Tēnā koutou katoa whānau,
This is our last newsletter of the year! I can’t believe how quickly time has gone. A huge thanks to you all, what an amazing community we have. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas break and have some time off to spend with your children and family.
Teacher Only Days 2024
The Board has confirmed that Ministry of Education Teacher Only Days will be on:
- Friday, May 31 (Friday before King’s Birthday long weekend)
- Friday October 25 (Friday before Labour Day long weekend)
BEACH PICNIC
It was a wonderful day on Wednesday, the sun came out and all the children had a great time. It is a long standing tradition taking all our children down to Takapuna Beach every year, we were so glad we made it this year. We had over 100 adults and more than 400 students on the beach making sandcastles, playing sports and enjoying our beautiful surroundings. The staff were super thankful to one of our very generous parents on the trip, who shouted coffees to all the TPS staff. When I said thank you, he replied ‘It is my pleasure and nothing compared to what the school and staff have done for my son, we are so grateful we have come to Takapuna Primary.’ What a lovely gesture!
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End of Year Report
These will be published on Thursday 7 December via Hero. If you would like to print the entire report for the year, you are able to do so now as it will be a complete year of reporting. You will notice a general comment in Term 4 that sums up key strengths of each of our students. There will also be an Overall Teacher Judgement shared with you on Reading, Writing and Mathematics. These statements will indicate if the children have met their year level expectations. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teachers.
Class Placements – IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Children are placed into classes using the following overall guidelines.
- Where possible and practical – children may have a second year with the same teacher, for example, a year 3 student could be placed in the same class again as a year 4 student with the same teacher. However, this may not always be the case as we may need to balance classes, or disperse students if there are extra classes.
- Moving from one transition to another, (e.g. from one whānau group to the next like Kiwi to Tūī) children will be mixed and spread across classes.
- If children needed a specific transition plan, our Deputy Principal (Lisa) would have contacted you to discuss this already.
- Teachers know their students and how they interact in social settings and friendships. What your child is like at home might be different at school. It is important that teachers are a big part of class placements, teachers consider grouping students who work well together and those who can learn from each other.
Children will not be reclassified to repeat the same year. Our New Zealand curriculum and teachers cater to all learning needs, regardless of the child’s year level. If you have any specific questions, or concerns about class placements, please contact the Principal, Devika at devikat@tps.school.nz to make time to discuss things further.
Your child’s class for 2024 will be posted on Hero before Monday 11 December 2023.
Class Organisation for 2024
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Meet your teacher – Tuesday 12 December 2023
This will be an opportunity for your child to spend one hour with their 2024 classroom teacher and to meet new friends. Please note this is intended for your child only, parents are not required to attend. This will happen from 10.00am to 11.00am.
Te Hui Whakapiri (1:1 family & student meetings with teachers) Friday 2 February 2024
The purpose is to form strong connections between school and families for the year. Whānau will need to book a 15 minute time slot with their child’s guardian teacher. Questions or prompts will be created by the teachers. These will form the basis of a learner profile for the year. Parents are expected to attend with their child.
NB: Your child will attend school only for this meeting and then go home. Please wear your school uniform.
*Details on how to book a time slot will be shared with you soon.
The start date is Friday 2nd February 2024.
The first FULL day of school will be Monday 5 February 2024
RETURNING SCHOOL RESOURCES
We need all Library books, school reading books and school owned devices to be returned asap! These are expensive resources that we need back, please leave them in the office or return to the teachers.
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Pizza/Wheels & Non-Uniform Day:
Thursday 14th December will be our school Pizza, Wheels and Non-Uniform Day.
For $10.50, your child will receive:
For morning tea: a packet of popcorn/chips and a packet of cookies/ crackers.
For lunch: An individual pizza.
Halal/ Vegetarian/ Vegan/ Gluten-free/ Dairy free options are available.
This year, the School Community Group will be taking lunch orders through KINDO. Donations for non-uniform day can also be made using this app.
Orders must be placed through KINDO by TUESDAY 12TH DECEMBER, 10:00am.
NO LATE ORDERS CAN BE ACCEPTED.
For more information about KINDO and how to register, please refer to the attached documents.
The Takapuna Primary School Community Group
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Library:
I would like to take this opportunity to share some highlights from our school library this year.
At the start of 2023, the Board funded the modernisation of our library including new shelving, wall covering and several pieces of comfortable furniture. In addition, the library collection has been updated with the purchasing of new books, many chosen by students themselves.
In Term 2 we held a Book Fair which was a huge success, both in promoting literacy and as a fundraiser. We were able to make enough money to purchase an amazing book display stand and 2 new armchairs. A big thank you to our community for your support!
Our library is now looking so good that we were included in the 2023 Auckland Library Tour, hosted by the NZ National Library. A group of 25 librarians came to visit and hear the story of our successful library journey – they were so impressed. This year we have had 50 student librarians, working once a week in their break times to support the running of the library. These dedicated children issue books for other learners and help keep the library organised. We also have a team of Parent Helpers who cover seal the new books – I am so grateful for their help and would especially like to acknowledge Cherry who has come in every Monday all year to work in the library – you are a star! At the end of this term. Eleven Head Librarians had a trip to the Takapuna Public library where we were treated to a ‘Behind the Scenes’ tour by the Children’s Librarian. We learnt a lot about the role a real life librarian has.
The changes made in 2023 have been incredible for the revitalisation of our library and its importance in our school. It is wonderful to see it so loved and valued. Thank you TPS whanau for your continued support of our library,you help by reading and talking about the books your child brings home from the library and encouraging them to show Care and Respect to our books by treating them well and not losing them.
A library is a special place in a school – in fact we love this quote by Albert Einstein “The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library”.
Have a wonderful summer holiday – I hope you all have a good book to read 🙂
Natasha Giles
Teacher in Charge of the Library
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Second Hand Uniform:
You can now purchase second hand uniform online, along with new uniform. Please note that we no longer stock second hand uniform at the office. Please go to www.tps.school.nz, click on “information”, scroll to “uniform” and click on “shop”. (as below)
*You can still buy new hats and sunglasses at the office.
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Stationery 2024:
Please note 2024 stationery is available NOW.
Order in December and you can be in to WIN 1 of 5 $1000 cash prizes!
Order BY 14 January to receive it before school starts!
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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/
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Ooooh, it was nice to receive some sweet treats for our staff. Thank you Chloe and Darren!
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TONIGHT Year 6 Graduation (6:00pm)
Thursday 14 December Pizza/wheels/non uniform day
Friday 15 December Last day of Term 4 (3:00pm)
2024
Friday 2 February Te Hui Whakapiri (1.1 Meeting with Teacher)
Monday 5 February Start school (9:00am)
Tuesday 6 February Waitangi Day (school closed)
Click here for School Calendar
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After School Care:
Dear Families
December Holiday Progam
We will be open for a fun and exciting Christmas Themed Holiday Program from Monday 18/12/23 to Friday 22/12/23.
We do not have a daily activities sheet for this one, its purely Christmas – baking, crafts, outside activities and more!
Please complete an enrolment form by clicking on the link below.
Please note – NO bookings will be taken after 10/12/23.
https://form.jotform.com/kellifourie/Dec2023
The enrolment form for our January 2024 (22/1/24-2/2/24) holiday program will be sent out around 18/12/23. If you are not on our mailing list and would like to be informed about the January 2024 holiday program, please email me – kellifourie@gmail.com
Please reach out should you have any questions.
Kind regards
Kelli Labuschagne
Aftercare Supervisor
021 0272 4117
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2024 GUITAR AND UKULELE LESSONS
Guitar and Ukulele Lessons are available at school next year, with Dave Gatman from Musiqhub.
If you would like more information, or to enrol your child to start lessons in 2024, please contact Dave on 021 222 1456 or dave.gatman@musiqhub.co.nz
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