Newsletter

Kia ora koutou

Learning Showcase

It was wonderful to see so many whānau at the Learning Showcase last week. It was a fantastic opportunity for our tamariki to share their learning with you. During the evening we asked for some feedback about what is going well, how your child feels about learning and what we can work towards. We are grateful for those who took the time to give us feedback as this is important for us to consider as we move into 2025 and beyond.

A few samples from the feedback sheets are below.

Love all the experiences available and the breadth of the curriculum. Having so many opportunities to take part in different opportunities. The support from her teacher to help her with her needs.

We really enjoy GSS & have only had good experiences. The teachers are all lovely & we feel they’d listen if we had concerns

Great to come into the learning spaces and to see what they have been up to. Getting into the community gives the kids something to look forward to and give back - sense of achievement.

He’s learning a lot and taking so much in. He’s developing skills and manners and really enjoys learning new stuff. He’s also very inquisitive and asks lots of questions.

She is excited when she learns something new and loves to come home and share it with us!

She is very happy and feels safe and comfortable to be herself

I like the open classrooms, the learning and freedom to choose and divide into things that sparks their interest. It makes the kids curious about learning

Attendance Focus

The government has a current focus on attendance at school at present. Each week I will share a little bit of information about the importance of attendance, how the targets are calculated and what you can do to improve your child’s attendance.

You will see that the attendance expectations are being at school 90% of the time. This means that a child can only miss 5 days of school per term.

2025 Starting Dates

30 - 31 January - Whakawhanaungatanga days

3 February - All students will start back at school

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L)

We continue to focus on respecting our own and others' property. We will be working on the following ideas.

• I treat the environment with respect

• I treat equipment and belongings with respect

• I look after my own and the school’s property

• I manage myself and my belongings

• I can count on myself and others to do the right thing

We would love you to talk this through with your children.

Have a great week everyone

Nga mihi

Melanie Taylor

Tumuaki

These will be happening all day tomorrow. Please make sure your child is in the correct school uniform.

Pre-loved Book Sale

In the last week of school during our Readathon/Book Week (Monday 23 September - Friday 27 September) the Student Council will be holding a pre-loved book sale! Bring in ANY pre-loved, good condition books that you are willing to part with. Anything from comics, novels, children's picture books and cookbooks!

Please give them to your child's guardian teacher anytime before Friday 20th September.

Books are available to purchase for a gold coin donation in Ngata between 8:00-8:30am and 2:30-3:00pm everyday in that week. All of the money raised will go towards purchasing new books for our school library.

Book-Character Day

As part of Readathon/Book-Week, GSS is also holding a book character mufti-day on Friday 27th September.

Come as your favourite book character for the last day of school! There is no charge for the mufti day.

We are excited to announce the return of the New Zealand Playhouse to GSS!

This year's show is a hilarious and interactive adaption called The Reluctant Dragon. It features soppy sonnets and songs, and will have students laughing and thinking about the value of friendship, kindness, solving problems without fighting and not judging dragons by their covers!

Cost $7 per student (pay via Kindo)

9am Wednesday 18 September

This y

2024

Term 3

Monday 22 July - Friday 27 September

Tuesday 17 September - Sheppard Assembly 9am

Tuesday 24 September - Cooper Assembly 9am

Friday 27 September - last day Term 3 (normal finish time)

Term 4

Monday 14 October - Wednesday 18 December (12.15pm)

Friday 18 October - Blake Assembly 9am

Monday 28 October - Labour Day Public Holiday

2025

First day for students - Monday 3 February 2025

If you witness any suspicious behaviour after hours on the school grounds please contact either our Security Company - Tarnix (07) 573-7757 or phone the Police Non-urgent number 105 or if it is an emergency please phone 111.

Facebook

If you have not joined our Facebook group, please search for it and request to join. This is a closed group so you will be asked who the children you are connected to are. We share lots of real-time information here with photos and updates included.

School App

You can also download our school app. Download SchoolAppsNZ and search for Golden Sands School or click on the QR code below. When there is anything new to know about you will get notifications if you have enabled them.

What our new school app looks like - see above for how to get the app. You can do absences on the app to save you ringing through on the school phone.

We've been working hard behind the scenes to bring you a completely reimagined Kindo app, and it's finally here!

We've redesigned the myKindo App from the ground up, focusing on user feedback and the needs of busy parents like you. The new app offers a more intuitive navigation, faster performance, and secure transactions, making it easier than ever to manage your child's school expenses.

With the new Kindo app, you can:

• Order lunches, complete forms, and make payments in just a few taps

• Navigate effortlessly with our intuitive, user-friendly design

• Enjoy lightning-fast performance and secure transactions

• Stay informed with notifications about the things that matter most to you

Download the new app now!

All school payments, donations, sports registrations and school lunches (ezlunch) can be paid for via Kindo! Create a Kindo account - Click on this link to find out how!

Email: office@goldensands.school.nz
Website: http://www.goldensands.school.nz/Home/
Location: 26 Golden Sands Drive Papamoa Beach Papamoa 3118
Phone: +643 7542 4550

Do you have a chip or a crack in your windscreen or someone that you know?

Have you seen one in the carpark?

If so, refer to windscreenz and we get some cash back!