Sport Waikato for our keen Cross Country runners, aged between 8 – 12 years, to attend a free Energize Cross Country Training Programme for 4 weeks. ( Numbers were limited to just 50 students). 

If you signed up for the 4 week programme, this is just a reminder that the training commences from next Tuesday, 28th July, running from 3.00 to 4.00pm, on the school field. Please make sure that children who have registered bring along shoes, a water bottle and light clothing suitable for running.

Unfortunately Marrzipan Drama will not be running classes at Tamahere Model Country School in Term 3, as Jex has accepted a new job.  Marrzipan Drama has been advertising for a new teacher for the past 2 months, but haven’t found someone suitable. They have waited until the last moment to let you know, in the hopes they would still be able to run classes this Term, but they are also very particular about getting the RIGHT person to join their team and work with our students. If you know another Jex who you think would be an awesome Marrzipan teacher, please let Jex know, by calling 027 217 0693 or emailing jex@marrzipandrama.co.nz.

Huge apologies for the late notice, but we will let you know as soon as possible, when Marrzipan will be returning to Tamahere.