FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK

Kia ora Koutou,

Time is flying, we are practicing Christmas songs, carols and dances for Christmas in the Country and plans are being made for the end of year and 2024!!

Thank you for supporting Wainui School on Friday as we dealt with an unfortunate situation concerning a threatening email, which required a strong response based on ensuring the health and safety of all.  We thank the local police who fully supported us, and ensured we were all safe .

It is good to see that a new Government has now been officially formed after a period of some uncertainty.  At this stage it is too early to clarify what exactly this will mean with regards to the education sector, but undoubtedly there will be changes and you will be kept fully updated.

News letter focus

  • Junior Athletics
  • Whole School Assembly
  • Sausage Sizzle
  • Christmas in the Country
  • Swimming Pool

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING

Junior Athletics

  • A wonderful day was had on Thursday by all year 1- 3 students competing in their annual athletics! There were the traditional skills and lots of fun races as well! The field looked amazing, the organisation was awesome and the weather was kind to us! The perfect recipe for a great Athletics Day. Thank you to Mrs.Howard for your organisation and Mr. Bray for the athletics field looking so good.

Athletics 2023 – superb day!

THIS WEEK 

  • Whole School Assembly –  Friday 1st December at 2:00pm – Both Kiwi and Pukeko teams will lead this assembly in performance and be receiving the Hellyer Cups after last week’s Assembly had to be cancelled. We look forward to seeing many parents there!
  • Principals for the Day – Friday 1st December all day!!  This too was affected last Friday, so this week Sophie, Miki, and Liam Scott will be the Principals of Wainui School for the day! I had to give them the day off and step back last Friday due to the nature of the emergency! I sure look forward to a day of fun for everyone and a rest for me, some children were most upset about the fact I missed my day off!!
  • Sausage Sizzle will also happen this Friday 1st of December (probably the last one for the year!). Sausages $2 and Juicies $2.

COMING UP

  • Christmas in the Country – Sponsored by Simone du Bernard is nearly here!! We all love this event!! We are going to hold this down on the field, bring your picnic blankets and low deck chairs (don’t block other people’s view)!! You can buy a BLT, sausages, nachos, have a coffee or cone and some chocolate brownies. You are also welcome to bring your own picnic and join us for this annual much-loved event that the whole neighbourhood can enjoy!! The teachers will be cooking, serving and supporting their classes in the entertainment! The year 7&8’s are going to have their Enterprise stalls where you can buy some fudge, a chopping board, homemade ice cream, or biscuits!! You might even find a Christmas present or two. We just need fine weather to ensure our fun can go ahead!!

FINALLY  

  • Justine and Cassidy Van Dam from Deep End Pools with their sign!

    Our Swimming Pool is open!! Yes, we will be selling key access codes in the next week. The pool will be open after hours and over the holidays although the statutory holidays and a little more, it will be closed. The pool looks great thanks to the fact that we have the Robot donated by the Van Dam Family and Deep End Pools. We are so fortunate to have the pool and love this privilege.

Thank you to the Hewitt family, Ryan Hewitt will be looking after the pool when Mr Bray is not working.

We have an amazing community and facilities! 2024 will see the pool sheds having a make-over!!

Ka kite ano,

Gillian Bray

FOR YOUR CALENDAR

  • Wednesday 29th of December – Yr 8 Graduation Dinner.
  • Friday 1st of December – Principal for the Day.
  • Friday 1st of December- Lunch time Sausage Sizzle – Sausages $2 and Juicies $2.
  • Friday 1st of December – Kiwi & Pukeko Teams Assembly – 2pm.
  • Tuesday 5th of December – Board Meeting – 6:30pm.
  • Friday 8th of December – Helpers Morning Tea.
  • Wednesday 6th December – Summer Sports Prizegiving – 2pm.
  • Thursday 7th of December – Christmas In The Country – 5:30pm.
  • Tuesday 19th December – Last day of the term – Finish at 1pm.

OTHER

Summer Sports Prizegiving – On Wednesday 6th December, we will be having our Summer Sports Prizegiving. This will be held in the school hall, starting at 2pm. We will be celebrating achievements in Cross Country, Athletics and the participation in Summer Touch and Netball. Everyone is welcome to attend these awards, recognising sporting success at Wainui.

Kirsty Clark – Counsellor – With mixed emotions, we would like to inform you that our school counsellor, Kirsty Clark, has decided to step away from her role after two years of service at Wainui School to focus on her family. During her time with us, Kirsty has provided invaluable guidance and support to our students through her nurturing and compassionate approach. We wholeheartedly support Kirsty’s decision to prioritise her family and wish her all the best in her future endeavours. Her contributions to our school community will be deeply missed.

Please be assured that our school counselling services will continue uninterrupted throughout the 2024 school year. We are currently engaged in a process to identify a new counsellor, who shares Kirsty’s commitment to supporting student well-being. We will keep you informed of our progress.

COMMUNITY

The best gift you can give to your child / children is to allow them to free play in natural settings these Christmas & Summer School Holidays with CK!
The Conscious Kids Social Enterprise invites your tamiriki to a 100% play-in-nature school holiday programme.
Nature play has proven physical, emotional, and social health benefits. Our supervised programme allows kids to lead their own activities – mudslides, tree climbing, puddle splashing, hammock and hut building etc. We aim to provide an antidote to the fast-paced technology-filled world many children now inhabit, within our framework of fun, respect to themselves, others, and the environment. Such child-led play enhances creativity, problem-solving, communication (including listening!), collaboration and many other 21st century skills.
Our Christmas Programme will run for a week (from the 18th to 22nd of December) and the Summer Programme will run for three weeks (from the 8th to the 26th January), both at the cost of $75/child per day.
The days run from 9am to 3pm and are designed for children aged 5-12 years old. For booking and more information, please visit http://www.consciouskids.co.nz

This Christmas morning on Newstalk ZB – it’s ‘The Star of Christmas’ singing competition on the Crazy Kiwi Christmas Kids Show.

The grand prize is the opportunity to record a Christmas carol in studio with Nathan King, lead singer from Zed. That’ll include return flights for two to Auckland (if you’re outside of Auckland), hotel accommodation, and a music studio tour.  I’ve attached a few different posters with essential information that can be pasted directly into your newsletter. If you’d rather, I’ve also attached a blurb below you can insert into a newsletter.

To enter, students* just need to email a recording of them singing a Christmas carol or song to [email protected].

*Note that to qualify, students must be under the age of 13.