Welcome Back to School

I hope that you are all finding some time to rest, relax and rejuvenate yourselves, term 2 was a busy term, and term 3 is looking fairly full already. The purpose of this newsletter is to bring up to sped with everything you need to know ahead of the term beginning. Some of this information is specific to just our teaching staff, other information is more general in nature and of use to everyone.

I will be sharing this, as you will see from the Term 2 attendance data (see link) we are doing well but still need to keep working with our families to promote regular attendance. The first point, missed lessons, is a big one. Even though it isn't necessarily the child's fault they aren't at school, it can make learning more difficult when they return...how can we support those students to still feel successful and a part of the classes they are in?

1. Missed Lessons = Falling Behind: Even one day can mean missing critical instructions and activities, making it harder for your child to catch up.

2. Impact on Future Success: Consistent attendance is a strong predictor of academic achievement and future opportunities.

3. Building Resilience: Regular attendance teaches your child the value of perseverance and responsibility—essential skills for success in life.

4. Stronger Friendships: Daily presence helps your child develop and sustain friendships, which are crucial for emotional and social development.

5. Healthy Routine: Attending school every day establishes a stable routine, promoting better mental and physical health.

Be sure to familiarise yourself with the Term 3 planner.

Monday 22 July - 9:00am assembly (10-15 minutes) & Data staff meeting

Friday 26 July - SLT with Janet from Evaluation Associates

Monday 29 July - 9:00am assembly (10-15 minutes)

Tuesday 30 July - School Photos

Wednesday 31 July - Learning conversations 1:00pm - 6:00pm (dinner at RSA for anyone who wants)

Thursday 1 August - 3:30pm - 5:15pm

Tuesday 6 August - NZ author visit (Nicole Miller)

11 August - PTA Duck Day

14 September - PTA Bingo Night

Please remember NOT to park on the school side of Ema Street, park across on the other side of the road instead.

For teaching staff, a reminder that there is an expectation that you are onsite prior to 8:30am and don't leave before 3:30pm (on the occasion when you do need to leave before then, please let the Principal know).

For support staff, you are required at least 10 minutes prior to your scheduled hours starting so that you are prepared for the day ahead and have clear expectations around what you are working on for that day.

For teaching staff, you tell your hub leader (and if you want, me also). If you are able to organise your own reliever, then please do so. If not, we will try and organise one for you from StaffSync. There is a list of relievers in the staff handbook.

For support staff, you MUST tell Jenny (or ask someone to tell her for you). Please do not leave voice messages on the school phone, they sometimes aren't checked until after 8:00am. When support staff are away Jenny needs to manage timetables to ensure that the most pressing needs are meet and if she doesn't have enough time this can prove challenging.

Thank you for helping make managing illness and absence easier.

A gentle reminder that chat groups are a super handy form of communication, but can also be audited so make sure that we keep the conversations of a professional nature and use emails when you don't require an immediate response.

Waihou and Tikapa Moana have been accepted for Structured Literacy training in Term 3 & 4 this year. As yet there are no approved training providers so we are waiting for the list, which is due to be released this week.

All full-time teachers now have 4 days entitlement for both terms 3 & 4, prorated for part-timers of 0.8 FTTE or above. Ideally we would like this taken fortnightly (or thereabouts) so that relievers can be managed.

The TAPS expectation is that one of these days can be taken at home to complete planning, reports etc in a quieter environment, the remainder are to be onsite or offsite at professional learning opportunities like visiting another school or attending a PLD course.

I would like for teachers this term to provide a general outline of how you plan to use the days - this is an information gathering exercise to see what range of tasks are being undertaken during this time.

Our TLC meetings this term are Week 4 & 8. EVERYONE is expected to share, so remember to check in on the personal action planning doc and be ready to share you successes and challenges.

SUPPORT STAFF ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND

Jase Williams (Ngāti Tamaterā) is one of the most sought after presenters, keynote speakers and professional ​development facilitators in the country.

He is the leading voice in Trauma Informed Practice in Education in New Zealand, with 20+ years experience working as an educator, and is the former Principal of Henry Hill School - decile 1A Primary School in Napier, Hawke's Bay.
The school’s Trauma Informed Approach raised attendance, academic achievement, and improved health outcomes for students at the school. Henry Hill School were the winners of the most recent Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Awards - Wellbeing category.
As a Ministry of Education Accredited Facilitator he has worked with thousands of educators and hundreds of ECE, Primary School, Intermediate and High Schools across the country and he has also presented internationally.

As there is no formal testing or report writing in term 3 we will spotlight teaching and learning this term.

There will be an emphasis on planning that meets the needs of your students, that the planning then translates into student learning (as in, can you show evidence that the planning has provided the students with the opportunity to access new learning). We are looking for data-informed teaching and learning that meets the students where they are at and provides multiple opportunities for new learning to occur, hopefully resulting in increased performance outcomes in term 4 testing. After our staff meeting on Monday, you will have excellent data to help inform your teaching, pay particular interest to your 'well below' students, make sure there is a plan to meet their learning needs.

Why? to promote behaviour expectations at TAPS. We want to put a spotlight on behaviour/values and what we expect from our students. We will take our lead from the Monday huis and use them to set the tone for each week. The key is consistency and holding our line and what we expect from our students...at times in term 3 behaviour and values were sadly lacking in some of our students.

Here is the offical 'how to' guide from Kirsty. Follow the link to the doc