FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S LAPTOP
Tēnā koutou katoa
What a wonderful few weeks at Matua School. Our Senior Camp at Aongatete was a great success with students and staff building strong relationships through a wide range of activities. It is certainly an enduring primary school memory for many.
There are a number of building activities coming up in the next weeks. Firstly the new classrooms will arrive on site next Thursday. The new senior playground is also due to be installed in the coming holidays. We are very excited to get these projects underway.
We look forward to meeting with you at our first goal setting conferences to share and discuss your child’s learning pathway for the first half of the year. Booking is now open. Please see details in this newsletter.
It is with sadness that we farewell our caretaker, Tim Millar, who is off on a new adventure. We wish him all the best. Work is underway to have a new caretaker start for Term 2.
Our wonderful, hard-working PTA is well underway with our gala. This year the gala will be held on a Saturday and promises to be bigger and better than ever.
Ngā mihi
Craig Wallis
Principal
GOAL SETTING INTERVIEWS
We are holding our goal setting interviews this term in week 8.
Mr James Morris will be holding his interviews on Monday the 19th and Tuesday the 20th March. The rest of the staff will be holding their interviews on Wednesday the 21st March from 1.15pm to 7.15pm, and Thursday the 22nd from 1.15pm to 5.15pm.
School will close on the 21st and 22nd at 12.30pm. Interviews are for 15 minutes and we do encourage you to bring your child/children along with you to the interviews.
To book your ‘Goal Setting Interview’, go to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz. Find Matua School. The event code that you need to put in is n7cq4. Interviews are open to book from Friday afternoon.
Skids will be available if you need childcare for your children. Call 027 586 0408 to book or email matua@skids.co.nz
OUR SCHOOL APP
Our School App
We have a new school app to keep you up to date with events and notifications. Click on the button below to check it out.
LIBRARY
ORAL LANGUAGE IN OUR COMMUNITY
Tips from the Otumoetai Community of Learning to foster Oral LanguageDeveloping Oral Language in the Early YearsIt is through talk that children communicate their thoughts and feelings, their needs and desires, curiosity and wonder.Take time to listen when your child wants to tell you something that is important to them and answer their questions. This will nurture their sense of curiosity and wonder.
SETTING UP KINDO
Setting up with Kindo
Kindo is our new prefered payment and permission system. To help you learn how it works, we’ve added their new help sheet and video. We hope it helps.
KINDO VIDEO HELP
PTA
SCHOOL GALA
The countdown is on to our annual school gala. Don’t miss a great family day out, there will be carnival rides, bouncy castles, pony rides and a petting zoo. Lots of games, stalls and hot food including a cake stall, plant stall and white elephant stall. Saturday 24 March 10am-3pm, Matua School Grounds & Hall, see you there!
ARMY BATTLE
This year at our gala we have special guests the Fifth Waikato Dragoons Regiment leading an Imperial Army battle. During the day kids can enlist in the army, at the sign up tent pay $2 and someone will take name, height, eye colour and other details. At 1.30pm all the kids who have enlisted will meet by the army tent. They will be issued with a newspaper sword and two flour bombs and the army men will explain the rules and procedures. The battle will start at 2pm, depending on how many kids we may have a junior and a senior battle. Be ready for some FUN and MESS! Kids can dress up and bring along a homemade cardboard shields to help defend themselves.
PLANT STALL
This year we’re having a plant stall at the school gala. If you, your neighbours or family members have any spare plants at home please drop them off to Room 10 (by the turf).
WHITE ELEPHANT STALL
If you have some spare time this weekend, please rummage around at home and bring in any pre-loved items in great condition. Collection for the White Elephant Stall is in the School Hall Foyer. We would love any pre-loved toys, books, homeware and other items in GREAT condition. We also have a trolley you can borrow in the foyer.
PARENT HELP
As with previous years, each class is responsible for planning and running a stall at the gala. This is done in conjunction with students and parents and the classroom teacher. To make this great event a success we need your help. Sign up forms for your class stalls are displayed in a prominent location near the entrance to your child’s classroom, please fill in the time slots you are able to assist with. If you have any other family members who are able to assist in any way, the PTA are also looking for extra help running the many PTA lead stalls. Offers of assistance can be emailed directly to Brenda at matuapta@gmail.com.
RAFFLE
A big part of our fundraising for the gala is the selling of raffle tickets. Last week each child should have brought home a book of 10 tickets to try and sell. Tickets are $1 each. Ticket butts, money, and any unsold tickets can be placed in the envelope attached to the tickets and returned to the box in the school office. We ask that all ticket butts, money and unsold tickets are returned to the school office by Wednesday 21 March. We already have lots of children requesting extra tickets, therefore if you do not think that your child can sell all of their tickets, please return them to the box in the office as soon as possible so they can be reallocated.
There is a double movie pass as a prize to the child that sells the most tickets. If you would like more tickets, please email your child’s name and room number to matuapta@gmail.com.
Thank you for all your support and we’re looking forward to this years gala being a great success!
PARENT NEWSLETTER – COL
Kia Ora Parents,Caregivers, and Whānau
I would like to introduce myself to the Otumoetai Kahui Ako Community.
I am Theresa Rosborough, the newly appointed Otumoetai Learning Support Coordinator for our Otumoetai Community of Learning ( Kahui Ako) based at Pillans Point School.
Until 2018 I was a Deputy Principal and SENCO for 30+ years. The last 14 years at Pillans Point School.
Last year I had the privilege to work alongside the Ministry of Education as an Advisor for the Learning Support Update which was trialed in three Kahui Ako,Otumoetai,Whakatane and Taupo.
This trial is finished and the six elements of the trial that proved to be most successful are now being implemented slowly within the Learning Support processes for students with additional needs and their families by the Ministry, schools,Early Childhood Education and alongside other service providers.
The first change you will notice as parents is that the term Special Education no longer exists. This has been changed to Learning Support. So Sencos( Special Education Coordinators within schools) are now Learning Support Teachers.
As parents your access to support is being streamlined. You may as always make a parent referral to agencies.If you prefer to work through the education system.For the Otumoetai Kahui Ako, the first step if you have a Learning Support concern, is still the the class teacher who has access to the school Learning Support Teacher who then has access to me as the Otumoetai Kahui Ako Learning Support Coordinator.My role is to assist and work towards an effective timely support process and to ensure there is access to the right support,at the right time,and that each learner is given the opportunity to progress towards their potential.
This Learning Support Update came about from meetings in 2014-16 where schools and parents asked for a better outcome for students with additional needs.
After 30+ years in this area of support I realize it will take time to see real change but I hope you will work alongside our Otumoetai Learning Support teachers and Principals and see what we can achieve together.
Homai nga ture kia wetewetea! Homai nga taurira kia whakanuia!
Show me the obstacles so i may tear them down,empower our children and praise them.
Ngā mihi
Theresa Rosborough
Learning Support Coordinator
Otumoetai Kahui Ako
theresar@pillanspoint.school.nz
The Otumoetai Community of Learning/Kahui Ako will now have access to specialist mental health clinicians at school as part of a health funded pilot focused on building children’s resilience and general wellbeing.
Julie Ryle and Fiona Putty will work alongside COL partners for 20 hours each per week, delivering specialist mental health interventions for students who have challenges with their emotional wellbeing and grow a wider understanding of how to support positive mental health within the COL.
In this role, they will work alongside Learning Support Teachers, to identify those students who may be experiencing challenges with their emotional wellbeing. They will provide advice and support to the learning support teachers and classroom teachers to deliver appropriate programmes for the students within the schools, based on the identified need.
Julie and Fiona will work closely alongside other agencies to help determine the most appropriate organisation or services to support your child.
If you have any concerns regarding your child’s emotional wellbeing, please speak to your schools learning support teacher who will be happy to discuss these with you and what the next steps might be.
Ngā mihi
ICAS COMPETITIONS
ICAS enrolments need to be completed by this Friday please. Parents of students in Years 4,5 and 6 should have received an information pack about this competition.
Please ensure you have paid by KIndo or directly to the school office by Friday.
Many thanks
Bruce Reid
Matua ICAS co-ordinator
TERM DATES 2018
Term 1 2018 – Thursday 1st Feb – Friday 13th April 2018
Waitangi Day – 6th Feb – School Closed
Good Friday – 30th March – School Closed
Easter Monday – 2nd April – School Closed
Easter Tuesday – 3rd April – School Closed
Term 2 – Monday 30th April – Friday 6th July
Queen’s Birthday – 4th June – School Closed
Term 3 – Monday 23rd July – Friday 28th September
Term 4 – Monday 15th October – Tuesday 18th December
ICAS DATES FOR 2018
Parents of children in Year 3, 4, 5 or 6 (2018) please mark in your diary the following dates for the ICAS competitions:
Digital Technologies Tuesday 8 May 2018
Science Tuesday 29 May 2018
Spelling Wednesday 13 June 2018
English Tuesday 31 July 2018
Mathematics Tuesday 14 August 2018
We will provide an information pack next year, and opportunities to ask questions. Enrolment for these competitions will take place in February.
Congratulations to all the children who participated in the competitions this year.
Bruce Reid
Matua School ICAS co-ordinator
COMMUNITY NOTICES
Dance Education Centre
228 Levers Road, Matua Tauranga & 345 Maunganui Rd, Mt Maunganui
- Weekly Classes in Mount Maunganui and Tauranga
- Dance Classes for Ages 3yrs to Adults
- Fully Qualified Teachers
- Dance tuition for classical ballet, contemporary dance, musical theatre, urban dance, adult jazz, competition work
- Dancewear Boutique on-site offering clothing, footwear, accessories and costuming
- Have DEC students in dance companies all round the world
- Contact Julie on 07 5767815 or www.dec.co.nz
Term 1 Gymnastic Academy starting up on Thursday 15th Feb, 7:45-8:45a.m, book online at http://www.
Are you terrified when your child asks you for help with their cloud based homework?
Or maybe you have your own small business and want access to all of your files on the go.
If you are sitting there asking yourself “What IS cloud based computing?”
Keep reading!!
Here at Toi-Ohomai we are helping people to break down the barriers and take control again and best of all, it’s FREE!
Our Level 2 computing course will teach you the basics of computing on the cloud using either Chromebooks or desktop pcs. You will learn about google apps and how you may be able to apply them in your own life. We also cover using email, basic trouble shooting, cyber security, privacy and social media.
Some of our classes are tailored around school hours to enable parents of school children to attend while the kids are at school.
For more information, call 0800 86 46 46 Toi-Ohomai Institute of Technology.
SAINT PATRICKS DAY FUN AT THE POOLS
Hey Kids… there’s some St Paddy’s day fun on offer at Greerton Aquatic and Leisure Centre and Otumoetai and Memorial Pools.
Head to the pools on St Patrick’s Day – Saturday, March 17 between 2pm and 5pm – for inflatable fun, games and spot prizes. Entry is $6.
It will be fun… to be sure, to be sure, to be sure!