Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Our PRIDE values of Perseverance, Respect, Initiative, Diligence and Excellence are very important to us at school. The children are reminded about what these values look like in many contexts around our school, including in the playground, on the sports field and when learning in the classroom. The leadership team of myself, Kelly Knowles and Michelle Butler give out PRIDE certificates when we catch children obviously showing our values, these are displayed in the office, before coming home with the children. It is one of our highlights to see these values being shown around our school. We acknowledge those children who get these awards in the newsletter. In the last two weeks, the children who have gained these awards are: Ella Williams, Poppy Neale, Carter Cathcart, Israel Patridge, Theo Cadness-Aspinall.
Welcome back to term 2!
I would like to acknowledge ANZAC day and also the dedication and sacrifice made by the men and women of the armed services both in the past and those currently serving. As a school we take part in the service and our school community is represented by our House Leaders. These wonderful year six children walked as part of the parade and two of our leaders laid a wreath on behalf of our school. I thank them for taking part and representing our school so beautifully. Our children always make me so proud.
I have loved seeing the kids back in school and things like winter sports kicking in. A massive thank you to all our coaches and managers who have stepped up to give our children such amazing opportunities to stay fit and healthy.
Holiday Troubles
Unfortunately in the holidays we suffered some vandalism and theft. During the first week we had some characters break into the building site and destroy the ceiling tiles, which were to be reused and are now out of production. The cost of the vandalism was close to $40K in total. This matter has been referred to the police and thanks to our CCTV system, we were able to identify the culprits and provide that information to the police. In the second week we had another group of men come to try to take our outdoor speakers again. After the last theft we installed cages over these. The cages worked a treat! These characters spent 30 minutes at 8.30pm trying to take them down. They ended up with only one and gave up. The money spent on the additional measures and the CCTV system allowed us to pass the footage onto the police and stopped them from again removing the whole system!
Building Works
We are always continuing to try to create the best environment for our children to learn in. Whether this has been the development and draining of the field, the shade sails, classroom upgrades, library upgrade or the current work on the block along Isobel Road. This current work will create an amazing space for our learners. The weather this year, supply issues and the recent vandalism has hit our timeline, but we hope to have this work completed during term 3. With the support of our Board and with the amazing fundraising work of our PTA we continue to plan for some new facilities that will support and enhance the experience for our children at Greenhithe School.
School Donations and Activity Contributions
These donations and contributions allow us to be able to run special days at school and have amazing trips for your children. Our team leaders are working on their trips for term 2 and 3 at the moment, without the activity contributions, these trips will be unable to go ahead. Thank you for supporting us to give your child the best opportunities we can.
School Donation – $55 per term or $220 for the whole school year. The amount for 3rd or
subsequent children will remain at $37.50 per term or $150 for the whole school year.
Classroom Activity Contributions – $40 per term or $160 for the whole school year.
Kindo is our preferred method for all your school payments. We also have links for you to follow on our school website in the Community Connect section or in the drop down on the Info tab.
If you have any trouble setting up or accessing your Kindo account, please follow the help links on the Kindo website.
Industrial Action
There is a little confusion about the industrial action in the education sector at the moment. The primary school teachers are not currently involved in any industrial action. They have received an offer from the Government and this is currently being considered. The vote will take place shortly and we will see where this goes.
The principals are on a different negotiation path and we are currently undertaking a work to rule industrial action, in response to the lack of response from the Government. This action is designed to affect the workstreams of the Ministry of Education. I am working between 8am-5pm only and not engaging with the Ministry, except through some areas that directly affect our kids, such as learning support.
We are trying to have an impact on those who need to listen. The action throughout the sector is aimed at improving the supply of teachers, improving the support we get to fund and enhance teaching and learning in the school, improving the support for diverse learning needs and trying to ensure your child gets the best education possible.
Nga mihi
Stephen Grady
Principal/ Tumuaki
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