Principal's Message
Kia Ora parents, caregivers and whānau
The weather looks dry but chilly for tomorrow’s Matariki celebrations at PBS. We have a full day of activities prepared for kids to get stuck into and then in the evening from 5pm – 7pm we have even more fun for families to participate in! Everything you need to know can be found later in this newsletter.
This event is a big undertaking for our staff. Behind the scenes many, many hours have gone into the planning and so we hope there’s a big turnout of whānau to celebrate this significant event with us. Massive thanks to Hillary Houston for being our lead organiser, with incredible support from all staff but in particular David Parr, Jalah Davis, Di Puati, Ginny Hawke, Caty Spencer, Jon McCormick, John Trask and the Concept Crew members.
We have sold all 150 hangi tickets, but if you missed out don’t worry as there will be other treats to purchase on the night (cash sales only), including hot sausage sizzles.
So please put on your beanies, scarves, gloves, warm socks and winter jerseys and join us to celebrate Matariki! (More info later in this newsletter)
Some key dates for your Term 3 diary include:
- Term 3 – Week 2: Wednesday, 3 August – PBS Teacher only day for Learning Conferences (see additional info in this newsletter)
PRINCIPAL’S GREAT NEWS CORNER
Sharing good news spreads positivity, changes attitudes and ultimately leads to more people feeling encouraged and happy
Recently I put a request on our school facebook page, asking for help to get more patrol jackets and umbrellas for my amazing road patrol staff. The student patrollers have their jackets provided by the police, but nothing is provided for their adult supervisors.
We were immediately inundated with support from parents and local businesses who were happy to help. The generosity and genuine aroha was quite incredible. Thanks to David Eliason – Goodmans, Jools da Silva – sKids, Nathan Wood – Creative Design Co, Steve Strawbridge – Masterlink, Rangi Esson – Fun Zone, Tony Shalders – Platinum Homes, Jayne Jellyman – Professionals DoubleWinkel Real Estate, and Jaydie May – The Real Motherhood.
You are simply wonderful!
Ngā mihi nui
Jess Ward
Welcome to Our Recent New Students
There were no new students this week
MATARIKI
Te Ara o Ngā Whetū o Matariki (Follow the Stars of Matariki)
A friendly reminder that our Matariki Whānau Celebration is this Wednesday from 5 p.m to 7 p.m. Performances will begin at 6 p.m. Prior to this, there will be lots of displays and activities for your tamariki to take part in.
To begin their journey, your tamariki will need to collect their ticket from outside the school hall. On this card, they will find 9 pou that represent each of the stars of Matariki. They will need to locate each of the matching pou around the school, complete the activity, and then clip their card. Once their card has all 9 clips, they can collect their free hot chocolate and marshmallows outside the staffroom.
If you missed out on hangi tickets, not to worry because we have lots of other delicious food available to purchase. This includes a yummy sausage sizzle, candyfloss, sweets, cookies, ice cream and soft drinks.
All students participating in the Kapa Haka must meet in Room 14 by 5.40 p.m. These students are asked to wear dark colours if possible and layers to keep warm. Other performers should meet in Room 18 at least 15 minutes prior to their performance time. A notice has been issued to each performer containing this information. We ask that all parents/caregivers remain outside whilst the students prepare for their acts. As this is our first performance for 2022, we would love heaps of encouragement from our whānau.
What to bring:
- a mask to wear in the hall to view the students’ fabulous art
- a mug for your child’s hot chocolate
- some cash to purchase yummy treats
- and wear lots of warm clothes (the forecast is very chilly)
We are all looking forward to seeing you at this wonderful event.
Matariki Competition Winners
The Matariki constellation is recognised all around the world. In last week’s competition, students researched and found out the different names for this constellation in other countries. The winners are Margarita, Jake, Jackson, Ashton, Jayden, Ema and Norah. They were able to name some of these and included Subaru, Makali’i, and the Pleiades.
Gift Ezlunch Kai
Need Help with Sports Fees?
We were recently granted $500 by the Paraparaumu-Raumati Community Board to help families struggling to pay sports fees for children. We are so grateful for this money and know it will help a few more kids get active. The last few years have been especially hard on some families financially and we don’t want that impacting on kids’ involvement in sports.
If you need some assistance with sports fees please contact Libby Richardson in our school office at lrichardson@pbs.school.nz
Thanks again Paraparaumu – Raumati Community Board!
Term 3 Learning Conferences
Did you know that research shows that students developing the ability to talk about their own learning makes a big difference to the progress they make? That’s why we want to involve our students in learning conferences with their parents this year.
On Wednesday 3 August, Paraparaumu Beach school will be using a Teacher Only day to host Learning Conferences throughout the day (from 9am – until 6pm). We are changing the way these conferences are organised so students can take part in the conversations about their progress and achievements.
Each learning conference will be 10 minutes in length and will be a conversation between the student, their teacher and their parents/whānau. This opportunity aims to strengthen partnerships between home and school, focusing on what the student has achieved so far this year and how we might support them moving forward.
- The role of the teacher is to facilitate and lead the conversation about the student’s learning. They may use supports such as Spotlight, Seesaw or other examples of learning within the classroom
- The role of the student is to share some of their learning and join in the discussion as they feel comfortable or as prompted by their teacher
- The role of the parent or whānau members is to listen, ask questions (of their child or the teacher) and encourage their child to participate
We hope that by involving our students they will gain more confidence and ownership of their learning journey. Furthermore, we hope that student involvement will enable parents to gain a deeper understanding of their child’s strengths and needs.
The school playgrounds and library will be available for siblings to play or wait at this time. The library will have adult supervision during the conferences. These, or other alternative arrangements for siblings, mean that your child can have your full focus during their learning conference slot.
Please note that there will not be time to raise complex social issues or confidential matters, but you can arrange a time to do this with your child’s teacher at another time by emailing them.
NB: Kyle Reesor will be holding Learning Conferences on Thursday 30 June before he leaves NZ. You will receive a separate email about this shortly if you have a child in Room 3.
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.
Ngā mihi o Matariki, te tau hou Māori! = Greetings to the Māori new year!
Mānawatia a Matariki = Happy Māori New Year!
From the Student Council
Kia ora PBS Whānau! We are looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow night at our Matariki celebration. Some of us will be greeting you at the gate with information about the evening events, some of us will be helping out on an activity station and some of us are performing!
Hei āpōpō, see you tomorrow!
Kid's Quote
Teachers often remind children to find three sources of information/evidence when researching a fact. We can’t simply trust the first piece of information to be true and accurate.
Recently some Year 3-4 students were researching what other cultures call Matariki e.g. in Japan this constellation is called Subaru. These young researchers were pleased to report back to their teacher that they had discovered one of the other names and excitedly sounded out “Wikipedia”!
Covid Updates - Information from Public Health
Reinfection or continued infection
Public health advice is that:
- current evidence shows the chance of having COVID-19 again within 90 days of a first infection is low, especially if it is the same variant – but it can happen
- reinfection within 28 days is considered exceptionally unlikely
- COVID-19 like symptoms may be caused by other infections like the common cold, flu or a chest infection
- reinfection does not generally cause serious illness for most people but a diagnosis of reinfection with COVID-19 can be important for older people, people who have high risk conditions, or people who have frequent close contact with vulnerable people
- people who are low health risk and have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 within 90 days of a COVID-19 diagnosis should stay home and recover until 24 hours after symptoms resolve. They are not required to take a RAT. However, if they become increasingly ill, they should call their GP or Healthline
- people with underlying health conditions or anyone who has worsening symptoms should seek advice from a health practitioner or Healthline on 0800 358 5453. A RAT or PCR test may be recommended
- we know that people can continue to test positive after their recovery but are very unlikely to be infectious after day 10. Retesting during the initial 28-day period is not necessary unless recommended by a health professional
- if you become unwell more than 90 days after a COVID-19 infection you should follow the same advice as for a first infection. That is, seek advice about getting tested
Long COVID in children
Long COVID describes the symptoms that continue or develop after the initial COVID-19 symptoms. This is usually longer than 12 weeks after a person is first infected. Most people with COVID-19 recover completely and return to normal health. People usually recover from COVID-19 after two to six weeks and many make a full recovery within 12 weeks.
Below is some useful information about COVID-19 symptoms in children:
- for most children with mild COVID-19, they will be back to normal within a week. A small number of children might take up to two weeks to feel back to normal
- most children with COVID-19 will have a mild illness and get better quickly
- for a child or young person to have a diagnosis of post-COVID-19 condition (long COVID) their symptoms need to be having an impact on their everyday functioning and cannot be explained by another condition
- nearly all children will fully recover and return to normal health
- scientists and health professionals are still learning about long COVID, but studies so far have found:
- children are much less likely to have long COVID than adults
- children recover faster than adults
- it mostly affects children over the age of 10 – it’s very rare in younger children
Updating Student Records
Last week we sent home “Updating Student Record” forms for you to check, make any changes necessary, and return to the office please. It is very important that you return these forms to the office (whether or not there are any changes to be made) to ensure we have the correct contacts on file in case of an emergency.
Thank you to those families who have already returned their forms. There are still many outstanding, so please return your forms asap.
TE MOTU CAMP 2023
Hoodies
Order your hoodies now to support the Te Motu Syndicate school camp in 2023!
PTA Raffle 2022
Last Friday we sent home with your child our amazing 2022 raffle tickets which we would appreciate if you could sell for us. The tickets are only $2.00 with some fantastic prizes to be won, so we are sure they will be snapped up fast.
If you need more books to sell please email sandys@pbs.school.nz advising how many more books you need and they will be sent home with your child. However, if you don’t want to sell them, please return them to school asap so that they can be allocated to others. There will be a box in the office marked “raffle tickets” for all sold and unsold tickets to be returned to.
New Entrant Parent Information Presentation – Tātahi Syndicate
A New Entrant Information Presentation will be held for all parents of new children on Friday, 1 July from 10.00-10.30am in the staffroom.
This session will :
· provide an overview of the ‘Transition to School’
· provide an overview of the New Entrant Programme in reading, writing and mathematics
· highlight how you can help at home with learning
In Tātahi Syndicate, we believe that successful partnerships between home and school are established when both parties have a shared expectation and knowledge of their child’s learning. We would love to see you there.
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
Do you have a business and want to support PBS through advertising?
Check out the Community Directory on our website https://kapiti.pbs.school.nz/ You can advertise your business here for a small contribution. Businesses can list their services, events and opportunities all here for others in our large school community to see and access. This helps us support local businesses, encouraging PBS parents to support your business, and keeps all listings in one easy to find spot. Below are a few screen shots of what you can find. Click on a listing and explore the content!
