Principal's Message
Kia Ora PBS Whānau
Yesterday I sent an email to all parents
and caregivers informing you about Covid-19 in our school community. Some parents have asked ‘Why doesn’t the notification say which class/syndicate the cases are in?’ Under Phase 3, schools are not required to contact trace, as close contacts are deemed to be only those in the household setting as the person/s with Covid-19.
I have opted not to give out class numbers or identify syndicates as there is a real risk of creating a false sense of security, unintentionally prompting parents to let their guard down. e.g. ‘I can relax, it’s not in my child’s class’. Case numbers throughout the country will continue to rise, so unfortunately it is likely that every class and every school will have some connection to a case or cases in the coming weeks/months. Some students may even come to school asymptomatic or unaware that they have Covid; fortunately the actual spread within schools is low (around 4%) due to good hygiene measures and high compliance. The bulk of the spread (approx. 96%), is occurring outside of schools, where rule compliance wavers or drops off. Furthermore I am mindful that we will not necessarily be notified of every single case of Covid in our school community/environment, which further rules out the effectiveness room identification.
The key to Phase 3 is to be calm yet vigilant. Covid-19 is in our school environment, so we are asking all parents to be on the lookout for Covid symptoms, regardless of which class or syndicate your child is in. Keep sending your Year 5-8 kids to school with a mask (and a spare), keep your child home if they are sick and get them tested if you are worried that they might have Covid-19. Take the health precautions you deem necessary. I will also send home any staff members who seem under the weather.
Thanks once again for your support and understanding.
GREAT NEWS CORNER
I feel a great sense of sorrow that every newsletter seems to be overrun with Covid information. It’s necessary, I know, but so is joy! I saw this quote recently and I decided I needed to act on it more now than ever.
“Sharing good news spreads positivity, changes attitudes and ultimately leads to more people feeling encouraged and happy.”
So here we go……
If you read the local news last week, you may have seen former PBS student Nicholas Harman being applauded for an outstanding recent achievement. Nicholas, who went on to become Head Boy at Paraparaumu College, received a New Zealand Qualifications Authority Premier Award. This achievement is due to the scholarships he received last year in biology, health and physical education, physics and statistics as well as a scholarship in calculus and chemistry. This year Nicholas is off to Otago University to study health-science; he will receive $10,000 each year for three years, provided he maintains a B average. We have no doubt he will achieve this and much more! Congratulations from everyone at PBS and thank you for inspiring all current PBS kids!
In other news, it was awesome to see
Griffin (Room 28) acting in “Wellington Paranormal”, on TVNZ, last week. It’s awesome to see that he’s so passionate about pursuing his acting career. Griffin is registered with a talent agency and hopes to get another role soon. Well done Griffin; keep aiming for the stars!
Thank you for keeping yourself informed. Stay safe and well.
Mā te wā,
Jess Ward – Tumuaki ~ Principal
Welcome to Our Recent New Students
Josiah – Rm 11
Advertise in our Community Directory
Have you checked out our community directory yet? PBS has launched an online community directory for the Kapiti Coast.
In the directory is an online user-maintained list of businesses, events and opportunities in the Kapiti area including job advertisements.
To view the new community directory click here and for instructions on how to advertise, please click here
Health, Wealth & Wisdom Summit
Last year I advertised some free parent workshops offered through Spectrum Education. Following this I received some great feedback from PBS parents saying how valuable that opportunity was. So here’s another opportunity for parents to register for some free workshops. The experts lined up to speak will share tips on:
- How to use breathwork to reduce stress in your family
- How to learn strategies to support your child’s learning
- Defining wealth for kids
- Finding fitness as a family
- Keys to getting more out of life
- Creating healthy kids for the future
These workshops are live and online this Thursday (March 3)! Click the link to register
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.
Health/Hauora
Kei te ora ahau. I’m well.
Kei te pai ahau. I’m fine.
Kei te māuiui ahau. I’m sick.
Kei te mamae taku puku. My stomach is sore.
Me haere ki te tākuta. Better go to the doctor.
Were Your Ears Burning?
Staff Gratitude Section
Thanks to Alice Graham, not only for fostering kittens and puppies for the SPCA, but for “bringing the joy” into school! The staff and Room 13 are enjoying having puppies around, it’s given us something fun to focus on. I’m now crossing my fingers that some staff will adopt these cuties so PBS can have a school pup…or two!
Kid's Quote
Our school jokester, Mr Trask told a Year 1 student “I’m the Principal.”
The student replied “No you’re not! You’re a builder!”
New Zealand-Aotearoa is now at Phase 3
The Money Box has Moved!
If you have any money/permission slips for the office, you can now find the money box just inside the front door to the office 🙂
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
Digi Corner
Being a Good Digital Citizen at PBS
Students are responsible for ensuring their own behaviour is safe, friendly and fair. This means following our school’s values when online or using digital tools.
We have 7 key student responsibilities as part of our being a good digital citizen at PBS. We started sharing these in our school newsletter last week. They can also be found on our school website and are displayed in our classrooms. The next two are:
- Keep it real Not everything you see online is real. It might look or sound real, but some things are made up or fake, so be careful to check or ask an adult if you’re not sure
- Keep it honest When we copy or use words, pictures and ideas from the internet, we need to make sure we share these things in the right way and follow the rules for sharing things that don’t belong to us
We recommend having regular conversations with your child/ren about cyber safety topics so that they feel confident navigating the digital world and recognise that they can approach you for advice if an issue arises.
Claim Your School Donation Tax Rebates in myKindo This year
When you make your school donations to Paraparaumu Beach School in myKindo for 2022, you’ll see the option to opt-in to Supergenerous when you pay.
Kindo and Supergenerous work together to lodge your donation rebate claim with the IRD. They do all the hard work for you and give you the option to re-gift your 33% tax rebate to our school as a new donation. It’s an awesome way to make your donation go further.
