Elm Park School Newsletter 1st February 2013 - Term 1 - Week 1
Friday 1st
February 2013 – Term 1 Week 1
Value Focus for next week:
Initiative / Perseverance
From The Principal
Kia
ora tatou katoa, Talofa, Malo e lelei, Bula vi naka, Kia orana Nga mihi nui ki
a koutou, Namaste, Nihao, Greetings to you all.
Welcome
back to all returning students and their families and welcome to all those who
are joining our school community for the first time. Our first day was busy,
particularly in the office with new children arriving. We are grateful to our
wonderful office staff for remaining calm throughout. By 9.00 am everyone was
in their room. The children have settled down into the school routine quickly
and are participating in the classroom programme with enthusiasm, in spite of
the heat. The Year 1-3 children are in luck, having the privilege of using the
swimming pool to cool off in this term.
A
warm welcome to our new staff this year Mr Faenza Wanoa - Yr 5 in Rm 23 and Mrs
Jazmin Lashlie - Y4 in Rm 15, and Mr Ryan Fletcher, our new Caretaker. Welcome
back, Mrs Vanessa Koroa, Mrs Pauline Grainger and Mrs Linda Richards. There
have been a few room changes (see list below).
During
last week our staff attended two days of Professional Development at Elm Park.
Our staff were updated with all the plans across the curriculum areas for the
year. We discussed ways to provide quality teaching and learning opportunities
for our students which will in turn lead to even better learning outcomes for
all our students this year across the curriculum areas. Every year we strive to
match our professional development for staff with the needs of the children so
that it is a win-win situation for everyone. We were joined by the staff from
Sunnyhills and St Marks Schools for a Writing workshops facilitated by Sally
Muir from Waikato University.
Reporting to Parents - Parent
Information Evenings will be held in Week 3 Term 1 - This will be an
opportunity to be introduced to all the staff and your child/children’s
teacher/s. The teachers will outline what they have planned for the class for
this year and their expectations.
Parents and caregivers are cordially invited to attend Parent
Information Evenings initially in the Auditorium.
Wednesday 13 February Years 4-6 at 6.30 pm
Thursday 14 February Years 1-3 at 6.30 pm
We look forward to meeting with you. Please
assembly in the Auditorium by 6.30 pm.
E-portfolios - We will continue
to use e-portfolios at Elm Park School as a method of communication with
parents/caregivers. This is an ongoing electronic form of collating information
regarding the children, their progress and next learning steps in Literacy,
Numeracy and other learning areas. This form of data collection is aligning our
school with the 21st Century and the methods of reporting that are
fast becoming the norm. We are
constantly refining the guidelines and format of these learning journals.
Students are active participants in their own learning journey. They are aware
of where they are at in their learning, what the gaps are and where they need
to go next. The e-portfolio takes the
place of the written report throughout the year.
Year 5 children however will receive a
written report at the end of the year so that these reports can be used to
support applications for
Intermediate – please keep these safe for Intermediate applications. Those children who may leave during the year
will receive a saved copy of their e-portfolios.
Principles, Values and Key Competencies - At
Elm Park School we continue to include Principles, Values and the Key
Competencies in our daily programmes. These concepts form the basis of the
National Curriculum. We would really appreciate your support in this area of
your children’s education. The key competencies are managing self, relating to others, participating and contribution,
thinking, and using language, symbols and texts. Elm Park students are encouraged to value excellence, innovation, enquiry and
curiosity, diversity, respect, equity, care for the environment, integrity and
community. At Elm Park “we empower
all learners to achieve their personal best”. This is a partnership between
the school and yourselves.
Parent Contribution & Annual Trips and
Cultural Activities Payment - Thank you to all the parents/caregivers who
have paid the school donation, activity fee and purchased the stationery pack
so promptly. This assists us in getting the learning programmes underway as
quickly as possible and enables the routines to be established early.
Cultural Activities
/ Annual Trips Payment $100.00 per year ($25.00 per term) - Elm Park School
strives to provide a quality education with a wide variety of opportunities for all students to participate, not just trips. This payment is very
important to the school as many of our activities rely on this money –
including enrichment groups such as
Maths, Art, PE, Music, Chess, Swimming activities, Digikids (ICT) Please
support the school by making this payment as soon as you are able to.
Parent
Contribution First Child $160.00
Second
Child $150.00
Third
Child $130.00
Payment
can be made through the school office, during school hours or by internet
banking. EFTPOS is available, and
alternative payment options may be discussed with our Executive Officer Norma
Foster.
Parent Contribution Receipts - Did
you know that families with an annual income of $70,000 or less, may be
eligible for a childcare subsidy. If you would like to apply, you can find an
application form at your local WINZ office, or visit www.workingforfamilies.govt.nz If you require any replacement or duplicate donation
receipts for tax purposes please request them at the front office before the
end of the year. Our financial software cannot issue duplicates after the start
of the new year.
Stationery can be purchased online from Office
Max
www.myschool.co.nz or
collected in person at the Office Max store in Ronwood Ave, Manukau.
Prices vary for different year levels – please ensure
you know your child’s year level before ordering.
Uniform Shop Hours - Monday – Friday
mornings 8.15 am – 8.45 am and
afternoons 2.30 pm - 3.00 pm (Sheree Houghton is in charge of the uniform
shop). All children are expected to wear
the correct uniform at all times.
· Headbands should be Black, White or Blue. Long hair
should be tied back.
· Only stud earrings are acceptable. No nail polish
· Sensible black sandals and a sun hat in Term 1 and
Term 4. Black school shoes in Term 2 and
Term 3
· No canvas shoes please.
Year 6 Camp - The Year 6 children will be attending Camp
MERC at Long Bay on the North Shore in Term
1, Week 4, Wednesday 20 February – Friday 22 February 2013
The
teachers and children in Year 5 last year raised money which has been donated
to the overall Camp fund to reduce the total cost for parents. This is an
extremely valuable experience for everyone and we encourage all children to be
part of this Camp. There is a focus around water safety skills and activities
and team co-operation and collaboration. Further Camp information will be
available from the Year 6 teachers and Mr Dave Borcher Deputy Principal for
Year 5 & 6.
Headstart is a pre-school
programme for four year olds who may
or may not be attending Elm Park School. The purpose of this programme is to
familiarise children with the school learning environment. This programme begins Week 4 Wednesday 20 February at 1.30 pm. This
will be run by Mrs Pauline Grainger.
Please contact to the office for
further information.
Road Safety - Thank you to the
wonderful parents who have offered to help out at the pedestrian crossing, we
really appreciate your time and effort.
Thank you to Mr Munro for offering to co-ordinate this with Mrs
Holdom. We encourage parents to help us
by not parking on the yellow lines, making sure that the children walk safely
across the crossing and up the path, not on the back driveway as it is a busy
access to the school.
Kids Korner (Before & After School Care).
Just
to remind you that we have this facility available. Please contact Kirstie
Miller (577 0198).
Before
school 7.00 am – 8.30 am
After
school 3.00 pm – 6.00 pm
NO MORE NEWSLETTERS - School
newsletters are published once a fortnight. The school newsletter is often our
only means of communication with you at home so it is imperative that you read
every issue to ensure you know what is going on within the school. We will not
be sending home a paper newsletter after this one unless you specifically
request one. These are available on our website www.elmpark.school.nz
or on our blog http://elmparkschool.blogspot.co.nz/
or through Facebook – if you ‘like’ us on Facebook you will automatically
receive the newsletter fortnightly on your newsfeed.
Looking
forward to a wonderful new year.
Term Dates for 2013
Term
1 Tuesday 29 January to Friday 19 April 2013 (12 weeks)
Term
2 Monday 6 May to Friday 12 July 2013 (10 weeks)
Term
3 Monday 29 July to Friday 27 September (9 weeks)
Term
4 Monday 14 October to Thursday 12 December 2013 (9 weeks)
Holidays
Term 1 - Waitangi Day – Wednesday 6 February
Term
1 - Easter (Good Friday) 29 March,
Easter Monday 1 April Easter Tuesday 2 April
Term 2 - Queen’s Birthday - Monday 3 June
Term 4 - Labour Day - Monday 28 October
Firewood
– We have firewood at $25 per trailer load.
This is available for collection from the back field any week day
between 9 am – 2 pm until it is all sold.
Staffing for 2013
|
Mrs Trish Plowright
|
Principal
|
|
Mr Dave Borcher
|
Deputy Principal Y5-6
|
|
Ms Belinda Johnston
|
Deputy Principal Y3-4
|
|
Mrs Karen Allen
|
Deputy Principal Y1-2
|
|
|
|
|
Teachers / Rooms
|
|
|
Mrs Susanne Kerr
|
Rm 1 Y1
|
|
Mrs Pauline Grainger
|
Rm 2 Y1 Team
Leader
|
|
Mrs Keryn Scott
Mrs Roseanne Worsfold
|
Rm 3 Y1
|
|
Mrs Cathy Gray
|
Rm 4 Y1
|
|
Miss Dillie Baria
|
Rm 5 Y1
|
|
Miss Ray Van Niekerk
|
Rm 7 Y1
|
|
Mrs Mehernaz Darukhanawalla
|
Rm 8 Y2 Team
Leader
|
|
Mrs Catherine Holdom
|
Rm 9 Y2
|
|
Miss Andrea Charlesworth
|
Rm10 Y2
|
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Mrs Vanessa Koroa
|
Rm 11 Y2
|
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Mrs Kelly Field
|
Rm 12 Y3
|
|
Mrs Sue Hodge
|
Rm 13 Y4 Team
Leader
|
|
Mrs Sue Dane
|
Rm 14 Y4
|
|
Mrs Jazmin Lashlie
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Rm 15 Y4
|
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Mrs Sara Melville
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Rm16 Y4
|
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Mrs Linda Richards
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Rm17 Y3
|
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Mrs Tina Bezuidenhout
|
Rm18 Y3 Team
Leader
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Mrs Raenette Taljaard
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Rm19 Y6
|
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Mrs Anna Graham
|
Rm20 Y6
|
|
Miss Lucy Adamson
|
Rm21 Y6 (Boys
class)
|
|
Mrs Dawn Walker
|
Rm22 Y6 Team
Leader
|
|
Mr Faenza Wanoa
|
Rm23 Y5
|
|
Miss Irma Hughes
|
Rm24 Y5 Team
Leader
|
|
Miss Lisa Biddick
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Rm25 Y5
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Mrs Jean Russell
Mrs Sarah Choi
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Rm26 ESOL
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Kids Korner
Music Room
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Rm27
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Mrs Alicia Howard
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Rm29 Y5
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Mrs Debbie Rist
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Rm30 Y3
|
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Mrs Lois Nunes
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SPELD rooms
|
|
Mrs Monica Meikle
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Environment
|
|
|
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Support Staff
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|
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Mr Ryan Fletcher
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Caretaker
|
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Mrs Norma Foster
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Executive Officer
|
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Mrs Rachel Herriot
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Principal’s PA
|
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Mrs Lauren Russell
|
Student Office
Administrator
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Mrs Diane Graham
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Accounts Clerk
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Mrs Katherine De Haast
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International Student Co-ordinator
Librarian
|
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Mrs Vanessa Kernot
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Resource Room
|
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Miss Kirstie Miller
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Kids Korner Manager
Teacher Aide
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Mrs Libby Douglas
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Teacher Aide
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Mrs Faith de Villiers
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Lunchroom
Teacher Aide
|
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Mrs Sheree Houghton
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Uniform Shop
Teacher Aide
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Mrs Tanya Sproull
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Teacher Aide
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Mrs Monique Ashmore
|
Teacher Aide
|
|
Mrs Suzan Jenner
|
Teacher Aide
|
|
Miss Mary Griffin
|
Teacher Aide
|
|
Mrs Lindsay Murray
|
Teacher Aide
|
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