LBP Newsletter – Term 2, Week 8

Term 2, Week 8 – Friday 16 June 2023

Principal’s Chat

Kia ora Parents/Caregivers

Something we have all experienced is a first day at school. Mine was at Murrays Bay School with Mrs Crump. She was exactly the type of person you wanted for your first teacher, kind, caring and friendly. I seem to remember everyone went into Mrs Crump’s class before they moved on to the ‘big school’.

The first day of school can be daunting, usually for the parents more so than the children. My son’s first day was a Friday. Sadly I was stuck in Wellington after a meeting and in a rather substantial storm. All flights were grounded, I ended up sleeping on the floor at my brother’s place and missed the big day. Luckily I got back that evening to see him before he went to bed. I was gutted, but have a story to tell and absolutely remember the day better than he does.

Speaking of the first day of school, we are about to consult on how our new entrants start their time at Long Bay Primary. Cohort entry means that our Year 0 students will start on the first day of the term and then in week 6 of the same term as a group. It means across the year there will be four (or five depending on numbers) times that groups of students start together. It helps the students settle better into school as they are doing so with a group of peers, rather than potentially being the only new person joining a class. There is evidence that starting school alongside other children helps them build relationships and supports a smoother entry to school life. It also means less disruption for the teacher. They can plan for a group of students arriving at a specific time and ensure they get the best start possible.

Because of the impact this change will have on our prospective students, families and early childhood providers we are consulting everyone on this potential change. Please take the time to complete our very brief survey and let us know what you think.

I have a top tip to avoid missing your child’s first day of school – avoid trips to Wellington in the middle of winter, it is a highly unpredictable place weather wise.

Rob Hutton
Tumuaki/Principal

Correction from last week – After a brief conversation following the publishing of the newsletter last week I would like to mention that my Mum also helped me to learn to read before I went to school. I stand corrected.

2023 Term Dates and What’s On

Welcome New Students

A warm welcome to our new students who have started at Long Bay Primary since our last Newsletter:

Jett, Amy and Annie

Health and Physical Education Survey

We have prepared a survey to help Long Bay Primary identify the needs of our community. It is our legal responsibility to consult with our caregivers every two years so that you, our community, have input into this important aspect of your child’s education. As part of this consultation process we are also seeking feedback about the swimming programme as well.

You can complete the survey by clicking here.

What is Health Education about?

In health and physical education, the focus is on the well-being of the students themselves, of other people, and of society through learning in health-related and movement contexts.

Four underlying and interdependent concepts are at the heart of this learning area:

• Hauora – a Māori philosophy of well-being that includes the dimensions taha wairua (spiritual well-being), taha hinengaro (mental and emotional well-being), taha tinana (physical well-being), and taha whānau (social well-being), each one influencing and supporting the others.
• Attitudes and values – a positive, responsible attitude on the part of students to their own well-being; respect, care, and concern for other people and the environment; and a sense of social justice.
• The socio-ecological perspective – a way of viewing and understanding the interrelationships that exist between the individual, others, and society.
• Health promotion – a process that helps to develop and maintain supportive physical and emotional environments and that involves students in personal and collective action.

Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey.

Mid Year Parent/Teacher Interviews – Wednesday 28 June

On Wednesday 28 June we are holding our mid year learning interviews. Students are encouraged to come along with their parents to speak to their teacher. 

School will finish early at 12.30pm on Wednesday 28 June.

The Okura and Torbay buses will run at the normal times that day.

Supervision in the Library is available from 12.30pm to 2.55pm, please fill out this form if your child/children require supervision in the Library.

Kelly Club will be open from 3.00pm.

To make an appointment, please visit https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/ and follow the prompts.

You will need to enter in our school code: jyuqk then follow the options. Confirmation of your appointment/s will be sent immediately to your email address.

Appointment bookings are OPEN NOW and bookings will CLOSE on Tuesday 27 June at 5.00pm.

Due to the mid year interviews there will be no lunch orders delivered to school on Wednesday 28 June.

Donation Receipts via Kindo

Accessing your donation receipts on Kindo

You can view all your purchases, top-ups, refunds, cancelled orders and donation receipts using the ‘my orders’ option.

From the record type, you can select donation receipts, and choose to download individual receipts or download a summary of all your donation receipts.

More detailed instructions can also be found on the Kindo online support pages.

Click here for more detailed instructions.

Important School Reminders – Please Read

Keeping Ourselves Safe

Between now and the end of this term each of our classes will be covering aspects of the Keeping Ourselves Safe components in the curriculum. We are working with Senior Constable Tania Wansink, our School Community Officer, to deliver this to our students.  If you would like to find out more about Keeping Ourselves Safe this website is very useful. We are looking at the Junior and Middle Primary parts of this only, the rest is covered at Intermediate and Secondary level.

We Need Your Help

In July we have five 2 metre tall pohutukawa trees being extracted from a local apartment building garden. We have said we would love to add them to our school grounds. There is a catch, we need to collect them. If there is anyone out there with a HIAB truck or similar that could give us a hand in July please contact John Underwood our property manager. 

Absences

We are seeing an increasing amount of unexplained absences lately. If your child/children are going to be absent from school, then you must let the Office and class teacher know. This is to avoid your child/children being marked as truant.

Absences can be reported by calling the school on 09 473 6077, select option 1. Emailing the class teacher and admin@longbayprimary.ac.nz or through the school website ‘Report an Absence’.

All absences from school must have a reason so your child/children can be coded accordingly on their student record. Thank you for your co-operation.

Late Passes

We give out late passes at the school date each day to students who arrive at school after the bell has rung. This is because by the time these students get to class it is likely the teacher will have already marked the roll for the day. The late pass indicates to the teacher that we know your child is at school and it means we do not call you because they have been marked as absent on the roll.

Arrival at School

Our doors at school open at 8.30am. The time until then is invaluable for our staff to prepare for the day. While we appreciate the closure of Glenvar Road has increased travel times and traffic in general at the moment is rather appalling, the closer to 8.30am that students can arrive at school makes it easier for us to deliver the best we can for your children. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.  

Contact Details

If your personal contact or emergency contact details need updating, please email admin@longbayprimary.ac.nz It is very important that we have correct details on our student records.

Enrolments

If you have a child turning 5 in the near future, please can you complete an online enrolment application form as soon as possible. This is to assist us with classroom planning. For all enrolments enquiries, please email enrolments@longbayprimary.ac.nz

Northern Bays Cluster Arts Festival

On Wednesday evening we participated in the Northern Bays Cluster Arts Festival. Performing straight after the opening there was no time for the butterflies to arrive in our tummies. We blew the crowd away with our enthusiasm and sense of having fun. Thanks to Kathryn Hohaia and Elisha Russell for their hard work on the night and to Tiffany Krstev for her input in the lead up to the event. Without dedicated teachers our students will not have these opportunities to perform and enjoy themselves while doing it.

As part of the Northern Bays Cluster Arts Festival that we celebrated this week some of our artwork was displayed in the Bruce Mason Theatre foyer. As you can see it stole the show with an array of vibrant colours and creative ideas.

Mathex

Last Wednesday a group of Year 6 students took part in the Junior Mathex competition held at Northcross Intermediate. Schools from all over the northern North Shore participated – 51 teams of four altogether. Long Bay Primary entered four teams, plus two students who joined with two of Sherwood’s students to form a mixed team. One of our teams placed 12th equal with 17 out of 20 correct questions,one 16th equal with 15 out of 20 correct questions in the 30 minute time slot. All of our students did a great job of working together in a pressured situation to solve difficult maths problems. 

Room 12

This term Room 12 has had a Mathematics Strand focus on Geometry. We have tried to creatively incorporate this theme in lots of other curriculum areas as well. In art we have tried our hand at Picasso and cubism, we have had fun with symmetry and reflection in paper cutting. In writing at present we are developing our own comic strip characters and stories. We will shortly be displaying book reviews in reading using cube, and triangular prism nets.  

Oneroa Kāhui Ako Cultural Festival

In Term 3, we look forward to celebrating the different cultures represented in our schools.

The Oneroa Kāhui Ako Cultural Celebration is on Thursday 31 August at Sherwood School. 

Each school is allocated 15 minutes for their performance(s) which can include two or three items. We are reaching out to our Long Bay Primary community to see if we have any parents/contacts who would be interested in taking a group of students to learn an item for the performance. For example: Chinese fan dance, Bollywood dance etc. We already have a Pasifika group going. 

If you are keen to work with us, please get in touch with Tiffany Krstev at tiffanyk@longbayprimary.ac.nz 

Year 6 Camp Fundraiser

Sports Buzz – Term 2, Week 8

PTA News

Kelly Club

Bricks 4 Kidz

Community Notices and Events