| | | | | | IMPORTANT DATES
Term 1
Week 3
Monday 13th February - Welcome back BBQ and Jump Jam - 5pm
Friday 17th February - Challenge Wānaka - info below
Week 4
Monday 20th February - Board of Trustees Meeting - 5pm - Staffroom
Week 5
Pod 8 Swimming
Tuesday 28th February - Parent Voice Meetings 3:15pm - 5pm
Wednesday 1st March - Parent Voice Meetings 3:15pm - 5pm
Friday 3rd March - El Gregoe Performance - 9:15am and 11am
Friday 3rd March - Pod 5 Assembly - 2:15pm - Hall
Week 6
Pod 7 Swimming
Tuesday 7th March - Run, Jump, Throw - Years 1-3
Week 7
Pod 3 Swimming
Tuesday 14th March - Athletics Day - Years 4-6
Friday 17th March - Pod 3 Assembly - 2:15pm - Hall
Week 8
Monday 20th March - Otago Anniversary - SCHOOL CLOSED
Tuesday 21st March - UC Athletics
Week 9
Monday 27th March - Board of Trustees Meeting - 5pm - Staffroom
Monday 27th March - Pod 7 trip to Arrowtown Museum
Wednesday 29th March - COPSSA Athletics
Friday 31st March - Pod 8 Assembly - 2:15pm - Hall
Saturday 1st April - Wānaka Trail Ride
Week 10
Thursday 6th April - End of Term 1
Term 2
Week 1
Monday 24th April - Teacher Only Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
Tuesday 25th April - ANZAC Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
Wednesday 26th April - First Day of Term 2 IMPORTANT NOTICES
Scholastic NZ Brochure
The latest Scholastic NZ Brochure is available from classrooms. If you wish to place an order, please follow the instructions on the inside back cover using Option 1 – Credit Card / LOOP. No cash / orders are accepted at school. If your order is a gift, please tick the ‘GIFT’ option, otherwise all orders are handed out to the children. Orders will close at 3pm on Monday 27th February. The brochures are now printed on recyclable newsprint. Although they are not as bright and clear it is a step in the right direction. Parent Help in Our Library Our library is seeking parent help to do some book covering for an hour or 2 each week. If you have some spare time and think that you could help out please email Melissa on [email protected]
Parent Voice Meetings Bookings for our Parent Voice Meetings on Monday 27th February and Wednesday 1st March will open this Thursday. Please go to https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/code to make a booking. The code for this event is yj5nn. Time slots are available between 3:15 to 5pm.
No Subway Lunch Orders Friday 17th February There will be no Subway orders on Friday 17th February because children will be at Challenge Wanaka. |
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2023 Annual School Activity Fee The annual activity fee is $40.00 per child for 2023. This is a compulsory fee which covers extra-curricular costs, such as those incurred by bringing visiting performers/specialists to Wānaka, for example, sports coaches, dance/music/drama performances and special events. Collecting this annual fee avoids the time consuming exercise of collecting 500 plus entry fees each time there is a performance or activity. The $40.00 payment is required by 20th February 2023. Please make your payment as soon as possible, as participation in such activities is on a user pays basis.
School Donations for 2023
Since 2010, the Ministry of Education has frozen core funding to schools. This has increased the reliance on receiving a donation from parents to adequately staff and resource the school.
Your donation assists the Board to fund the following: Specialist Music (e.g. band, instrumental) Arts extension programmes Specialist Maori Tutor and Kapa Haka Programmes Extra assistance for children in specific programmes (extension programmes, Boys/Girls Club etc) Excursions outside of the classroom to learn about our history and the environment Specialised equipment for the classrooms (e.g. computer/IT equipment) School shows (e.g. Pantomimes) Unfortunately, Wānaka Primary only receives the bare minimum in operational funding due to the school being a Decile 10 as determined by the Ministry of Education, hence the donations received truly make a difference to your child’s experience at Wānaka Primary School.
The suggested School Donation is $150.00 per child for 2023. Tax deductible receipts are issued for all donations.
Payment of the Activity Fee and School Donation can be made by:
Direct Credit to Wānaka Primary School – account 02-0673-0023784-001
Eftpos (cheque or savings no credit) available at the school office
Cash – please ensure you provide your child’s name and room number with payment
Brendan Hearle
Board Chair
Board of Trustees |
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Welcome, Haere Mai Welcome back to school for the 2023 year. Students and staff have already got stuck into learning and there is a happy buzz in the air as everyone gets on with life at school. Our children seem so happy to be back at school with their friends and teachers. We have had a number of new families and they are commenting on how welcomed they feel. It has been an excellent start and we are looking forward to an amazing year of learning.
We have a great bunch of builders working on the reclad of Pod 1 and 6, now that Pod 2 and the admin block are finished. They too are just getting on with the job and the sound of hammering and other building sounds adds to that busy buzz around the place. Pod 3 and 5 are the next pods to be reclad and that will start at the end of this term.
Our through-line this year is 'Ko Wai Tatou' - Who We Are - and follows on from our 'Ka Mua Ka Muri' through-line last year, which is still ongoing, as we delve further into the NZ Aotearoa Histories Curriculum. We are engaging in a construction/sculpture (Ministry of Education funded) Creatives Project this year which is linked into making constructions and sculptures for inside our buildings as well as out in the gardens.
Keep an eye out on notices and Seesaw information coming home from classes and pods as this initiative is happening over term 1 and term 2 at different times for different pods. We are fortunate to be working with Chrissy Wickes as our 'creative' on this project. As part of our history work we will be planning visits out into the community and over to Arrowtown as the museum there has opened a new wing focused specifically on Māori history.
Travel to School Plans Check out our website as we have a detailed travel to school plan with specific protocols to follow, especially at the entries into school. Pick Up Drop Off (PUDO) areas are just that; there is no stopping unless you can see your child under the pick up sign ready and waiting. If not you must drive off and move out of the area and come back. This is to keep the flow of traffic in this area moving and to stop the cars backing up to the round-about on Kings Drive, which happens quite often if it is raining and lots of pickups are happening at 3pm.
Please be safe and keep our children safe in the car park off Totara Terrace (dental clinic car park). Buses have the right of way as do children using the crossing, especially if it is unmanned. Do not walk with your children behind parked cars as they will do this when they are not with you and they are not readily visible to backing cars. Slow down, be patient, keep all kids safe, There is no longer a parking warden so please self-manage. Jason should only be there to monitor children NOT parents!
However the best plan of all is to try not to come into the school entrances - use the Safe Meet spots on Totara Terrace, Aubrey Road (bottom of Kelly's Flat) and Kings Drive. Try and park a wee bit away so your children are walking part of the way and getting that bit of active travel to school.
We have one walking school bus in place and we are hoping to encourage groups of parents to start up another walking school bus from a different direction and even a bike train of sorts. But that needs to come from you, the parents. If you would be interested in being part of one of these start up active school travel groups, please email the school office with your details. If there is enough need and a few supporters we will set up a meeting in the next couple of weeks.
Please follow the link here to more information about the Safe Meet Spots, etc. Teachers will be showing your children these protocols and there will be some bike and scooter skills, bus safety sessions and safe walking sessions as well to ensure our children are safe in getting to and from school. I am happy to answer any queries or listen to any ideas you might have around travelling to and from school.
Attendance Please remember that children should be walking in the school gate at 8.50am, ready to respond to the bell by 8.55am, and get their bags unpacked and be ready for learning sharp at 9.00am. Please ensure your child arrives promptly - it is a great life skill to learn early. Also we have the opposite happening with children arriving at school at 8.00am or just after. We do not want children here before 8.30am please (apart from the one bus that arrives before this time) as this is teacher preparation time and not student supervision time. If your child arrives late, after 9.00am, please remind them to report to the office as the roll would already have been called.
The Education and Training Act states that: 'students of registered schools are required to attend whenever schools are open'. Please ensure your child attends school regularly and if your child is absent, as they are unwell or won't be at school, please let the office know first thing in the morning, with a reason, so we can code the absence. If you are heading away on holiday during the school week, your child is attending out of school tuition during the day, etc, please note this is counted as an explained absence. The Ministry of Education is requiring us to follow up on children who may not be regular attenders as part of a national initiative this year. Come and have a chat if you have any queries around attendance or would like support for your child or family. Children and families are very busy these days. So remember to stop and smell the roses, especially as we get back into the routines of getting our kids to school on time, and ready for learning; and also for a bit of fun with their peers and teachers too, we hope.
Being Sun Safe Children need to have a wide brimmed sunhat at school to wear, a drink bottle and bring their own sunblock. If you would like your child's teacher to prompt them to apply sunscreen please contact their teacher directly.
Trading Cards We have already had the dreaded trading cards, of a few varieties, return to school and cause a bit of hassle. Please remind children there are to be no trading deals done at school and any cards seen being used for this purpose will be confiscated.
Primary Teachers Paid Union Meeting - Tuesday 28th Feb Primary Teachers Paid Union Meetings are being held on Tuesday 28th February in Alexandra. This meeting is to consider the latest Government offer which by the looks of it, goes no way to addressing our concerns for conditions in schools (larger classes, limited staffing and lack of operational and learning support funding). As such Wānaka Primary School will be closed at noon that day to allow teachers to travel to Alexandra for this meeting at 1.30pm, to consider the offer and our options. Other Upper Clutha Primary Schools are yet to decide which Paid Union Meeting they will attend.
Teacher Only Days for Term 1 and 2 We have two Upper Clutha Cluster Teacher Only Days in the first half of the year. These are allocated by the Ministry of Education to allow teachers to take part in professional development around the Curriculum Refresh.
On these days the school is closed for instruction. Please make alternative arrangements for your children.
MONDAY 6th March - Curriculum Refresh training around MATHEMATICS. This is a cluster day for all primary schools in the Upper Clutha.
MONDAY 24th April - Curriculum Refresh Training - this is around Garden to Table for WPS. This is likely to be a Teacher Only Day for other UC primary schools as well, as they take on a different aspect of the Curriculum Refresh. Note that this day is the first Monday of term 2 followed by ANZAC day on the 25th so Term Two will now start on WEDNESDAY 26th APRIL.
PTA Update and Meeting Tomorrow Night WEDNESDAY 8th February This morning the PTA kicked the year off with a meet and greet cuppa for new families, and old. We have an energetic, motivated team who are looking forward to fundraising and setting up WPS community events for students and parents alike. The PTA welcome you all to a meeting tomorrow night to hear about some of the activities they have planned for the year. And you don't have to worry about getting a job - they are all taken. We would just love you to come along as friends and supporters of the PTA, to meet our new chairperson, have a wine and a nibble and socialise with the PTA committee.
Welcome Back to School Picnic MONDAY 13th February - 5pm start The annual welcome back picnic will welcome families in with a Mihi Whakatau (welcome). This will be followed by the annual JUMP OFF as Pods take each other on to display the routines they have been learning over the first 2 weeks of school. Then it's picnic time (with your takeaways, fish and chips or picnic from home) and a chance to go into Pods, meet teachers and have a look around. The PTA will have drinks and ice blocks on sale. We are looking forward to catching up with you all. |
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Junior Challenge Race Information
Date: Friday 17 th February 2023
Location: Glendhu Bay
Event: Junior Challenge
Who: All students – compulsory
Registration – local Wānaka students
All local Wānaka Primary children will register online via the following link:
https://forms.gle/tqELHzQ98kckFxMu9
*Students who are starting a new school at the start of 2023: register with the name and year group of your new school
Registration closes for all Junior Challenge events on Friday 10th February
All event Information can be found on the Challenge Wanaka Junior Challenge webpage
Bus Transport:
Buses will be provided for all local Wānaka primary schools.
Bus transport timetable will be issued to schools on Monday 13th February
RACE BRIEFING & EVENT START TIME
Race briefing is compulsory for all children and will take place 5 minutes before each age category starts.
PRIZEGIVING
Will be held at the conclusion of each Year Group wave at the Western end of the Recovery Tent
DETAILED INFORMATION IS ON OUR SCHOOL WEBSITE |
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Ex-classroom Chromebooks available now...Get in Quick We have upgraded our chromebooks and now have a number of the old ones available for families. Make a donation to the school of $50 and receive a Chromebook. These are ex school owned student laptops that have been removed from the fleet this year. Whilst all laptops have been wiped of all data and checked for functionality, no warranty is implied or given. There is some cosmetic damage in line with 5+ year old devices but otherwise they are all good to go.
From next week, come into the office with your $50 donation and a Chromebook is all yours. |
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Some of the Fun we had at School Last Week
Room 27 Room 6 Pod 8 |
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SchoolDocs Wānaka Primary School works on a subscription basis with SchoolDocs to maintain, update and review our policies and procedures. SchoolDocs provides us with a comprehensive core set of policies, which have been well researched and follow the Ministry of Education National Administration Guidelines. The policies and procedures are tailored to our school, and the school supplies specific information such as our charter, and procedures for behaviour management, reporting to parents, etc. SchoolDocs updates, modifies, or creates policies in response to changes in legislation or Ministry guidelines, significant events, reviews/requests from schools, and regular reviewing from the SchoolDocs team. Our board of trustees has the opportunity to view changes/additions and comment on them before they are implemented. We will advise you when policies are up for review and how you can take part in the review. If you would like to visit our SchoolDocs site simply: Go to - https://wanaka.schooldocs.co.nz Username is "wanaka" Password "wanakaprimary" Also please note that: except where stated, the content on the site is the copyright of SchoolDocs Ltd. It may not be reproduced without written permission from SchoolDocs Ltd. |
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PTA Meeting - Tomorrow - Wednesday 8th February Our first PTA meeting for this year is this Wednesday 8th February. Come and join us in the staffroom at 7pm.
We will sadly be farewelling our wonderful PTA chair, Adele Coombs, from the last 4 years of hard work and great leadership. We welcome Rochelle Reid into that role.
We will be discussing an epic year of fundraising and community events with the plan to bring back our old favourites and introduce some new, exciting ones. We welcome any parents who would like to know more about this year’s events. Don’t worry you won’t get a job…they are all taken, but you might find something that tickles your fancy or a way you could support us. So join us for a glass of wine and some nibbles and great company.
Wānaka Show Raffle The PTA are planning a raffle fundraiser for the Wānaka Show and are looking to parents or companies who have a stall at the Show to help us to sell the raffle tickets, without parents having to trudge around with a wheelbarrow, as we have done in the past. If you can help us with this, by selling raffle tickets on our behalf, please contact the school office. We need your support as this is our major fundraiser for term 1.
We are also asking that parents send along a donation item to go into the hampers to be raffled. These items could be food/beverage, chocolates/nibbles, vouchers, beauty products, magazines, anything that could be put into a hamper and would be great to receive in a raffle. Donations can be dropped off into the large boxes in the office and we would love to have these by Friday 3rd March. |
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Wānaka Trail Ride - Saturday 1st April A special welcome to all those families who are new to Wānaka Primary, as well as those who, like us, have returned to familiar territory. We hope everyone has had a happy summer break and feeling refreshed for the year ahead.
I’d like to introduce to you the Wānaka Trail Ride. This is a collaborative event with Montessori Children’s House Wānaka, and is the most significant annual fundraiser for both schools. The WTR brings trail bike riders from all over to enjoy the rare opportunity of exploring the trails of the stunning Deep Creek, Long Gully, and Lindis Peak Stations.
It’s 100% volunteer-driven and to pull it off, we need around 100 volunteers in varying roles from bakers and lunch packers to experienced trail riders. So please mark Saturday 1st April in your calendar, but note that some roles occur prior to the day. We’ll be in touch soon once the volunteer registration is open.
We’ll also be looking to replace some of the old and crusty members of the WTR crew, so if you’re interested in getting a bit more involved with something that gives buck for your bang, for only around six months each year, please get in touch and we can have a chat.
Cheers,
on behalf of the WTR crew – Alix, Anne-Marie, Gillian, Jen, Lucy, Phil, and Steph
Rachel Allibone (Volunteer Coordinator)
[email protected]
Photo credit: Tonia Kraakman Photography |
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Library News - Welcome to 2023 The school library will open in week 3 due to it being packed down over the summer for the re-cladding outside and having 2 short weeks to get everything organised. I apologise for the inconvenience. As you know I am passionate about getting children hooked on reading. Please reach out to me at any time if you want assistance. I cheated slightly during the Festive break and read a couple of adult books but I will return to children's books from this point on! If you have any book recommendations feel free to email me. [email protected] I look forward to another year having the best job in the world. Melissa |
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Contact for our local Public Health Nurse Pip McLean is our local Public Health Nurse - should you wish to get in contact with Pip her contact details are: 03 440 4309 or 0272 839 395 or email [email protected] |
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Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Aotearoa (PADA) workshop |
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Remarkable Theatre Presents: Space Oddities |
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Horace and the Magical Wands Horace lives in a castle with his five friends. There are also five resident
ghosts that they don’t know exist. There is a mystery to be solved, but what?
Who is Lady Hamlet? What does Horace look like? Why are there two wands?
Great fun for all the family
Locally written by Karin Halliday
Directed by Pat Lines
24th February 7pm
25th February 2pm & 7pm
26th February 11am
Children $10
Adults $15
Under 5 ’s are FREE
AT CLYDE MEMORIAL HALL
Facebook Page: Central Otago Children’s Theatre
Tickets online www.eventbrite.co.nz or Door Sales
0276944816 for more information |
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Jennian Homes Junior Trail Run |
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Friends of the Wānaka Library Morning Tea |
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Dance Wanaka Dance Wanaka are still taking enrolments for Term 1 dance classes.
Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Contemporary, Tap, & Acro styles. Cliff Wilson Street studios.
More info & to enrol, visit www.dancewanaka.co.nz Enquiries to 021 575 569 |
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Shukokai Karate is taking new students for 2023! Join the Wanaka Samurai Karate Club
for self defense, sports karate and traditional karate.
Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the Wānaka Primary School Hall.
Kids classes from 6 years old, classes for teenagers and adults.
Check us out on Facebook: Wanaka Samurai Karate
and contact Sensei Gabriela on 027 2106459 or
[email protected] |
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| Delicious, nutritious and popular with kids, Subway delivers school lunches every Friday. Order online at subwayexpress.co.nz by 9am. |
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