FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK

Haere Mai, welcome back to term 2!!

I trust you have all had a wonderful break over Easter and the two weeks. Term 2 brings a change in temperature, usually lots of rain so please ensure your child has warmer “NAMED” clothing, gumboots are wonderful to wear here as we do end up with a bit of mud!!

Some Housekeeping reminders and notes:

  1. Drop off and Pick up times are all about health and safety. DROP Off time is after 8.15 am. PICK up time is 2.55 to 3.20pm. We cannot guarantee enough supervision any earlier or later.
  2. Parking at Pick up – please do not park on the roundabout. Try and be respectful to others and park as close to the next vehicle as is safe. You can stagger your time to pick up and come after the buses, they are usually gone by 3.10pm. Some families do come later and find there is a lot more room.
  3. Children at Pick up – all year 1’s must be picked up by the Puriri class from one of the teachers – Mrs. Collins or Miss Rowlands. Year 2-6 children line up and walk down with their teacher to go to the bus lines in the hall or to wait for pick up under the bus shelter. Year 7&8’s are released from the class and go to the hall or wait under the bus shelter for pick up.  NO STUDENT goes to the carpark at the bottom on their own, it can be very unsafe.
  4. Lunches – Munch Box has closed their business sadly for us. If anyone is interested in running a Lunch service please let me know. Meanwhile, we will look at having fundraiser lunches on a Friday.

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING

Property in the Holidays – Lots has been happening to ensure our school is improved!! Have you noticed a few things?!

  1. The school is now completely repainted – the hall, and Puriri classroom has all been repainted as was the rest of the school 18 months ago. The outside of all school buildings has been professionally cleaned.
  2. Drainage is being completed around the back of Kiwi team block and a retainer wall built to improve the big playground. We can then re-bark this area.
  3. The large Macrocarpa tree behind Totara and Matai class has been chopped down to ensure all the pine needles no longer block the gutters. There will be a huge amount of wood if anyone would like to purchase this for firewood. This job has been completed by Dizzy Heights Tree Services, owned by Dion Mayes a parent of Wainui School.
  4. The security system for the school has been upgraded.

Kindo our new online payment system is now up and running. All payments will be required to go through here. This is widely used in many schools around New Zealand, it does require you to initially register as a user. If you need help or access to the internet we have a separate laptop set up in the office area for you to use. Hockey and Netball fees must all be paid using Kindo. Please go to the site to register; go to http://kindo.co.nz/

We are very excited about having this system because it will make our systems a lot more efficient although as with everything it will take a bit of time for us all to get used to. Click here for a YouTube clip on how to purchase and pay using Kindo. Kindo YouTube Tutorial

THIS WEEK

Bike-a-thon – Time for all the monies to be collected in. The last day to hand in your money is this Friday 3rd May. The prizegiving for all the prizes to be distributed is on “Pink Shirt Day”, Friday 17th May. All monies collected are to further improve the playgrounds.

William Pike Challenge Launch evening Wednesday 6.30pm in the hall –  On Wednesday, the 1st May, 6.30pm in the Wainui School hall, William Pike (director, author, and amputee) will launch the William Pike Challenge Award (WPCA) for our Year 8 students. This is an open invitation to anyone and everyone, regardless of age, to attend and listen to William’s real-life account of being critically injured on Mt Ruapehu when a volcanic eruption occurred. Even after having his leg amputated, William is still a fanatical outdoorsman. He will challenge you to be passionate, resilient, and embrace challenges and make sure every day is a good day. William is a very sought after keynote speaker so come and take hold of this opportunity!! Click here for the flyer. Wainui School Launch Poster 2019

William Pike adventurer, Inspirer
https://williampike.co.nz/wpca/

A chance to become young explorers through exciting outdoor activities, community service, and personal development is a reality for Wainui School as we take part in the WPCA this year. Our Year 8 students will join more than 3,000 other students from over 95 schools across the nation as they embark on the WPCA.
Over this year, our young people will be participating in 5 outdoor activities, 20 hours of community service and personally develop a new passion project in order to gain the award. These adventurous opportunities help students develop essential soft skills such as leadership, values, empathy, independent thinking, and teamwork as well as contributing to their local communities. Student and teacher feedback shows that students are becoming more resilient, capable and connected as a result of participating in the WPCA.
We look forward to welcoming William into our school community to further develop the potential of our children. (Invitation from Mr. Jason Irvine.)

NEXT WEEK

Paid Union Meetings for all the teachers around the country will be held next week to vote on the latest pay negotiations. This includes the teachers of Wainui School. Our teachers will attend the meeting held on Wednesday 8th May in the afternoon. It is a legal requirement that all union members attend a meeting. We ask if you are able, to pick up your child/ ren at lunchtime 12.45pm. This is the safest course of action for Wainui School as there will only be two teachers not attending. If you are unable to provide childcare for the afternoon, please email the office on [email protected] by Friday 3rd May, as there is a skeleton staff able to provide supervision.

COMING UP

Board of Trustees Elections – Every three years the Board of Trustees for schools in New Zealand are elected. This current term has seen a very stable positive group of parents elected to govern Wainui School. Chairperson, Drew Gilpin, Vice Chair and Property, Nadine Phillips, Finance, Tracey Woodcock, Community, Nikki Browne and Brent Robinson. Staff trustee, Jason Irvine and Principal, Gillian Bray. Nominations are now invited for the election of 5 Trustees for the next 3 years. The current Board of Trustees can all re-stand for election, the only Board Member not voted on is the Principal. Mel Ludwig is the current Board Secretary and is the Returning Officer for the 2019 election.

Please see the BOT Elections 2019 Info prepared by the Returning Officer that is in the local paper as well, for further details on the election process. Being a Board member is a very rewarding role, you have wonderful insight and a part to play in the future of Wainui School. If you would like to have a chat about being a Board member I am only too happy to talk to you about the time factor, the role of the Board, etc. Please do not hesitate to contact me to make a time to meet.

FINALLY  

FOWS Meeting – The next meeting is on Thursday 2nd May at 7pm in the staffroom. This group is a wonderful part of our school as they make the extra funds we need to keep on improving our grounds and learning programmes. This term they are organising the “Annual Trivia Night”.

Come and join this vibrant fun group and be part of helping your child’s school be even better!!

The “Annual Trivia Night” date is set for Saturday 15th June at 6.30pm. The theme is Country & Western. More information to come but put this on your calendar now!!

Ka kite ano,

Gillian Bray

OTHER

A reminder that School Photo Day is Friday 10th May. Please drop your Photo Day forms into the box in the office before Photo Day. We will also be taking photos of our sports teams so remember to bring your uniforms on the day.

The Enviro Group – Is looking for cuttings of succulents please, that are suitable to be grown in our pallet garden at school. If you could help it would be greatly appreciated. Please bring to Miss Stevenson in exchange for tokens.

ICAS Exams (available for Years 4 – 8) will be sat online this year and all papers are $15.00 each.

The testing dates are as follows:

ICAS Digital Technologies – Tues 3 Sep

ICAS Science                    – Thu 5 Sep

ICAS Writing                      – Tues 10 Sep

ICAS Spelling Bee             – Thu 12 Sep

ICAS English                     – Tues 17 Sep

ICAS Maths                       – Thur 19 Sep

If you are interested in your child sitting any of these exams, please let Mrs Taylor know via email: [email protected]

The closing date for all entries is: Friday 2nd August.

Further information about these exams can be found at: https://unsw.global/icas   

University of Canterbury is offering competitions in English, Science and Maths (available for Years 5-8). These tests are skills-based and closely align with the NZ curriculum.  Each competition cost is $9.00. These competitions are also online and will run in the last 3 weeks of Term 2 and one week of Term 3.

If you would like to register your child for any of these competitions, please let Mrs Taylor know via email: [email protected] . Entries (along with the fee) need to be back at school by Friday 17th May.

Further information about these competitions can be found at: https://www.cem.canterbury.ac.nz/

SPORTS RESULTS

With the winter sports of netball and hockey starting this term, don’t forget to email your sports results to Miss Ludwig in the office,[email protected] 

CERTIFICATES

  • At the last assembly, the following students received certificates for “Reflective”.
    • Kauri: Benjamin Baker, Jakob Kerr.  Writing: Maddison Ditchburn.
    • Kahikatea: Hannah Garside, Regan Lowe.  Writing: William Houghton.
    • Rimu: Ava Elliott, Paige McGregor.  Writing: Bella Browne Hale.
    • Matai: Lily Haswell, Noah Moss.  Writing: Mikayla Wacokecoke.
    • Totara: Pearle Cameron, Logan Grey.  Writing: Jacob Woodcock.
    • Nikau: Caitlin Bailey, Jaime Tolhopf.  Writing: Raya Sams.
    • Kowhai: Hamish Allen, Jakob Brown.  Writing: Rosie Gulik.
    • Kohekohe: Travis Dunning, Emily Gray.  Writing: Jett Le.
    • Pukatea: Amelia Bridges, Carlow Murtagh.  Writing: Tripp Glasgow.
    • Rata: Jackson Mallon, Isla Mexted.  Writing: Morgan Price.
    • Karaka: Mackenzie King, Arno Potgieter.  Writing: Kobi Cooke.
    • Puriri Rua: James Gray, George Jarvie.  Writing: Jack Stephenson.
    • Puriri: Kayami Atkinson, Elora Sothern.  Writing: Tavana McCulluch.

    Our amazing Hellyer Cup Winners were Zoe Heaton (Totara), Talia Minton (Matai) and Yudai Seino (Rimu).

FOR YOUR CALENDAR

  • Wednesday 1st May – William Pike Challenge Award Launch in the School Hall – 6.30pm.
  • Thursday 2nd May – FOWs Meeting – 7pm.
  • Friday 3rd May – Bike-a-thon sponsorship money and forms due in.
  • Wednesday 8th May – Paid Union Meeting for teachers.
  • Wednesday 8th May – BOT Meeting – 6.30pm.
  • Friday 10th May – School Photo Day.
  • Friday 17th May – Entries close for University of Canterbury Exams.
  • Friday 17th May – Bike-a-thon Prizegiving.
  • Friday 17th May – Pink Shirt Day.
  • Friday 24th May – BOT Election Nominations close – 12 noon.
  • Friday 7th June – BOT Election Day, voting closes – 12 noon.
  • Friday 14th June – Elected Board of Trustees take office.
  • Saturday 15th June – Country & Western Quiz Night – 6.30pm.
  • Friday 2nd August – Entries close for ICAS Exams.

COMMUNITY

Marrzipan
Is your child shy? Do they feel intimidated by the idea of public speaking and performance? Do they sometimes find it difficult to make eye contact? Do they just need dedicated time per week to just be CRAZY?! Come and join the revolutionary self-confidence programme – Marrzipan! We run awesome classes at schools, which focus on key life skills and public speaking ability. We play fun engaging games and perform at the end of term once to parents and once to the school. All scripts are original, engaging, educational and HILARIOUS. You can sign your child up for a Trial Lesson via our website www.marrzipandrama.co.nz (we have contact numbers on there too, should you prefer to talk to a human!)
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