Newsletter | Term 2, Week 4

We had a fantastic turn out of whānau supporting their tamariki at cross country on Friday. I’m so impressed with the parents who ran alongside their children, what support and commitment you showed, not only to your own child, but to everyone! Thank you all so much for being there and celebrating the tamariki in their best efforts. I am also impressed with the behaviour, effort and support for each other that all our tamariki displayed on the day. You were the embodiment of our values on Friday and I am proud of you all.

As the cold season hits us, please remember to contact the office with any absences, doctors appointments, etc. so that we can effectively mark the correct attendance code to your child's absence. Also a reminder that if your child shows signs of influenza or a sickness that may spread to others, please keep them at home for the safety and well-being of everyone else at school.

Your child may have already received a jacket from school, but we are still seeing some children arrive without jerseys and worried that children may get cold and sick. If your child’s jersey has gone missing, please look in their classroom or the lost property in the hall foyer. If needed we have limited second hand sizes in the office for purchase.

Please NAME your child's uniform! It is a massive help if we can easily identify who they belong to, as we frequently find items left on the playground.

--

Elaine Dyason

Principal

Friday, 15th May

• Pink Shirt Day

Monday, 15th June

• Teacher Only Day - School closed 🚫

Awapuni School is joining the movement on Pink Shirt Day, and encouraging our staff and students to Kōrero Mai, Kōrero Atu, Mauri Tū, Mauri Ora – Speak up, Stand Together, Stop Bullying!

Bullying in Aotearoa is a real problem. We have the third-highest rate of school bullying out of 38 OECD countries unfortunately. Pink Shirt Day works to reduce bullying by celebrating diversity in all its forms and supporting schools, workplaces and communities to be safe, supportive, welcoming and inclusive for everyone. You can learn more about Pink Shirt Day here: www.pinkshirtday.org.nz

We’ll be fundraising to support Pink Shirt Day this Friday 15th May by having a pink-themed mufti-day. Please bring a gold coin donation for kaiako to collect, ngā mihi

We have identified several cases of head lice across various year levels. To prevent a school-wide infestation, we ask that you check your child’s hair tonight.

• Treatment: If you find eggs or lice, please keep your child home until they have been treated.

• Support: We are here to help! We have shampoo and combs available at the office for any families who need them.

• Check Bags: We have already sent treatment products home with some students today; please check your child’s school bag to see if they have brought these home.

Please wait until 3pm before students are picked up from classes at the end of they day. On occasions when there is an important reason why a student needs to be picked up early, please let the teacher know beforehand (in the morning).

For all children, please ensure they are picked up as soon as possible after 3pm (or 2pm Wednesdays). If you will be late, please let the office know as early as possible. With the office being very busy at the end of the day, it is very difficult to get last minute messages to students about changes to after school plans. Thank you for your support with this.

Parents and caregivers can view their child’s billing statement at any time via the Finance page in Hero. We kindly ask you to check for any outstanding payments, particularly as we enter the winter sports season.

If you have any questions about student billing or would like to set up a payment plan, please don’t hesitate to contact the office.

Payments can be made directly from the app, or by direct credit to the school’s bank account:
ASB | 12-3142-0505673-00

We strongly encourage all parents and caregivers to download the Hero app to stay up to date with what’s happening at Awapuni School. This is our main platform for sharing important messages, notices, and updates about your child/ren’s learning..

Please click here to download the Hero app and login. Follow the steps to sign up with the email address you provided the school at enrolment. If you have any trouble logging in, please get in touch with the school office so we can check that we have the correct email on file.

Please keep an eye on the Awapuni Primary School Facebook page and the Hero app for regular updates and notices. If you’re having trouble accessing the Hero app, please let us know — it’s a fantastic tool for notifying us when your child is away, and for staying up to date with what’s happening at kura.

Parents/caregivers need let the school know if your child is going to be absent for each day they are away during the school term. You can let us know in the following ways, please include the reason for absence so we can record this correctly in our system:

1. Hero: Report an absence function
2. Phone: 06 358 1735 (absentee line)
3. Email: admin@awapuni-primary.school.nz

Each term, the school community is invited to review and comment on specific policies and procedures. This feedback is captured using the review button on topic for the board to consider.

This term our Health, Safety and Welfare policies are under review.

Login to our SchoolDocs with the username (awapuni-primary) and password (rochester) to read these topics and provide your feedback.