Newsletter 1Term 3

Kia ora e te whānau,

What a great start to the term. Although we have had our fair share of rain, we have had some great sunny days too and our new canopy has been well-used already. What an asset we now have. It's been fantastic to be able to hold a community event and have visiting performers. It feels like it's been such a long time.

We have been very fortunate to have Candace Stephenson on our staff part-time as groundskeeper for a while and most recently our Garden to Table gardening champion. Sadly next week Candace will be leaving us as her own business is rapidly growing. We are very fortunate to welcome Mary Tingey as our new Garden to Table gardening champion. We look forward to working with Mary and benefitting from her wealth of experience in the gardening world.

The Ministry of Education has recognized that school attendance in Northland is of great concern and the Ministry have recently teamed with schools in Te Tai Tokerau in a campaign "E Te Tai Tokerau - Hoake tātou ki te kura" "Lets get to school - Te Tai Tokerau". The aim of this campaign is to boost attendance, because school is safe, and important for the future of our tamariki. Of course, it remains important that they stay at home when unwell. However when they are well, we want all our tamariki at school learning, so they have the best opportunities in life.

Stay warm and well, take care.

Ngā manaakitanga

AnnMaree MacGregor

Tumuaki/Principal

Last term, due to some horrendous weather we had to postpone our planned Matariki celebration and hangi. Luckily, on week 2 this term we were able to gather together, enjoy a performance by the senior kapa haka roopu, and share kai. Although the focus had shifted away from Matariki itself, it was nonetheless a valuable opportunity to come together and we hope you enjoyed it. These events always provide great opportunities to our students for learning, and collaboration in mahi and we are so pleased to be able to be running them once more.

Once again we bring you another installment in our stories of students past - Onerahi students who remember their time here, and impart some words of wisdom for the current generation.

We thought the time was right to feature Daniel Weaver from Subway, our new Ka Ora, Ka Ako supplier and past OPS pupil.

Kia Ora, my name is Dan Weaver and I was a student at Onerahi Primary School in the early 90s. I have such lovely memories of being a student at Onerahi Primary and I remember we were always kept busy and spent a lot of time outdoors running and playing with our friends. We all had a great time playing on the huge playground, swimming in the (sometimes icy!) swimming pool and running around the field. One fun memory I have that has always stuck with me is when we were all assembled on the field one sunny afternoon and got to see these great big Clydesdale horses turn up. As little kids they towered over us and we were awestruck with them. Thinking back these must have been the horses that attended the Dickens Inn opening in town?

After finishing my schooling in Whangarei, I moved to Auckland where I worked for the Subway Restaurants Head Office as their National Operations Manager. My wife, our little boy and I have since moved back to Parua Bay where we now live. Our family business Weaver Food Group runs the Subway Dark Kitchen in town where we make thousands of school lunches for children in Northland each day. We are extremely delighted to have been selected as the new supplier for Onerahi Primary and we are loving the positive feedback we receive from students and parents.

Onerahi Primary taught me to be inquisitive, honest and passionate about everything I do. I am looking forward to the day the next generation of my family starts their journey at the school, one I know will set them up for an excellent future.

We are a school full of dedicated and clever students, who are showcasing their skills in many ways, be it through art, creative writing, inquiry studies, or other special projects.

Students from Rooms 5 and 14 have been learning to use the stop motion app to create short films. They began by experimenting with making simple films to became familiar with the technology. Students then reflected on their movies - discussing what worked well and what they could improve on for next time. The children worked effectively in teams, creating, communicating and problem solving and they were very proud of their creations. We look forward to building on this learning and using the app to present our learning about all sorts of topics. - Miriam Burgess

Hundertwasser is best known for his use of “bright colours” and organic lines. Room 19 students created their own “Hundertwasser” inspired art. They were learning about warm and cool colours, patterns and lines, composition and flow.

We also created pictures of koru to represent growth for our Matariki pictures using crayon and dye. The children enjoyed learning to weave.

-Sue Hewett, teacher Rm 19

Always a highlight on the school's social calendar, on Wednesday the 10th of August we held our annual Book Character parade. We love to celebrate our love of books and the characters that have become so beloved to us all. Staff and students alike put a big effort in to fill the school with colour, and much fun was had by all.

Kia ora e te whānau,

This week was Aotearoa NZ School Library week and we have been doing lots of fun things in the library to celebrate.

On Monday Rooms 2 & 16 had a zoom author talk with Helen Griffiths who talked about her book "Treasure Beyond Measure". We had lots of fun in the Library at break with comic book drawing.

On Tuesday everyone put their thinking hats on to work out cryptic clues.

On Wednesday we had a Book Character Parade with so many amazing costumes. Thank you to all the parents for supporting your tamariki to put together costumes, we had a fabulous time.

On Thursday we had a chess competition in the library (We had the final games on Friday so are waiting to confirm the winner before announcing anything.)

Today there is a scavenger hunt around the library which I am sure everyone will enjoy.

I wanted to give a special thank you to Mark Peacock. Mark is a local who has been volunteering in the school library helping me fix books, get new resources on the shelf and many other small tasks. Thank you so much Mark for your help the past month it has been invaluable.

Ngā mihi,

Kirsty Oliver

Librarian and Resource Co-Ordinator

Kaitiaki of Onerahi.

Scarlett Callagher and her whanau took time out of their weekend to pick up rubbish along the riverside of Onerahi. They picked up 5 buckets full of other people’s rubbish! She couldn’t believe her eyes when she kept walking, the rubbish just kept appearing! This made her feel sad, but more determined to keep picking up rubbish in our local community.

Way to go Scarlett! You are setting a fabulous example. Ka Rawe!

If you are planning on enrolling your child to start their learning journey at Onerahi Primary in Term 4 of 2022, we would love to know! Enrolment start dates for 5 yr old pupils for Term 4 are on Monday 17 October and Monday 21 November. Please pop in to the office and fill out an enrolment asap or if you prefer an email copy drop us a line at office@onerahi.school.nz.

There's no time like now! Orientation visits will start soon.

We are on the lookout for more adult helpers to support our Garden to Table programme. If you have a few hours you can spare on Wednesdays or Thursdays (especially Thursdays) please get in touch.

Kia ora e te Whānau,

We have had our nomination results in for the 2022 mid year School Board election. We look forward to working with our new parent representative board members Shelley Alkema & Cory Abraham. We are still awaiting the results for the staff representative, and will inform you as soon as the election is completed.

Hayden Read has spent the past 6 years on the School Board along with Diana Piggott 3 years, Adrienne Chubb 5 years and Elly Houston 3 years. As Board Chair and on behalf of other board members and the school, I would like to thank them all for their support, hard work, and perseverance throughout their time on the Board. We have seen our share of challenges which have created many opportunities for our Board.

Together we have: worked through a global pandemic, appointed a principal, removed school "donation” fees, fostered health and wellbeing initiatives, provided new and upgraded facilities and opportunities for all students, staff, families and visitors. I know that there is a lot more to come that Hayden, Diana, Adrienne, and Elly have helped lay the foundations for. We extend our gratitude and thank you all for your service.

Ngā Mihinui

Aaron Gray

Chairperson

On Church Street, we have a dedicated pedestrian crossing, patrolled each day before and after school by our responsible road patrollers and their adult support. We ask that if you or your tamariki need to cross Church Street in the morning and afternoon, in the interests of safety please use the crossing. It is an opportunity for us to model road safety to all students.

We also recommend that if you are walking to school and pass the Onerahi shops, that you head down Raumati Cres and enter the school through the rear gate. Crossing by the New World, where many cars turn in, has lead to some near misses lately.

Finally, if you are dropping students off, always encourage them to exit your vehicle curb-side rather than road-side. Also for safety, rather than performing a u-turn, a better option would be to turn into Pine Park Road, and use the end of the cul - de - sac to turn around. Please do not use, or block the school driveway.

• Tuessday 23 August - Senior school cross country
• Monday 29 August - Mid Term Break
  
• Tuesday 30 August - Mid term Cohort entry
• Wednesday 07 September - Voting closes for Board Elections
• Friday 30 September - End of Term 3

WINTER

Cooler days are here. We still have a large stock of 2nd hand jumpers available at a bargain price of $10 each. Come check them out at the office. We would like to remind you that for rainy days, the KidsCan jackets issued to each student can be used as part of the school uniform. It is also a good idea in wetter months to bring a change of clothes, just in case. Please can you ensure all items are named, as at times our "found property" is overflowing, or our second hand uniforms stocks get a large boost.

SCHOOL HOURS

8:15am School gates open to students and whanau

9:00am School begins

11:00-11:30am 1st Play Break

1:30-2:00pm 2nd Play Break

3:00pm School finishes

3:15pm School gates close 3

There are two eating breaks within the day, taken at times that suit each class. Please ask your child's teacher when their times are. We would like to remind all whanau that during school hours, your child is expected to be present and learning. Where possible, we ask that appointments be scheduled outside of school hours, so as not to impact on your child's learning. We also ask that every effort is made to arrive at school in time for learning at 9am.

Medication: If your child requires medication to be brought or kept at school, please be aware that due to health and safety concerns, this must be kept secure in the school sick bay. It is not to be kept in children’s schoolbags during the day. This is to protect the safety of not only the child requiring the medication but also all other students. All medication requires an accompanying permission/approval form signed by their parent or caregiver. This includes epi-pens for allergy management, inhalers for asthma or any other medication your child requires on a short-term or as needed basis.

Email: office@onerahi.school.nz
Website: https://www.onerahi.school.nz/
Location: Onerahi Primary School Church Street, Onerahi, Whangārei 0110, New Zealand
Phone: +64 9 436 0521
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onerahischool