Weekly Notices | Clevedon School

Weekly notices

Term 2 - Week 7 notices and reminders

Monday - King’s Birthday - Public Holiday - school closed
Wednesday - Pizza orders close at 10am
Thursday - Pizza day
Thursday - Ag day AGM 3:15pm
Friday - Food day
Friday - Athon sponsorship money due in
Friday - Mathex (for those participating)
Friday - Final day to order Ag day chickens

Thank you

A huge thank you to everyone for supporting us on Wednesday during the Paid Union Meetings. We are really grateful for your help and appreciate everyone who emailed and called in advance to let us know any variations to their normal plans.

The Ministry has made a new offer to the union and teachers will now vote on whether they accept or reject the offer. Voting ends on 6 June. We will keep you updated if there are any further actions. You may hear of some strike action in the media - please note that there is a difference between the secondary schools union (PPTA) and the primary schools union (NZEI). If there is strike action impacting our school, we will let you know.

Safety online

Each term we engage in ‘digital citizenship’ lessons to help our tamariki be safe and peaceful citizens on and offline. We ask that you spend a bit of time discussing your child’s online ‘life’ with them. If you need support and guidance there is information on our cybersafety page on the website and the Parenting Place always has great articles and guides.

One website/app that has come to our attention lately is Omegle, where you can sign up to ‘talk to strangers’. This might be one to check on your child’s phone and discuss. Please note that we have some very strong filters at school, and unless your child has their own sim in their device, they cannot access unsuitable sites whilst at school.

Please also note that at school, our rule is that phones and smart watches are turned off and are kept in children’s bags until after school (or preferably not at school at all). These cause a distraction and other problems that impact learning. Please ensure you discuss this with your child. If you need to get in touch with your child or if they need to contact you, this gets done through the school office.

Athon

The children here today did their testing and it’s great to see so many great results. We ask that now the sponsorship money for the athon starts to come in please. We are working hard to raise funds for a new junior playground and we want to put some shade over the senior playground before summer. Thank you for all your efforts to help us achieve these goals.

You can send cash in with your child or transfer to the school bank account directly. Please ensure you use the correct reference and code.

Bank Account details: 12-3031-0703239-00

Reference details - e.g. John S R6 athon (child’s name, room number and ‘athon’)

Ag Day AGM - Thursday

Our Ag Day committee is in desperate need of new helpers. Our Ag Day is an amazing event that we want to keep going for years to come, but it is dependent on amazing parent volunteers to organise and run the event. If you are in a position to support this event, please come to the AGM on Thursday at 3:15pm to find out more. The commitment is for a short part of the year.

Chicken orders

Please note that Friday 9 June is the final day to order Ag day chickens. Orders will close at 3pm and no late orders can be accepted. Please click on this link for further information about chickens.

Cross country - change of plans

With our field being very muddy and most of it still closed due to incomplete works, coupled with unpredictable weather, we will not hold our cross country event as we usually do. Instead, the races will be run during school time, possibly on different days and weeks, with one year level at a time using a modified course. We won’t be having a big event this year, with the whole school and spectators. This will allow us to find the qualifying runners for our area competitions (ECCS) even if the weather doesn’t cooperate with a one day event. This means that the planned event on the 14th will not take place.

Students may not be notified, as we are going to take any opportunity we can, when the field is slightly drier and there is no rain. Please send your children with running shoes and spare change of clothes everyday for the next little while.

Student led conference

If you haven’t booked your conferences, please ensure you do. These are important meetings where you get to see your child lead discussion on their learning to date. To make a booking, click on this link and enter the code: ej9mb (this is case sensitive).

Life Education caravan

The caravan and Harold the Giraffe will be here in weeks 9 and 10. Kindly go on Kindo and pay for this, if you haven’t already done so. Thank you for your support.

Library volunteers

We once again have a big stack of shiny new books to go into our school library. These can’t go onto the shelves until they have been covered with protective self-adhesive plastic, however. If you have an hour spare to help with this at any time during school hours this term, please let Jo Odds know at jodds@clevedonschool.co.nz. Thanks so much!

Jammies in June

This year Dame Valerie Adams, along with her two delightful children, leads the Jammie Army to warm up winter for 10,000 children. Many children are being admitted to Kidz First Hospital with respiratory illnesses because they live in cold damp houses.

This initiative needs to distribute 10,000 Jammies to children at Kidz First and the 76 primary schools that the Foundation supports through the Mana Kidz School Health programme. The hospital and School Nurses are bracing for a tough, busy winter and knowing they can give a child in their care warm pyjamas through your kindness will make such a difference.

To support this initiative we will be holding a pyjama mufti day on Friday, 16 June. If you could donate a pair or more of warm NEW pyjamas or blankets, it would be greatly appreciated.

Term 2 - Week 6 notices and reminders

Monday - Māori whānau hui 6pm
Wednesday - Pizza orders close at 10am
Thursday - Pizza day
Thursday - Seniors morning tea (see details below)
Friday - Food day
Friday - Athon testing day

Possible teacher strike - please read carefully

Primary school teachers have voted to go on strike again, but have also re-entered negotiations with the Ministry, therefore current industrial actions are on pause.

What this means is that Wednesday 31st May has been flagged as a strike day, but this will not be confirmed until this Sunday (after the negotiations with the Ministry). So at the moment…heads up that on Wednesday 31st the school may be closed due to the strike action. We will confirm this as soon as we can. Please keep an eye on your app on Sunday as we will require you to fill out a form and let us know if you need supervision for your child.

The other strike action that has been voted on, in addition to the one day strike, is that there will be no meetings for teachers outside of 8:30am-4:30pm from 1-30 June. This is if on Sunday we are told that strike action is back on. This may affect our student led conferences, but we will let you know in due course.

Arohamai (apologies) about the lack of certainty on this, however we will not receive the strike notice and information until Sunday. We are hopeful that the talks are fruitful and that an agreement can be reached without further industrial action.

In case you’re interested, here is a brief summary of why this is happening…the teachers’ collective agreement expired in June last year, and negotiations have been ongoing since then. The heart of the matter is that no one wants to become a teacher anymore, the profession is finding it hard to keep teachers in the job (one third drop out after less than 5 years) and the profession is ageing, with an average age of a teacher being 56+. All this points to a crisis unfolding in front of us and part of the solution will be the Ministry creating better pay and conditions to attract the best people in the job, and keep them in the job.

Athon - Testing day on Friday

Only 1 more week until our Athon testing day! We hope there’s been lots of practising and our children are getting behind finding sponsors. If you have any questions around the Athon, please see your child’s teacher. Testing is on Friday.

Life Education Caravan

We are excited to have the Life Ed caravan and Harold the Giraffe at our school near the end of term. If you haven’t already done so, please go to Kindo and kindly complete the payment for this. Details of the programme have been in previous notices.

Showquest equipment - help sought

We have 85 Kauri and Kōwhai students putting together a fabulous performance piece to take to Showquest at the end of term. We have a couple of props that we’re hoping you might be able to help us source for use in the last 2 weeks of term. If you think you could help with either of the items (or know someone who might) listed below, please contact Jo Odds on jodds@clevedonschool.co.nz. Thank you so much!

4x white chairs (ideally fully white, but open to other options)
1x small, one person desk (old school)

Student led conferences

All our students in year 1-8 will lead their own conference and communicate and share their learning with you in the last week of this term. If you are new to our school, you will find that these will look and feel different to the 3 way conferences you have been used to in the past. Please familiarise yourself with the information on this letter so you know what to expect and how to best support your child in making it a successful experience for them. It is important that you understand the format before attending.

To make a booking, click on this link and enter the code: ej9mb (this is case sensitive).

Seniors morning tea

As part of the intermediate team, Clevedon School’s Y7/8 students learn about service to the community and how to develop their social skills with a range of people. They also learn to develop their independence through life skills such as making their own food during our STEM programme. To show this learning, our Y7 and Y8s would like to invite senior members of our community to a morning tea which will be held on Thursday, 1 June from 10:45am. Please see the invite below and RSVP to Paula Browne on 02102747300 or youth@takutaicharitabletrust.co.nz by Monday, 29 May so we can organise numbers for catering.

Agriculture Day

It is that time of year again where we begin to think about our Ag Day. Please click on this link to read important information for Agriculture day 2023. All calves, lambs, kids and chickens must be born between 1 June to 31 July 2023. Order forms for chickens will open today and the cost will be $10 each. Please click on this link for further information about chickens.

Term 2 - Week 5 notices and reminders

Tuesday - Netball funday (for those taking part)
Wednesday - Pizza orders close at 10am
Thursday - Pizza day
Friday - Food day
Friday - Chicken orders open on Kindo

Being upstanders

Classes have talked quite a bit about what being an upstander means and how we look after others, as well as how we can show kindness, in particular, through our choice of words. Please have a talk to your tamariki about what being an upstander means. We have also talked to our senior school about ‘snitching’, which seems to be a common word used amongst our older kids. Please help us to promote positive values and help to shift our children’s focus from snitching to being upstanders, advocating for fairness, kindness, and helping others in need.

No parking on yellow lines

We once again ask, plead, beg, that you do not park on the yellow lines around the school. They are there for a reason and help to keep our children safe. It may seem harmless, but by parking on the yellow lines, you are blocking the line of sight of our crossing. We will be asking the police to help us monitor this.

Athon

Only 2 more weeks until our Athon testing day! We hope there’s been lots of practising and our children are getting behind finding sponsors. If you have any questions around the Athon, please see your child’s teacher.

Life Education Caravan

Student led conferences

To make a booking, click on this link and enter the code: ej9mb (this is case sensitive).

Agriculture Day

It is that time of year again where we begin to think about our Ag Day. Please click on this link to read important information for Agriculture day 2023. All calves, lambs, kids and chickens must be born between 1 June to 31 July 2023. Order forms for chickens will open today and the cost will be $8 each. Please click on this link for further information about chickens.

School chickens

We now have three beautiful new hens, after our initial three all turned out to be roosters! Please be assured Miss Oosthuysen and her team of chicken monitors are taking very special care of our hens. With the wet weather we have moved their food and water into the closed in area.

Seniors morning tea

Term 2 - Week 4 notices and reminders

Wednesday - Pizza orders close at 10am
Thursday - Pizza day
Friday - Food day
Friday - Pink Shirt Day

Hari Rā Māmā | Happy Mothers Day

We wish all the amazing wahine in our children's lives a very happy day on Sunday. We hope you get spoiled and get to put your feet up. Thank you for all you do to raise the beautiful little humans at our school.

Cross county - change of date

With the latest wet weather, we are very doubtful that diggers will be able to come in and complete the works on the field in time for our tamariki to train, or for us to hold our cross country event. We have tentatively moved the event to Wednesday 14 June, but this may need to be changed again.

Notifying the office of bus changes

Please if you have any changes to pick up arrangements, particularly when it impacts the bus, you will need to let our office know before 2:30pm. It gets a bit tricky during our busy times to get messages out to students, if parents are contacting us at the last minute. Thank you for your support with this.

Emergency pick up information

Kindly review who you have listed as emergency contacts or who can pick your children up from school. We often have family friends turn up wanting to take children home, but unless we hear from you, we cannot let your child go. If you do want them to go home with friends, we will need to hear this from you, the parent/guardian and cannot accept the information provided by the person picking up.

Upstander week

Next week is upstander week, where our ākonga (students) will be spending time talking about kindness and looking after others. They will also discuss the difference between upstanders and bystanders. We encourage you to talk to your tamariki about these topics and support them in being amazing friends to each other.

The week concludes with our Pink Shirt Day mufti. Pink Shirt day is celebrated annually around the globe, beginning in Canada in 2007, when two students took a stand against bullying, after a peer was bullied for wearing a pink shirt.

Seniors morning tea

Ag day committee invitation

The Ag day committee will hold their first meeting on Thursday, 18 May at 3.15pm (meet outside the school office). If you are thinking of joining a committee but are not sure which one, this is a small team of dedicated parents that meet about once a month in term three. Come along to our first meeting and get to know the team. We would love to warmly welcome some new members.

Life Ed caravan

The Life Education Caravan and Harold the Giraffe will be visiting our school in weeks 9 and 10 of this term (21-30 June). This is a programme that we take part in bi-annually, which delivers positive health-based lessons that help our tamariki develop respect, understanding and appreciation of the human body and its complexities. Life Education lessons are provided for children by an external provider.

There is a cost for the Life Education visit and is as follows:

Year 1-6: $7.50

Years 7-8: $9.50

Further information about the programmes for each team will be provided once they are finalised.

Payments can be made through KINDO.

Please see below for the programme outline:

Y0-3:

Why is it so important to show empathy to others?
How can I be a good friend?

Y 4-6:

Why is it so important to show empathy to others?
What is peer pressure and how can we deal with it?

Y7-8:

Why is it so important to show empathy to others?
What is peer pressure and how can we deal with it?
Why is it important to think about how we communicate with others online?

Please access this link to have a look at their website for additional information.

Week 3 notices and reminders

Wednesday - Pizza orders close at 10am
Thursday - Pizza day
Friday - Food day
Friday - MAGs Day - see details below

Safety near our school

We are having a lot of parents park on yellow lines near the school. Please can we ask that you refrain from doing this as it blocks the vision of our road patrol children and is causing a safety risk to our tamariki. Our staff will be out doing reminders in the first instance.

PTFA donation to our school

Our amazing PTFA has recently donated $15,000 to the school from their fundraisers. This money was primarily raised from last year’s Christmas Lights, our Easter raffle and the big Riverhaven fundraiser in April. We thank our community for getting behind these events.

This money is going a long way towards helping us get some shade over the senior playground. Ngā mihi atu ki a koe mō tō tautoko o te kaupapa. We appreciate everyone’s support to help us make our school as best it can be.

MAGs day - Mothers, Aunties and Grans day

On Friday, 12 May (next week) we would love to celebrate ‘MAGs day’ with all our mothers, aunties and grans. Classrooms will be open for these significant women in our children’s lives and there will be planned activities to take part in with your children. Classrooms will be open from 8:30-10am. We look forward to seeing you there. Any whānau members are welcome.

Enviro Shack

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our school's vegetable shack, offering a variety of school-grown produce for you to enjoy. To kick off this exciting initiative, we invite you to check this out during the morning of our upcoming MAGS day (Friday, 12 May). The shack will be open from 8:30-9:00am for purchasing our healthy and delicious herbs and lettuces. Don't miss out…see you at the shack!

Athon

How many of the answers on the NZ Knowledge-athon did you know?! We’ve heard of some interesting debates amongst families around some of the questions! Please help us by getting as many sponsors as possible, whilst helping your child learn. If you have any queries around the list for your tamaiti, please contact the class teacher. You can also visit our website that houses the lists and key dates for the athon.

Cross country

Our school cross country event is scheduled for Friday 26 May. Please note that this is a tentative date, as due to all the bad weather, the works on our school field have not been completed and we may need to postpone if we can’t use the whole field. Fingers crossed we can go ahead on the date as planned. Please click here for a letter that outlines all the details for this day.

Life Ed caravan

There is a cost for the Life Education visit and is as follows:

Year 1-6: $7.50

Years 7-8: $9.50

Further information about the programmes for each team will be provided once they are finalised.

Payments can be made through KINDO.

Short term rentals etc.

If you or any people you know in the Clevedon, Kawakawa Bay or close surrounds have short term rentals to offer overseas visitors, please can you email our office (office@clevedonschool.co.nz). We are looking at welcoming some short term international students, who will come with their own whānau but will need somewhere nearby to stay. Please pass this onto anyone who might be interested. Thank you.

Bizzy Bodz before and after school care

Please click here for an introductory letter from Jo Nash, the director of Bizzy Bodz.

Please click here for an e-brochure.

Please click here for their site where you can register and make a booking.

Hockey taster lessons

Once again Southern Districts Hockey Club have kindly offered to run free lessons for students in years 1-4. The lessons will be held on the junior astro turf after school on a Wednesday. If it is a wet day the lesson will not run that week. Please note this is run by Southern Districts Hockey and not our school. Parents will need to attend with their child to supervise them.

Reminders for Week 2

Wednesday - Pizza orders close at 10am
Thursday - Pizza day
Friday - Food day
Friday - Crazy Hair mufti (non uniform day) and bake sale - see below

Bizzy Bodz before and after school care

Bizzy Bodz, a well established business, will pick up where Kelly Club will leave off from term 2 onwards. Their first day of operation at our school is Monday 24 April (Teacher Only Day).

Please click here for an introductory letter from Jo Nash, the director of Bizzy Bodz.

Please click here for an e-brochure.

Please click here for their site where you can register and make a booking.

NZ Knowledge-athon

We have our annual ‘athon’ this term where we focus on NZ and local area knowledge. We are looking forward to some healthy competition between our classes. Your child should have come home with the information today.

Team newsletters

Please click on the links below to see what each team is focusing on this term.

Tōtara

Kauri

Kōwhai

Crazy Hair Mufti Day and Bake Sale (Showquest fundraiser)

On Friday we will be raising funds to help support our Showquest team with their costumes and props.

Students can come to school in mufti and sporting their CRAZIEST hair do for a gold coin donation.

At lunchtime, yummy home baked treats will be on sale for $1-$2 each.

Friday food day

In terms 2 and 3 there will be sausages on sale, courtesy of our amazing PTFA. Your child orders in class the same way they order ice blocks and flavoured milks. Their sausage is then delivered to their class at the start of lunch. We will continue to have ice blocks and flavoured milks on sale on Fridays too. Items are $2 each.

MAGs day - Mothers, Aunties and Grans day

On Friday, 12 May (week 2) we would love to celebrate ‘MAGs day’ with all our mothers, aunties and grans. Classrooms will be open for these significant women in our children’s lives and there will be planned activities to take part in with your children. Classrooms will be open from 8:30-10am. We look forward to seeing you there. Any whānau members are welcome.

Y4-8 Write Like An Author workshop

Please click here to see more about the exciting ‘Write Like An Author’ workshop being held for our Y4-8 students. Please bring a $2 coin to your teacher for this by Friday 5th May.

Life Education Caravan

There is a cost for the Life Education visit and is as follows:

Year 1-6: $7.50

Years 7-8: $9.50

Further information about the programmes for each team will be provided once they are finalised.

Payments can be made through KINDO.

Reminders for Week 1

We look forward to seeing our tamariki back on WEDNESDAY. Please see below for some info/reminders.

Monday - Teacher Only Day - NO SCHOOL (Bizzy Bodz has care available)
Tuesday - Anzac Day - NO SCHOOL
Wednesday - First day back to school for term 2
Wednesday - Pizza orders close at 10am
Thursday - Pizza day
Friday Food Day - Sausages, ice blocks and milk for sale
Friday - Knowledge-athon forms come home

Bizzy Bodz before and after school care

Bizzy Bodz, a well established business, will pick up where Kelly Club will leave off from term 2 onwards. Their first day of operation at our school is Monday 24 April (Teacher Only Day).

Please click here for an introductory letter from Jo Nash, the director of Bizzy Bodz.

Please click here for an e-brochure.

Please click here for their site where you can register and make a booking.

Winter uniform

Please see the uniform page on the school website for information related to uniform for the winter terms. Below are a few clarifications, based on questions we’ve had.

Shoes

Please note that shoes need to be plain and mostly black (it’s ok if they have white soles etc). Our main rule around shoes is that they are not overtly branded. This becomes particularly an issue in our senior end of the school.

Sweatshirts

We ask that you support your child, again particularly in the senior end, with wearing the correct school sweatshirt. We were relaxed on additional clothing last year with the ventilation rules making our classes very cold. We ask that now the correct uniform sweatshirt is worn and, if there is an issue and while you sort one out, please let your child’s teacher know.

Pants

Any navy track pants are acceptable during the winter months. You do not need to purchase the one from the uniform shop, if your child prefers a softer feel or if the size is not right.

ANZAC Day Tuesday 25 April

There will be a gathering at 9.30am on Tuesday 25th April at the Clevedon monument. If your child can join us, please have them attend in full school uniform.

Friday food day

MAGs day - Mothers, Aunties and Grans day

Term 2 - Week 1 notices and reminders

Kia ora whānau

As the term ends, we want to take the opportunity to say a HUGE thank you to the incredible parents on our PTFA. The core group of mums, who are parents just like us, work tirelessly to come up with ideas and ways to support us here at school. These ladies put in so much of their time and effort organising events and fundraisers for us and we couldn't be more grateful. If you ever have a spare moment to support these incredible women, please do respond to their pleas for help for an hour here or there when they ask for support. It makes a big difference and takes pressure off these volunteers.

The money from this year’s fundraisers so far are going to get shade cloths over our senior playground. We’re in the process of getting quotes for this to get it off the ground before it gets hot again.

We are also needing to replace our junior playground soon, as it is coming to the end of its life structurally. Fundraisers, along with parent donations, help us make projects like these, which are necessary for our school, happen. We wish there was an endless supply of government money, but sadly there isn’t and so we need the community to get behind us as our Ministry funding doesn’t stretch far enough. And this is why our PTFA supermums do what they do. Nā mātou mihi mō tō mahi katoa.

We are also very grateful to the Blundell whānau for allowing us to use Riverhaven for our big fundraiser last week. How lucky are we to be part of such an incredible community?!

Have an awesome break everyone and Happy Easter! See you back on Wednesday 24 April.

Ngā mihi

Edeh Sullivan

Monday - Teacher Only Day - NO SCHOOL
Tuesday - Anzac Day - NO SCHOOL
Wednesday - Pizza orders close at 10am
Thursday - Pizza day
Friday Food Day - Sausages, ice blocks and milk for sale
Friday - Knowledge-athon forms come home

Teacher Only Day - Monday 24 April - school closed

A reminder that Monday 24 April (the day before Anzac Day) is a Teacher Only Day.

Bizzy Bodz has care available for this day if you need it. Please visit their site to book your child in for this day.

We have also recently found out that our next curriculum related Teacher Only Day will need to be scheduled in November. We will set a date shortly in line with other schools in our Community of Learning and inform you of when this is.

ANZAC Day Tuesday 25 April

There will be a gathering at 9.30am on Tuesday 25th April at the Clevedon monument. The public can gather on the green or be seated in the chairs provided for those unable to stand. Clevedon School is again invited to participate in the ceremony. If your child can join us, please have them attend in full school uniform.

Thanks to everyone who supported the PTFA fundraiser at Riverhaven Artland

A big thank you to everyone who helped the PTFA make this event a success! Most importantly, we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Blundell family for allowing us to use their beautiful property for our event. We also thank the local vendors who so generously supported us by setting up their stalls on the day: Hallertau Clevedon, Clevedon Strawberries, Clevedon Coast Oysters, Puriri Hills, MAU Wines, Clevedon Vineyard, The Wild Fermentary and Betty Bean Cafe. We are also grateful to the Pohutukawa Coast Times for promoting the event so generously. And Sarah Bruce gets a special mention for her beautiful graphic design work! Thank you also to those of you who volunteered to help on the day. It was most definitely a team effort. We are thrilled to have raised $6000, which will go towards sun shades for our school playground areas, ensuring our children can play outside safely.

Friday food day

Sausage sizzles - Help wanted

The PTFA will be running the Friday Sausage Sizzles again in term 2. We have a small group of parents who regularly help out with this, but to spread the load, we would like to add more people to the list of those we can call upon. Help is needed every Friday 11.45am - 1.15pm. We need BBQ'ers and assemblers. Full training will be given! Our aim is to put a roster together for the term, so that we don't have to scramble to find helpers each week. If you're only able to do 1 Friday in the term, we'd still love to have you on the roster. If you think you might be able to help or you have questions, please contact Sallie Norman on 021-372-462, by phone, text or WhatsApp. Thank you very much in advance.

MAGs day - Mothers, Aunties and Grans day

On Friday, 12 May we would love to celebrate ‘MAGs day’ with all our mothers, aunties and grans. Classrooms will be open for these significant women in our children’s lives and there will be planned activities to take part in with your children. Classrooms will be open from 8:30-10am. We look forward to seeing you there. Any whānau members are welcome.

NZ Knowledge-athon

We have our annual ‘athon’ coming up next term and we focus on NZ and local area knowledge. We are looking forward to some healthy competition between our classes.

Bizzy Bodz before and after school care

Bizzy Bodz, a well established business, will pick up where Kelly Club will leave off from term 2 onwards. Your child should have a brochure in their bag. Given the short notice, they have been unable to find enough staff for these school holidays, however, will be offering holiday programmes moving forward. Their first day of operation at our school is Monday 24 April (Teacher Only Day).

Please click here for an introductory letter from Jo Nash, the director of Bizzy Bodz.

Please click here for an e-brochure.

Please click here for their site where you can register and make a booking.

Next term’s learning

We have a busy term next week, with plenty going on. Below is a basic outline of some of the learning programmes in school. Look out for team newsletters, which will come out early next term for team specific information. As always, please do contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions or queries about your child’s learning. The more we work together, the better our tamariki will learn.

Next term’s inquiry focus is on technology around the central idea that “the development and use of technology has had an impact on humans and the environment”. Students will engage in age appropriate activities around this central idea.
Our PE focus is around our cross country day which will be held in week 5.
The Life Education caravan will visit us next term, as it does biannually to support our health programme.
Our learner disposition focus for term 2 is on creativity.

Term 1 - Week 9 notices and reminders

Tomorrow, Saturday 1 April, is the day of our Riverhaven Artland event. We hope to see as many people there as possible. This beautiful property is not often open to the public, so make sure you don’t miss out! Book your tickets by clicking here or join us tomorrow as there will be door sales (cash only please).

Wednesday - Easter Raffle tickets due back in
Wednesday - Pizza orders close at 10am
Wednesday - Last day of the pool being open
Thursday - Pizza day
Thursday - Easter Bunny comes to school…Raffles drawn!
Friday - Good Friday - School Closed

Easter Raffle

There’s still time to buy and sell Easter raffle tickets. You can request another raffle sheet or two at the office. Kindly send the sheets back next week by Wednesday and the raffles will be drawn on Thursday afternoon. The Easter Bunny is making a special appearance to help us draw the raffles!

Farewell to Miss Taylor

We say farewell to Maddy Taylor at the end of this term, as she heads away to Europe on an adventure. Those of you whose children have been taught by Maddy, know that she is a well loved teacher and has been a valuable staff member at our school. We wish her all the best and look forward to hearing about her travels.

School pool closes

Our pool closes for the season next week, with the last day for use being Wednesday 5 April. We are most grateful to our amazing pool committee members, who are all parent volunteers, for the exceptional work they do to keep our pool open.

Bizzy Bodz before and after school care

We have great news for those that need before and after school care. Bizzy Bodz, a well established business, will pick up where Kelly Club will leave off from term 2 onwards. Your child should have a brochure in their bag.

Given the short notice, they have been unable to find enough

staff for these school holidays, however, will be offering holiday programmes moving forward. Their first day of operation at our school is Monday 24 April (Teacher Only

Day).

Please click here for an introductory letter from Jo Nash, the director of Bizzy Bodz.

Please click here for an e-brochure.

Please click here for their site where you can register and make a booking.

Teacher Only Day - Monday 24 April - school closed

A reminder that Monday 24 April (the day before Anzac Day) is a Teacher Only Day.

Bizzy Bodz has care available for this day if you need it. Please visit their site to book your child in for this day.

ANZAC Day Tuesday 25 April

Connection to waste water and school painting

There will be workers onsite over the break connecting us to waste water. Please ensure children keep away from our school during this time.

We will also be undertaking our cyclical maintenance programme, with the exterior of the school being repainted. Most of this work will take place over the holiday period.

Sausage Sizzles on Fridays in term 2

Coming up next term

More details on events will follow each week and dates may change due to weather etc. but here is an early heads up on some of our bigger events next term. Our school calendar also holds most of this information (accessed through the App and the website).

Monday 24 April - Teacher Only Day - school closed
Tuesday 25 April - Anzac Day - school closed
NZ Knowledge-athon launches on Friday 28 April
Crazy Hair Day mufti - to support our Showquest crew - Friday 5 May
MAGs day - Mothers, Aunties and Grans - save the date (Friday 12th May)
Upstander week - finishing with a Pink Shirt mufti on Friday 19 May
Cross country - Friday 26 May
Jammies in June - Friday 16 June
Life Education Caravan - 21-30 June
Showquest (performance day) - Thursday 29 June

Community notices

Please check this page on our website for notices from various community organisations. There may be items of interest for you on there.

Term 1 - Week 8 notices and reminders

Tuesday - School photos
Wednesday - Pizza orders close at 10am
Thursday - Pizza day
Thursday and Friday - Year 4-6 Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) days
Friday - Ice blocks and flavoured milk for sale
Friday - Second hand uniform shop open 8:30-9am in hall
SATURDAY - RIVERHAVEN ARTLAND SCULPTURE TRAIL - DO YOU HAVE YOUR TICKETS?

Riverhaven Artlands Sculpture Trail - Saturday 1 April (next week)

This is a lovely event, not to be missed. Bring along your family and friends and enjoy an afternoon at this gorgeous property, which is not accessible freely by the public.

There will be music, food, wine and craft beers. Bring along your picnic blankets and chairs but no BYO please. Riverhaven was featured on Seven Sharp not so long ago, so if you need convincing about what a great place it is, you can watch the segment by clicking here.

Book your tickets through Eventbrite, by clicking on the link below.

https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/riverhaven-artland-sculpture-trail-tickets-548080753287

Helpers needs

Our amazing PTFA committee has put in a lot of time and effort into organising the Sculpture Trail but need more numbers to run the event safely. If other mums and dads have a spare half a day and can support this event, please email ptfa@clevedonschool.co.nz

Our community is always great at coming together to help, and our PTFA team needs your support for this event, so please if you do have the time, it would be much, much appreciated.

Easter raffle tickets

Your child should have received a raffle ticket for our amazing Easter buckets. Please return these to the main office or your child’s teacher. There are plenty of spare raffle sheets in the office if you need them.

Thanks for getting behind this.

School photos - Photolife

Class photos will take place on Tuesday 28 March. If you would like a sibling photo please call into the office to collect a form. We believe families can just walk up and have siblings photos on the day too.

Kelly Club closure - alternatives

Those of you who have been clients of Kelly Club know that they are closing by the end of the term. We are working on finding another business that is willing to operate from our hall, and one with a business model that is sustainable, given the relatively low uptake of the service in our community. We found out shortly before you did but we are prioritising sorting this as soon as possible. Please keep an eye out on these notices as we hope to have a solution for you soon.

Togs and towel donation

If you have any old togs and towels that you no longer need, please kindly consider donating them to our school. We use these for children that need them or if tamariki forget their togs one day. One piece swimsuits for girls and shorts for boys will be much appreciated.

Anzac Day poppy pins for sale

Our senior leaders will be selling the Anzac Day poppy pins before school from Wednesday. Please bring along your $2 coin if you would like to buy one.

Term 1 - Week 7 notices and reminders

Wednesday - Kōwhai and Kauri swimming carnival
Wednesday - Pizza orders close at 10am
Thursday - Pizza day
Friday - Ice blocks and flavoured milk for sale
Friday - Easter MUFTI (non uniform day) - see details below
Friday - Football funday - new date (fingers crossed for good weather please!)

Easter Raffle - Mufti (non uniform day)

Our Easter raffle is back this year! On Friday we will have a mufti day (cute bunny costumes welcome!). Bring an Easter item that will go into making our amazing raffles, which you will be able to purchase tickets for. The raffles are drawn later in the term and winners will not be disappointed!

Year 4-8 swim carnival

The Kauri and Kōwhai carnival is on Wednesday this week. The information letter is here.

Notifying the office of bus changes

Riverhaven Sculpture trail - NOT LONG TO GO!

The PTFA are super pleased to announce their upcoming fundraiser – Riverhaven Artland Sculpture Trail - Saturday, 1st April. Don’t miss your chance to view the world-class sculptures and take some time to relax under the shade of trees, enjoying our local food, sodas, beer and wine, whilst listening to acoustic music by Natasha Fitzpatrick and Mitch French.

All proceeds from tickets for this event AND on the day 25% from sales of Katie Blundell Artist's Artwork in her Gallery + Studio will go to Clevedon School - With grateful thanks to Guy & Katie Blundell!

Picnic blankets and chairs are welcome. No BYO please.

https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/riverhaven-artland-sculpture-trail-tickets-548080753287

Would you like FREE entry to the Riverhaven Sculpture Trail on Sat 1st April?

Bring a deck chair (and a friend if you like) and settle in for 3.5 hours of relaxation in the beautiful parkland of Riverhaven. In return for free entry, we ask that you keep an eye on one of the ponds and make sure no one falls in! The event runs from 10am - 5pm on Sat 1st April. We would need you to commit to one full session, either 10am-1.30pm or 1.30-5pm. The rest of the day you are free to wander the trail and take advantage of the delicious food and drink offerings available. Note: the free entry applies to both you and a friend (if you bring one). But spaces are limited so get in quick! Email ptfa@clevedonschool.co.nz to book your deck chair. We are also in need of First Aid Volunteers, so if you have First Aid or medical training we will give you a priority deck chair job!

NZ first neurodiversity week - celebrating brains wired differently!

This week is the first time we have a ‘neurodiversity celebration week’ in Aotearoa. Below is a notice we shared last year, but thought it important to reshare to celebrate this week…

At our school we have several children who would be classed as neurodiverse. These children are, like our other children, some of our smartest, funniest, talented, delightful little people you can come across. As we celebrate diversity in all its forms, we thought some information around neurodiversity may help raise awareness amongst us and celebrate neurodiversity in all its amazing presentations. It may also help us to understand the reasons behind some of our children’s behaviours that occur at times, and explain why a parent or teacher might deal with the child a certain way.

We’ve summarised some key points from an article from Family Health Diaries below. You can also read the full article by clicking here.

Some key points:

Neurodiversity is a term used to describe the way some of our unique brains work – thinking, learning and behaving differently to the way that society thinks is typical.
These differences arise from differences in brain chemistry, thought processes and behaviour.
One in twenty of us have a neurodivergent brain, processing the world around us in a different way.
These differences are ‘invisible’ - you cannot tell someone is neurodiverse by looking at them.
Some of the conditions that fall under this umbrella are: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Dyspraxia, Dysgraphia, Tourette’s Syndrome, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), Sensory Processing Disorder, Auditory Processing Disorder, and Synaesthesia, Dyslexia, dyscalculia, developmental coordination disorder (DCD), developmental language disorder (DLD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
The world for neurodiverse people can at times be overwhelming, as they are very sensitive to all of their senses. It is too loud, too fast, too bright, too harsh, too scratchy, too hot, or too cold and sometimes all of these and more, at once. Loud noises can be very distracting and affect the ability to concentrate. Receiving information from all of your senses at once can lead to sensory overload.
Overwhelm and sensory overload can be displayed as irritability, difficulty focusing, an urge to escape and “meltdowns”. Observing a child having a tantrum might actually not be a tantrum, they could be having a meltdown due to being overstimulated by the bright lights and noisy, colourful environment.
Traditionally there have been a lot of stereotypes, misconceptions and stigma surrounding neurodiversity, and although it is still widely misunderstood, slowly this is changing as more people are receiving a diagnosis.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution to support neurodiversity, the support needs to be individualised to the specific needs of the person and how it can improve their daily life.
Awareness and education are the first steps in overcoming the stigma of being neurodiverse. Change in attitudes begins with talking, and by doing this, building understanding and acceptance.

Social skills and emotional regulation group

This group is running in the holidays for primary aged children. If you are interested please contact them directly.

Term 1 - Week 6 notices and reminders

Wednesday - Pizza orders close at 10am
Wednesday - PTFA AGM in the staffroom at 7pm
Wednesday - Y4-6 EOTC permissions and payment due

Thursday - Teacher Strike Day

Please fill in the Google form (in your inbox, on the app or see below) if you haven't already done so.

Friday - Pizza day - changed only this week due to the strike
Friday - Ice blocks and flavoured milk for sale
Friday - Tōtara swimming carnival (year 1-3)
Friday - ECCS football funday (for those participating)
Friday - 2nd hand uniform shop open in the hall (8:30-9am)

Strike Day - Thursday

If you missed the letter that was sent out last night, regarding the teacher strike, please click here.

We would appreciate your prompt attention to the Google Form so we can safely plan. Please fill one for each of your children separately.

Swimming carnivals - CHANGES due to the STRIKE

Our Tōtara swim carnival will be going ahead on Friday as planned. The information for this is here.

The Kauri and Kōwhai carnival falls on the strike day and has been postponed to the new date of Wednesday, 22 March (week 7). The modified information letter is here.

Pizzas - on Friday this week only due to the STRIKE

We will be doing our pizzas on Friday only for the upcoming week due the school being closed on Thursday. We will go back to our regular schedule next week.

Year 4-6 EOTC

Please click on this letter for more information on our Y4-6 EOTC days which will be held on Thursday 30th March and Friday 31st March (week 8). Permissions and medical details are due by Wednesday 15th March, see Kindo for more information. These days will include the Y6 students in Rm08.

2nd hand uniform shop

The second hand uniform shop is open every second week. If you have old uniforms lying around that no longer fit your tamariki, please consider donating it to our shop. It helps other families, particularly during these difficult times.

PTFA AGM

This year's PTFA (Parent, Teacher, Friends Association) AGM (Annual General Meeting) will be held on Wednesday, 15 March at 7pm in the school staffroom. The formal part of the meeting will be completed quickly and will be followed by a discussion about the PTFA's plans for the year. Please come along and join the PTFA for a drink and something to eat, and if you have any ideas for fun events or fundraising for the year, or you're keen to help in any way, the team would love to hear from you! For catering purposes, please email ptfa@clevedonschool.co.nz if you're able to make it. Looking forward to seeing you there.

Riverhaven Sculpture trail - not to be missed - HAVE YOU GOT YOUR TICKETS SORTED?

Picnic blankets and chairs are welcome. No BYO please.

https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/riverhaven-artland-sculpture-trail-tickets-548080753287

Sculpture Trail volunteers needed

We need volunteers to make this event possible. At this stage, we're looking for people to help with car parking and patrolling the grounds to make sure people are safe around the river and ponds. Hours are 10am-5pm. Please email ptfa@clevedonschool.co.nz if you think you might be able to help.

Term 1 - Week 5 notices and reminders

Wednesday - Pizza orders close at 10am
Thursday - Pizza day
Friday - Ice blocks and flavoured milk for sale

Thank you for your support

Thank you for the support to help us raise funds for victims of the recent floods. We raised $1977 from our mufti day donations and the profits from our pizzas and ice blocks combined. We will transfer this to the Red Cross who are doing an amazing job in this space.

Updating your personal information

On our school app you will see an icon ‘My Child’. Kindly go into this part of the app and check that your personal details are up to date and correct. If anything needs updating, please email office@clevedonschool.co.nz asap. Thank you.

Swimming carnivals

We are excited to be holding our swimming carnivals in week 6 of this term. Kauri and Kōwhai teams will have theirs on Thursday 16th March and Tōtara will have theirs on Friday 17th March. Please see the respective notices linked for more information on event times and what to bring.

Tōtara swimming carnival

Kauri and Kōwhai swimming carnival

Whanaungatanga meetings

It was great to see so many families at our Whanaungatanga meetings this week on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. Our teachers were delighted to meet you all and get to know more about your child, their background and their goals for the new year. If you were not able to book an appointment during these times or, if for some reason you missed out on your session, please feel free to contact your child’s teacher to make an alternative time to meet.

Red Cross Mufti Day

Thank you for your kind donations towards our Red Cross appeal for the Cyclone Gabrielle victims. We

PTFA AGM

Message from the Ministry of Health - Are you and your whānau protected from measles?

With people travelling overseas again, there’s a risk that someone with measles could unknowingly bring the disease back to Aotearoa.

Measles spreads easily and quickly, usually between people who are unimmunised or only partially immunised. It can be serious and life threatening. In the 2019 measles outbreak in Aotearoa more than 30% of the people infected had to be admitted to hospital.

The best protection against measles is the free MMR vaccine. It will protect you and your whānau, and prevent the virus from spreading.

You will be protected against measles if you:

• had 2 doses of the MMR vaccine

• had measles before

• were born before 1 Jan 1969.

If you’re unsure if you or your tamariki have had any or both doses of the MMR vaccine, check by calling your GP or hauora provider. Alternatively, check your Plunket Well Child Tamariki Ora book. If you’re still not sure, be safe and get immunised – there are no safety concerns with having an extra dose. MMR vaccines are free at your local health provider and many pharmacies.

As measles still occurs in many countries, if you’re travelling overseas these holidays it’s especially important to be immunised to prevent the risk of being unknowingly infected and causing an outbreak in Aotearoa on your return.

More information about the measles vaccination can be found here: Measles vaccination – Ministry of Health

Term 1 - Week 4 notices and reminders

Monday - Teacher Union Meetings (see below)
Wednesday - Pizza orders close at 10am - all profits go to the Red Cross this week
Wednesday - Whanaungatanga meetings (do you have a booking?)
Thursday - Pizza day
Thursday - Whanaungatanga meetings (do you have a booking?)
Friday - Mufti day - fundraiser for flood impacted communities - all profits go to the Red Cross
Friday - Ice blocks and flavoured milk for sale - all profits go to the Red Cross this week
Friday - Second hand uniform shop 8:30-9am

Mufti day and donations to Red Cross - Friday 3 March

This week our teachers have talked to tamariki about how communities support each other through times of crisis. We know from various organisations and the Civil Defence that, at this time, the best way to support those impacted by the flooding is to donate money.

On Friday next week (3 March) children can wear mufti (non uniform clothing) and bring in any amount of money, which we will collect and donate to the Red Cross.

We will also be donating our profits from Friday Freeze and Pizzas to support those impacted by the flooding.

If you have any questions please feel free to ask your child’s teacher.

He taonga rongonui te aroha ki te tangata - Goodwill towards others is a precious treasure.

Notifying the office of bus changes

Whanaungatanga meetings

Our whanaungatanga meetings (3 way conferences) are coming up next week 1st and 2nd of March. Please check your booking time or contact the office if you haven’t made a booking yet. Also, a reminder to please also fill in the ‘Whānau Information Form’ that was sent to your email address before you attend your meeting.

Updating your personal information

Teachers’ union meetings

The teachers’ union, NZEI, has called for union meetings during work for all union teachers. At this time we have managed to cover the school with minimum disruption. Your child may have a different teacher for a period of time on Monday to allow their teacher to attend.

PTFA news

Picnic blankets and chairs are welcome. No BYO please.

https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/riverhaven-artland-sculpture-trail-tickets-548080753287

Sculpture Trail volunteers needed

PTFA AGM with drinks & nibbles

Term 1 - Week 3 notices and reminders

Wednesday - Pizza orders close at 10am
Thursday - Pizza day
Friday - Ice blocks and flavoured milk for sale (see details below)
Friday - Whole school assembly 2pm

Baby news

In all the excitement of late, we forgot to announce that Mrs Katie McAra had a beautiful baby girl, Darcy on 22 January. We hear Andie is a very doting older sister!

Mrs Sarah Park had her baby girl, Maisie, on Friday 10 February, managing to get home before the cyclone. Cooper and Emerson are smitten with the new addition to their whānau.

More babies on their way…

In true Clevedon fashion, we have more baby news!!! We congratulate Miss Damson McGregor and her partner Andre who are expecting not one, but two babies in July this year. Some exciting (and expensive) times ahead!

Citizenship

Next week our classes will do some talking around our learner disposition of ‘citizenship’ and what this might mean in a time of crisis. We will then look at how our school might support some schools or organisations around Aotearoa.

Whanaungatanga meetings

Our whanaungatanga meetings will be held at 3:15-7:00 pm on Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd in your child’s classroom. If you are unable to make this meeting, please arrange another time with your child’s teacher. Bookings are done online and instructions are below. Please book a time using the system below if you have not already done so. A reminder to please also fill in the ‘Whānau Information Form’ that was sent to your email address before you attend your meeting.

Booking instructions

Please book by entering the code nc333 on the website by clicking here and following these steps:

Student Leadership Opportunity - GRIP Conference for Y6/7 students

This letter is to give you information about an upcoming event open to all year 6/7 students who wish to develop their leadership abilities. We have placings for 34 students to come to this event. We usually only send our year 7s, but we have some spaces for any year 6s who may be interested. If you would like your child to attend, please register your interest on Kindo by Monday 20 February.

Pizza

We will be starting up our pizzas again from Thursday next week, offering pepperoni, Hawaiian, cheese and ham & cheese. Please pay on Kindo no later than 10am Wednesday if you would like your child to have pizza for lunch on a Thursday. If you are not set up on Kindo or not sure what to do, please contact our friendly office staff for support.

As Domino’s could no longer deliver to our school, Pizza Hut Takanini will now be supplying our pizzas. Pizzas will now be $3.80 per quarter (as pizza prices have increased & so has the delivery fee).

Home learning

Please click here on our expectations for home learning. If you have any queries, your child’s class teacher can help you.

PTFA AGM with drinks & nibbles

2nd hand uniform shop

The second hand uniform shop is open every second week. Please if you have old uniforms lying around that no longer fit your tamariki, please consider donating it to our shop. It helps other families, particularly during these difficult times.

Term 1 - Week 2 notices and reminders

This is the last day that we are doubling up on our comms. That means from next week, we will only use our school App for messages such as this. If you are not set up with your app, please contact our office ASAP. If you are set up, this might be a good chance to check on your notification settings.

Friday - 2nd hand uniform shop open 8:30-9am (see details below)
Friday - Ice blocks and flavoured milk for sale (see details below)

Whanaungatanga meetings (3 way conferences)

Whanaungatanga (whanau-nga-tanga) is the forming, maintaining and strengthening of relationships between people and communities. The 3 Way Conferences that we have held at the start of each year has always had this kaupapa at its heart.

This year our whanaungatanga meetings are being held on Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd of March. This letter which was sent out this week, gives you more information on these meetings.

If you haven’t already done so, please book your appointments. Details are on the letter. We look forward to engaging with all our whānau over these two nights.

Reading mileage volunteers

We would like to set up a reading roster in the Tōtara team (year 1-3), where parents or grandparents can volunteer to come in and read (one on one) with students. We are hoping to get enough support that you would only be rostered on one morning a week from 9-9.30am. If this is something that you or a family member would like to be involved in please email: jboyle@clevedonschool.co.nz. Please let us know in your email what your preferred day/s are, to volunteer weekly.

Second hand uniform shop

Our second hand uniform shop will be open every second week (usually on even weeks). This is run by parent volunteers and the main aim is to support our community and it helps us look after the environment at the same time. Items are $5 or you can swap items in similar condition.

If you have uniform items that no longer fit your child, please consider making a donation to our uniform shop. It will be of great support to our families as the cost of living increases.

We are currently in need of larger size items. If you know families that have left us for highschool, please check in with them too for items they may have lying around.

Waterpolo (year 5-8)

Mountfort Park Waterpolo is running a free introduction to Waterpolo in term 1 and Clevedon School is looking at forming a Year 5/6 team and a year 7/8 team. The format is 25 mins of skills training and 25 minutes of friendly competition. Official scores are not kept, and the focus is on enjoyment.

Dates are: Saturday Feb 25, March 11, 18 and 25.
Clevedons allocated time will vary between 1pm-3.20pm for year 5/6 and between 3.20pm - 5.30 for 7/8.
All coaching and equipment is provided as well as lifeguards. A parent volunteer is putting the teams together for the school.
Games are based at Manurewa Pool and Leisure Centre.
Parents are responsible for setting their own children to and from the venue.

This is a great opportunity for kids to develop their water skills and fitness. If your child is interested, or if you have further questions, please contact Paul Gibbard on pgibbard@gmail.com.

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. Please bring the right amount in coins where possible.

School library books - overdue notices

Starting this year, you will receive automated reminder emails of upcoming due dates for school library books your child has issued. You will also receive prompt emails if books become overdue. Students are allowed up to two school library books at any one time and can keep them for up to two weeks.

If your child still has overdue books from 2022, you will automatically receive overdue email notices for those when the system is put online at the start of week 2. Please get in touch through librarian@clevedonschool.co.nz if you have any queries about this.

Thank you in advance for helping us keep our library well stocked. Last year we had over 100 books go missing from our library.

Who do I see if I have a query or concern about my child

As parents you know your children best and you are their biggest advocates, as such, if you have any questions or concerns, please do get in touch. We strongly believe that the stronger our partnership is with you, the better we can cater for all our children. If you have a query:

Email your child’s teacher in the first instance - request a suitable meeting time or for them to call you if you prefer
If after working with the teacher you have more queries or need further clarification, please contact the right team leader:
- Year 0-3 - Mrs Jodie Boyle
- Year 4-6 - Mr Chris Morgan
- Year 6-8 - Mrs Stacey Connolly
You are also always welcome to call our office and they will be able to direct you to the right person.
If your child has additional needs, your go to contact is Mrs Jodie Boyle who is also our Special Educational Needs Coordinator.

Please note, as our staff are busy with children during the day, they cannot take phone calls. They will however call you when they are able to if you email them with this request. We can also set up Zoom meetings if you are not able to make it into school. All staff email addresses can be found on our website.

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.

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

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.

	Term 1	Term 2	Term 3	Term 4
Start	Tuesday 31 January	Wednesday 26 April (due to Teacher only day and ANZAC day)	Monday 17 July	Monday 9 October
End	Thursday 6 April	Friday 30 June	Friday 22 September	Thursday 14 Dec
Teacher Only Days	TBC	Monday 24 April	TBC	TBC
Holidays in term time	Auckland Anniversary Waitangi Good Friday	Anzac Day Queen’s birthday		Labour Day

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.

Kōwhai classes

Kauri classes

Tōtara classes

Other

Year 6/7

Mrs Cory Bremner

Year 4

Mrs Elme Meiring

NE/Y1

Mrs Fran Chapman

Performing arts - year 2-8

Mrs Jo Odds

Learning Support Coordinator (LSC)

Mr Wayne Nel

Special Education Coordinator (SENCO)

Jodie Boyle

Reading Recovery

Ms Joy Lendrum

Learning support teacher

Mrs Cheryl Wilkinson

Release teacher (term 1)

Miss Maddy Taylor

Year 7/8

Mrs Veronica Were

Year 4/5

Mr Liam Shepherd

Y1/2

Miss Damson McGregor

Year 7/8

Mr Craig Smith (Mon-Wed)

Mrs Cara Popping (Thur-Fri)

Year 5/6

Mr Chris Morgan (Kauri team leader)

Year 1/2

Mrs Lauren Comley

Miss Maddy Taylor (Fridays)

Year 5/6

Mrs Manpreet Dhaliwal

Year 2/3

Mrs Jalena Eade

Year 5/6

Ms Mirta Salina

Year 2/3

Ms Helena Reedy***

Mrs Claire Smith (Thursdays)

Year 2/3

Miss Chene Oosthuysen

Year 3

Miss Molly Davies

Letitia Lane (Thursdays)

Senior leader

Mrs Stacey Connolly

Mrs Connolly will also continue to be the Kōwhai team leader

Junior leader

Mrs Jodie Boyle

Mrs Boyle continues as Tōtara team leader

Non teaching staff

Office and caretaker

Donna Woods (office)
Susanna Meyer (office)
Karen Pallister (executive assistant)
Ian Hodge (caretaker)

Teacher aide team

Brigid Higgins
Shareen Ali
Karen Walker-Tulp
Geneva Pickering
Stacey Hall
Krez Yates
Shelly Young

*** 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

Pool key holders

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:
- Year 3 (if you choose to bring an iPad)
- Year 4-8

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.

	Term 1	Term 2	Term 3	Term 4
Start	Tuesday 31 January	Wednesday 26 April (due to Teacher only day and ANZAC day)	Monday 17 July	Monday 9 October
End	Thursday 6 April	Friday 30 June	Friday 22 September	Thursday 14 Dec
Teacher Only Days	TBC	Monday 24 April	TBC	TBC
Holidays in term time	Auckland Anniversary Waitangi Good Friday	Anzac Day Queen’s birthday		Labour Day

School structure 2023 - previously shared

Kōwhai classes

Kauri classes

Tōtara classes

Other

Year 6/7

Mrs Cory Bremner

Year 4

Mrs Elme Meiring

NE/Y1

Mrs Fran Chapman

Performing arts - year 2-8

Mrs Jo Odds

Learning Support Coordinator

Mr Wayne Nel

Reading Recovery

Ms Joy Lendrum

Learning support teacher

Mrs Cheryl Wilkinson

Release teacher (term 1)

Miss Maddy Taylor

Year 7/8

Mr Craig Smith and Mrs Cara Popping

Year 4/5

Mr Liam Shepherd

Y1/2

Miss Damson McGregor

Year 7/8

Mrs Veronica Were

Year 5/6

Mr Chris Morgan (Kauri team leader)

Year 1/2

Mrs Lauren Comley

Year 5/6

Mrs Manpreet Dhaliwal

Year 2/3

Mrs Jalena Eade

Year 5/6

Ms Mirta Salina

Year 2/3

Mrs Athlene Wallbank

Year 2/3

Miss Chene Oosthuysen

Year 3

Miss Molly Davies

Senior leader - Mrs Stacey Connolly

Mrs Connolly will also continue to be the Kōwhai team leader

Junior leader / SENCO

Mrs Jodie Boyle

Mrs Boyle continues as Tōtara team leader

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.

Clevedon School - Clevedon kids living and learning with PRIDE

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