Newsletter 8 June 2023

Kia ora koutou e te whānau,

Questions and wonderings

I am collecting information on how best to help parents/caregivers better understand areas of school life so that we can help develop some shared understanding. The first step is to gain your views on what you would like to learn more about? What wonderings or questions do you have? Please note: this is not a feedback exercise, you are always welcome to make time to come and speak with me if this is something you would like to do. 

Why not make it anonymous? 

I chose not to make this anonymous because I am asking families openly for their wonderings or questions so I can help answer them. I wanted to be able to contact you, if there was something in particular I could explain further. I view this as an opportunity to learn more about what parents want to know. I am hopeful that this builds on a relationship of mutual trust. 

So far I have had 34 responses, that is about 8% of the parent community. Before proceeding, it would be great to hear more from a wider group of families. If you did not have any questions, if you could let me know through the survey, I would really appreciate it. 

Please click on the Link

Shoes for the winter

Unfortunately we have had quite a few children slip, trip and fall when they are wearing crocs at school. I would encourage you to send children to school with proper closed, secure footwear to avoid unnecessary accidents. Especially during winter time. 

Writing report (posted on Hero week 10, term 2)

As you will know, a different report is written every term. Term 2, you will receive a written report from teachers regarding progress in Writing. Here is the process followed:

1.  Students wrote a writing sample, encouraged to do their best writing. 

2.  Teachers took these samples and marked different areas of writing using a school-wide rubric.

Areas they looked at were: 

Content and ideas

Sentence formation and paragraphs

Grammar and punctuation

Words and phrases

Craft, re craft and spelling

3.  School-wide moderation, teachers each bought marked samples of writing and shared these across the school to see if everyone was consistent with their assessment. 

4.  Team level meetings followed the school-wide moderation to check for consistency. 

5.  The samples across each expected year level were then taken to the leadership team for final review.

Teachers write their final comment on Hero and share with families by the end of the term. 

Health & Safety Committee Board meeting – school car parks

The Health and Safety Board committee met this week to discuss the car parking concerns raised by parents,  teachers and the general public. The committee has discussed some options and will be taking these to the full Board for consideration. If you have any further questions or concerns please do not hesitate to email these through: devikat@tps.school.nz 

Devika Tagg

Principal

Taken by our talented Jason Barnes

“Thank you for all the effort you make to create TPS an even more wonderful place.

We have seen it and felt that the school is growing and improving, thanks to you.

We do appreciate it. Thank you Devika!!” (Parent of the school) 

School Disco – get your tickets NOW through myKindo!

Mitey – Mental Health Education:

Mitey is a New Zealand specific, Years 1-8 approach to embedding mental health education in both teaching and learning. It was developed by the Sir John Kirwan Foundation. Our kura is now in the second year on our Mitey journey.

Children will learn how to recognise and respond to their own mental health and those of others. Cultivating good mental health helps us cope with life’s ups and downs, and to feel comfortable asking for help from others when we need it.

All the teachers at Takapuna Primary are engaging with Professional Development from our expert coaches working for Mitey. 

For more information visit the website: https://www.mitey.org.nz/

In Whānau Tūī we have been busy with some Mitey learning. We have been learning about the different emotions we might experience. We have also written some poems which show how we can describe different emotions through colour, smell and taste. Naming and understanding our emotions is important.

We have also been thinking about ways that we can manage our emotions if something goes wrong in the playground. We brainstormed some strategies together and we are trying to practise these at school. We have been learning how our feelings can influence our behaviours.

Showing kindness to ourselves and others is so important. We have been reading some books together which have led to some great discussions about friendship and kindness.

Fundraising – quick, orders close Thursday 15 June!

IMPORTANT DATES:

Friday 16 June                  Disco (*yr 0-2 4:30-5:30pm *yr 3-6 5:45-7:00pm) 

Monday 19 June               Information Afternoon (NEW entrant parents only 3:30-4:00pm)

Click here for School Calendar

TPS SPORTS:

Registrations 2023

To register your child please head along to our school website, located under the sports section (“our learning”) you will find the registration forms tab.

This is where ALL permissions and registrations will take place in 2023. 

Rippa Rugby

On 25th May, Takapuna Primary took eight Rippa Rugby teams to Onewa Domain to play in the annual schools Rippa Festival.

There was running, scoring, ripping, passing, and much laughter. The weather even showed up for us and made an already great day just perfect! 

COMMUNITY NOTICES:

Speed Limits have changed