ORATIA SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

MESSAGE FROM MS LINDA

Tēnā koutou katoa. Nau mai ki te whānau o te Oratia. Talofa lava. Malo e lelei. Zdravo. Ni hao. Namaste. Kamusta. Greetings Oratia whānau and families.

Congratulations to our school cross country team for winning the zonal cross country event. Thanks to their excellent training with Matua Ben and Miss Hamlin the students combined points meant that they narrowly beat the other schools who were competing. Oratia has won the cross country from 2017 so it a point of honour for the coaches to keep up the good outcomes. Matua Ben said that the deciding factor was in the final 10 year old boys race, where we won 4 out of the 5 top places. Well done everyone who competed across the day.

This Wednesday, Matua Ben took a group of students to the Auckland Writers Festival. They were able to hear from a number of NZ authors about the writing process and had an enjoyable day being surrounded by all things to do with literacy, books and illustrating. And today, Mr Moncur took a small group of Travelwise students to the Mana Ora Resilience Day to learn about Climate Change. He was only able to take four students so they drew the names out of a hat for the lucky ones.

Next week our Year 5 and 6 students are heading off to camp on Kawau Island. This is always a wonderful experience for them that they talk about for the rest of the year, and count as a lasting memory. Our thanks to all the parents who offered to accompany the students as parent helpers - we are just sorry we could not take you all. Kath Goldsmith and Matt Moncur will be present at one of the camps each as extra support for the Tuakana teachers, so I am sure it will be a well run event as always.

As well as all these outside EOTC experiences our Arawhata and Tuakana students have been trialling the new SMART testing assessments in reading, writing and mathematics. These have been a mixture of online and paper based assessments, and we will be interested to see how our students do in them. Results may be very mixed as the SMART system is still being refined and augmented with the data being collected across NZ from these assessments. The SMART tests will be fully ready to use in 2027, and this year is all about improving the system.

We will be holding a parent meeting in Week 10 to share all about the revised curriculum, about the SMART tests, and about how reporting to parents is changing with the new Ministry guidelines. So save the date - Wednesday 24th June 7.00pm - and come join us to learn all about the changes we have been working with since last year.

Take care and stay safe.

Kia kaha, kia atawhai.

Ngā mihi nui, Ms Linda

Production costume help

We're on the hunt for some white lab coats as costumes for our whole school production. Were looking for two adult sized lab coats and four children sized coats. Please let us know if we could borrow them for the show! Many thanks.

Email: kerensam@oratia.school.nz or hayleyb@oratia.school.nz

We are so proud of all of our students who competed in the Zonal Cross Country on Tuesday at Henderson Valley School. They showed huge commitment to training in the weeks leading up to the event, and their hard work and determination paid off.

Thanks to all of their mahi, we were thrilled to win the overall competition and bring the trophy back to school for another year!

Alongside the refreshing of the curriculum, there are currently changes afoot regarding assessment and how we report information about student progress and achievement to parents and whānau. We invite you to an information evening where we will share what this means for understanding the student reports you will receive from the school this year.

Date: Wednesday 24th June

Time: 7pm-8pm

Venue: School Hall

For any questions or queries, please email matthewm@oratia.school.nz

Student Winter Sickness and Navigating the Seasonal Sniffles

Colds, flu and other respiratory illness are common in schools during winter. Here are some simple tips to prevent the spread of illness:

Wash and dry hands regularly, especially after blowing your nose, coughing, sneezing, and using the toilet
Cough and sneeze into a tissue or your elbow, not your hand.
Regularly clean high touch surfaces - door handles, taps, table tops, phones, computer keyboards etc.
If unwell, stay at home until 48 hours after symptoms have gone.

Tomorrow, Friday 15 May is Pink Shirt Day.

This is a special day that encourages us to celebrate diversity and promote safe, inclusive environments in our kura and wider community. The message behind the day is simple and powerful: Speak up, stand together, and stop bullying. It is a chance for our tamariki to show kindness, respect, and manaakitanga towards one another.

Students are invited to wear pink, or a shade or variation of pink, on the day if they would like to take part. There is no cost or donation required.

FLIPPA BALL

If you would like your child to play Flippa Ball, you can register directly with Waitakere Water Polo.

See below

POLICY TO REVIEW!

This term, the scheduled review focuses on behaviour management, staff wellbeing and safety. For more information about the review, go to the Current Review tab at the top of your SchoolDocs site. A summary is provided below.

Daily School Bus
School Swimming Pool
Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC)
EOTC Governance Roles and Responsibilities
EOTC Risk Assessment and Management

Follow these instructions to log on to schooldocs to review these.

1. Visit the website https://oratia.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm

2. Enter the username (oratia) and password (0604).

3. Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.

4. Read the policy.

5. Click the Policy Review button at the top right-hand corner of the page.

6. Select the reviewer type "Parent".

7. Enter your name (optional).

8. Submit your ratings and comments.

9. If you don't have internet access, school office staff can provide you with printed copies of the policy and a review form.