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Nau mai, haere mai

We have another newsletter this week to give enough time for whānau to make bookings for the meet the teacher interviews in Week 4 of our term. These will be on Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th February. More details are below, including a link to make a booking.

Many thanks to all those parents and whānau who were able to make it to the mihi whakatau we held last Wednesday morning. It was such an important opportunity to formally welcome new people to our school community.

I also want to mention the attendance of students at Greenmeadows School last year in Term 4. We get a report each term on rates of attendance. The initial goal is for all schools to have more than 80% of students at school for at least nine days every fortnight. I am really heartened to see that we experienced a big jump in the attendance rates for GMS between Terms 3 and 4. There was a significant increase between Term 4 in 2023 and 2024. While still room to keep improving, this is certainly encouraging for all our children and their ongoing learning. See the photo below, directly from the latest report!

And I am picking all will be pleased to know that we will be continuing the Friday assembly, weekly canteen voucher draw for every child who has been at school each day that week.

Who will get the first voucher this Friday???

Ka kite anō,

Mark Johnson

Principal

Thirty-two students have enrolled here since the opening day of the school year. Wow! That is more than a whole class of students ...

We welcome:

Alexander McLay, Assam Al-Badrani, Niki Van-der Westhuizen, Kate Greene, Rockett Wilson,

Emily Davidson, Miles Winter, Elodie Leveau, Evie Errington, Ella Newton, Xiang Zhang, Charlotte Quigg, Nixon Thompson, Lily Vander Westhuizen, Carter Ferguson, Ari Middleton,

Nevaeh Madgwick, Margaux Spring, Luke Spring, Jinyu Song, Kavnoor Cheema, Kora Martin,

Kobus Rieter, Caleb Grant-Smith, Oumu Huang, Lottie Scott, Viraj Giri, Brooklyn Daysh,

George Punter, Alaynah & Akaysha Te Nahu-Hungahunga and Tanner Williamson.

We wish everyone of you, all the very best for your time at Greenmeadows School.

Our roll is currently sitting at 461.

This Friday marks the second anniversary of Cyclone Gabrielle wreaking havoc in Hawke's Bay and the East Coast. To commemorate and acknowledge this event we shall have an optional non-uniform day to end the week.

All children are invited to wear black and white for the day. Please note - there will no need to bring a gold coin collection - this time it is a free experience.

In two weeks time the whole school will be holding parent-teacher interviews.

We are having these interviews early in the year so teachers and parents get the opportunity to talk about the learning ahead and work together in the best interests of the child. It is also an opportunity for the teachers to find out more about your child, which helps them immensely.

We urge all families to participate in these interviews and have set aside two afternoons for these to occur:

Monday 24 February 3.15 pm – 5.45 pm then 6.15 pm – 8.00 pm

Tuesday 25 February 3.15 pm – 7.30 pm

You can request an interview by using our online booking program.

Go to our school website www.gms.school.nz and click on the ‘Parent – Teacher Interviews 2025’ tab. There you will see instructions to take you to the interview booking website, along with the special code for booking dates and times at our school.

Or go directly through this link here: https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/code

Remember to use the school code which is 'krun8'.

Once your booking is completed, you will receive an email confirming your interview. These details can be rescheduled if your availability changes. If you are unable to access the school’s website, then you can ring, or visit, the school office, and Carolyn or Sara will book a time for you.

We expect a 100% attendance of families at these interviews, so please let us know of any difficulties you may be having booking a time. In the past we have closed the school early on these days, but this year we will end both days as per normal at 2.50pm and 3.00pm.

Thank you to all the amazing parents who attended our Cyber Safety Evening last year with Rob Cope. We had an audience of more than 160 people that night.

We are excited to let you know about a fantastic new parenting course from Rob and the team at Our Kids Online called 2-Minute Parenting: Tips and Tricks. Normally $49 per year, Rob has generously offered this course free for our parent community!

Simply head to this link, click on the 2-Minute Parenting link, and enter the following coupon code: GREENMEADOWSFREE

Additionally, Our Kids Online will be sending us short, helpful videos each week, so keep an eye out for 2-Minute Tuesdays: Parents Tips and Tricks, arriving in your email Inbox starting next week!

For anyone who was unable to attend last year, we are holding two parent information events on the same nights as our Meet The Teacher interviews. This will hopefully enable you to meet with your child's teacher and attend the parent information evening on one night or the other. Please note that these sessions are video screenings, and Rob is not personally presenting on this occasion.

Monday 24 Feb 5:30 - 7:30 pm

Tuesday 25 Feb 4:30 - 6:30 pm

You do not need to RSVP for either of these events, but please do remember that it is for adults only and that the subjects covered are not suitable for children. It would be great to get at least one adult along from each family who have not attended before. Both events will be held in our hall and will run for approximately two hours.

If your child is going to be absent please let us know before 9am via the school App. There is a tab on the front screen of the school App labelled "Absentee". If we do not hear from you, truancy will be called.

If you have placed a lunch order from the school canteen and your child is absent, please cancel your order online through the Kindo App prior to 9am.

The school canteen will be open again for business tomorrow - Thursday 13th February. The canteen is open each week on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Orders are to be placed through the Kindo App. A link to the App is included below at the bottom of this newsletter.

If you already have the App, please make sure you have updated your child's room number for 2025.

There have been a few changes to prices. As an example, after many years of 'Juicies' (which are always extremely popular) being $1, we have had to increase the price to $1.50.

Time to stock up the coffee supplies after the holiday break? You can choose between 250g, 500g, or 1kg sized coffee beans or plunger style grounds. The coffee is available in strong, medium, mild or decaffeinated blends.

Sales from the Greenmeadows School coffee will go towards funding sport and athletic related activities/equipment at our school. For a large 1kg bag, which sells for $48.50, the school will receive around $15.00 back.

Ordering is open so head to our purchase page to get your bag delivered tomorrow! Please EITHER scan the QR code or click on the link below to order. Orders will arrive at the school reception office and can be collected or sent home with students. Please select ‘Pick Up’ at checkout for this option. Delivery is also available via the shipping option.

Our worms are hungry .... Do you have any food scraps you can bring in? In particular they love vegetable greens e.g. lettuce leaves, cabbage leaves, carrot and potato peelings. Send along your food scraps in a bag, any donations would be helpful.

Below is a link to download our school App if you haven't already.

This is how we communicate with the school community any importmant messages or reminders.

https://www.smore.com/app/reporting/out/ktaxf?u=https%3A%2F%2Fschoolappsnz.co.nz%2Finstall%2F&t=install%20link&w=w-5610919473&i=&l=l-7600403145

Email: admin@gms.school.nz
Website: http://www.gms.school.nz/
Location: Greenmeadows School 45 Osier Road, Greenmeadows, Napier, New Zealand
Phone: +64 06-844 7024
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gmsnapier