| | | | | | IMPORTANT DATES
Term 4
Week 7
Wednesday 30th November - COPSSA Orienteering Event for Year 5/6 students
Wednesday 30th November - Garden to Table Official Opening at 2.00pm
Thursday 1st December - Students Reporting to Parents 11-12:30, 1:30-3pm, 4-5pm
(with the exception of POD 5 which is postponed to Wednesday 7th December)
Week 8
Monday 5th December - Board of Trustees Meeting - 5pm - Staffroom
Wednesday 7th December - POD 5 Students Reporting to Parents 11.00-12.30pm,
1.30-3.00pm, 4.00-5.00pm
Wednesday 7th December - Matinee performance of Pantomime 'Super Stan'
Thursday 8th December - Inflatable Playground Fun Day for Pod 4-8
Thursday 8th December - 6pm evening performance of Pantomime 'Super Stan'
Friday 9th December - Final tribe afternoon - Water based fun!
Week 9
Monday 12th December - End of year student reports sent home
Monday 12th December - Student Leaders' Fun Day Out
Monday 12th December - Pod 1 Christmas Singalong - 2pm school hall
Tuesday 13th December - School Assembly to Farewell Katrina, Leeanne, Markus and Carin - 2pm school hall
Wednesday 14th December - Year 6 Graduation Assembly - 1pm school hall
Thursday 15th December - Last day of school 2022 - 3pm finish
First Day of Term 1 2023 - Wednesday 1st February
IMPORTANT NOTICES Lost Property Wants To Go Home! We have an abundance of unnamed lost property from around the school and from the Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 camps. Socks, socks and more socks! Trackpants, towels, jandals and a black puffa (possibly an adults). We have fleeces, fleeces and more fleeces and also a lot of mufti clothes. Please be warned that everything left in lost property on Thursday 15th December will be taken to Wastebusters, the Hospice Shop or the Salvation Army, as with the Administration Block being the next building to be reclad we will be having a big clean out.
You are welcome to pop into Reception to have a quick look through the racks and also to pop into the pods to look in the lost property bins in the awhina areas. |
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Our Pantomime SUPERSTAN Tickets $10 per seat available from Reception |
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Adaptability and Resilience - Vital Life Skills Adapting to change is something our students and staff at Wānaka Primary School are becoming good at, and we have all had to hone our skills over the last 3 years with having to make decisions on the run. We have always kept to our plan and made things happen where we could. When I mentioned 'this is a sign of things to come', when talking about cancelling the Junior Run, Jump, Throw event last week, due to so many challenges with illness, staffing and conflict of events, I was referring to this flexibility and resilience we need to show with our rapidly moving world. For us this week, we have teachers and students affected by Covid. Anne and Coral tested positive with Covid after their camp last week, Kelly has family with Covid and we have a few students also throughout the school who are away because of positive Covid tests, even some of our pantomime actors...fingers crossed we don't lose any next week!
Consequently POD 5 will not be holding their STUDENT REPORTING TO PARENTS SESSIONS this Thursday with the rest of the school. They have been rescheduled to Wednesday 7th December, 11.00-12.30pm, 1.30-3.00pm and 4.00-5.00pm.
Pod 1 also had to put off their trip to the grebes last week because of the fatal incident at the lake.
We can never make everyone happy with our decisions to postpone or cancel activities, but be assured they are always made in the best interests of our students, and as the Board and myself have good employer obligations, also in the interests of the staff.
With regard to our school athletics, they were planned, along with the Upper Clutha and COPSSA events in term 1 this year but were cancelled because of red light conditions. In previous years, the athletics were held in term 4, but due to every school's busy-ness in term 4 and the lack of fine weather days to practice athletics skills, coming straight after the end of winter holidays, the decision was made in 2020 to shift all athletic events to term 1, as we no longer needed to fit in with the Otago Schools. Next year the Senior Athletics and the Junior Run, Jump, Throw events will be held in term 1, dates yet to be confirmed. So do not despair that we had to cancel this year's event - the children are well practiced now for the 2023 event, as well as Challenge Wanaka which is in the third week of term 1 next year. Resilience, adaptability, flexibility and grit (such as facing a disappointment) are all essential skills we teach as part of futures education and we practice these in everyday life at Wānaka Primary School as we empower children to be deep learners and responsible global citizens.
Students Reporting to Parents Drop In Sessions Thursday 1st December 11.00-12.30pm, 1.30-3.00pm, 4.00-5.00pm
Our reporting to parents process, mid year and end of year, has three parts to it, as we want to give you as much information as we can about your child's progress and achievements, as well as challenges in their learning and in school life. The three parts are: Students Reporting to Parents Written Reports Teacher/Parent Interviews or Conversations You may wish to access all three of these, or you may be happy with just the written report and the Students Reporting and not need a follow up with the teacher. We urge you to not just access the written report as the interactive reporting sessions where you come into school are a valuable DEEP DIVE into your child's learning at school.
1. Parents coming into school during the day for students to share their work, is happening THIS THURSDAY 1st DECEMBER, and you are invited along during the following times, 11.00-12.30pm or 1.30-3.00pm or 4pm- 5pm (Pod 5 is postponed until Wednesday 7th December). You will need the full 90 minutes if you are coming in to work with two or more of your children. Your children will share their learning and talk about where they are at, show you their 'best story' they have written, share their Deep Learning studies with you, share their art work, etc. Students have been talking about their role in this process with their teachers and will be prepared for the session with you. The classroom teachers will provide some prompts for parents to guide your questions, help you locate your child's workbooks and examples of work you need to see. This may look different in each pod - please ask the teacher if you are new to Wānaka Primary School and unsure of the process.
Every time we have offered the Students Reporting to Parents sessions we have had a 96-98% turn out of parents and the children love these sessions as it gives them a chance to tell you all about their life and work at school.
2. You will receive an email by Monday 12th December inviting you to access your child's written report through our EDGE student management system. If you have any difficulties accessing this please email [email protected].
3. You may like to book a Parent/Teacher Interview before the end of the year to discuss your child's year of learning and progress. You could do this now or after Thursday or once you have seen the written report. Please email your child's classroom teacher directly to book a time for this interview.
If you have any questions about this 3-tiered process please do not hesitate to get in touch with one of us in the leadership team. We look forward to seeing you on Thursday at one of the drop in sessions.
Our Pantomime Superstan - Year 5/6 Drama Club Production Over the last 2 terms 46 students from Pod 7 and 8 have been rehearsing lines, learning songs and dances and now we are pulling it all together ready to hit the stage next week.
We are staging 3 performances: Tuesday 6th December - An afternoon performance for all students at Wānaka Primary School Wednesday 7th December - A matinee performance open to the public - starts 1pm sharp. Please be seated by 12.55 at the latest. Thursday 8th December - An evening performance open to the public - starts at 6pm sharp. Please be seated by 5.55pm at the latest. TICKETS ARE ON SALE FROM THE SCHOOL OFFICE NOW at $10 per seat! Get in quick as seating is limited.
This Week Wednesday 30th November: The COPSSA (Central Otago Primary School Sports Association) Orienteering Event is on at Barn Pinch Farm, the Blennerhassett's property. We have a team of 30 Year 5/6 students competing in this.
Wednesday 30th November: Garden to Table Project Official Opening at 2pm
Thursday 1st December: Students Reporting to Parents 11.00-12.30pm or 1.30-3.00pm or 4.00-5.00pm
Friday 2nd December: Room 4 visit to the Kiwi Park in Queenstown
Friday 2nd December: Room 1, 2, and 10 visit to Eely Point
Other important dates to remember until the end of term: Wednesday 7th December: POD 5 Students Reporting to Parents
Thursday 8th December: Inflatable playground fun day for Pods 4-8
Friday 9th December: Tribe Day - Water Fun activities
Monday 12th December: Student Leaders' Fun Day out
Monday 12th December: Pod 3 at the Dinosaur Park
Monday 12th December: Pod 1 Christmas Singalong at 2pm in our school hall
Monday 12th December: Bus drivers/ traffic teams afternoon tea 2.15pm
Monday 12th December: REPORTS AVAILABLE - check your emails
Tuesday 13th December: School assembly to farewell Katrina Kreft and Leeanne Preston who are moving onto other paths in life, and Markus (who has gained a position at MAC next year), and also Carin Hetherington who is heading over to Bahrain. You are welcome to join us to farewell these valued members of our admin and teaching teams who will not be returning next year. 2pm school hall.
Wednesday 14th December: Room 3 visit to the grebes 10.00am-2.00pm
Wednesday 14th December: Year 6 Graduation Ceremony 1pm in our school hall
Thursday 15th December: The last day for 2023. School finishes at 3.00pm, buses run as normal.
Planning for 2023 In next week's newsletter we will share with you some of the organisation for next year and also have an update on what is in store for the 2023 year, particularly term 1 and ongoing activities for 2023. We will inform you of your child's class placement/teacher by the end of term and stationery requirements, etc. |
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Congratulations Congratulations to Doris Ma who did very well in her recent Grade 1 Violin exam scoring 84/100. |
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Positive Behaviour For Learning - PB4L PB4L School-Wide looks at behaviour and learning from a whole-of-school as well as an individual child perspective. The framework is based on international evidence and is helping New Zealand schools build a culture where positive behaviour and learning is a way of life. Each fortnight we focus on a school wide goal to encourage positive behaviours. The current goal is: ''. |
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Central Otago Triathlon in Queenstown This triathlon was an awesome morning out. I thought that they ran it really well and were efficient with seeding all the kids. There could have been a quick briefing to just make it a bit clearer.
In all of our teams/individuals we had: 2nd place to our team - Hunter, Oliver and Winston 3rd place in the individual race - Theo Over all just a fun and great event
Reported by Nico
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Wānaka Trail Ride Please Save the Date – Saturday 1 April 2023! OK, so we’re getting to the pointy end of the year where time speeds up and people are busier than ever (and don’t want to read more “stuff”!). I’ll save any more info for the new year. Suffice to say: Please Save The Date!
WTR is an awesome joint fundraising event between Wānaka Primary School and Montessori Children’s House Wānaka, set on Deep Creek, Long Gully, and Lindis Peak Stations. Tell your Trail Ride pals from out of town, and come join us for a neat volunteering opportunity.
Visit www.wanakatrailride.org - Rachel Allibone (WTR Volunteer Support)
Photo credit: Tonia Kraakman Photography |
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Library News
Click here to view our wonderful Library Webapp.
Feel free to email Melissa at any time if you have any questions.
Ebooks and Audio Books
The Wānaka Public Library has 2 fantastic Ebook Platforms which are highly recommended. All you need is a library membership which is free. Click on the image below to find out more and browse to see what is available:
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Library News Scholastic Book Fair Thank you to all the children and parents that supported our annual Scholastic Book Fair. We had another successful sale and 30% of the proceeds go back into reading books for our children.
It's also that time of year that I have to get all the school library books back so we can stocktake. Parents, can you please ask your children if they have returned their books?
And lastly - if you have not joined Wānaka's fantastic public library - PLEASE DO. It's free and fantastic. You can click on the link below to join online.
The Summer Reading Challenge starts in December for all school aged children . I will be sending home information flyers in the next couple of weeks or you can pick one up at the library in town. And remember, if you are a member of the library you are able to use any of the libraries in the QLD and Central Otago area.
Click the image below to view our wonderful Library Webapp.
Feel free to email Melissa at any time if you have any questions. Ebooks and Audio Books The Wānaka Public Library has 2 fantastic Ebook Platforms which are highly recommended. All you need is a library membership which is free. Click on the image below to find out more and browse to see what is available:
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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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Kahu Youth Year 6 Open Day |
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Aspiring Ballet School - The Enchanted Necklace |
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Wānaka Preschool Evansdale Cheese Fundraiser |
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Hawea Christmas Wonderland |
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Pointe Central Presents - The Magic Toyshop |
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Queenstown Lakes Libraries' Contactless Service |
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TriWanaka Swim / Run Series Spring is in the air, the days are warming up and thoughts are turning to summer again!
We are looking forward to the TriWanaka Swim/Run series again this summer. Starting on 6th January 2023, the events will run every Friday night for 6 weeks. We are really happy to be bringing the series back to the lakefront in Wanaka and this year we are also partnering with the team at Integrity Homes Challenge Wanaka as a build-up series to their event on 18th February 2023.
The cost will be $10 per event (or $5 per event for TriWanaka members). If you are not already a member, now is the time to sign up to get the discount on race night or a special series entry price. You can become a member here: www.triwanaka.co.nz.
Have a fabulous Christmas and we look forward to see you out there. |
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Summerdaze Teddy Bears Picnic |
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Wānaka Kids Club Summer Programme |
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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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