Glen Innes School

Hi all.

A reminder to our school community of our Teacher only day tomorrow. Enjoy the four day weekend.

Ngā mihi.

Hello GI Families

How ever did the time fly by so fast - it’s MID TERM! Next week sees the start of our official whole school testing programme. This past week though, selected students participated in the new SMART assessment programme in Maths, Writing and Reading. As this is a new online test, the developers are taking up to 6 weeks to evaluate and scale all the assessments from around the country. We used this testing opportunity to learn more about potential hiccups and difficulties both students and teachers would encounter when using the new tool. Management and teachers are looking forward to the outcomes.

Another change that was introduced to schools is the new 5-step reporting system. Unfortunately no parents / families took up the invitation to learn about the new reports. A new date has been set for Thursday 25 June - time to be confirmed - though if you make an appointment with me before that, I’d be happy to have the conversation. Mid year reports will be made available to parents at the evening meeting on 3 July - a day before school closes for the term.

Our PINK M***i Day in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness was well supported - THANK YOU - and the students in their pink attire were an absolutely delightful sight.

REMINDERS:
#1 Friday 29 May is a Staff Only Day. All schools across Tamaki are meeting for an area-wide professional development day. No teaching / support staff will be onsite. That is followed by King’s Birthday celebration on the following Monday - so school is closed both Friday 29 May and Monday 1 June. Let’s aim for 100% on the Tuesday!

#2 Please remember to pay your child’s stationery fee of $20/YR - This covers all writing requirements for the entire year! Electronic devices for learning years 6 - 8 are a family responsibility.

#3 Next week: A trip to the ZOO for Room 1, 3 and 4 on Wednesday. The Board meets on Thursday afternoon, followed by an area-wide Boards Forum meeting the same evening.

Congratulations to Asia (Rm3) and Tiringa T (Rm9) for their excellent writing work. Did you know that there is a second display board in the admin area?

STAR: Another highly contested week! Great work Rm8 - win next week and you have yourselves a pizza reward! Thank You families for keeping us informed of absences, but more so for getting your children to school each day. The next challenge - be punctual - especially as it’s testing week #1.

The very first part of the BIKE TRACK starts next week as the foundation for the storage containers are laid. Watching the delivery will be an epic experience for all students - we’ll let you know the date of the container's arrival as soon as it has been confirmed.

Stay well
Jono

Good afternoon all.

This week the students enjoyed a trip to the Ormiston Temple. This outing was used as a way to introduce the children to another group of people living in our wider community that at some stage we would be interacting with. Every child attending arrived back at school carrying a small bear encouraging them to remember one of the 3 main cultural aspects for that community. That physical reminder of a worthy philosophy to ‘Think good thoughts’ we hope will translate into each of us developing a more caring attitude for those around us.
Our next school outing sees the junior school off to the Auckland Zoo! This is a very different trip that should expand their vocabulary and assist in providing good context for their writing and art tasks. Before that we enjoy a special music activity for all students.

We have decided to scale back our use of the SMART programme to measure student achievement. Not all students will participate in the first round as both teachers and students get to understand how to implement the tests. Nevertheless -EVERY child is still expected to be at school as our general testing week starts soon.

REMINDER: Please note: Friday 29 May is a Staff Only Day. All schools across Tamaki are meeting for an area-wide professional development day. No teaching / support staff will be onsite.

Congratulations to Heti (Rm1) and Sione T (Rm8) for their excellent writing work. Did you know that there is a second display board in the admin area?

STAR: Another highly contested week! Thank You families for keeping us informed, but more so for getting your children to school each day. The next challenge - be punctual!
Well done Room 8 for winning the attendance award this week with 95% attendance - fabulous effort!

We are hosting a Drop-In Cafe on 22 May at 2pm to help parents / guardians better understand the new report formats. If you would like to learn how to read your child’s mid-year report I will be hosting a very informal chat on the new format - join me - I promise short, sharp and as informal as I can make it!

Don’t forget:

Free in-school music activity with MusicAl - Wednesday 20 May
Stationery fee - $20per pupil
Tech fee for Years 7 & 8 - $50
Does your child have a device for learning? (Yr 6 - 8)
PINK M***i Day (sensible attire please) on Friday 22 May in aid of Breast Cancer Awareness - a student koha on the day is welcomed and appreciated.

Enjoy the last of the warm (ish) days
Stay well
Jono

“The five S's of sports training are: stamina, speed, strength, skill, and spirit; but the greatest of these is spirit.” – Ken Doherty.

Sports camp is almost here! 🥳 We sent home trial forms last week, and need them back by Friday, May 8th so we can plan our training days. Remember, sports build resilience, leadership, and teamwork! 💪 Spirit is key! ✨

Ngā mihi.

Camp Team.

Good afternoon all

This morning, the senior students and a few year 6 students completed a run all along the walkway from Panmure to Pt England Reserve. The NZPolice constables joined in both to run along with groups of students and barbecued all the sausages that the students and volunteers enjoyed. Our thanks to the Steve Farrelly Foundation for the behind the scenes work and numerous donations they sourced to make the event a success.
A huge congratulations to Divine (fastest boy) and Fatima (fastest girl) for their efforts on the day.

Over the next two weeks students from Years 3 - 8 will be completing some trial / mock SMART assessments. This will allow each child to become familiar with the types of questions in the tests and how to manipulate the screen for the new online exams that the MOE has said must be used. Parents and guardians can help by ensuring that their children are at school and punctual each day.

Talking of attendance: Well done Room 6 for winning the attendance award this week with 99% attendance - superb.

Congratulations to Nazareth (Rm1) and Abdullah (Rm7) for their excellent writing work. Do take some time when visiting the school to read their work on display in the main foyer.

Next week we have a focus on:
College registration; Sports Camp responses and the next school trip permissions. Please respond promptly when these reach home.

Thank you to the family that reached out to assist with the deck on the junior side of the school. We do appreciate your willingness to assist in developing facilities at our school.

Please note: Friday 29 May is a Staff Only Day. All schools across Tamaki are meeting for an area-wide professional development day. No teaching / support staff will be onsite.

We are hosting a Drop-In Cafe on 22 May at 2pm to help parents / guardians better understand the new report formats. If you can attend, please let the office know you are attending.

Have a fabulous weekend
Stay well
Jono

Yesterday afternoon, we celebrated our Term One Recognition award recipients. Congratulations to all our winners and hope they continue their efforts to succeed. We must acknowledge Dysart ITM who sponsored our lucky student Madeline with their voucher and to Miss Jo from the Steve Farrelly Foundation for the afternoon tea. Thank you all to the families who attended.

Greetings All.

After a really wet day, we finish the week in sunshine and attendance is back to normal. I do acknowledge that Thursday was very wild and wet, but you can have confidence that all our classrooms are weather tight and comfortable. We know you care for your little ones, but it is essential that we do not let them learn that a bit of inclement weather stops life / school from being a normal activity. Let’s focus on developing resilience, good work ethic and the ability to still be happy to be at school even when it’s raining. To celebrate just how well we’re going overall here is the GIS eTAP graph the Ministry looks at and that was shared at the last BOT meeting: In which colour band is your child?

Responding to STAR: Special note: School start time change
School starting time will be changing as of Day #1 of Term 2! Closing time remains the same at the moment. We are making this change as the Ministry requires teachers to call home in cases of unreported absenteeism. The new times are:

Start at 8:55am, break #1 at 10am, all other times remain the same.

A big thank you to our families who joined our students to farewell Linda. The unity was felt by all.

The Writing Display
This week we celebrate with Amelia (Room 4) and Michael ( Room 8). Do take some time when visiting to read their work.

Reminders
We have cycle lessons scheduled for our Year 5 & 6 students on Monday 30 March
Do you need help signing up into the new eTAP app: come along at 11am or 2pm on Tuesday; then we have another opportunity at 11am on Thursday when you can get assistance. Step #1 is check your email!
April 2 is the final day of Term 1. School will be dismissed after students have returned their performance costumes around 2pm. Please join us from 11am when we will have a sausage sizzle and ice-blocks on sale.
Please complete your contract arrangements with MET to get the device for learning.
Breakfast is available to students Monday to Thursday strictly 8:15am - 8:45am.
Per child stationery ($20/student) and Technology ($50) fees are now due.
School reopens on Monday 20 April.
Have you enrolled into the new communication app?
ETAP will be used for all communications from the start of term 2. Please check and action the email sent to your personal email from the school’s ETAP service. You have to sign the online permission for each child; then only will you see every child's information. We will be running a help-you clinic from 11am on Thursday 2 April.
Final Day Fundraiser
Guess the number of small packets stuffed in the jar and you’re a winner. In addition we have other prizes such as a set of roller blades, a card game and more! Every entry is $1. The winners will be drawn at the end of the cultural celebrations around 1:30pm on 2 April.

sKids
SKIDS will be moving the aftercare programme to Glen Taylor School from the start of T2. Many parents qualify for the free/ subsidised sessions. See the attached brochure.
ATTENDANCE
Well done Room 8! You’ve got 3-in-a-row and have won the attendance a pizza treat!!
The winners of the senior writing competition will be chauffeured home on Wednesday 1 April at 2pm. Join us as we view the sponsored PORSCHE cars - it’s going to be worth the visit!
Have a wonderful weekend with the family!
Jono

Good afternoon GIS families

Thank you for getting the school off to such a great start in week 1 of term 2. We had good attendance for the first four days - and then the rain came along and spoiled the trend! Now as we enter into the ANZAC weekend with no school on Monday I do hope we will be picking up attendance - the precursor to learning - right from the start.

The attendance award was won by Room 7 with a very good 91% average.

The first writing samples also went on display today. Congratulations to Turakautahi (Rm3) and Majahsty (Rm9) for their excellent work. Do take some time when visiting the school to read their work on display in the main foyer.

In case you missed the news, the junior school enjoyed a Teddy Bear picnic at the Eastview Reserve followed by some book time in our school library. The treats were sponsored by the SFF.

Looking ahead:
Thursday 30 April: TWO events - Road Patrollers Reward and then at 2pm we have the Recognition Assembly.
Friday 1 May: The year 7 & 8 students and selected year 6 students are completing a run from Panmure to Point England beach along the walkway with the local police. Our thanks to the SFF for supporting this event.
Check with your children about activity permission slips - sign and return those asap.
Upcoming student trips: Cultural visit to the Ormiston Temple, Zoo trip and an in-school music activity with MusicAl.

Have you confirmed the college enrollment for your Year 8 child? I strongly encourage parents and caregivers to take the lead when deciding where your child will be attending college. Many out of zone applications have now generated waiting lists. Out-of-zone also indicates travel - an additional cost both financially and in time - are you ready for that? We strongly support going local - and do have lots of faith in the programmes offered by Tamaki College. We will be asking you to confirm your child’s college placement in the next couple of weeks.

There are many changes that teachers are having to put into place this year. Those changes range from teaching content to reporting changes that also affect YOU - the parent / guardian. If you would like to learn how to read your child’s mid-year report I will be hosting a very informal chat on the new format on Thursday 21 May.

Some fabulous news: The school Board has approved the contractor to develop a bike track at our school. I will be meeting with the contractor next week to determine the start date! We have already confirmed a donation of 15 bicycles and will be seeking to raise funds to purchase 30 more. If you could volunteer time to assist with general maintenance of the bicycles let me know.

Outreach: Volunteers are needed to build a deck on the junior side of the school. The timber is onsite - we just need skilled hands! Are you able to assist?

Stay well
Jono

Yesterday, we honored Miss Pat, our esteemed matriarch, as she embarks on her retirement journey to the Cook Islands. 🏝️🌺 Her legacy of dedication remains, shaping our collective future. 🌸✨

Thank you to our community who made the occasion a fitting one as she prepares for her next journey in life.

Nga manaakitanga and nga mihi Mama Pari.