Principal's Message
Mālō e lelei!
This week’s greeting
acknowledges our students with Tongan heritage. At this time of year it’s really easy to get swept up in the end of year rush, as we prepare for the festive season and summer holidays. The Tongan saying ‘Oua lau e kafo kae lau e lava – Stay positive and count your blessings has even greater impact for us all at this busy time, when we can sometimes get bogged down and forget to look for the silver linings. Some PBS parents obviously are already ahead of me on this front as I have gratefully received some lovely emails recently praising the work of my staff, which makes me very proud. Thank you.
Next Tuesday, 6 December at 9.15am, we are holding our final whole school Assembly for the year. These assemblies are held outside and we would love for you to join us if you have the time. It is our chance to acknowledge some people and achievements, and of course find out which Whānau Group has won our CREST competition for 2022! We encourage all our students to wear their Whānau Group colour on this day.
As the Year 0-4 students do not get to attend the Senior Prizegiving on the last day, this full assembly gives us the opportunity to give out special awards to Years 1-4 students in front of a wider audience. So cross your fingers for good weather and come along!
PRINCIPAL’S GREAT NEWS CORNER:
Sharing good news spreads positivity, changes attitudes and ultimately leads to more people feeling encouraged and happy
A big round of applause to our winning Debate Team for 2022! Congratulations to Benjamin Ross, Fletcher Cooper and Alex Kenny-Schlupwho are all from Room 14. Your skills were clearly on display throughout each of the heats and in the final competition. The judges were unanimous in deciding to name your team the winners. Awesome work!
‘Alu ā,
Jess Ward
Tumuaki ~ Principal
Welcome to Our Recent New Students
There were no new students this week
Classes for 2023 and Transition Visits
In preparation for 2023 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 Monday, 12 December. On this day students will spend 40 minutes with their 2023 class and they will bring home a letter informing parents. Class lists will then be displayed in the Library windows from Tuesday morning (13 December) onwards.
PBS Aroha Fund
One thing our school community is rich in is KINDNESS. It’s something we work hard to promote amongst our students. When we know someone is in need we try to give some additional support because not everyone’s circumstances are the same. We do our best as a school to ensure every child has equal opportunities regardless of finance or personal circumstance. Our PBS AROHA fund was set up to enable our whole community to offer support to such families.
The PBS AROHA fund enables anyone in our school community, including businesses, to donate money to help those in our school community who find it hard to make ends meet. It also means that we can provide lunches when kids don’t have any.
If you would like to contribute to this fund you can find it in KINDO labelled PBS AROHA. You can contribute $5, $10 or $20 at any time during the year. If a local business wants to make a contribution they can contact Libby on lrichardson@pbs.school.nz
Please talk to the office or to me, if you would like to know more about our PBS AROHA fund. All discussions will be confidential.
Giving a little means a lot!
Kid's Quote
“Teacher’s need coffee so they can keep up with kids!”
…There may be some truth in that 🙂
Student Work
Check out this beautiful artwork created by students in Room 14. You can really feel the movement of the water on the fish’ fins and tails!
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.
Here’s some phrases for Te Rā Kirihimete – Christmas Day
Wake up! = E oho!
Let’s unwrap the presents = Kia hura tātou i ngā taonga.
Aren’t you lucky! = Tō waimarie hoki!
What did you get? = He aha tāu i whiwhi ai?
Thank you for this present = Tēnā koe i tēnei taonga.
From the Student Council
Yr 3/4 Disco
This Friday at lunchtime the Student Council is holding a Disco for the Year 3 & 4s. This is a fundraiser for the seniors camp next year.
Tickets can be purchased through KINDO for $5 which includes entry, ice block and chippies, great dance music and lots of fun!
Whole School Assembly
Next Tuesday is our final whole school assembly. We are encouraging everyone to wear their Whānau Colours for the presentation of the Whānau trophy. We’ll also be holding the final CREST card draw. Good Luck to those students who have been demonstrating our school values this term!
End of Year Reporting
At PBS all our reporting is online throughout the year. 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.
Learning Summary (was Reports) On the @Schoolapp dashboard click on the icon called “Learning Summary” this will have a downloadable mid and end of year report which wiil be accessible in the last week of school.
What else can 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.
New Entrant Parent Information Presentation – Tātahi Syndicate
A New Entrant Information Presentation will be held for all parents of new children on Friday, 2 December 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.
Mid-Week Munchies
Yummy, scrummy mid-week munchies is on this Wednesday. Get yourself a morning tea treat from 50c – $2 each.
Fundraiser for Foodbank
Room 4’s Student Volunteer Army has been hard at work to organise an event to fundraise for the local Food Bank by hosting a movie for the Tatahi and Ngaru Syndicates. At this time of the year, it can be extremely stressful for families with the extra costs of Christmas celebrations. Our Student Volunteer Army has identified this as an area where we could all help by getting each child to donate one can of food to show we care.
To enter, students will need to bring a can of food. Spot prizes will be given during the movie. Please help us to support people in need by donating one can of food.
By Emily Hamdan and the SVA
Office Reliever - Expressions of Interest Sought
We are seeking expressions of interest from anyone who may be keen to be a last minute on call admin assistant from next year. The person would be required to be available at short notice to cover sickness and other leave and would be required to help with morning absences, telephone enquiries, first aid, photocopying etc.
If you would like to find out more, please contact Marie Barfoote, Office Manager in the office or by phoning 298 5775 during school hours.
Recent Student Achievements
Riding for the Disabled: Congratulations to Harrison Stratford who competed in the Wellington Riding for the Disabled competition day at the weekend. He got 1st place in dressage, working trail and show jumping; and 2nd place in the show jumping time trials!
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
Have You Checked Out Our Community Notices Directory?
Do you need to advertise your business, an upcoming event, need child care, or looking for a gift or new club to join? Check out the PBS Community Directory on our website https://kapiti.pbs.school.nz/
Below is an example of what you will find in the What’s Happening section:
Check out the Concept Plan for Refreshed Maclean Park Skatepark – At the Park or Online
Kapiti Coast District Council received a lot of input from early rounds of engagement and our expert skatepark designers have developed an awesome concept design to refresh the Maclean Park skatepark.
Council now invites you to review the concept design and tell us if you think we’ve got it right or if you have other ideas. The concept plans will be on display at Maclean Park, Paraparaumu from 2pm to 5pm on Saturday, 10 December. They’ll also soon be available for viewing and comment online at kapiticoast.govt.nz/haveyoursay
The online engagement will be open over the summer holidays. Then we’ll hold another public workshop with RICH Landscapes to discuss any final thoughts.
Visit us at Maclean Park on 10 December and/or check out the plans online.
