principal’s messages issue 8, 2017 - opaheke …2017/06/07 · student led conferences yr 4—8...

THINKER INNOVATOR COLLABORATOR CHALLENGE TAKER SELF REGULATOR

Wednesday 7 June, 2017

Issue 8, 2017 PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGES

Tasman Drive

Papakura 2113

Phone (09) 298 5410

PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOUR CHILDREN ARE NOT LATE FOR SCHOOL.

STUDENTS MUST BE IN CLASS BEFORE 8.25AM

[email protected]

www.opaheke.school.nz

Fax (09) 298 0739

TERM 2 HUI AND FONO

On Wednesday 31 May we had

our Term 2 Maori Hui and

Pasifika Fono. Although we had

a smaller number than we had

in Term 1, we had good

discussion about a number of

things including how we can

identify and cater for Maori and

Pasifika leaders at Opaheke

School and what leadership

looks like from a Maori or

Pasifika perspective. We also

talked about our Kapa Haka

leaders who are teaching the

rest of the school the Papakura

and Opaheke haka.

DIFFICULT TIMES AHEAD You may have read in the media reports of both overcrowding in school and a

shortage of teachers. There have been reports of non-teaching staff having to

take classes and some instances one teacher taking two classes.

It is extremely difficult to find relieving teachers as many of these teachers

have taken up additional full time or job share vacancies in schools.

With the winter months approaching there will be an increase in teachers

being away due to winter flues and colds. We are relatively lucky at Opaheke

that we have a dedicated pool of relievers and part time teachers who only

wish to work at Opaheke School, however we may find that we are simply

unable to get a teacher for your child’s class if there are more than a few

teachers away on any one day. On rare occasions we may have to split the

class across the syndicate. Be assured that your child’s wellbeing and learning

is of paramount concern to us.

PARENT OPEN AFTERNOON

TUESDAY 30 MAY

It was a great turnout on Tuesday

last week when parents came to

school to see how digitech enhances

learning in classes. Five lucky

students got their name drawn and

won a hot chips treat on Friday.

BRING YOUR

CANS NEXT

WEEK Appeal runs from

Monday 12 June to

Friday 23 June.

NATIONAL YOUNG LEADERS DAY

On Thursday 25 May the School Councillors

attended the National Young Leaders Day at the

Vodafone Events Centre. They heard from many

inspiring speakers throughout the day talking

about their experiences related to the theme—’E

kore au e ngaro he kākanoi ruia mai rangiātea’.

‘I am a seed born of greatness’.

Thanks to the PTA who paid the entrance fee for

the students and Helen Davies for helping out on

the day.

WALKING SCHOOL BUS

A meeting was held last week. The routes the

buses will take are still yet to be decided as we

require the help of more caregivers. This is

such a safe and effective way for students to

travel to and from school. If you would like to

be involved please call Kathy (in the school

office) (09) 298 5410 to discuss this more.


© Opaheke School Newsletter

OPAHEKE SCHOOL NETBALL CLUB—

Results 27 May

Magic vs TG Lily won 21-2 Player of the Day Maddi

Stars vs TG Rata won 16-8 Player of the Day Jamie

Shooting Stars

Lightning Bolts

Storm vs Hunua Rangers lost 13-15 Player of the Day whole Team

Diamonds vs Ardmore School lost 0-7 Player of the Day Nikki

Results 3 June—No games

Magic

Stars

Shooting Stars

Lightning Bolts

Storm

Student Led Conferences Yr 4—8 The school will be holding Student Led Conferences for children in Years 4-8 on Wednesday 5 July from 1 – 7.45pm. Not all Year 4 students are included depending on their time at school for National Standards (parents will be notified if your Yr 4 child is due for a conference). This year there will be up to five conferences happening at a time in different areas of the classroom. A letter will be sent out in the next few weeks for parents to book a time to attend these. Attendance is expected and appreciated as part of your children’s education at Opaheke School.

Please note that school will close at 12.30pm on Wednesday 5 July as teachers will be involved in conferences from 1pm. The Ponga Road bus will leave at this earlier time.

MATHLETICS INFORMATION EVENING FOR PARENTS— Mathletics is a web based

interactive maths learning platform. The students are really enjoying the programme and

are highly motivated about maths as a result. The level of improvement in achievement is

noticeable. We invite parents to attend an information evening on Tuesday 13 June from

6.30-7.30pm to help you to understand the programme and help improve your child’s skills.


Opaheke School Newsletter ©


Krystal

Room 22 Year 3

Maui and the Sun

The sun was going fast and it

only stayed up for one hour

each day. Maui asked his

brothers to help him. Onkar

The sun went too

fast and the

people had short

days. Maui and

his brothers

slowed down the

sun. They made a

rope out of the

strongest leaves

to help get the

sun out of the

cave. Maui was so

happy with

himself and the

sun was shining

down on the

people.

Kaylee

The sun was too fast for Maui and his brothers to go fishing. So they made a plan. They made long ropes before they went to stop the sun. Maui used his hook to hit the sun and tell him off. The sun was slow from then on. Jethro

When did you make the sun go down?

How old are you Maui?

What are you?

Can you play me a song?

Harley

Maui looks big and strong. He eats heaps of

food. Maui can jump and he could lasso the

sun and harnessed the breeze. He can pull up

heavy things from the ground. Luke


Room 8 - Year 5

On our devices we have lots of interesting

things to learn. Some of the things we do

might seem like games but they help us

through our learning. Minecraft seems

like a game but it extends our creativity

and learning of measurement while we

are building. Office 365 is a neater and

easier way to work online and it gives us a

break from books. It’s also an easier way

for the teacher to mark your work (she

doesn't have to carry approximately 27

books all the way to her home). Mathletics

increases your knowledge of math by the

different types of activities that are

already set up. Your teacher assigns you

tasks to finish by the end of the week.

By Jasmine & Harleen

Here at Opaheke School we wanted

to become a technology school so we

started to bring our own personal

devices from Year 4-8. Some of the

things we are able to use our

devices for are Office 365, Word,

One Note, Power-point, Sway and

so much more. Our devices make

learning a lot easier because we can

have our own personal

learning spaces. They help with

things like, Reading on Study-

ladder, Math on Mathletics and

Writing on Night Zookeeper. That’s

why I think that it is a great idea to

have our own devices.

By Saeus

We think bringing devices to school is good

because it helps us with our learning

environment. We also think bringing a device

to school is good because we can look back at

our past learning in our learning journals

and see how we have improved throughout

the year including all topics. We can do online

programs like Mathletics, Study Ladder and

Night Zookeeper. These help us with our

learning because they help us develop special

skills.

By Eloise and Isabella

The Benefits of My

Hi! Today we are going to be telling you

about Office365. Office365 is the most

helpful thing in Opaheke School

because there is OneNote, Word,

SharePoint, OneDrive, PowerPoint and

many other things to work on. We use

OneNote mostly because our teacher

puts on amazing fun activities. In

OneNote we can go onto collaboration

space,

content library and our own personal

tab. In our personal tab we have a tab

for each subject. In our collaboration

space we have our reading. Each

reading group has their own tab where

you go to and fill in the assignment

that your teacher has given you.

By Losa and Kaelyn


Opaheke School Newsletter

Assembly Certificates:

29 May

Ruby R1

Brodie R2

Amelia R3

Tai R4

R5

Bonnie R6

Jodie R7

Hawaiki R8

Olivia R9

Isabelle R10

Wyatt R11

Waitawhara R15

Joshua R17

R21

Emma R22

Samantha R23

Ryland R24

R25

Renee R26

Jnr Hub

Snr Hub

Respect (This is the focus for STAR Certificates this term)

Upcoming Events Wednesday 7 June Class and Team Photos

Thursday 8 June Counties Zone Rugby Y7/8

Tuesday 13 June Mathletics Parent Evening 6.30pm—7.30pm (Hall)

Wednesday 14 June ICAS Writing

Wednesday 14 June Support Staff Day

Thursday 15 June Senior Wheels Day—Years 5-8

Friday16 June North Counties Winter Sports Day Y7/8

Tuesday 20 June Junior Wheels Day

Tuesday 20 June Liberty of Being Me Evening

Tuesday 20 June BOT Meeting 7pm

Wednesday 21 June PTA Meeting 7pm

Term 2 Newsletter Dates: 21 June, 5 July

Download the Opaheke School PTC App to receive instant notifications of

changes or cancellations.

TERM DATES FOR 2017

Term 2: 1 May—7 July

Term 3: 24 July—29 September

Term 4: 16 October—14 December

A warm welcome to the following students who have started at our school: Adella & Adelaide—Junior Hub, Lucan—R15

Remember to

wear your shoes

arriving and

leaving school

Developing a Shared Language of Learning

What have we been learning together as a school?

We have been on a journey, since 2015, to ensure that we have a shared language

of learning. It is an important journey because it allows us all to know what

learning looks like, how we measure it, and how we identify success. We are still

building our shared language.

Why are we learning this?

Developing a shared language helps us focus on what is important when we talk

about student learning and what it means to be a good learner.

What does success look like? / How do we know we’re doing a good job with what

we’re learning?

Students are now talking about what they are learning, the

levels of thinking needed and the dispositions or qualities

needed by ‘good’ learners. We introduced the ‘Learning

Climb’ and students regularly talk about what they need to do

when they are stuck in their learning. Errors are welcomed

and we’re not afraid to say “This is my next step’.

What are our next steps?

Our next step as a school is to make the connections between

our mission statement (Sharing, Caring, Learning Achieving), our STAR Values

(Striving for excellence, Teamwork, Achieving personal best and Respect), our

dispositions (Self regulator, Thinker, Innovator, Challenge Taker and

Collaborator) and our learning really strong. We are talking to students about how

they fit together and we’re developing a hexagon graphic to demonstrate how it all

fits together. We will also be reviewing key documentation to make sure we have

included our ‘Opaheke Language of Learning’.

Later in the year, we hope to create videos of students explaining the shared

language. It will be a great indicator of success, as well as

being a reference tool for others to use. If you would like to help with this, we’d

love to hear from you!

BOARD OF TRUSTEES POLICY REVIEW

The Board of Trustees have reviewed the following policies and are now available for the school

community to view. The Policies are under NAG 6 - Legislation; Copyright and Licences, Enrolment

and Zoning, Privacy of Personal Information, Protected Disclosure, Smoke-Free Environment and

Stand Downs and Suspensions.

principal’s messages issue 8, 2017 - opaheke …2017/06/07 · student led conferences yr 4—8...

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