Principal's Message
Kia Ora parents, caregivers and whānau
Kei te tino harikoa ahau! I’m so very glad. The turn-out for our “Te Ara ngā whetū o Matariki” festival was outstanding. Over a thousand people came through the gates on the night to join in the celebrations, toast marshmallows, eat hangi, enjoy performances and re-connect as a community. We have received some really wonderful feedback, which helps to validate all the hard work put in by staff, students and parent volunteers. The sense of togetherness and community was unmistakable.
Words used by people who attended on the night included; awesome, perfect, wonderful, incredible, fantastic, amazing, heartening and stunning! So thank you all for making this an event to treasure and remember. Bring on Matariki 2023!
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)
Ngā mihi nui
Jess Ward
Tumuaki ~ Principal
Welcome to Our Recent New Students
There were no new students this week
Maori Education Plan - Your Feedback
Staff have recently been reviewing and refreshing our Māori Education Plan. We are now at the stage of seeking input from whānau on this plan to ensure we hear your voice and make sure we have not missed anything critical to the success of keeping te reo, tikanga and te ao Māori thriving.
The overall aim is for Paraparaumu Beach School to uphold Te Tiriti o Waitangi, showing we are committed to reflecting the founding principles of Protection, Partnership and Participation. Realising the educational and cultural aspirations of Māori promotes mana/self esteem, success and a sense of belonging/tūrangawaewae.
Please look out for an email with this plan attached. Any feedback you have can be emailed to Cath Franks on cfranks@pbs.school.nz Alternatively you can ask for a paper copy of this plan at the school office which you can record any feedback on.
E mihi ana koutou.
Board News
Kia ora PBS whānau
How wonderful it was to see such excited and enthusiastic students and their whānau turnout for the PBS Matariki celebrations last week!
A HUGE thanks to the staff, students and whānau members who put so much time, energy and enthusiasm into creating such a magical evening! It was wonderful to see how the evening drew upon and celebrated the many and varied talents of our school and community. It provided not only an important celebration for us all, but a time to come together to reflect on the year that has been and the year to come. We are so lucky at PBS. A real strength of our school is the partnership between our hard-working staff and our supportive community. I left the evening feeling a real buzz in the air, and I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Zoe Pearson, Board Chair
Need Help with Sports Fees?
We recently applied for and were 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 the opportunity for kids to get involved in sports.
If you need some assistance with sports fees please contact Libby Richardson in our school office at lrichardson@pbs.school.nz
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.
Parent/Teacher Learning Conferences - Rm 3 Students
Parent/Teacher learning conference bookings are open for Room 3 students (Mr Reesor) for meeting tomorrow afternoon (Thursday). The booking code is tn8xx. Go to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and enter the code and follow the prompts.
Bookings will close at 9am on Thursday.
Parent/Teacher Learning Conferences - All Students (Excluding Rm 3)
Parent/Teacher learning conference bookings are now open for Wednesday, 3 August. The booking code is pcsxg. Go to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and enter the code and follow the prompts.
Bookings will close at 9am on Wednesday, 3 August.
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.
Star = Whetū
Constellation = Kāhui whetū
The Pleiades is a famous star constellation = He kāhui whetū rongonui a Matariki
Student Work
Matariki Night
Bubbles rising
Stars shining
Sausages sizzling
Bonfire flaming
Performers dancing
Lanterns flickering
By Sophia Rm 5
Matariki
Kites flying
Lights flashing
Fire flaming
Ice creams melting
Dancers dazzling
Fizzy bubbling
Hangi cooking
Lanterns hanging
By Dakota Room 5
Kid's Quote
Some young students came into the office at lunch time announcing:
“We want to be investigators… so do you have any problems?”
MATARIKI
Matariki Whānau Celebration
Thank you to our wonderful community who joined us to celebrate our first Matariki Whānau Celebration. We were thrilled with the support from our community and felt that this event was a huge success. We are grateful to the community which contributed in so many ways.
We wish to acknowledge the following companies for their donations and support:
- A1 Homes
- Paraparaumu/Raumati Community Board
- Stratford Electrical
- Chopped Wood Supply
- Resene Paint
- Kapiti College
- Complex Carriers
We are also so grateful to our many volunteers. We would like to acknowledge the following people who helped to prepare and cook our hāngi: Adam Miratana, Rae Bolton, Ben Smithson, Pembroke Chambers, Greg Kirton, Anthony Cohen, Steve Harris, Trudi Steel, Tash Denison, Jessica Ransfield, Karen and Ian O’Halloran, Clare Pringle and Amanda Miratana.
Our ākonga and community learnt a lot through this process and those who had hāngi all commented on how delicious and well-cooked their meal was. A great big thank you to all of the hāngi crew and apologies if we’ve missed anyone.
Thank you to Chris Davis for organising our music and running the sound system. Tino pai P.T.A for creating lots of candyfloss and candies for sale to raise money for our Kura. Thanks to Steve Whitfield for supervising the braziers while children toasted their marshmallows. We are also grateful to those who delivered wood for the hāngi, brazier and bonfire.
Finally, a massive shout out and thank you to all the staff at Paraparaumu Beach School who got behind this event and supported the organisation team. We appreciated all the extra work you put into this event to ensure it was a success.
TE MOTU CAMP 2023
Amazing Camp Fundraising Opportunity!
We are so grateful to Tony Shalders from PLATINUM HOMES for this generous offer.
If you know of anyone embarking on the building process we would be eternally grateful if you made them aware of this.”
Hoodies
Order your hoodies now to support the Te Motu Syndicate school camp in 2023!
PTA Raffle 2022
Thank you to all those whānau that have sold their raffle tickets. Keep them coming.
If you would like any more tickets please email sandys@pbs.school.nz and I will arrange to get more home with your child.
Lost Property
Lost Property will be out on display by the netball/tennis courts on fine days this week and next week. This includes a lot of school hats!
Anything unclaimed or unnamed will be taken to the Koha Shed.
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.
Final Reminder - Updating Student Records
Recently 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.
Recent Student Achievements
Gymnastics: Indy Dinou has qualified as the youngest gymnast in Wellington for the Wellington Nationals Squad to compete at NZ Gymnastics Nationals in Invercargill in July. Well done!
Recent Student Achievements
Dance: Eloise Barber (Room 1) has been selected to dance with the Royal New Zealand Ballet in their upcoming season of
Cinderella. She is very excited – it will be a fantastic experience for her. Congratulations!
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
Massey University Biodiversity & Childhood Health Study
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!
