Term 3 – Week 10: Newsletter – Birkdale Primary School

THURSDAY 29 JUNE

PRINCIPAL’s UPDATE

Kia ora e te whānau o Birkdale,

End of term is nearly upon us and just like that, we’re halfway through the year. As usual we don’t slow down much to take a breath. We finished the term with a very successful Matariki Morning and have reports going home on Friday. Take care over the school holiday break; I hope you’re able to spend some quality time together with whānau.

Mā te wā

Whaea Natasha

REPORTS and LEARNER HUI

Reports will be sent home with your chil/dren on the last day of Term 3. If your child is away, we will hold the report at the office until everyone returns.

Your report will also contain an information letter to help whānau understand the different sections of our report.

As usual, in Week 4 of next term we will be running Learner Hui. These hui give you a chance to sit down and discuss areas of strength and challenges your child may be facing in learning. The hui are an important part of us all working together. They are not the same as the quick chats that happen before or after school. We encourage your child to attend these hui with you so they begin to understand the partnerships that work together to help them succeed.

More information will be available when they are open for booking.

MATARIKI MORNING

What a fantastic morning. Thank you for supporting us by having breakfast, looking at student work and reading to your child – we hope you enjoyed recognising the upcoming Matariki as much as we did.

Success outside School

If your child has achieved success outside of school, we would love to hear and about it and celebrate it by sharing with our wider community – from league finals to Jujitsu belts, let us know 🙂

EDUCATION NEGOTIATIONS

Teachers have accepted their offer.

Primary Principal negotiations have restarted and a new offer is being voted on now. If it is accepted, no more industrial action will take place, if declined more will follow.

PROPERTY UPDATE

Playground: Starting on Monday, extending to a couple of weeks into Term 3 our new playground will be built. It’s been a long time coming so I’m sure we can put up with the added inconvenience of having areas of our courts and existing playground out of use. The playground will be out of use over the holiday break.

Cameras New cameras are being installed over the next week. Being a school open to the public has it’s challenges – hopefully, cameras will help us keep an eye on what’s happening after hours!

SCHOOL WHĀNAU MEETINGS

In Term 3, we will be wanting to hear what you, whānau of our learners, have to say about a variety of issues.

Please save the dates below:

Whole school hui – All families welcome: Week 2, Thursday 27th July @ 6pm

Pasifika Fono – Pasifika families: Week 6, Thursday 24th August @ 6pm

Auraki Whānau hui – Auraki Māori whānau: Week 9, Thursday 14th September @ 6pm

We will be writing our new 3 year strategic plan and deciding priorities to focus on for the next three years. We want to hear what you think are key focus areas for our school and for learning.

Part-time TA Vacancy

If you’re curious about teacher aiding and have an hour or 2 a few days a week, we have a job vacancy for a new teacher aide. At the moment we only have enough funding for half the term, however it may be extending if more funding is secured. Check your emails or school app for more information.

Coming up next term…save the dates

Week 1

Mon 17 July – Mihi Whakatau for new students starting @ 9:15am

Week 2

Thu 27 July – WHOLE school hui @ 6pm Fri 28 July – Ballroom dancing starts for Y5/6

Week 3 – Cook Island Language Week

Tues 1 Aug – Te Puāwaitanga whānau hui @ 6pm

Week 4

Mon-Thu – Learner Hui 3:15-4:30, Tues 3:30-7:30

Week 6

Tues 22 Aug – Te Puāwaitanga, The Orchards

Wed 23 Aug – Life Education with Harold the Giraffe starts

Thu 24 Aug – Interschool Netball Tournament

Thu 24 Aug – Pasifika Fono @ 6pm

Week 8 – Tongan Language Week

Week 9 – Wiki o Te Reo Māori

Thu 14 Sep – Auraki Whānau hui @ 6pm

TBC – Class performances

KAPAHAKA FESTIVAL

On Wednesday, the students from Te Puāwaitanga performed at the local Kapahaka Festival held at Birkdale North School. They performed with mana and pride, representing Birkdale Primary School to the highest standard. I was able to witness what excellence and success can look like outside of reading, writing and maths. It was nice to be reminded.

ENROLMENTS

Please, if you’re in zone and your child is coming to Birkdale Primary this year, enrol as soon as possible. Our school enforces an enrolment scheme. Out of zone applicants need to be accepted through ballot.

Te Puāwaitanga – Level 1 Immersion Māori Medium.

This is not bi-lingual education (Level 2). If you are wishing to enrol in your Y0/1 child into TP, you will need to attend an enrolment interview, have an adult living in the home that is fluent in Māori and/ be commited to prioritising te reo Māori in your home by learning the language yourself. If your child is older, they will need to have an oral assessment completed to ensure they are able to learn already in te reo.

Please apply to enrol as soon as possible to help with our roll predictions for next year.