Our Tumuaki Principal
Kia ora koutou.
From the Principal's desk:
- Welcome Back: It is so good to have all our students back from yesterday Thursday 9th September. E-School and Bubble School have gone very well with solid levels of engagement which we are very encouraged by. Congratulations everyone for your commitment and resilience with this in what was a very short notice in going to Level Four.
- Alert Level Two: New Zealand, excluding Auckland, is at COVID-19 Alert Level 2. Here's what it looks like at our place...
- If your child has any flu and cold symptoms please keep them at home. It is advisable to have them tested and then they would not be able to come back to school until the result was known and their flu and cold symptoms had cleared up.
- Our Office Manager, is in the school office from 8.30 am to 3.30 pm. Parents are encouraged to keep all the communications with the school to digital (email, app) and via phone. The office phone number is 03 206 6959 and Andrea's email is admin@edendaleps.school.nz. In the rare event that you need to come directly into school, come to the office and we will serve you from there.
- E-School and Bubble School have finished.
- School is open for all families.
- Buses are running as normal.
- The playground is open.
- Children will need their own named drink bottles as the drinking fountains are off.
- Classrooms stay as one group with no inter-class mingling e.g. classes eat lunch together outside their rooms, there is no buddy reading.
- After School Care starts.
- Peter Power music begins.
- Launchpad operates.
- Parents drop off and pick up the children from the designated ' Kiss and Hug Zones'.
- Due to restrictions on gathering sizes (inside 50 and outside 100), many school events are modified, postponed or cancelled altogether.
- Being Prepared for the Future: The experience overseas and here, especially for Auckland, is that there can be quite a bit of movement up and down the levels. It is entirely possible that we may find ourselves again at Level Three or Four in the future. Based on the fresh experience that families have just had, it is well worth reviewing and strengthening what type of technology you need at home to make another Level Three or Four lockdown work more effectively for your family. If you want some advice on devices we are happy to chat with you.
- Health Consultation: Every two years we touch base with our parent community to make sure that our health education programme is keeping pace with our community needs. There is a very short survey link below. It will take only moments to complete. We want to know what your priorities are for your child's health education and whether we are meeting them.
- Sports Goals: As part of our active playground approach we now have hockey goals and soccer goals. The assembly work was done by Jack Ramage supported by Vaughan Ramage and Andrea Russell. We have retrofitted slots to pin the goals to the ground thanks to Donald Engineering and Ross Crump. Thanks very much for the effort and skill. Positive play opportunities make for a positive playground. The funds for these came from a successful application to Tu Manawa Active Aotearoa through our Made to Move programme coordinated by Active Southland.
- Social Media Platforms: A reminder that we do not expect any of our children to be on social media platforms of any type, as they are all under the age for signing up and lack the maturity to manage the exposure to a diversity of content that can come from such platforms. If your child is operating such a platform we would advise that this be deleted.
- Weetbix Stat Attack Cards: We have started our Swap Meet. The children enjoy collecting the cards and having a time and place to exchange them to get their sets is really helpful. If you have spare cards drop them into the office.
- Storytime with Mr McKenzie: If you missed last week's lockdown story about The Day the Crayon's Quit, watch it below. It's a fun story.
Thank Yous - Team Edendale
- Bubble School: A big thank you to the team of Edendale Primary School staff who ran Bubble School. These are Sanne den Boon, Laura McVicar, Kim Nicol, Tracey Lockhart, Liz Scott and Stefanie Troster. Thank you to Andrea for coming in and ensuring our office was up and running and ready to go.
Ka kite
David McKenzie
Our Events Coming Up
TERM THREE
Please Note: All up and coming events are subject to Covid-19 pandemic alert levels.
Week Eight (of 10)
- Tuesday 14th September - Board of Trustees General Meeting, 7 pm (Staffroom)
Week Nine (of 10)
- Tuesday 21st September - Sports Activator
Week Ten (of 10)
- Monday 27th September - Polyfest
- Tuesday 28th - Thursday 30th September - Life Education
Our Kaitiaki Board of Trustees
General BOT Meeting - Meeting Six
The next BOT meeting is Tuesday 14th of September starting at 7.00 pm in the school staffroom.
The BOT elections are next year. If you are interested in standing for the BOT and taking a strategic governance role for our school, please contact the BOT chair, Jacob Smyth. It can be helpful to attend a few meetings as an observer to get an idea of what school governance looks like.
Out of Zone Enrolments - Term Four
Enrolment at Edendale Primary School is governed by an enrolment scheme.
The Board has 20 places available for out of zone students for the 2021 school year. The exact number of places is subject to the number of eligible in-zone enrolments received.
Term Four enrolment period - Monday 18th October to Monday 13th December
Out of zone students seeking enrolment within this enrolment period, the deadline for receipt of applications is Monday 18th October.
Information and application forms can be picked up at the school office and are also available on our website www.edendaleps.school.nz.
If the number of out of zone applications exceeds the number of places available, students will be selected by ballot. If a ballot for out of zone places is required, it will be held on the following Monday from the deadline dates.
Parents will be informed of the outcome of the ballot as early as possible (and within three school days of the ballot being held).
Assistant Principal - Appointment
With the resignation of Mrs Laura Russell, we had a vacancy for our Assistant Principal role for 2022. Currently, Miss Laura McVicar has been filling the position for 2021 and has been successful in being appointed to the permanent role for 2022.
Well done Laura.
Teaching Vacancy - 2022
With the position of Assistant Principal being filled by an internal promotion, the BOT is advertising a teaching position for 2022. This process is underway and we hope to have an appointment confirmed by early Term Four. See the link for this position below.
Our Home and School
End of Year Christmas Hamper - Coordinator
The Home and School is looking for a parent volunteer to coordinate the End of Year Concert Christmas hamper fundraiser for this year.
Should you be able to offer your services please contact Louise Duffy (Home and School President) on louisecduffy@hotmail.com.
Next Meeting - Term Four
The Term Four meeting of the Home and School is scheduled for Monday 8th November starting at 7.30pm in the school staffroom.
Home and School Fundraiser - Winter Wood
The Home and School has cut 50 cubic metres of old man pine. This is $70 per cubic metre.
If you want to put an order in please contact Hamish Blackmore 027 636 0421.
Our Kura News and Information
A reminder...
- All absences and changes of after school arrangements must go to the office. Please do not send this to teachers as they have very busy days and are not constantly monitoring their digital communication like the office is. The office prefers that absence communications come through the app and any changes of arrangements to be in by 2.30 pm so they can be communicated with the children.
- Communication to teachers (via Seesaw and email) should only be procedural messages and simple questions to do with learning or classroom routines.
- If there is a deeper concern, these are best dealt with in a conversation with the teacher and hence booking an interview (that at Level Two would be a phone conversation) through the office is advised. Teachers often have after school commitments and a booked time ensures the quality of conversation that is needed when a concern comes.
- There is no expectation from the school that teachers will be responding to any messages in their evenings.
- We do not expect teachers to be texted, or called on their private cell phones in relation to school matters.
School App - Have You Downloaded It?
Our school has its very own App that is extremely useful to be able to communicate with our parent community. It has proved extremely beneficial during Covid.
We encourage...
- Every adult in the family to download it.
- That regular before school or after school childminders e.g. grandparents download it.
- It be downloaded onto all mobile devices and not simply devices that remain at home.
We want 2021 to be the year when all our absence notifications come through the app. It is so effective for our office functioning.
See below for more information.
Facebook - Follow Us
Another significant way that we communicate to our parent community is Facebook. We are regularly putting up posts to keep you, our parent community, up to date with what is happening.
Make sure that you follow us: Edendale Primary School - Southland.
Make sure you are following the right Edendale Primary School. We are the one with the Burt Munro motorbike with Eden and Dale, the two children in front of it. (There is an Edendale Primary School in Auckland)
Character Values (Positive Behaviour for Learning - PB4L): Term Three Excellence Tohungatanga
When we come from so many different families our values draw us together as one big school whanau.
Excellence means we aim for a high standard and continuous improvement and is shown through reliability, consistency, flexibility, reflection, change, innovation, accuracy, completion, dedication, practise, effort and attitude.
We show excellence tohungatanga when we...
- Work hard, have a go and do our best.
- Leave everything how we would want to find it.
- Wear our uniform with pride.
Every time our values are shown they make our school a great place to be for children and adults.
Principal's Values Award
This week the Principal Tumuaki would like to acknowledge Jackson Miller for being a strong contributor, living out our school values every day.
Our Contact Information
Email: admin@edendaleps.school.nz
Website: https://sites.google.com/edendaleps.school.nz/edendale-primary-school
Location: Edendale Primary School, 24 Salford Street, Edendale 9825, New Zealand
Phone: 03 206 6959
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EdendalePrimarySchool
Twitter: @EdendaleSchool
