Coming Up

Remember to celebrate and discuss this week’s learning experiences with your child.

Sunday 31 July – Saturday 6 August – Kia Orana! Cook Island Language Week 2022

Wednesday 3 – Wednesday 17 August – Life Education Team on-site

Monday 8 – Friday 12 August – ICAS Digital Week

Thursday 11 August – ECB Rippa Rugby Festival Day 2,  8:30 am-2:30 pm

Friday 12 August – Whole School Assembly

Monday 15 – Friday 19 August – ICAS English Weeks

Tuesday 16 August – ECB Rippa Rugby Festival Save Day

Wednesday 17 August – Board of Trustees Meeting 7:30 pm

Principal’s Message

Kia ora koutou Mairangi Bay School whānau,

A Karere from your Tumuaki

Once again, another fantastic start to the term of rich learning opportunities. Our tamariki and kaiako are rebuilding learning-focused relationships through our rich learning programme, including our inquiry into financial capability. Our tamariki are excited to learn about money and shopping and follow the process of developing a product and taking it to market to sell.

We look forward to following our ākonga as they work together and reach their full potential.

My message during an assembly last Friday was about embracing our identity (tuakiri), individually and as a Kura. Mairangi Bay School is our tūrangawaewae. Our school name – Mairangi, is of New Zealand origin and means “Welcoming Sun”. It means “From The Heavens”.   When gifted as a name, we are promised a life of prosperity and perfection. This is why every Mairangi you meet has a high chance of being lucky, likeable, well-tempered and possibly blessed – just like our school. I want to reinforce this message. Now that we know who we are, we can continue growing our potential as a kura and hapori. We welcome you to join us. We welcome you to participate. We welcome you to connect with us, provide feedback and build a partnership.

Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!

He Kaikōtuitui – The Networker

Kotahi te kāhao o te ngira e kahuna ai te miro mā, te miro pango, te miro whero
Networking, brokering and facilitating relationships that contribute towards achieving Kura goals.

Last term, I shared several leadership roles and embraced our kura’s strengths. They include the role of guardian, manager, visionary, teacher and learner, and worker. These roles and responsibilities are interconnected, and I aspire to deliver this approach daily as a way of being. I also believe in networking, connecting with our community and valuing skills, knowledge and expertise. By acknowledging our community, seeking feedback is a positive approach to kotahitanga – growing unity. Therefore, this term, we will continue with our Principal Cafes, organising opportunities for whānau to meet the Principal – Kanohi ki te kanohi or face-to-face. As a networker, we welcome and respect your ideas, values and aspirations for our school.

The Term 3, the Principal Café dates are as follows:
Week 5 – Wednesday 24 August – Staffroom – 1:45 pm-2:45 pm
Week 6 – Wednesday 31 August – Staffroom – 6:30 pm-7:30 pm (Evening Session)
Week 8 – Wednesday 14 September – Staffroom – 1:45 pm-2:45 pm

Please indicate your attendance below by linking to this LINK.

Gathering Whānau Newsletter Feedback
To help us reflect on our communications strategy to improve and refine our practice, we asked our whānau to complete a short feedback survey on the Principal newsletter last term. Forty-four people responded. The results were as follows.

On analysis, the data gathered suggests that those who responded are currently happy with the Principal newsletter. Therefore, we will continue to distribute every even week via our website. Odd weeks, we will send a Tumuaki Hero Pānui. 

If you disagree with any statements and have other ideas to improve our service, please email me or attend our Principal Cafés. We will seek feedback again at the end of term 3.

I look forward to listening to your stories, connecting, and reflecting with you all this week. This is our kura, our hapori.

Health and Safety – Speed Limit Polite Reminder
As a polite reminder, please adhere to the speed limit of 5km/h when entering the school grounds. This is to keep our tamariki and community safe. Thank you for your understanding and manaakitanga.

Our PTA – Update
Thank you to everyone who has signed up to be a Parent Class Rep (PCR) this year. We now have 11 out of 20 PCR. If you are still keen to get involved, help our Kura and contribute to your class community, please contact your child’s teacher asap. If you have any questions, please contact the PTA at [email protected]

School Notices

Welcome to our new students and their families who have joined our MBS family.

Irhaa Usman, Grace Li, Eliza Youngs, Oliver Ash, Hudson Mizer, Anna Chen, Martha Xu, Joaquin Contreras, Catalina Contreras, Siu Kim, Liam Moon, Jenny Fan, and Tyler Shen.

Jahziel Joseph-Matapo was awarded a Term 2 values cup for respect during our assembly last week. Congratulations to Jahziel for this achievement.

COVID Update

Last week, we had eleven student cases. If your child is experiencing symptoms of COVID or flu, please stay at home and inform the school by clicking on the following link.

Ministry guidelines highly encourage mask-wearing. This is not mandatory and therefore, some parents may wish for their child to be exempted. If mask-wearing is a concern for you, please inform your child’s teacher by email. Students not wearing masks will be sat in a well-ventilated area. Face masks are one of the key health measures to help slow the spread of COVID and other winter illnesses in indoor settings.

Please encourage your child to continue with our hygiene requirements of hand-sanitising regularly to help slow the spread of infection.

Free medical masks

You can get free medical face masks by:
picking them up from testing centres and collection points alongside your free rapid antigen tests (RATs)
visiting a participating pharmacy
talking to a participating GP or alternative community healthcare provider.

To order RATs online visit the Ministry of Health website.

Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) – Ministry of Health

Alternatively, if you’re unable to order RATs online or visit a participating healthcare provider in person, call 0800 222 478 and select option 3.

For a list of testing locations with free face masks visit the Health Point website.

COVID-19 testing – Health Point

Free P2/N95 particulate respirator masks

In addition to medical masks, P2/N95 particulate respirator masks are also available from the providers mentioned.

P2/N95 masks will be prioritised for those people at higher risk of severe illness if they contract COVID-19. This includes people:
with compromised immunity
with high-risk medical conditions
who are older
who live in aged care facilities
who are pregnant
with a disability
who live with mental health conditions or addictions
of Māori and Pacific ethnicity
who smoke.

For information about people considered at higher risk, see the Ministry of Health website.

Higher risk people – Ministry of Health

International News

Korean teachers delegation organised by the MoE of South Korea.

Last week we hosted ten Korean teachers from South Korea.  During our time together we shared our school values, curriculum program, and strategies for building connections with our community.  As we visited classes, we were able to share our vision for our tamariki and future rich learning opportunities to include: sports, academics, the arts, and cultural performance.  We are excited to continue to grow our partnerships locally and globally.

Sports News

On the last Sunday of the school holidays, our MBS Tui (Year 5) netball team competed in an inter-school netball tournament at North Harbour Netball Centre. They battled cold wind and rain but showed resilience and determination. The team played four games and won 3 of them, earning them a well-deserved 2nd place for their division.
Whakamihi MBS Tuis! Kiri & Katie

Garden to Table News

On Thursday 28 July, Room 17 and 18 planted some celery, red cabbage and parsley seedlings outside Room 15. They also shared and enjoyed making Roast Pumpkin Soup and crispy egg-free pumpkin muffins. They were delicious!

Volunteers wanted for our kitchen and garden programme.
We are particularly in need of a few more keen gardeners who would like to pass on their knowledge to our tamariki and don’t mind giving up their time once a week for about an hour during the school term.

Our school has a successful Garden to Table programme. It’s a unique and inspiring programme teaching our children how to grow and harvest produce grown in the school garden, to then be prepared and shared in the school kitchen.

For us to continue our progress, we need you! This project relies on the support of volunteers to work with children in the garden and kitchen, sharing their experience, enthusiasm, and knowledge.

You don’t have to be an expert! Our garden and kitchen specialists are always on hand to provide expert advice and oversee the sessions. You just need to be interested in helping children learn about growing food, cooking and sharing food, and enjoy working with children.

Have we talked you into it? We’d love to hear from you!

Call Ashleigh 021 121 3992 for more information or to arrange to see a session in action.

PTA News

Uniform Shop – If you need any items from our second-hand uniform store, please email [email protected] with your requirements and if the items are available, the office will send them to your child’s classroom. There will be a note with the cost, and payment can be made directly to the PTA account, 12-3042-0025103-00 with your child’s name and uniform as the reference. If you wish to return the items, please ask your child to return them to the school office the following day.

Yummy Stickers
Keep Collecting the Yummy Stickers from the Yummy Fruit Company. Every time you eat an apple or pear with a yummy sticker, stick it on the Collection Sheet, or a blank piece of paper.
The school can earn points and are rewarded with sports equipment for our efforts. Last time we got, balls, hula hoops, flags, cricket sets, etc.
Visit the following link for more info and to print the collection sheets, www.yummyfruit.co.nz/schools, or ask at the office for a sheet. Completed sheets can be dropped in the PTA box at reception or given to your child’s teacher.

For all PTA-related enquiries please email [email protected]

Holiday Happenings

Judy Zhang in room 13 was involved in a violin concert during the holidays. She says she was very happy to be a part of it and she played “Gavott in G minor” by J.S.Bach. Congratulations Judy!

Isabella and Flynn Josephson swam with turtles in the sea at Maui 🐢 They say it was very cool to be able to do this!

What fantastic, rich learning opportunities our students have at our school. We are so lucky to have such passionate kaiako at MBS.

Getting to know our staff

I am North Shore born and bred. I grew up on the shore and was a competitive, rhythmic gymnast for 6 years and then took up synchronised swimming. Since completing my teacher training I have spent many years teaching in the lovely Bays. I also enjoyed working and exploring Europe for a couple of years before returning to Rotorua to teach. On the arrival of my daughter Ella-Rose we moved back to Auckland and I continued teaching on the shore. I am blessed to have an incredible family and our gorgeous cats Stormy and Marley. A lot of time gets taken up with the performing arts as I am passionate about this area and I enjoy trying to keep fit. I am happy to be teaching at Mairangi Bay now and to be working with such a fabulous staff. There is nothing quite like a good sense of humour to keep you alive!!!  Maree Cutfield, Year 1 Teacher in Room 8.

I have been part of the MBS team for 7 years, and enjoy my role as Year 6 Teacher and Team Leader. I have a financial background, which I worked in when I spent time living in London and travelling around the world. I have also owned my own photography business, mostly covering weddings and family portraits. I have 2 children of my own and live with my partner who has 3 children, plus 4 cats and our puppy, Marlo, this keeps me very busy! I enjoy spending time with my family & friends, going to music gigs, running, hiking, and getting my camera out when I can. I dream of all the places I would still like to go and explore! Mel Mason, Year 6 Team Leader and Teacher in Room 18.

Community Notices

Notices are put in this section as a service to our community.  The school does not necessarily endorse these community advertisements and you are advised to check for yourself, the reliability of providers, events, camps and courses.

Northern Rovers FC

Lunchtime Guitar Lessons at Mairangi Bay School 2022.

If your child is interested in group guitar lessons we hold beginner and experienced lessons at our school.
(Please note these lessons are in school time and only available to Mairangi Bay School students)

Contact Heath Watson 021 256 1308/ [email protected] for questions or for more info and sign-up details.  https://www.heathwatsonguitar.com/mairangi-bay-school.html

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