Weekly notices
Term 1 - Week 1 notices and reminders
Not quite the start we were planning for, but we are ready to start on Tuesday! Our gates will open around 8:30am and the teachers are looking forward to seeing tamariki arrive in their classrooms. If you are unsure of where to go, please check with our office staff, who will be able to help you.
Below are some notices and information you may find useful. These messages come out to you weekly and it is important that you are able to access them via the school App. Next week is the last week we will double up on emailing and using the App. Please ensure your App is set up.
Our school values developing mutually respectful relationships with our whānau and we are looking forward to continuing to strengthen our connections for the benefit of our students.
Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa - let us keep close together, not far apart.
See you on Tuesday.
Monday - Happy Waitangi Day - public holiday
Tuesday - First day back - please make your way directly to your child’s classroom
Friday - Ice blocks and flavoured milk for sale (see details below)
Team newsletters
Each term, teams prepare a newsletter to inform you of the learning happening in that team. Please click on the links below for this term’s newsletter.
Tōtara - Year 1-3
Kauri - Year 4-6
Kōwhai Year 6-8
Waste free weekdays
We would like to encourage all our families to ensure lunch boxes are wastefree. This will help us greatly at school and help reduce waste. Teachers may share some lunchbox ideas with you on Seesaw over the next few weeks.
Water connection and a shoutout to local business - Urban Worx Limited
We’re connected to mains water! This was quite a complicated task and we would like to give a huge shout out to Urban Worx, a local Clevedon business, that made this happen in the most smooth manner for us. We couldn’t rate them highly enough.
Next step is to connect to wastewater, which will include the clearing of all the septic tank areas that are currently out of bounds for our kids. We look forward to these being returned to play areas in time.
How we communicate with you
If you are new to us you may not know our mechanisms for communicating with you. Some will require a bit of set up and getting used to on your part, but will hopefully soon become normal.
School App - most of our notices and letters are shared via the App. You will need to download the App and talk to our office to sort out your login and password. This is a pretty crucial tool to get set up sooner, rather than later. It also has other helpful features that you can navigate.
Weekly Notices - these are sent out most Fridays and have important notices about the week ahead. These are on our website and sent to you each week via the App.
Seesaw - Teachers will be in touch to connect you to this App. Seesaw can be used for learning for children in the classroom, but is also used as a closed format ‘social media’ for teachers to give you a window into the classroom. New classes will get rolled out in a week or two. Contact your child’s teacher for help with Seesaw.
Website - our website has quite a lot of information you may find useful.
School Facebook page - You can follow us on Facebook by searching for our school. This is purely a social media platform used to celebrate our children and events - and not usually used to inform. It is not a place for questions or queries.
Text messages - We will use this if we need to get urgent information out to you or if there is an emergency. You may sometimes get a text if we haven’t heard from you regarding a child’s absence.
The above is a list of the mechanisms we use. You, of course, are always welcome to call into the office, email or make an appointment to meet with relevant personnel.
Second hand uniform shop - clothes needed
If you have uniform items that no longer fit your tamaiti (child) please consider donating these to our second hand uniform shop. It will help other families greatly. Items at the uniform shop can either be swapped for ones in similar condition or purchased for $5. You can drop items off at our office or take them directly to the shop when it is operating.
Friday - Ice blocks and flavoured milk for sale
Children order these in class and the cost for an ice block, juicy or milk is $2 each.
Pizzas
We are having a few issues with the delivery of these. Please watch this space for when we can start to offer these again.
Community notices
Items of interest are at times posted on the community notices page on our website. For example, you will find one around junior rugby that was shared with us recently. You may like to keep an eye on this page.
Nau mai hoki mai ki ngā whānau o Clevedon
The staff wish to welcome you all back to the 2023 school year, due to start on Tuesday 31 January. We hope you have all had a restful summer break and enjoyed time with your children, and managed to find some sunshine along the way!
We wish to extend a special warm welcome to any new whānau who will be joining us for the first time this year. We look forward to working alongside you.
We are very excited to receive students back on Tuesday next week. Staff are working hard over the next few days to further plan and prepare for the year ahead. The teaching staff will also be engaging in 2 full days of professional learning on literacy and the virtues programme training over this next week.
As you may have noticed last year, there were a lot of baby announcements! As a result our structure this year is a little different. You will receive a newsletter in the first few weeks from each team, which will outline who to see if you need anything. Our office can always direct you to the right person too.
Below you will find some information for the first couple of weeks in preparation for the term ahead. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us once the office reopens on Thursday.
Ngā mihi
Edeh Sullivan
Principal
Term 1 - Week 1 notices and reminders
Tuesday 31 January - First day of school for students
Tuesday 31 January - Pōwhiri for families new to our school 10:30am in the hall
School office opening hours this week
The school office will be open on Thursday and Friday this week from 9am-2pm, should you have any questions or need anything prior to school opening. Otherwise feel free to call our friendly office staff, Donna or Susanna and they will be happy to help you. Once school opens for children, our school hours of 8:30am-3:30pm will resume.
Uniform 2023
Kindly visit our school website for information on uniforms, including where to purchase.
Second hand uniform shop
The uniform shop will be open on Friday 27 January (this week) from 9-10am in the hall. You can use the new footgate near the hall or come in via the North Road gate. All items are $5, or you can swap for an item in similar condition. We don’t have change, so please bring along a few $5 notes.
We are also always looking for any donations that will help other families out. Feel free to drop any old uniforms off to our office.
School stationery
As per our school organisation we have bulk purchasing power and have all school stationery packs ready to go for the first day of school. All paid stationery will be in classrooms ready for children on the first day. There is no need to cover the exercise books in duraseal or the like.
We ask that you help us by kindly paying for the stationery through KINDO by the end of the summer holidays. If you have any issues regarding stationery please do not hesitate to call us.
This letter explains the stationery requirements for 2023. Stationery packs will be available for you to pay on your Kindo account from Wednesday 25 January.
Letter from your child’s new teacher
Your child’s new teacher will email them (using your email address) to introduce themselves and to let your child know which room they are in. Please note that our class lists are not finalised until you get this letter from your child’s teacher. The letters are due to come out to you tomorrow or Thursday at the latest. If you have not received an email by Thursday afternoon, please contact our school office to find out which class your child will be in.
First day of school - 31 January
Please arrive to school between 8:30am-8:40am
Make your way to your child’s room, where the teacher will be ready to greet you
Your child needs to have:
summer uniform
a good packed lunch and a large water bottle
a hat (named)
sunscreen (applied n the morning and some in their bag to reapply during the day)
additional stationery as per the stationery list (see details below)
The school gates open at 2:50pm - please ensure you know where to pick you child up from
Our year 1-3 children will be with their teacher until someone comes to the class to pick them up
Our schools buses will operate as per normal
If you are new to our school, we welcome you to join us for a pōwhiri in our hall at 10:30am. Feel free to bring along any whānau with you.
School App
Our school app is our main mechanism for getting comms out to you. Please check that you are still signed into the app if you have used it before, and if not, ensure you are set up before school starts. For assistance, contact the school office.
This message, and others for the next couple of weeks will be emailed to you (in case our new families do not have the app set up) and also sent out on the app. If you did not get an app notification, please check that you are still logged in and your app notifications are on.
Term dates and Teacher Only Days
Please see below for term dates for the year, which are also on our school calendar on our website.
Please note that there will be some Teacher Only Days during the year. At this point we are only able to confirm the date for one of these, which is on Monday 24 April (this is the first day of term 2, with Anzac Day being on the Tuesday). Once the Ministry and the Teachers Union settle on the other dates, we will notify you asap.
School structure and staffing for 2023
Please see below for next year’s school structure. You will see that we have moved to a 3 team model next year. Teams are an organisational structure for us and make no difference to what is taught or how it is taught.
*** You will notice that in 2022 we had Mrs Athlene Wallbank for this classroom. Unfortunately, Athlene’s father had a stroke and she is now his full time caregiver and gave us her resignation early this year. We have been very lucky to find another gem of a teacher, Helena Reedy, who is also very excited to join our team.
Holiday notices and reminders
Thank you to all our families for the great year that’s been. It was lovely to be able to gather together at Umupuia Marae on Monday night - thank you for making the effort.
We wish you all a very happy and safe summer break and look forward to seeing everyone back next year.
Haere rā and meri kirihimete!
A few end of term notices
School water connection
We are so excited to be connecting to mains water over the summer break. As a result there will be some major works happening on school grounds. It is crucial that you supervise your children coming onsite for swimming, Kelly Club or for any other reason over the break. We’ve noticed some of our children are getting past the gates and coming into play after hours with no adults. Please have a talk to your child as there will be unsafe areas over summer.
Pool key holders
Please note that due to the water connection, the gate that you can use to access the pool may change over summer. There are 3 gates and some may not be accessible due to the concrete around it being dug up. There will be a note on the gates telling you which one you can use at any given time.
The options are: North Road (our main school gate), North Road-bottom carpark (there is a small footgate near the hall) or the Kawakawa Bay Road gate.
Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as these works are quite complicated.
Book donation
Your child (mostly in year 4-8) may have brought home a book by Mike King (Gumbook Friday). These were kindly purchased and donated by one of our generous families, in the hope it will help some of our tamariki. We are grateful for the thoughtfulness.
Notices in readiness for 2023
School starts on Tuesday 31 January
The week prior, your child’s teacher will email them to introduce themselves (using your email address) and letting them know which classroom they will be in (class placements are not finalised until you get this letter)
On Tuesday morning your child will make their way to class
Stationery will be available on Kindo on Tuesday 24 January at the earliest or Wednesday 25 January at the latest
Stationery lists, apps, term dates, school structure were all shared in last week’s notices - scroll down if you missed these
Week 9 notices and reminders
Monday - Prizegiving at Umupuia Marae (be there by 5:45)
Monday - Library books due back
Wednesday - Last day of school (school finishes at 12pm)
Last day - Wednesday
Please note that our last day is Wednesday and we will be finishing at 12pm. Buses have been arranged for this time.
Prizegiving
On Monday we will be holding our school prizegiving at Umupuia Marae. It’s a very special event on our school calendar and we ask that all students are present.
Here is some important information for you to read before the night:
Before you arrive:
Please make sure your child has eaten, had a drink and been to the bathroom before coming.
Students need to be dressed in school uniform - no sweatshirts/jumpers (it’s very warm in the marae)
Students can bring along a santa hat or Christmas headband to wear on the night.
On arrival at the marae:
Please be there by 5:45 at the latest.
Park along the beachside, not on the marae grounds. There will also be extra parking in the paddock next to the marae for you to park in.
Students line up with their classes - there will be numbered cones with room numbers and teachers will be waiting there for students to arrive.
Parents need to wait behind classes before we are welcomed onto the marae.
The pōwhiri will begin at 6pm where we will be officially welcomed in. Students will walk in first, with parents/families walking behind.
Please do not enter the marae building before the pōwhiri. This is an important protocol for marae.
Kapa haka students (seniors only) arrive at 5pm to get ready (parents please wait outside).
Prizegiving will begin after the pōwhiri.
After the prizegiving:
Parents need to remain seated until students have left the marae in their class lines.
Students will line up at their class cones on the grass outside, with their teachers.
Parents need to collect their children from the class teachers.
We want to account for every child, so please be patient at the end of the night and ensure you have seen your child’s teacher before taking them.
School water connection
We are so excited to be connecting to mains water over the summer break. As a result there will be some major works happening on school grounds. It is crucial that you supervise your children coming onsite for swimming, Kelly Club or for any other reason over the break. We’ve noticed some of our children are getting past the gates and coming into play after hours with no adults. Please have a talk to your child as there will be unsafe areas over summer.
Pool key holders
Please note that due to the water connection, the gate that you can use to access the pool may change over summer. There are 3 gates and some may not be accessible due to the concrete around it being dug up. There will be a note on the gates telling you which one you can use at any given time.
The options are: North Road (our main school gate), North Road-bottom carpark (there is a small footgate near the hall) or the Kawakawa Bay Road gate.
Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as these works are quite complicated.
Staffing update
At the end of this year we farewell three of our wonderful staff...
Miss Stevie Courtney is returning home to Tauranga at the end of the year and is enrolled in a te reo Māori course at Waikato University. We hope she returns to us one day fully fluent and ready to support our te reo journey.
Mrs Jules Herlihy is taking a break from teaching but will continue to still be a ‘parent’ at the school so, luckily for us, we will be able to keep in touch and see her around lots next year.
Mr Trevor Sai Louis, one of our teacher aides is also leaving us. His sense of humour and ‘dramatic’ skills will be missed!
We are also saying ‘see you later, with your hands full’ to Mrs Katie McAra and Mrs Sarah Park, who will be on maternity leave in 2023. Sarah will be around for a day or two to help us start the year next year, if her baby doesn’t have other ideas!
We congratulate Mr Craig Smith for winning an Across School Teacher position in our Kāhui Ako (the Howick Coast community of learning). This is a great opportunity for Craig and we are very proud of him for stepping into this role. The best part of this news is that Craig will not be leaving us…we just have to share him with the rest of the Kāhui Ako!
Miss Maddy Taylor will be off on an overseas adventure at the end of term 1, but luckily we get to have her for one more term as a release teacher.
Library book amnesty
We are still missing a significant number of books from our school library. Even if you have not received any specific overdue book notices, we would be really grateful if you could please have a good hunt at home and send in any books with a Clevedon School barcode. No questions asked - we just want them back! Thanks in advance for your support.
Katie Blundell Artist - Gallery + Studio, Clevedon
Katie is one of our talented mums and has a studio not too far from the school You can enrol now in the following:
20 December - pre Christmas 1 day kids painting workshop
Term 1 2023 - after school art classes
See the website link for details and get in touch asap to participate by clicking here
Clevedon Tennis Club
Clevedon School junior students have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn tennis skills through lessons provided by our local tennis club. The club is offering holiday lessons in December and after school programmes in term 1 next year. Please see this link for more information.
Looking forward to 2023
Class placements and the first day of school
School starts for students in 2023 on Tuesday, January 31.
The week before the first day, your child’s new teacher will email them (using your email address) to introduce themselves and to let your child know which room they are in. Please note that our class lists are not finalised until you get this letter from your child’s teacher.
On day one, please make your way to your child’s new class from 8:30am onwards.
We will have a pōwhiri for all our new families at 10:30am on the first day.
Stationery and apps
This letter explains the stationery requirements for next year, including the packs, and what students need to bring with them on the first day. You cannot purchase the stationery packs from Kindo until Wednesday 25 January.
Letters regarding iPads and Apps were sent to you several weeks ago. You can access these by clicking on the following links:
Term dates and Teacher Only Days
Please see below for term dates for next year, which are also on our school calendar on our website. Since last week, we have learned that the Ministry has given schools a Teacher Only Day to use in 2023 for professional learning around the curriculum refresh. Our date for this one is:
Monday 24 April (this is the first day of term 2, with Anzac Day being on the Tuesday)
There will be other ToDs in 2023, however these have yet to be confirmed by the Ministry and the teachers’ union.
School structure 2023 - previously shared
Please see below for next year’s school structure. You will see that we have moved to a 3 team model next year. Teams are an organisational structure for us and make no difference to what is taught or how it is taught.
From time to time we have queries from parents about composite classes. The NZ curriculum has always been focused on curriculum levels/bands and not year levels, and teachers in NZ have always taught to the needs of individuals or groups of children in their class based on the curriculum level they are operating at, not because they are in a certain year level. As such composite classes work perfectly fine and like straight year level classes, children will learn at their own pace no matter which other groups of children they are with. There is no learning advantage or disadvantage for a child being with children in the year level above or below. On occasion we do consider the maturity of a child and may deliberately choose to place them in a certain class, however, this is an exception and not the rule.
We are busy working on class placements for next year. Class placements are a long and laborious task for us, but it is very much a labour of love! We spend hours pouring over our class lists and individually placing each child in the right place. We take into account social, emotional and academic needs when establishing the best fit for them. Your child may not be with their best friend. This is ok. They can still see them every day, and it allows them to develop other relationships. We are however doing our very best to ensure children have some of their identified friends with them in their new room. Please be assured that every decision has a lot of thought behind it. Every class list has several pairs of eyes on it including the current teacher, previous teachers, team leaders, our SENCo/LSC and our senior leadership team.
Class lists will be ready in the new year and your child’s new teacher will send them a welcome letter before school starts.
With some of our staff away on maternity leave, we have a few shuffles in year level for some of our teachers. For example, Mrs Park, our DP, will be on maternity leave for 2023, so we will have Mrs Boyle and Mrs Connolly stepping out of full time classroom teaching and supporting teams across the school. Mrs Connolly will oversee the year 4-8 and Mrs Boyle the year 1-3 area. Each team, like this year, will also have a team leader.
If you have any queries about next year, please feel free to contact any of our team leaders, Mrs Park or Mrs Sullivan.
Kelly Club
Kelly Club has a wonderful before and after school programme onsite at our school. Visit the Kelly Club page on our website for more information about what the programme looks like and booking information.
