Wednesday 18 December 2019
Dear Parents and Caregivers
We are sending you by email :
- the end of year report for your child/ren; and
- this letter about school organisation for next year.
You will also receive
- a note with your child (Y1-5 only) after your child has met with his/her 2020 class today.
Reports 2019
The end of year report for your child complements the tracking book and learning albums sent home each term. As part of our continuing effort to improve communication between school and parents and whanau around reporting, we are moving away from paper reports and towards electronic reporting. In 2020, we intend to improve our reporting further by moving from our current student management system (eTap) to Hero. This will enable us to share learning stories and teacher feedback on student learning in a much more timely way. We will roll this out later in 2020.
Movements
There are a number of changes for next year. Our Deputy Principals, Peter Stoner and Jeanette Smail will share the Learning Support Co-ordinator role. New teachers include Sandy Mekhael and Rebekah Jones. Sarah Nicholls is our new liaison/sports manager and Ryan McWilliams continues at Skids Mairangi Bay (Before and After school care). Michelle Webster will co-lead the Year 3-4 Team. Rebecca Seales will be assistant leader in the Y0-2 team. Clare Curtice becomes an Across School Leader and Caley Plinston joins the In School leaders team. There has been a significant shift of classrooms for the Middle and Senior teams and some teacher movement as described in the last communication to you.
Composite Organisation in the Senior & Middle Teams
Student leadership is a strength of our school and this has been grown over a number of years. The composite structure of classes contributes to this development. Teachers work hard to meet individual needs and are passionate about stretching children’s learning. Test data indicate that we have some of the highest achieving children in the country. Teachers are also enthusiastic about the Year 5 & 6 outdoor education experience and have begun planning for next year.
The composite structure also provides maximum flexibility for the team teaching approach, which is an excellent stepping stone for later schooling and flexibility for the accommodation of extra in zone students who enrol during the year.
This organisation is reviewed regularly. We are confident that this structure will deliver the best learning outcomes for our children for both Year 5-6 and Year 3-4 in 2020.
Garden to Table
The Garden to Table programme for 2019 was very successful. It will again be targeted at Year 5-6 classes with classroom teachers involved. Other children can be involved through enviro groups and help in the gardens. A small voluntary financial contribution from parents of Year 5-6 students may be required to supplement the supply of vegetables from the school garden.
School Organisation: 2020
Junior Team
Room 9 Year 1 Mrs Claire Worthington Blair (Team leader)
Room 10 Reception Miss Rebekah Jones
Room 11 Year 1 Miss Rebecca Seales (assistant Team leader, Kahui Ako In School Leader)
Room 12 Year 1 (start date to be confirmed )
Room 20 Year 1 (start date to be confirmed )
Room 8 Year 1 Mrs Jane Dundas (Mon-Wed ) and Miss Maree Cutfield (Thu-Fri)
Room 5 Year 2 Mrs Jill Garton
Room 7 Year 2 Mrs Diane Kruyen
Room 6 Year 2 Mrs Jan Westerkamp (and Mrs Jo Booth Fridays)
Middle Team
Room 1 Year 3-4 Miss Sandy Mekhael
Room 2 Year 3-4 Mrs Janine Rollerson (Team co-leader)
Room 3 Year 3-4 Mrs Michelle Webster (Team co-leader (Ms Christine Wightman Fridays))
Room 4 Year 3-4 Mrs Caley Plinston (Kahui Ako In School leader)
Room 16 Year 3-4 Mrs Jody Lee Kukard
Room 17 Year 3-4 Ms Claire Garnett (Mrs Anna Smith Fridays)
Senior Team
Room 13 Year 5-6 Mr Adam Groen
Room 14 Year 5-6 Mr Sean Patterson
Room 15 Year 5-6 Mr John Fowler (Senior Team co-leader)
Room 18 Year 5-6 Ms Nikki Black
Room 19 Year 5-6 Ms Mel Mason (Team co-leader, Kahui Ako In school Leader)
Extra Curricular teachers (part time)
Across School Leader (Community of Learning) Mrs Clare Curtice
Classroom Music and Performance Groups Mrs Clare McCormack
Te Reo Maori Matua Marunui Davis
Reading Recovery Teacher Mrs Tania Jenner
Support Programmes & ESOL Mrs Clare Curtice
Support Programmes & ESOL Mrs Catherine Maloney
Support Staff
ESOL Director Mrs Jeanette Smail
CWSA teacher Mr Peter Stoner
Executive Officer & BOT Minute Secretary Mrs Holly Fang (Admin Team Leader)
Office Administrator Mrs Anita Nicholls
Student Services Administrator Mrs Julia Whitfield
Liaison and Sports Manager Mrs Sarah Nicholls
International Services Manager Mr Frank Jia
Library Administration & Resources Mrs Louise Hopkins
Uniform Sales Mrs Julia Whitfield
Property Manager Mr Paul Loader
Cleaners Clean as a Whistle (Yoon and Euon)
Targeted Teacher Aides Mrs Lin Swan,Mrs Fran Garratt, Ms Linda Hofstra,
Mrs Teresa Gao, Mrs Carmen Swanepoel, Mrs Amanda Ramsay,
Mrs Anna Osborne, Mrs Carol van der Merwe, Mrs Fiona Wan
Skids (Before and After School Care) Manager Mr Ryan McWilliams
Senior Leaders Team
Deputy Principal Mr Peter Stoner (Learning Support Y3-6)
Deputy Principal Mrs Jeanette Smail (Learning Support Y0-3)
Principal Mr Bruce Warren
| Important Information about Student Placements 2020 Please Note: Most parents leave it to the school to make placements without providing information to be considered by teachers. About 15% take up the invitation and usually ask to keep certain friendships together. Many requests were not able to be met. Friendships are not always productive learning relationships. We make the call by what we see happening at school. We place children in classes to ensure mixed ability, even numbers for gender and year groups, productive learning relationships, and an even spread of English language learners. Although parent information is considered, the main driver is teacher knowledge of your child and what works best in the classroom. |
Team leaders have worked hard over the last five weeks to make the best possible placements for children considering their educational and social needs as well as any needs that you may have written to the school about.
Our process has been rigorous and we are satisfied that we have done our best to cater for individual needs. Placements are final.
Change often creates anxiety. We ask you to support the school and to accentuate the positives when discussing school next year with your child. Talk about the opportunities to make new friends and learn from a new teacher. Build resilience. Your child will take the lead from you and we all want everyone starting with a positive attitude come 3 February.
Today, children spent a short period in next year’s classroom with their 2020 class and teacher and they will come home with a note advising of class placement.
Finally
We are proud of our Year 6 children and wish them a rewarding learning journey ahead at their new schools.
Thank you for your support of our school this year. We look set for an excellent year ahead. I wish you and your family a very enjoyable holiday with ample time to relax and recharge.
Best regards
Bruce Warren, Principal
Leave A Comment