Principal's Message
Dear Parents and caregivers
It is with huge sadness we learned, over the
weekend, that school parent and long serving Board Member Kate Saunders (formerly Bowater) passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. Kate served on our Board from June 2016 through to Term 1 this year. During her six years on the Board, Kate showed a genuine interest in staff wellbeing, which we were always grateful for. She was also involved in the many hours of work that we put into redeveloping our school vision and Strategic Plan. Kate will be missed immensely by us all and we will be forever grateful for everything she contributed to make PBS a great place to learn, work and play.
To brighten your day, check out the creative artworks by some students in Room 15 below. These creations are also adding colour and vibrancy to the walls of our office area.
Ngā mihi,
Jess Ward – Tumuaki ~ Principal
PS Thank you to the number of families who have contributed to our PBS Aroha Fund recently. Your aroha means so much.
Welcome to Our Recent New Students
There were no new students this week
Social Media, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat ...
Do you know what your child is doing online outside of school hours? The digital world is easy for students to navigate and they quickly learn how to use new apps faster than adults. Recently I’ve been made aware of some Year 7 – 8 students who are not using social apps in appropriate ways. Their messages to one another have not always been pleasant or age appropriate. Due to our internet safety services at school, we know that these interactions are not happening here, so we want to alert parents to this behaviour after hours.
If you are not already doing so please, please, please monitor your child’s online presence at home. As adults, we must all do our part to safeguard kids from getting out of their depth online.
LOOK WHAT'S NEW
Support Our Community, Support Our School
Our school community is a huge asset. We want to highlight the incredible work done in the area and support local business to thrive. So PBS has launched an online community directory for the Kapiti Coast! It’s in its early stages with some early adopters already on board. It’s an affordable way of sharing your business – big, small or an “at home” venture/product/service.
The Paraparaumu Beach School Community Directory is an online, user-maintained list of businesses, events, and opportunities in the Kapiti area. The site gives local businesses the opportunity to support PBS while promoting themselves and improving their search engine visibility. This replaces our community notices section in our newsletters.
To visit the new community directory and for instructions on how to advertise, please click here
Diversity
A few weeks back I mentioned the cultural make-up of our school community in the newsletter. You may recall that we have families from the following backgrounds; Māori, NZ-Kiwi-Pakeha, Cook Island Māori, Samoan, Tongan, Indonesian, Fijian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tokelauan, Australian, British, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Indian, German, Russian, Polish, Argentinian, Greek, Bulgarian, Croatian, Turkish, Italian, South African and Belarusian.
We would now like to know if there are any significant cultural events or festivities you think we should acknowledge/celebrate at PBS?
Developing cultural competence requires students to understand that each culture is unique; people from different countries may behave differently, and have different values and beliefs. Understanding and celebrating how we are culturally unique is the first step towards acceptance and inclusion.
We love diversity!
Education Perfect & IXL Outstanding Payments
Have you checked KINDO to see if you have paid for Education Perfect or IXL? If your child has access to these in class then we would appreciate your contribution. Our school already subsidises these platforms by paying half the costs for you. Click here to access your Kindo account.
Recent Student Achievements
Check out Branden Withers’ achievements! He won silver and bronze medals at the Go Kan Ryu Karate Tournament recently. Congrats Branden – we love your goal of eventually getting to International competitions!
Future Student Achievements
If your child has an achievement you would like us to share in our newsletter, then please send details (and a picture if you would like) to mbarfoote@pbs.school.nz
Kid's Quote
A student exiting the office called out:
“Goodbye beautiful young ladies !”
Were Your Ears Burning?
Staff Gratitude Section
Thanks to Teresa Robertson for putting her hand up to organise our Touch Rugby teams again this year. Teresa always does a stellar job and we are so very grateful for her work in this space.
Using Māori Language at Home
It’s important for all Kiwi to learn te reo. Each week our newsletter will include phrases that you might like to try out at your place. After all, it will take the whole nation to keep this unique language alive.
Hoea tō waka! Go for it!
Te Papa Trip
Last Tuesday Rooms 3, 4 and 29 were lucky to attend their rescheduled Te Papa trip. The weather was beautiful and students expanded their Term 2 learning about Matariki.
Many thanks to our parent helpers.
@School App
Click on this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qync2BFaHCA&feature=youtu.be for instructions to accept the invitation to our school app.
If you need your User ID and password resent, please contact the office on mbarfoote@pbs.school.nz
Yr 0-2 and Team Photos
Photo day for Yr 0-2 students and the balance of team photos not taken earlier in the year will be taken on 24 and 25 August. You do not order/pay for your child’s portraits or class photos until after photo day. See below for instructions on ordering.
Personalised Artwork Calendars, Cards, Diaries, Mouse Mats & Note Pads - A Year 5/6 Camp Fundraiser
Your children have produced some fabulous artwork which will be turned into 2022 calendars, cards, diaries, mouse mats and notepads. They make perfect Christmas gifts and are great for sending overseas! They are a great record of your child’s talent this year! You will have by now received the order forms and should have viewed their art work. Please ask your teacher if you haven’t seen this.
Order forms and payment need to be returned before 23 August 2021. (Kindo online orders close at midnight on 22 August). Payment can be made via Kindo or cash. Physical order forms need to be returned to the office regardless of payment method please.
Midweek Munchies
This week Midweek Munchies are on Thursday instead of Wednesday. Don’t forget to send your child with some coins to buy a treat for morning tea.
The Shielded Site Project
The Shielded Site Project has made asking for help safer than ever. They have created a tool for victims of abuse to ask for help, without fear of it showing up in their browser’s history or an abusive partner ever seeing it.
If you need help but are worried about repercussions from a controlling or abusive partner, this is a safe way to find it. With The Women’s Refuge Shielded Site, victims of domestic violence access a shielded portal through which they can contact us, find out how to make a plan to safely get out of a dangerous situation, learn how to stay safe online and get answers to questions about what comes next – all without fear of it showing up in their browser history for anyone else to find.
Click on the logo at the bottom of our school website page here for more information.
