Principal's Message
Tena koutou
With December getting closer we are all
busy tying up many aspects of the school year, including assessments, end of year events as well as planning for 2022. Our last day of school this year is Wednesday, 15 December and please be aware that school closes at 12.30pm on this final day.
We were grateful for sunny weather last week as this enabled us to carry out our full school Tsunami Evacuation practice. This practice enabled us to identify parts of our planning that worked well and parts that we need to tweak. All staff and students managed to evacuate the school site within 5 minutes and get on their way to Mazengarb Reserve. This evacuation practice hasn’t always happened annually, but it is our intention to make it so moving forward.
It’s unfortunate that so much of a Principal’s job is paperwork these days. Whilst I love opportunities to get into classrooms and out and about with kids, I’m finding it harder and harder to do, especially with the pandemic adding so much more work to the schedule. But I know that being more involved with students is where the joy is for me and therefore I am determined to achieve this goal in 2022. I’ll make it my new year’s resolution!
One example of incredible student’s learning is the work our PBS TV crew are producing. David Parr has set this group of students up to work independently every morning to broadcast the Daily Messages to classrooms. Classes tune into the TV station at 9.05am for the daily news and weather, there are also advertisements included. Of course this is only the beginning of what we hope this group will achieve in the future. We hope that in 2022 we’ll be able to share more of this with a wider audience. The photo below shows the crew all prepped for this morning’s broadcast. Thanks for bringing the joy team! You inspire me!
Nga mihi
Jess Ward – Tumuaki ~ Principal
Welcome to Our Recent New Students
There were no new students this week
Classes for 2022 and Transition Visits
In preparation for 2022 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 Wednesday, 8 December. On this day students will spend 40 minutes with their 2022 class and they will bring home a letter informing parents. Class lists will then be displayed in the Library windows from that evening onwards.
End of Year Reporting
NB: The @Schoolapp has changed its name to @school Mobile in the App Store/Play Store
At PBS all our reporting is online. 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.
On the @Schoolapp dashboard click on “learning space” which takes you to your child’s “spotlight learning portal”.
What we need parents to do? We require every parent to register for the @Schoolapp (now called @school Mobile in the App Store/Play Store) regardless of the age of your child. Although the Spotlight portal is accessed through the @Schoolapp so are many other functions we would like parents to be aware of e.g. checking your child’s attendance, checking how often your child visits the medical room and general notices. Please make sure you have downloaded this app and click ‘notifications’.
What will 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.
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 do their performance 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 (or 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 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 Years 7 & 8 students. We are planning to live-stream this event as parents/whānau will be unable to attend
- Parent-Helper Morning Tea: Unfortunately this has been cancelled this year
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.
Kia mārire tō reo – Use your quiet voice
Were Your Ears Burning?
Staff Gratitude Section
A big thank you to John Trask who does so much to keep PBS looking fantastic. John is simply the best school caretaker a school could ask for. He is an incredibly hard worker who role models everything our school CREST values stand for. The kids think he’s the bee’s knees and so do the staff! Thanks JT!
Kid's Quote
Student: “How do you know we’re twins?
Staff member: “Because you’re in the same class, you’re sisters and you were born on the same day.”
Road Patrollers
Each year, Kapiti Coast District Council run a competition for the school road patrollers to design a banner to represent the school and how to keep our tamariki safe while crossing roads.
This year’s road patrol banner has been created by Kayla Collett and Olivia Rolls. They have done an excellent job of capturing our school community and the importance of safely crossing the road using the patrolled crossings. They have even highlighted the need for parents to wear masks as they enter the school gates in 2021. Ka pai, Olivia and Kayla!
Scholastic Book Orders
Scholastic flyers were handed out last week. The last day to order is Wednesday, 1 December. We will endeavour to get orders out before the last day of school (Wednesday, 15 December).
Any questions feel free to ask at the school office or email Paula office@pbs.school.nz
Nespresso Coffee Pods
Room 1 are collecting Nespresso type aluminium coffee pods for recycling. Please place them in the box outside the staff room before Week 8 so we can send off a full box.
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
