Newsletter 2 Term 3

Kia ora e te whānau,

It was a fabulous sea of yellow at school on the 26th and I think it must be true that yellow is the colour of happiness. It was wonderful to see the children having loads of fun while supporting a great cause. It also feels like there is a distinctive spring feeling in the air and we will be glad to see the back of all of this wet weather.

I hope you all enjoyed the mid-term break and the opportunity to have that extra bit of downtime in this winter term.

The Kapa Haka had a productive day at the Marae on the 25th, developing the actions of the song Ko te Kura Onerahi e. We are all excited to learn from them and take our waiata to the next level.

We were lucky with the weather for our senior cross country and the grounds weren't too boggy. It's wonderful watching the kids running their hearts out and enjoying the different location.

Ngā manaakitanga

AnnMaree MacGregor

Tumuaki/Principal

On Tuesday the 23rd of August, the sun was shining and our Senior School were able to participate in our first senior cross country in 3 years! Our students ran their hearts out, over a good distance, and we appreciate their commitment to this event.

A big congratulations to the following place getters.

8 yr old girls - 1st = Carley Clarke, 2nd = Lilly Mills, 3rd = Amilia Juddery

8 yr old boys - 1st = Caige Tito, 2nd = Torin Sexton, 3rd = Tiaki Orton

9 yr old girls - 1st = Macy Waterhouse, 2nd = Kenzy Gardiner, 3rd = Reina Crisp

9 yr old boys - 1st = Joel Mann, 2nd = Westin Boyd, 3rd = Reece Jennings

10 yr old girls - 1st = Maia Orton, 2nd = Chanlle McCready Mrkusich, 3rd = Llayla Gray

10 yr old boys - 1st = Flynn Browning, 2nd = Jordan Liddell, 3rd = Ryder Baillie

Also, well done to all who went to represent OPS at Barge Park. Out of very large pools of children, we had a couple that placed in the top 20 and some more not far behind. That's a great effort!

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. This time, we are featuring Georgia Maconaghie, daughter of our beloved Whaea Bev.

Ko Georgia tōku ingoa,

I have really fond memories of Onerahi Primary School. I loved all my teachers and there was always something exciting happening.

From Onerahi Primary I went on to Whangarei Intermediate, Whangarei Girls' High School and then worked various jobs before I started studying.

I have just finished my Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) and work in a community based early learning centre as a preschool kaiako.

My fiancé and I recently bought our first home and we are renovating. We are planning to travel and hopefully start a family within the next few years :-)

Some advice I would give to the next generation would be: health is wealth, wear sunscreen, be brave, work hard, exercise everyday, find something to be grateful for. Tell your family and friends that you love them often.

All parents have by now been emailed the keycodes to look up and order their tamariki school photos online. Just a reminder that this is the only way photos can be ordered.

If you did not receive the code via email, please phone Carol in the office.

Please be aware that if you place your order after midnight on the 11th of September, you will not qualify for free delivery of your photos.

Te Ara Huarau is the evaluation approach that the Education Review Office (ERO) is using in our school. This a developmental approach to evaluation where ERO and our school work together over time, rather than one off reviews that happened previously. Te Ara Huarau is used in most English-medium state and state-integrated schools.

ERO maintains a regular review programme to evaluate and report on the education and care of young people in the schools. Our school worked alongside ERO to write our Profile Report. This type of report will only happen once as part of our initial engagement with Te Ara Huarau. The profile report reflects our strategic goals and a shared evaluation focus on one or more areas that are important to us as we work together to improve outcomes for all our learners. ERO, like us, have a strong focus on equity and excellence. Future reporting will show our progress and achievement towards meeting the goals we have set. Public reports like the Profile Report are published on ERO’s website.

A Board Assurance Report that shows how we are meeting regulatory and legislative requirements has also been published.

Included in our bundle of published reports is a School Profile Report and Provision for International Students report.

We would like to request that any after school plans are discussed with your children before they arrive at school.

We cannot guarantee that any messages received after 2:30pm will reach your children, as they could be outside the classroom and difficult to reach.

We would also like to remind all our whānau, that our school day - runs 9am to 3pm. We ask that you take all reasonable steps to ensure your children arrive promptly each day, ready to learn when the bell goes. Additionally early pickups should only happen in special circumstances or for appointments that could not occur outside of school hours. Reduced time in class can impact children's learning.

The school is still on the lookout for adults to help out our responsible Yr 6 Road Patrollers. You do not need to have one of your children on Road Patrol, just have some available time (between 15 and 30 minutes) to donate. This can be a great way to get to know our school community, and support the safe arrival and departure of many of our students. If you are keen, please get in touch with Shari Dearn on 09 4360521 or shari.d@onerahi.school.nz.

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 would like to remind all drivers that when pedestrians are waiting at the crossing, they must stop and allow them to cross. It is very disappointing to see the large number of vehicles that continue driving through our crossing on a daily basis.

It is also very important that if you are collecting your child from our Church St entrance you do not park on the yellow lines. Our road patrollers are unlikely to be able to see past your vehicle to check if the road is clear if you have parked over these.

Lets all work together to keep our tamariki safe on their way to and from our kura.

We start swimming in piles of Found Property from time to time and would like to remind you that all clothing worn to school should be named. This helps us greatly in returning items to their original owner. In particular we often find school jumpers un-named in our found property, and these can be expensive purchases when needing to be replaced. Our Found Property area is at the end of Block 4 (by room 22) and we ask you to encourage your children to check there regularly, just in case.

• Wednesday 07 September - Voting closes for Staff Board Rep Elections
• Friday 30 September - End of Term 3
• Monday 17 October - Start of Term 4
• Monday 21 November - Mid Term cohort entry date

WINTER

Cooler days are still happening. 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

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