NEWSLETTER – February 2016NUMBER 1

IMPORTANT TERM ONE DATESFridays 10.20 – 11.00 a.m. – Whole School Assembly

11.30 a.m. – 12.50 p.m. - Cultural Groups and Academies

Monday 8th February Waitangi Day – MondayisedTuesday 9th February 6.00 p.m. BoT MeetingWednesday 17th February Year 8 5.30 p.m. BBQ/Performance in the eveningThursday 18th February Year 7 5.30 p.m. BBQ/Performance in the eveningTuesday 23rd February Girls Softball - AorereTuesday 1st March 6.00 p.m. Cyber Safety Session for the Community

Boys Softball - AorereMonday 14th March 6.00 p.m. BoT MeetingThursday 17th March Boys Interzone SoftballFriday 18th March House Swimming Sports all day – to be confirmedFriday 25th March Good Friday – school closedMonday 28th March Easter Monday – school closedTuesday 29th March Holiday - School ClosedThursday 31st March NZ Opera visiting Year 7 students - $5.00 per studentFriday 1st April NZ Opera visiting Year 8 students - $5.00 per studentSunday 3rd April Daylight Saving finishes – clocks back one hourTuesday 5th April Closing date for ICAS Digital Tech Assessment

Photolife - class photos11th – 14th April Water Safety Week for Year 7 studentsFriday 15th April End of Term OneSaturday 16th April Grandchildren of the ANZAC Vietnam Tour 2016 – staff and students leave today.

Arrive back on Wednesday 27th April.Monday 2nd May Students return for Term 2

Greetings to our School CommunityTena Koutou Nga mihi mahana, nga mihi hari ki a Koutou Katoa

MESSAGE FROM OUR BoT CHAIRPERSON

Kia ora, Nihao, Maloe le lei, Talofa Lava, Namaste Parents and Caregivers,

On behalf of our Board of Trustees, I would like to extend our very best wishes for the new school year ahead. Over the break, I hope each of you have managed to have fun in the sun, some rest and an opportunity to create great memories with friends and families.

I would like to send a special welcome to our new Year 7 and Year 8 students, their families and caregivers who are new to our school. It is wonderful to have you as part of our school. Welcome back to Year 8 students, parents and caregivers. Great to have you back!

Our school understands the important role parents and caregivers play with our children. One of these great things is asking about your child’s day, something I like to call - Keep up the Korero.

Keep up the Korero Keep up the Korero with your child means more than helping them with homework. It starts with asking our child about what happened in class, what new things they saw and who they met in the playground – and it also involves listening to what they say. This can be the difference between a child who unplugs at the end of the day and a family who talk about what and how their children learn.

This will be an eventful year for all of our students and we thank you to our parents and caregivers for enrolling their students in our school. Have a great year everyone!

Vinaka vaka levuChristine NurminenBoT Chairperson

WELCOME

Welcome to the start of a new school year. A special welcome to those who have started here for the first time – students and staff alike. Our school roll this year is about 730 students and we are no longer accepting any out of zone students. Please do not hesitate to contact either the school office or your child’s class teacher if you have a question or concern. With over half of our students new to school each year we appreciate that there are a large number of school systems that we all need to come to understand in these first few weeks of school. If you ring the school office your call will be taken by one of our administration staff; usually Mrs Barham.

A special thank you to the large number of parents and caregivers who accompanied their child to school on their first day, this certainly helps them feel comfortable in their new school.

This year we welcome to our school staff – Ms Emily Humphries, Ms Stacey Henderson, Mrs Lisa Macmillan, Mrs Anji Toy, Ms Justin Hamilton, Mr Duane Mackwood, Mr Jack Yoon and Mr Shaman Singh.

We thank all the families who attended our Powhiri on Tuesday morning, 2nd February, to welcome our new staff and students to our school. There was a fantastic turn out of whanau [thank you] and we were very proud of the way our Year 8 students who led the powhiri and managed the morning. It was an extremely hot morning and thank you all for your patience in the hot sun. Our special thanks to Leonie Motu, Rangihakiwi Panapa and Joe Te Haki for leading this wonderful welcome.

Pauline CornwellPrincipal

PARENT PARTNERSHIPWe believe that educating our young people is a three-way partnership.The three groups are: Parents as first teachers, the students themselves and your child’s teacher’s and our school. All three groups working in partnership will ensure the best learning outcomes for our students.During the year there will be frequent opportunities to meet with your child’s teacher (the first being at the BBQ and Performance Nights coming up) or to speak with them on the phone. All contact details can be found on our School Website.Our school vision is ‘Ensure high levels of student achievement’ and to do that will require all of us working together.

AN ISSUE AT SCHOOLIf you or your child has any issue at school, over any concern whatsoever, your first point of contact is with their classroom teacher. If you feel that the classroom teacher is not the best person to deal with your issue then please refer the matter to your child’s syndicate leader. In very rare circumstances the issue may be more appropriately dealt with by one of the Deans of our school. Mr Innes Jephson (Assistant Principal/Year 7 Dean), Mrs Donna Young (Assistant Principal/Year 8 Dean], or alternatively you may also contact Mr Mike Wade (Deputy Principal/Special Needs Co-ordinator).

AFTER SCHOOL ARRANGEMENTSAdolescent children sometimes like to ‘wander’ home and may get into trouble if not carefully monitored after school. We advise parent’s/whanau make clear their expectations about how and when children come home after school. We ask our students to talk to their parents and caregivers before school about making arrangements to visit or play at a friend’s place after school. We do not allow students to use the phone at 3.00 p.m. to make ‘play’ arrangements. We would appreciate parents who want to make after-school arrangements phoning before midday. It can be difficult to get messages to children in the afternoon – and more so the closer it gets to 3.00 p.m.

BBQ PERFORMANCES and MEET THE TEACHERYear 8 – Wednesday 17th February 5.30 p.m. BBQ starts, 6.30 p.m. Performances {Meet The Teacher]Year 7 – Thursday 18th February 5.30 p.m. BBQ starts, 6.30 p.m. Performances {Meet The Teacher]Please read the appropriate newsletter sent home next week highlighting these evenings. You can order a vegetarian or halal option sausage and join us for our start of the year celebrations.

SCHOOL BUSSESIf your child wishes to use our school bus service, please make sure they get a Bus Contract. Our School Busses drop off and leave from Great South Road.

EVERY CHILD ATTENDING SCHOOL EVERYDAYPlease assist us in encouraging your child to attend school every day it is open. For those students who attend every day we award a 100% participation certificate and prize. Last year we presented 38 at the end of the year. Our aim is to double this number of students to receive one of these certificates at the end of this year.

FAMILY COURT ORDERSA number of caregivers refer to custody/family court orders when they enrol their child with us. We are unable to meet these requests until we have on file a copy of the appropriate order. If this is an issue for your family please bring in a copy of the court order and we will photocopy and action accordingly. If your child is away and you have not let us know you will get a ‘safety check’ text checking on their where abouts.

NEWSLETTEROur School Newsletter is issued every odd week on a Thursday. As of Thursday 18 th February if you have an email address the newsletter will be emailed to you. Please advise your classroom teacher if you do not have an email address and need a hard copy.

POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR 4 LEARNING [PB4L]We are a PB4L school which means that we follow a strongly values based approach to relationship management. Our four core values are Safety, Trust, Attitude and Respect [STAR]. Therefore, you will hear your young people speak of us as a STAR school, or that they are in a STAR classroom. STAR awards are regularly awarded and these students are named in each newsletter.

REPORTING TO THE OFFICEAll visitors to the school MUST report to the school office and sign in. Lunches for students also need to be brought to the school office. The lunch will then be taken to the School Canteen and delivered to your child’s classroom at lunch eating time.

SCHOOL FEESPlease read the information in the Prospectus [Page 3 ‘Activity Fees’] about this. Payment can be made to Lynda Barham our School Receptionist. Payment of fees can be made quarterly. The fees for 2015 are $100.00 –Activity Fee and $25.00 – Donation.

SCHOOL TIMESStudents are expected at school by 8.30 a.m. each morning and classrooms are open from 8.30 a.m. After 8.45 a.m. students will need a note from home explaining their lateness. School closes at 3.00 p.m. each day unless a newsletter is sent home with students, notifying families of early closing.

SCHOOL CANTEENStudents are able to order their lunch from our School Canteen each morning before the school day starts. The lunchroom is open by 8.00 a.m. each morning and students need to have ordered their lunch by 8.45 a.m. Included with this newsletter is the Lunchroom Menu. This is also displayed in your child’s classroom.

SECURITY BOXESEach class has their own Security Box – students are to place any valuables [e.g. cell phones, money etc.] in the box first thing each morning, the box is held in the Office for the day and valuables are returned to students before 3.00 p.m. Students ARE NOT to keep cell phones on them during the day – they MUST go in the Security Box.

SOCIAL WORKER IN SCHOOLSTēnā KoutouMy name is Davina Lines and I am the new Social Worker in Schools for Papatoetoe Intermediate. I was born in Turangi and spent a significant part of my life in Taranaki before settling in Papakura 12 years ago. I recently completed my Bachelor of Applied Social Work at Manukau Institute of Technology Otara Campus. Prior to that I had the opportunity to work in the Papakura community with young mothers.My role within Papatoetoe Intermediate is to provide school based community social work. I am involved in‐ supporting students, their whanau and the school, in order to improve their wellbeing and educational outcomes.I look forward to meeting you all throughout the year.

STATIONERYAbout 99% of students came to school with all of their stationery. Fantastic! This has meant a wonderful start to school work. Many thanks, parents and caregivers for this excellent support. Stationery lists and uniform requirements can be collected from the school’s main office.

STUDY CENTREThe Study Centre runs on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays in the Library from the start of Week 2 (9 th February) from 3:00-4:30pm. This is not an after-school care service, but an opportunity for students to continue their learning with the support of books, computers and staff. Students are expected to work on their homework and other assignments from class. After completing these they can participate in optional activities. A light afternoon tea is provided.There is no charge for this programme but students must be committed to using it as a serious opportunity to learn. If you would like to enrol your child in the programme ask for an enrolment form from your child's teacher or the Resource Room. Diane Schutt is available by email for any queries you may have – dianes@papint.school.nz

UNIFORMSMany thanks to parents for sending their children along to school looking so neat in their uniforms. They are a credit to you. Please ensure that your child’s uniform is named [including their shoes]. Our school has introduced a new School Uniform. This is available from our uniform suppliers and can be worn from now. The ‘old’ uniform is still available at a very low cost. By 2017 it will be compulsory for ALL students to be wearing the new uniform. This year it is compulsory for ALL Year 7 students to be in the new uniform. Year 8 students are still able to wear the old uniform until the end of 2016.

VEHICLES IN THE SCHOOL GROUNDSParents/caregivers must NOT drive their vehicles in the school grounds for children’s safety. Please drop your children off outside the school – Motatau Road or Great South Road. If your child has a disability we will, of course, make provision – just make contact with the office with the details. ALL bicycle students will arrive and leave via the Motatau Road entrance.

INCLUDED WITH THIS NEWSLETTER Student Safety Around our School Lunchroom Menu Class Newsletters Study Centre Enrolment Form Specialist Newsletter Year 7 Papatoetoe Library Notice