Principal's Newsletter 1 November

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

School term 4 Activities

Nov      07        Athletics Day – Seniors

            11        Book Fair Week

            21-22   Year4 Camp

            25        PTA meeting 7.30pm

            26        Fairfield Cluster Athletics Day

            27        Fairfield  Cultural Festival – Fairfield College  

Athletics Day – Juniors

            29        Year6 Outing

Dec      04        Year6 Leaving Ceremony

            05        BOT meeting

            06        Learning Portfolios/End of Year Report – home

                        Religious Instruction finishes for the year

                        Road patrollers outing

            11        Final Assembly - End of Year

            13        School Closes for 2013 at 2.00pm

Children Not Returning to Woodstock 2014: (not including Year 6’s). We would very much appreciate notification (as early as possible) of any child(ren) not be returning to Woodstock School next year. Please ring the office as soon as possible. Thank you.

Cool to be Kind Awards:

The following students were awarded ‘Cool to be Kind’ Awards at recent assemblies.

·         Montana Ngaruhe – Room 2  Being especially kind and friendly to a new child in Room 16.

·         Joshua Wasley – Room 3 -For always making sure the classroom is clean and tidy. You whizz around and clean up throughout the day without even having to be asked!

·          Lucy Vellenoweth – Room 15 -For coaching and helping fellow classmates with Shotput. Your teacher was very impressed with you kindness and attitude helping others.

·         Aidan Bray: Room 11- For helping a classmate write a story in his own time

PORTFOLIOS: Please return these as soon as possible if they are still at home. Teachers need these urgently to add more of your child’s learning and assessment data. They will be sent home again at the end of year with your child’s report.

Like us on Facebook!
We are pleased to announce Woodstock School now has its own Facebook Page.  We see Facebook as a forum for not only the School, but also the BOT, PTA and Whanau Awhina groups to effectively communicate with the Woodstock School Community

When joining our page on Facebook we ask Parents/Caregivers to use the site in a positive manner.  Please remember Facebook is not a forum for personal grievances.  If you have a concern, we would appreciate you seeing a staff member in person about your problem.

We reserve the right to remove comments that include:

-          Inappropriate language

-          Personal attacks of any kind

-          Spam or links to other sites

-          Are clearly off topic

-          Promote particular services and or products

We look forward to hearing your feedback via the site.  The school website will continue to host a wide range of information to complement our Facebook Page.

Mia Downing is in the final!

Thanks to all the support, Mia's made it through to the semi-finals of What Now's the one comp!
The semis aired on TV2 recently, and voting has opened for a further week of voting.
So we can vote for her every day and results will be announced this Sunday! 
Here's the link, and thanks heaps for your support!  Liz Downing
http://whatnow.tv/2011/?page_id=17934

Sustainable Communities Through Kai

This term, a few staff members were able to attend an EnviroSchool Regional Hui to share and celebrate some of the diverse enviro projects that have been established throughout the year at different schools. The projects were developed around the central idea – ‘Sustainable Communities Through Kai. Congratulations to Woodstock School who received an EnviroSchool certificate for all  their hard work and commitment. However, a big congratulations to Kym Lenihan, our Enviro School Leader. Kym also received an individual award for her leadership and guidance in this area.

School Building Projects.

We are about to embark on a building project that will see Patricia Avenue School Satellite School taking over and upgrading/remodelling  Room 07 (former Room 15) to double unit standard for their own use.  This is expected to be begun next year.

In compensation for Woodstock’s loss of this Room 7, the old resource room next to the pool will be upgraded/remodelled to classroom status. This part of the project is about to be started immediately and be ready for our occupation by the beginning of term 1 2014.

 

Scooters in the Playground
Children must walk their scooters when in the school playground.

SUNSAFE POLICY: In accordance with our school’s sun safe policy

ALL children MUST wear a hat with a brim whenever they are outside after Labour Weekend. Hats can be purchased from the school office. Please name your child’s hat. Children without a hat MUST sit under the large trees by the courts — not ideal for our active young students. So please make sure they bring their hats each day. Sunblock is best applied before your child leaves the house. If your child brings sunblock to school they are encouraged to not share it.

Please note: Teachers are unable to apply sun block to students.

Safety on the School Road Crossing on Fairfield Road

It has been reported to me that there are some parents who are either sending their children across or beckoning them across Fairfield Road (particularly down in the dip from the School Crossing). 

I am very concerned about this practise as it is highly dangerous. There are often cars parked blocking a complete view of the road.

I ask all parents to send their child(ren) to the supervised Road Crossing if they have to cross this very busy road.

Please be careful around school driveways as well.

Enviro request

We were wondering if there were any landscape designers out in our community who would like to give us some ideas regarding our school gardens and how we can make them more attractive learning areas. We would of course need this advice at a very minimal cost, but would be very happy to acknowledge your contributions .If you know of anybody who would be happy to help us please contact kym@woodstock.school.nz

Yummy Apple Stickers:  Thanks to all those who collected the stickers, the school has received  $376 to spend on sports equipment.  Please continue to collect stickers and panels for next years competition.

Core Class – Wednesday Evening’s 6-6:45pm – Woodstock School Hall
Building on from Zumba® Dance Fitness this fantastic class is designed around dance based routines that include core-specific components to develop abdominal and back muscles and improve your overall core strength.

Ladies (and Gents), it’s time to claim back that waistline! CLASSES START WEDNESDAY 6th November 2013 - $5 per class (cash only please) - Suitable for Ages 14 – 100 :) - Please note: No child care provisions are available during the class.

Smart Water starts with you!-Here’s what you can do!

We all love the summer sun, the beaches and the long nights but summer also brings with it some pressure on our water resources.  Council’s, along with 100 other river users, have resource consents to take water from the Waikato River.  This consent determines how we use  the water  and how much water we can take.

Water supply, even if it is from a spring or bore despite what many think, is not unlimited and during summer months when demand for water is at its peak we need to make sure we use it wisely.

This is a reminder to families that Smart Water starts with You! Here are some simple and easy things you can do that will make a big difference.

1. Be a leak detective! Check all hoses, connectors, and taps regularly for leaks and save up to 500 litres a day
2. Wash your pets outdoors, in an area of your lawn that needs water.
3. When cleaning out fish tanks, give the nutrient-rich water to your non-edible plants.
4. Shorten your shower by a minute or two and you’ll save up to 570 litres a month.
5. Keep a jug of drinking water in the fridge instead of running the tap. This way, every drop goes down you and not the drain.

IMPORTANT NOTICE
You probably already know that the car seat laws in New Zealand are changing.
But do you know how this affects you? Here’s the essence of it…
From November 1 (today) all children need to be in an approved car restraint until their 7th birthday.

Feeling confused about what an approved car restraint is?

An approved child restraint is one that meets approved standards so parents and caregivers can be sure its design and construction is laboratory tested under crash conditions.

According to NZTA, approved child restraints include:

• Infant restraints for young babies (often called baby capsules)
• Restraints for older babies, toddlers and preschool children (often called car seats)
• Booster seats for preschool and school-aged children
• Child safety harness (used with or without a booster seat) for preschool and school-aged children

The car seat that is most suitable for your child will depend on their age and size, but you’ll probably also need to consider your car size and the other children that you cart around. It’s an important decision and can be confusing. The best thing to do is go and talk to a certified Car Restraint Technician – they will be able to advise on the best seat for your child.

For information about approved standards for child restraints and a list of certified Child Restraint Technicians can be found at www.nzta.govt.nz/childrestraints. You can also find loads more information on the Safer Car Seats website.

 

Steve Ostermann     Principal