Principal's Message
Kia Ora
Many hands make light work – a saying
which has been proved over and over again at PBS this term. With all your work comes genuine gratitude; thank you so much to all who have helped out recently. In the last 7 weeks we have had:
- Kids, staff and parents clean our local beach and estuary
- Parents, grandparents and students involved in a planting bee at the front of the school
- Family members and staff who helped move heavy rolls of turf on Saturday ready for collection
- A generous family donation towards additional reading books for the school
- Gavin and Samara Shaw who spent hours of their weekend time to crane lift and deliver turf to our school
- Not to mention the ongoing work of team coaches and managers
Team Work – Mahi Tahi really gets the job done! Paraparaumu Beach school is great because of our community, there is simply no doubt about it!
Board Survey for Parents and Whānau – coming to your email soon!
In the next few days you will receive an email link to a PBS Survey. Our Board would like your feedback on how we are doing in a few different areas – things that you have told us are important to you. This should take about 10 minutes. Your answers will be completely anonymous. The survey will be open until Sunday, 19 December – so don’t miss out on your chance to win a Prezzy Card!
We have set some goals to make sure we are getting better at communication, partnering with whānau, Te Ao Māori (the Māori world view) and some other areas. Please give us your opinion about how we’re doing – then enter the competition at the end.
Prezzy Cards can be used anywhere that accepts visa, including online. Follow the link at the end of the survey to enter the draw! This takes you to a separate form so that your entry is not linked to your answers.
Nga mihi
Jess Ward – Tumuaki ~ Principal
PS Our last day of school this year is Wednesday, 15 December and please be aware that school closes at 12.30pm on this final day.
Welcome to Our Recent New Students
There were no new students this week
New Covid-19 Protection Framework (Traffic Light System)
No doubt you have all heard that everyone in Aotearoa will move to the new COVID-19 Traffic Light Framework on Friday, 3 December. Our region will be moving to ORANGE.
This new Traffic Light System means that we don’t have to change the way we are operating classes. For next year, we can continue onsite learning, regardless of what setting (red, orange or green) we are in. This is great news for students, as normal routines at school bring a sense of calm and security, which naturally impacts positively on learning.
Health, safety and wellbeing will continue to be a priority for us and the same public health measures you are very familiar with will remain in place:
- good hygiene and cleaning
- contact tracing systems in place
- vaccination requirements for workers (paid and unpaid)
- if you are sick, you must stay home and get tested
- good ventilation
And if we are at Red at any stage next year:
- face coverings will be required at school when indoors for students and staff in years 4 – 13
- we will ask that only essential visitors come onsite
With all these measures in place, public health has confirmed the risk of infection remains low when at school, with households continuing to be where COVID-19 is spreading the most. However, if we do have someone confirmed with COVID-19 in our school, we have a plan in place to manage this and will contact parents/whanau as soon as possible.
If you’d like to learn more about the framework visit COVID-19 Protection Framework.
Classes For 2022 and Transition Visits
In preparation for 2022 we have scheduled ‘Transition Visits’ to allow students in Years 0-7 to meet their next year’s teacher and classmates before the term ends. This year our transition visits will take place on Wednesday, 8 December. On this day students will have a half hour visit to their 2022 class and bring home a letter informing parents. Class lists will then be displayed in the Library windows from that evening onwards.
Staffing For 2022
We have a few staff changes for 2022, most of which I have informed you of in previous newsletters. To recap, Shelley Evans will be leaving PBS to take up a new position as the Resource Teacher for Literacy in the Kapiti Otaki district, Gill Snowsill is leaving PBS to pursue other ventures in the education setting and Vicki Wilson has been awarded 32 weeks study leave in 2022.
With Vicki on study leave for most of the year, Rachel McDowell (team leader of Tātahi syndicate) and Vanessa Brewer (team leader of Te Moana syndicate) will be stepping up to job share Vicki’s responsibilities. Vanessa and Rachel will continue to lead their syndicate team but will not be teaching a class of their own for 2022.
With Gill and Shelley both departing, I’m pleased to let you know that Teresa Robertson and Kyle Reesor, who were on fixed term contracts, have won permanent positions. Teresa will return to teaching in Year 7/8 and Kyle will remain in Year 5/6.
We are only awaiting to ratify one final appointment but here is a look at how our syndicates will be structured for 2022.
Tātahi – Years 0 – 2
Rachel McDowell – Team Leader/Acting Assistant Principal responsibilities
Rm 21 – Tara Vertongen/Rebecca Jackson: Year 1 class
Rm 22 – Sandy Saunders: Year 1 class
Rm 23 – Cristie Gray: Year 1 class
Rm 24 – Sarah Smith: Year 2 class
Rm 25 – Cherie Parker: Year 1 class
Rm 26 – Jo Mackay: Year 2 class
Ngaru – Years 3 & 4
Rm 10 – Vicki Howarth – Team Leader
Rm 5 – Tina Purdie/Rebecca Jackson
Rm 6 – Kathryn Siversen
Rm 9 – Jon McCormick
Rm 11 – Jalah Davis
Te Moana – Years 5 & 6
Vanessa Brewer – Team Leader/Acting Assistant Principal responsibilities
Rm 1 – Teacher appointment waiting to be ratified
Rm 2 – Ginny Hawke
Rm 3 – Kyle Reesor
Rm 4 – Hillary Houston
Rm 28 – Bek Winter
Rm 29 – David Parr
Te Motu – Years 7 & 8
Rm 14 – Cath Franks – Team Leader
Rm 7 – Caty Spencer
Rm 8 – Larisa Mckenna
Rm 13 – Alice Graham
Rm 15 – Colin Siversen
Rm 16 – Teresa Robertson
End of Year Reporting
NB: The @Schoolapp has changed its name to @school Mobile in the App Store/Play Store
At PBS all our reporting is online. Parents can access their child’s learning progress via the @Schoolapp for students in Years 3-8 and SeeSaw for students in Years 0-2.
On the @Schoolapp dashboard click on “learning space” which takes you to your child’s “spotlight learning portal”.
What we need parents to do? We require every parent to register for the @Schoolapp (now called @school Mobile in the App Store/Play Store) regardless of the age of your child. Although the Spotlight portal is accessed through the @Schoolapp so are many other functions we would like parents to be aware of e.g. checking your child’s attendance, checking how often your child visits the medical room and general notices. Please make sure you have downloaded this app and click ‘notifications’.
What will parents see? Online reporting, via the Learning Space, the Blog and Seesaw gives parents the opportunity to log in and view their child’s progress and evidence of their learning at any time during the school year. Throughout the year teachers will upload progress on your child’s reading, writing and maths, as well as general comments on learning, attitude and behaviour.
When you are viewing reading, writing and maths comments about your child via these portals, you will notice a reference to the NZ Curriculum level your child is working at, at the beginning of the comment: For example EL1 = Early Level 1, L1 =Level 1, EL2 = Early Level 2, L2 = Level 2 and so on.
NB: Typically students in Years 0-2 are working at NZ Curriculum Level 1, Years 3-4 students are working at NZ Curriculum Level 2, Years 5-6 students are working at NZ Curriculum Level 3 and Years 7-8 students are working at NZ Curriculum Level 4.
What are the benefits of online reporting? The benefits of reporting online mean that the information parents are receiving about their child’s progress is more timely and accessible. When we used to write paper reports we recognised that by the time the reports were sent home at mid and end of each year, the assessments and comments were already outdated due to the 6-8 weeks it takes to compile them. This new way of reporting also enables teachers to support students with individual goals throughout the year as opposed to sitting and writing reports for blocks of time which have all passed by. With Spotlight, the Blog and SeeSaw students have greater ownership of their learning, especially when they can upload evidence to show their achievements. Furthermore, parents have the ability to comment on their child’s progress, which helps to encourage and reinforce the gains they are making.
Why are we using SeeSaw for Years 0-2? We have assessed the Spotlight tool for use with Year 0-2 students and feel it does not yet cater well enough for their needs. Therefore, we have made the decision to broaden the Junior team’s use of Seesaw to include reporting.
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.
He kawhe māu – Would you like a coffee?
Contributions
If you have any school contributions outstanding for this year we would really appreciate your support. Payments can still be made, via KINDO for school donations, payments for Education Perfect (Year 7-8), IXL and Tech Centre costs (Year 7-8) etc. Every little bit helps us tremendously. Thank you.
Kid's Quote
A curious senior student asked:
“If flowers flower and blossoms blossom, why don’t trees tree?”
Classes for 2022 and Transition Visits
In preparation for 2022 we have scheduled ‘Transition Visits’ to allow students in Years 0-7 to meet their next year’s teacher and classmates before Term 4 ends. This year transition visits will take place on Wednesday, 8 December. On this day students will spend 40 minutes with their 2022 class and they will bring home a letter informing parents. Class lists will then be displayed in the Library windows from that evening onwards.
Help Us Suppport the Local Community Sports Bank This Week
Help us support the local Community Sports Bank this week. Our sports ambassadors will be outside the school entrance from 8.30 am on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to collect any of your outgrown or unused sports gear – anything from sports shoes to tennis rackets would help support families that would otherwise not be able to afford it.
Sport poverty is a growing issue within our community and the aim of the Kāpiti Sports Bank is to break down these barriers to enable more children to engage in sport.
Thanks to Our Gardening Volunteers!
Many thanks to our hard working gardening volunteers who helped tidy up the school frontage gardens on Friday! A very big thank you also to Gus and Glenys Evans for their generous support in plants.
Missing Home Readers
We have lots of home readers missing and as they cost $10.00 each book we are desperate to get them returned.
Can you please have another look at home (under the bed, in the cupboards/bookcases) for any readers, then drop them into the labelled book box outside the staffroom?
Thank you!
Scholastic Book Orders
Scholastic flyers were handed out last week. The last day to order is Wednesday, 1 December. We will endeavour to get orders out before the last day of school (Wednesday, 15 December).
Any questions feel free to ask at the school office or email Paula office@pbs.school.nz
School Leavers - Notice re Ezlunch/Kindo School Shop
If your family is leaving our school and moving to another school that does not use ezlunch or Kindo for school payments, you will need to close your account.
If you’re not sure about the new school: log in, go to My Details and click on the list of schools, scrolling to find your new school. If your new school is NOT on the list, use the ‘close account’ button on that screen. You can choose to donate your balance to school or have it paid out to your nominated bank account.
End of Year/Start of Year Ezlunch Orders for 2021/2022
The last day for ordering lunches this year is Monday, 13 December.
The first day for ordering lunches in 2022 is Friday, 4 February.
Nespresso Coffee Pods
Room 1 are collecting Nespresso type aluminium coffee pods for recycling. Please place them in the box outside the staff room before Week 8 so we can send off a full box.
Recent Student Achievements
Basketball: Kapiti Basketball Association congratulates Samuel Scriven upon his selection to the 2022 U/14 Basketball New Zealand National Development Programme.
As one of only 3 players selected from the region, Samuel will attend the National Camp held in Rotorua in April, along with athletes from all over the country.
The U/14 Camp is the entry point to the national player development pathway, and is the first opportunity for athletes to participate in a national camp delivered by Basketball New Zealand. This is a fantastic achievement, and we wish Samuel all the best in his future basketball endeavours.
PBS Toonsquad Success: A massive congratulations to the PBS Toonsquad who have won their division following an undefeated season! Many thanks to each of the boys and their coach, Kaden, who represented our school well on and off the court. Well done, lads!
Recent Student Achievements
Hockey: Congratulations to Mason Pulepule who was asked to trial for the HHA U13 Boys team to compete in the U13 Lower North Island Festival. He was selected for the top squad and they competed well and finished unbeaten over the 4 day event.
Mason has now been awarded MVP for his U13 HHA Team! Well done 🙂
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
Advertise in our Community Directory
PBS has launched an online community directory for the Kapiti Coast.
The Paraparaumu Beach School Community Directory is an online, user-maintained list of businesses, events, and opportunities in the Kapiti area and gives local businesses the opportunity to support PBS while promoting themselves and improving their search engine visibility. It has replaced the community notices section of our school newsletter.
To view the new community directory and for instructions on how to advertise, please click here
