Principal's Message
Tena Koutou
There are so many things I want to relay to you today that I have decided to section off my Principal’s blurb under sub-headings. Happy reading!
Covid-19 and the Vaccine Mandate
As a school we are doing our very best to stay up to date with the new rules and requirements. Staff have been asked to provide information to me about their vaccination status. As you’ll be aware, no school staff (nation-wide) are allowed to remain working if they do not comply with the government’s mandate, unless the staff member holds an exemption. Paraparaumu Beach school will comply fully with the mandate rules.
The Ministry of Education has been providing guidance for schools on how to manage the next issue of ensuring volunteers, parent helpers, sub-contractors etc meet the mandatory vaccination requirements as covered under the Public Health Order. As you can imagine, in a school our size, this is a massive task and an ongoing task at that. The Ministry has developed a table to help Principals and Boards understand the types of roles in the education sector that will be covered by the Public Health Order requirement to get vaccinated.
The general principles for the application of the Order are:
*All workers/volunteers who carry out work at or for a school fall under the requirements of the Order if:
+They may have contact with students when carrying out their work or
+They are present at the school when students are also present
*The worker has a duty under the Order to ensure they meet the vaccination requirements
*Where the worker is a staff member of a service contracted to the school, the service provider is responsible for ensuring the worker meets the requirement of the order.
I will update you as more defined information is available to Principals and Boards.
Mask Wearing/Contact Tracing
I have noticed that a few parents, caregivers and grandparents are coming onto the school site without masks recently. If you do not have a mask, then please remain outside the school gates. Thank you. (NB: School staff and staff contracted by the school or Ministry are not required to wear masks).
Camp Thanks
A massive thank you to all our parents who accompanied us on Te Moana team’s camps to Kaitoke last week. The teachers of Te Moana were so grateful to have you there to support students, especially when weather altered a few plans. Additional thanks to the teachers of Te Moana for organising a superb camp experience. The kids had so much fun!
Tsunami Evacuation Practice – Wednesday, 17 November
Please note that under our blanket consent process, we will not be collecting separate parental permission for this evacuation drill. During this drill students and staff will practise an earthquake scenario followed by a full school evacuation – walking briskly down Guilford Drive, Central Park/Terry Lane and to the back of Mazengarb Park. We will assemble there, check class roles, fulfill other checks on our evacuation procedure and then return to school. Students will know this is a drill beforehand so we can avoid undue stress or anxiety.
Kind regards
Jess Ward – Tumuaki ~ Principal
Welcome to Our Recent New Students
Emily – Rm 3
William – Rm 29
Dhyey – Rm 20
Staff Farewells
It is with great sadness that I am letting you know that two long standing teachers are leaving at the end of this school year.
Gill Snowsill, who is currently teaching in Year 7-8, is leaving teaching. Gill is looking for new adventures in the education setting where she hopes to use her skills in Digital Literacy. Personally I think Gill would be wonderful working at the Ministry of Education in the curriculum development team for building teacher knowledge and developing resources to support curriculum delivery. Gill has been teaching at Paraparaumu Beach School since 1999. Apart from taking time off to have her own kids, she has been a constant fixture and dedicated classroom teacher over this time.
Shelley Evans, who is currently teaching in Year 5-6, has won a new position as the Resource Teacher of Literacy for the Ōtaki-Kāpiti region. This means Shelley will be travelling between primary schools to help implement reading intervention programmes. Shelley has been teaching at PBS for 13 years, so like Gill, her departure will be felt by us all. However, we take great heart in the fact that we know Shelley’s expertise in the area of literacy will benefit a wider pool of students. This new job also means we will still get to see Shelley when she visits students at our school as part of her new role.
We wish both Shelley and Gill all the very best for 2022 and beyond, and we thank them whole-heartedly for all they have done during their time at Paraparaumu Beach school.
Update on Term 4 Events
Annual Kapa Haka Festival: Sadly due to pandemic restrictions the district Kapa Haka festival has been cancelled this year. We have plans to video our performance group (Years 5-8) for parents to view. The Kapa Haka will also still perform for syndicate groups (outdoors) between now and the end of term.
Cultural Performance Showcase: Our own annual performance showcase has been cancelled this year.
Year 8 Leaver’s Dinner: All parents (of Year 8 students) received a letter yesterday about this event. The students will still be able to attend the dinner, but please read the letter you received outlining how we intend to carry out the speeches and certificates section of the evening
Year 5-8 Prizegiving: We will be breaking this into two different events, one for Years 5 & 6 and the other for Year 7 & 8 students. We are planning to live-stream this event as parents/whānau will be unable to attend.
Thank you for your understanding.
Contributions
If you have any school contributions outstanding for this year we would really appreciate your support. Payments can still be made, via KINDO for school donations, payments for Education Perfect (Year 7-8), IXL and Tech Centre costs (Year 7-8) etc. Every little bit helps us tremendously.
Thank you.
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.
Whakawhetai – Give thanks
Whakapāha – Apologise
Were Your Ears Burning?
Staff Gratitude Section
It’s the time of year when we are busy planning budgets for the new year. This job would be significantly more difficult without the time and diligence of PBS Accounts Manager, Libby Richardson. Thanks so much Libby – your work is so greatly appreciated!
Kid's Quote
Our junior classes often count off the number of days or weeks the children have been at school. Yesterday one 5 year old told me…
“I have been at school for 20 years now!”
Netball Uniforms
Netball uniforms for Yrs 4-8 students need to be returned by Friday of this week (12 Nov). Invoices will be sent home for all uniforms not returned by this date ($20 per item).
Thank you – Vicki Wilson
Ezlunches - Available Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
Lunches are now available from Ezlunch via your Kindo account every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
You can view our lunch menu here: https://shop.tgcl.co.nz/shop/pdf/school/paraparaumu_beach_school/Menu.pdf
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
PBS has launched an online community directory for the Kapiti Coast.
The Paraparaumu Beach School Community Directory is an online, user-maintained list of businesses, events, and opportunities in the Kapiti area and gives local businesses the opportunity to support PBS while promoting themselves and improving their search engine visibility. It has replaced the community notices section of our school newsletter.
To view the new community directory and for instructions on how to advertise, please click here
