Principal's Message
Hello Everyone
It’s hard to believe it will be
April at the end of this week! This is an eleven week term, finishing on Thursday, 14 April (at 3pm). School is closed on Friday 15 April as this is part of Easter weekend (Good Friday). I’m sure the kids will be pleased to get one extra day tagged on to their break. Term 2 starts back on Monday, 2 May – and I know we are all hoping for more normality then.
Last week the Government announced some changes to the COVID Protection Framework. Due to the high rates of vaccinations countrywide, the government has decided to drop the vaccine mandate and the requirement for vaccine passports (as of 5 April). On Monday, 4 April, Cabinet will also be meeting to review the traffic light setting (currently at RED), which is likely to result in further changes.
What do these changes to Covid restrictions mean for life at school?
What rules will remain the same: | What rules will change: |
Masks must still be worn indoors by staff and students in Years 5-8. | There are no longer any limits on numbers of people for outdoor gatherings. |
We are still required to ensure good ventilation in classrooms. | The limit of people indoors has been raised to 200. |
We will still be practising good hygiene routines. | There is no requirement for QR coding or contact tracing. However schools have been asked to keep the posters up to support people to check-in. NB: This system may need to return if case numbers rise again. |
At PBS, the number of active cases of Covid and number of students/staff isolating at home have dropped since last week. Are we over the peak at PBS? It’s still too early to say. So for now let’s proceed with vigilance and hopefulness. 🙂
PRINCIPAL’S GREAT NEWS CORNER:
Sharing good news spreads positivity, changes attitudes and ultimately leads to more people feeling encouraged and happy.
Movin’ March is having a fantastic impact on traffic around the school at peak times, but did you know that exercise also ‘feeds the brain’?
Exercise has many benefits for learners. Exercise increases blood flow to the brain – delivering nutrients and stimulating parts of the brain which improve concentration, build memory function and capacity, and lower the effects of stress hormones. Imagine what all that walking, biking and scooting to school each morning is doing to benefit for your child physically and mentally. I hope our community can keep these efforts up into April, May, June…..
The video clip at this link explains more about How Exercise affects the Brain
So thank you to our incredible PBS Sports Ambassadors for encouraging us all to get active! We are all looking forward to this Friday’s dress up event to celebrate Movin’ March.
I’ll leave you with these photos of PBS kids getting active in the sun! Have a great week everyone.
Kind regards
Jess Ward
Tumuaki ~ Principal
Welcome to Our Recent New Students
Aidan – Rm 26
Zuri – Rm 23
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
Signage that Reflects all Cultures
Achieving greater inclusiveness is part of our Strategic Plan at Paraparaumu Beach school. One way we wish to improve this is by having welcoming signage at the front of the school which reflects all the different cultures our students come from.
If your child or family identifies with a cultural background from another country or ethnicity please give us ideas, in your own language, for the welcome messages we could display. Follow this Google link to send us your thoughts. https://forms.gle/5fMtVBZgoJp27Bf78
Thanks for your input.
Spotlight News
What is in the App?
This stores personal information about your child.
You are able to click the link if you need to let the office know to make some changes.
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.
PBS Pepeha
Ko Maungakotukutuku nga Maunga
Ko Kapiti te Motu
Ko Te Rau o Te Rangi te Moana
Ko Wharemauku te Awa
Ko Te Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai te Iwi
Ko ____________ahau
The mountain is Maungakotukutuku
The island is Kapiti
The sea is Te Rau o Te Rangi
The river is Wharemauku
The marae is Te Ātiawa ki Whakarongotai
My name is
Kid's Quote
Teacher: “When I was your age I had some sandals just like those, only they were blue.”
Junior Student: “How can you remember back that far?
Movin' March Dress Up Day
To celebrate the end of Movin’ March for 2022, we are having a dress-up day this Friday, 1 April. The theme is “Anything Healthy”, so students can come to school dressed as their favourite sports star, their favourite healthy food, anything to do with the outdoors or sports, or they can dress up their bike or scooter for the day. There are prizes to be won in each class.
Check out the Sports Ambassador video to tell you more about it!
2022 Kiwi English, Maths & Science Competitions
The University of Canterbury is delighted to offer the annual Kiwi English, Mathematics and Science competitions for Primary, Intermediate and Secondary schools in Years 5 to 10. The skills-based Kiwi competitions are written by New Zealand teachers for New Zealand students and closely align with the New Zealand Curriculum. The online competitions will be run in the last 3 weeks of Term 2 and the first week of Term 3.
Parents/caregivers will be provided with an individual student report outlining student performance distributed by the school. All participating students will be awarded a certificate and a prize will be awarded to the top student in each competition.
The cost for a student to participate is $9.50 per competition entered. You can register via KINDO and the closing date is 10 May 2022.
Please contact your child’s teacher if you are unsure if your child should be participating in these competitions.
Absence Notification
Please remember to notify the office – ph 04 298 5775, email office@pbs.school.nz, txt 027 755 7915 or via the Skool Loop or Spotlight app. If you have notified the class teacher, it is preferable that you also notify the office as sometimes teachers are busy and forget to pass on the message!
Thank you.
Netball Update
Year 3 and 4’s:
Thank you to Daphne Thomson, Craig Thomson and Rae Bolton who have kindly volunteered to coach our Year 3 and 4 teams this year. We now have 27 very happy and excited athletes looking forward to the season ahead. Please ensure your child gets to Te Atiawa Netball Court by 4.00pm, wearing their issued netball top, appropriate shoes and shorts, and a water bottle to stay hydrated.
Year 5 and 6’s:
This is the final week to get your registrations in as we will be registering the teams next week.
Year 7 and 8’s:
Thank you to Kelly Tucker and Courtney Thomson for umpiring and running the trials. All our Year 7 and 8 trialists showed lots of enthusiasm and energy. We are very excited for the year ahead with two excellent teams. Team lists can be found in Room 4’s window.
Recent Student Achievements
Manawatu Wanganui Children’s Champs:
Congratulations to Phoebe Corin & Mia Thomson who both went up to Palmerston North on 27 March for the Manawatu Wanganui Children’s Champs. Each athlete is allowed to do 5 events and they both did very well:
*Phoebe – 1200m race walk Gold 9:16 new PB; Discus Gold Shot Put Gold; 200m Silver 32.4s new PB
*Mia – 1500m Gold (only 10 year old running); 800m Gold 2:28.50 new PB; High Jump Silver; Discus Silver new PB of around 19m
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
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.
