Welcome to Paige Lloydd and Our New Entrant Class
We are delighted to welcome Paige Lloydd who starts our new entrant roll growth class, Room 5, this coming Tuesday. Five students will move across from Room 12, with the Room 5 roll steadily growing throughout the remainder of the year. Paige was a student teacher here a few years ago, and we are thrilled to welcome her back into our school community.
Important Notice: Teacher-Only Day - Monday, July 14th (First Day of Term 3); Upcoming Mathematics PLD
Dear Parents and Whānau,
This notice is to inform you of an upcoming Teacher-Only Day on Monday, July 14th, 2025, which is the first day of Term 3. On this day, school will be closed for student instruction as all staff will be engaged in professional learning and development (PLD).
This Teacher-Only Day is dedicated to our second and final Ministry of Education refreshed Mathematics Curriculum PLD for the year. These days are invaluable for our teachers to focus on professional growth and to plan effectively for upcoming curriculum changes, ultimately benefiting your children's learning.
When requesting dates for this PLD, we were asked to provide three different options and carefully considered the timing to minimise disruption for families. We appreciate your understanding and support as our staff undertake this important professional development.
We look forward to welcoming students back to school on Tuesday, July 15th, 2025, for the start of regular instruction after the Teacher-Only Day.
Continued Mathematics Professional Development
We also want to let you know about further mathematics PLD happening next Tuesday, June 3rd. We'll have Charlotte Wilkinson working with us, funded by the board of trustees, to further develop our understanding and improve the teaching of mathematics across the school. Small groups of teachers will be released throughout the day for sessions dedicated to the specific student level/phase they teach.
The pace of change within education has accelerated considerably for teachers lately. We've been exposed to some quality PLD, and our teachers remain positive about these changes. With student reports well underway, and the ongoing changes to the curriculum, planning, teaching, and learning, our teachers are currently managing a heavy cognitive load.
I am personally really proud of how our teachers have positively engaged with the new curriculum and worked together to build new understandings. Thank you to our leadership team for their skills and knowledge in keeping up to date with these changes, and to our teachers for their passion to learn.
Team Work: Helping to ensure your child is where they are supposed to be at the end of the day. A community effort.
The end of the school day is a critical time for student safety and efficient organization. We are continuously working to refine our end of school procedures to ensure every child gets to their correct destination safely and smoothly.
Recently, we encountered an instance where a student was not accounted for during our usual transport line checks. While we're grateful the student was safe, this incident highlighted the need to strengthen our systems further and minimize all potential for error. We are actively reviewing our processes to eliminate system errors, human error, and other contributing factors to ensure this doesn't happen again.
How Our Transport Lines Work
To provide clarity on our end of school day system, here's how students are organised at the end of the day:
- Walkers Line
- After School Care
- Otaika Bus
- Whatitiri Bus
- Car Pick-up (students wait on the R13 deck)
Each transport line has assigned senior student monitors and staff members with defined roles. They check off students against daily updated boards (all lines except for car pick-up). This allows us to confirm that all students have gone where they are supposed to be.
Important Information for Car Pick-ups
The car pick-up area on the R13 deck often presents challenges. We frequently have up to 10 students still waiting after 3:10 PM. Our supervising adults often need to make phone calls to confirm pick-ups, which can delay staff from attending
important syndicate and staff meetings that begin at 3:15 PM, or completing their daily class learning review and planning for the next day.
A further concern is that students waiting on the deck sometimes move off and mingle with After School Care children on the junior playground. This makes it very difficult to accurately monitor and check on any student still awaiting pick-up.
If you are unable to consistently pick up your child by 3:05 PM, please consider enrolling them in our After School Care program. Your timely afternoon pick-up or enrolling in After School Care will significantly help us improve our organization and enhance the safety of all students during this busy dismissal period.
Communicating Daily Transport Changes
To help the office manage this very busy ever-changing/transport line organisation, especially with after-school activities, the most effective way to communicate daily transport changes is through the school App. This ensures we receive timely and accurate information to update our records. This school community service often takes our office administrators away from essential school business. Late changes puts added pressure onto this system and can contribute to errors.
Please endeavour to have changes communicated by 1pm through the school app (emails can be missed after this time).
School Hours; Supervision Guidelines
Please also be mindful of our school hours and supervision responsibilities:
- 8:50 AM: School opens
- 10:25 AM - 10:50 AM: Morning Tea
- 12:25 PM - 1:15 PM: Lunch Break
- 2:50 PM: School closes
Please endeavour to have your child at school on time. Teachers are on the playground and sickbay duty during playtime and lunchtime.
Please note there is no formal supervision of children outside of the 8:10 AM 3:05 PM time frame.
It is very important that children are dropped off and picked up as close as possible to these bell times. Students who arrive at school in the mornings prior to 8:10 AM remain the responsibility of the parent. A bell will ring at 8:10 AM to signal access to classrooms; prior to this bell, all students are to remain on the R13/14 deck or the basketball courts. During school hours, children are not
permitted to leave the school grounds unless accompanied by a parent. If children play on the playground before or after school, they must be supervised by their parents.
Your cooperation and understanding in these matters are greatly appreciated as we work together to ensure a safe and positive environment for every student at Maungatapere School.
Buses and Road Safety
A comprehensive monitoring system ensures children are travelling on the correct bus walking, after school care lines at the end of each day. If the children have changed travel arrangements it is essential to notify the school by 1.00pm, by sending a note, phoning, emailing or via the school app, to ensure they do not end up in the wrong place.
