Principal's Message
Kia ora koutou
Welcome to TERM 2!
With colder weather on its way we need to ensure kids and staff stay well. Last term there was a spike in Covid cases at other schools and colleges, but PBS seemed to scrape through with only a handful of cases. Our team really appreciated the times last term when parents kept sick kids at home; this is probably what made all the difference to our levels of good health at school. Thank you all.
Winter is not far away, so it’s timely to ensure kids have clothing prepared for those colder and wetter days. Suitable footwear and coats will be needed. We also suggest packing an extra layer of clothing in school bags in case the weather turns. Keeping heads warm (I love a good beanie!) and dressing appropriately for the temperature will ensure the majority of kids stave off colds and viruses. We’ve got this!
Parent Education Evening – I hope you’ve remembered that PBS has guest speaker Rob Cope coming to talk to us about Cyber Safety next Thursday evening (see details later in this newsletter). I highly recommend at least one parent from each family attends. Our school car park will be available for additional parking on the night.
On the topic of digital device use, we have updated our School’s Cellphone and Personal Digital Device Procedure. You can read the details of this later in this newsletter.
Dates for your diary:
- Parent Education Evening on Cyber Safety – Thursday, 4 May at 7pm (more details below)
- Mid-Year Learning Conferences – Wednesday, 21 June (School will be closed for instruction on this day)
- Matariki Celebration – Tuesday, 27 June
PRINCIPAL’S GREAT NEWS CORNER:
Sharing good news spreads positivity, changes attitudes and ultimately leads to more people feeling encouraged and happy
On a professional and personal note I wish to let you know that I have been awarded a sabbatical for Term 3. During my sabbatical I will be continuing my Psychology Studies with a particular focus on wellbeing in leadership.
During Term 3, Sarah Chambers will lead PBS with Vicki Wilson as her Deputy Principal. Planning is underway to backfill Vicki’s Assistant Principal role as well.
I feel doubly fortunate, firstly to have been awarded the sabbatical release and secondly to be able to step away for a term with utmost confidence in my leadership team. The reassurance this gives me is priceless.
Ngā mihi nui,
Jess Ward
Principal ~ Tumuaki
Welcome to Our Recent New Students
Harper, Azalea, Bella, Helenna, Lucie, Blaike – all Rm 18, Benjamin – Rm 2, Alexander – Rm 14
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/
Cybersafety Parent Evening - Next Week - Thursday, 4 May at 7pm
NB This is not appropriate for children or teenagers to attend
Attention all PBS Parents,
We want our school community to be as safe as possible for kids.
Times have changed so much since we were all children. Today our tamariki face challenges and harm online that we need to talk about and tackle together. As such, we have organised Author, Filmmaker and Speaker Rob Cope, producer of the documentary “Our Kids Online” to come and give what promises to be a humorous and eye-opening evening talk to our parent community.
His talk will cover:
- Cyberbullying – How cyberbullies can reach our kids 24/7
- Social media – The pressure for kids to build an online brand that is often far removed from their authentic selves
- Gaming and the developing brain – An oversupply of dopamine leading to dopamine deficiency, synaptic pruning, and the underdevelopment of social skills and empathy
- Inappropriate Selfies – The pressure to send photos
- Online predators – The methods they use, how to spot them, and how to get out from under their control if your child has been trapped
- Online pornography
Solutions
- Filters – Which filters are best and how to install them
- Smartphones – How to lock down a smartphone to make it a safe phone
- Boundaries – How to put good boundaries in place around device use
- 3 golden rules – The 3 golden rules that will keep your kids safe
- Talking to your kids – How to have difficult conversations with your kids
- Challenging our own phone and device usage – Reconnecting as a family
Here is a promotional video for you to watch Our Kids Online Parent Evening.
The talk will be held in our school hall on Thursday, 4 May from 7-9pm. Gold Coin entry.
We would request that at least one adult from each family attend, this topic is too big for us not to pay attention.
Thank you. Jess Ward
PBS Cell Phone/Personal Digital Device Procedure (Updated)
Introduction
Cell phones and personal digital devices are part of everyday life for many people. This procedure is to ensure they are used appropriately at school.
A personal digital device is any privately owned digital device that is not part of a school-approved bring your own device (BYOD) programme. This includes, but is not limited to, cell phones, smartwatches, tablets, gaming consoles, portable music players, e-readers and other similar devices.
Paraparaumu Beach School does not recommend that students bring personal digital devices to school as these are not necessary to have during the day. However, we do understand that some parents like their children to have a device to communicate with them after school.
Guidelines and Procedures:
- We discuss the school rules about personal digital devices at the beginning of the year, and throughout the year as needed
- Student cell phones are handed in to the class teacher to be stored between 9-3pm. The device must be switched off and placed in the class box on arrival to school and collected at the end of the day on departure
- The school does not accept responsibility for lost, damaged, or stolen personal digital devices
- Students must hand their personal digital device to their classroom teacher at the beginning of the day, and can collect their device at the end of the day. Smartwatches and other communicating watches may be worn at school, provided these are switched to flight mode for the duration of the school day
- Student’s personal digital devices may not be taken on EOTC events, unless specifically stated by the classroom teacher or teacher responsible for offsite activity (eg: in some situations, students may be allowed to take their cellphones to use as a camera)
- If a parent needs to contact their child urgently during the day, they should call the school office
- For communicating during emergency situations (e.g. earthquake, lock-down, fire), the school will follow the relevant emergency procedures
- If a student is acting outside of these guidelines e.g. using cellphone at break times, then their device will be confiscated and stored until the end of the school day. Additionally, the student may be asked to leave the phone at home if they repeatedly don’t adhere to these guidelines
- If a cell phone is used for harmful purposes the teacher may ask for the phone to be handed in and it will be held by the teacher/deputy principal until collected (at specified time). Refer to Search, Surrender and Retention of Property procedure
- In exceptional circumstances, a pupil may seek prior permission from a staff member to use the phone to check or send a message during the school day
Guidelines and Procedures for Staff and Relievers use:
- Cell phones on the school site are the responsibility of the owner
- Cell phones will be turned to silent during meetings
- Private usage will be kept to a minimum to ensure active engagement with job responsibilities
- During learning / teaching sessions and playground supervision, cell phones may be used for curriculum purposes e.g. stopwatch, see-saw, eTap access
- Staff are able to access the school WIFI and must adhere to the school’s Digital Technologies procedure and the Teachers Code of Conduct https://teachingcouncil.nz/professional-practice/our-code-our-standards/
Conclusion
Any personal digital devices that are brought to school should not become a distraction to the learning environment.
Fun Run
Just a reminder to order your prizes for the Fun Run as the closing date is Friday.
Also if you have raised any money online can you please send it to the office in an envelope marked “Fun Run”.
Thanks – PTA
New Entrant Information Meeting - Change of Venue
As the administration block is getting refurbished we will now be holding the New Entrant Information Meeting in Room 20 this Friday at 10.00am.
Looking forward to seeing new parents of any new entrant children from Terms 1 and 2.
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
