Newsletter Week 4 Term 3 2020

From the Principal

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Families
Kia ora, kia orana, talofa, malo e lelei, fakaalofa atu, hello and greetings

WELL…. all I can say is HOOGERFLUFFER! HERE WE GO AGAIN.

This return to Level 3 has come as a complete shock, and a real shame as the staff and students, and no doubt all of you, had begun to relax into a state of normalcy. Still, we have all heard the warnings not to be complacent, and the risk was always there. I would far rather be safe than sorry, and I am sure you all feel the same way. At this stage we are not rushing in to online learning tasks yet. If the situation continues further in the weekend, or if (God forbid) we go into Level 4 then the teachers and I will certainly resume the online learning for you. All the children have had a massive few days of assessments, so in a way this can be viewed as a breathing space for all.

No doubt many of you have noticed that Mrs Brendda Salt has not been at school this term. Brendda had a fall at school before the holidays and badly dislocated and broke her right wrist. Unfortunately this is not mending as it should, and Brendda is off for the rest of the term. We are very lucky that Mrs Ingrid McCracken has stepped in to fill the gap, and Room 3 is still receiving an excellent education. We thank Ingrid for rearranging her personal life to take care of and teach our weenies for us.

We also had an unfortunate accident at school with a tug of war ending up with a student suffering a nasty broken ankle. I would like to give my appreciation to the staff who stayed to comfort and care for Emma and her parents until help arrived. We had the fire brigade, a doctor and an ambulance turn up in the end, after a lengthy wait and an attack from voracious midges!. Get well soon Emma!

The ASD evening for Dealing with and Understanding Autism will now take place in Term 4. Sorry for the delay, but be assured it will happen!

I was very lucky to have a number of students share their amazing efforts in learning this week. Rosalie Bowman, Eli Prater and Connavar Mitchell read their cool pieces of writing to me and were very proud of themselves indeed. Eli was jumping for joy throughout his reading! James Kerrigan from Room 7 shared his brilliant Tech drawing that he completed at manual. I think we have a budding artist or architect there. Today was to have been the last day of Tech for the seniors, and it is a shame that it means a lot of projects started may not be completed.

The House Captains and I had an interesting meeting on Tuesday. Our discussions revolved around the GROW values, how to promote them to their peers, and the community, and what animal could represent them as mascots. It was great to see the students using their imagination and creativity skills, and thinking outside the square to justify which animal would be best. The lovely Mrs Thomas, who is a soft toy creator extraordinaire ,is sewing them up for us now. What animal or “thing” could represent the Values as a mascot? What animal would learn by making mistakes; which animal is a symbol of respect; what animal owns their actions; what animal lives with others harmoniously? Have a discussion with your children and see if their ideas match what the House Captains decided on. All will be revealed at the next assembly. The mascots will go into the classroom of the students whose names get chosen out for prizes for being wonderful Tomarata School citizens. following the GROW values

Our PB4L focus this week was on using creativity in any and every situation. How can they solve problems creatively? Can they show creativity when writing, reading, thinking or problem solving in maths. See how creative they can be in making a meal for you at home. How do you show creativity in your lives, your jobs or at home? Do you share it with your children? How about designing a family face mask? (I will however have to draw the line at bras as I saw someone wearing today…. good grief!)

Just a friendly reminder that all of our school Policies are on the website for you to access if you need to. They are constantly on a cycle of revision by the Board. One that you may need to access ( although I sincerely hope not), is the Concerns and Complaints Policy. In a quick summary the process is-

if you have an issue, concern or complaint about your child with regard to learning or playground activities, or their peers, please make an appointment to see your child’s teacher
if however your concern or complaint is about your child’s teacher please contact me by phone or email to make an appointment. There is a specific process to follow so please refer to the policy on the website

Finally a HUGE kai pai for following the restrictions for Level 3 with regards to school. Again I am humbled by the quick action and level of support from the Tomarata community. You make my heart sing. SEE YOU ALL ON MONDAY