Newsletter - Week 5 Term 4

Nga mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa (warm greetings to you all)

The second half of the term is here, in what is seeming to become even more disrupted as time goes on ...

Unfortunately much of the information in this newsletter has the influence of the pandemic through it ... with changes to routines, events and additional levels of safety.

Our biggest request at the moment is around maintaining COVID protocols. We ask that you treat a visit to Greenmeadows School like a visit to the supermarket. This means:

- scan in at the gate

- wear a mask when entering school and moving throughout the school

A reminder that we have also set up designated collection areas for children at the end of each day. These are inside the Gloucester Street gate and next to the dental clinic gate off Osier Road. Please let the children be delivered to you in these places, rather than walking into school.

Many schools in Hawkes Bay (and around the New Zealand) have insisted no parents enter their grounds - we have adopted the approach to allow limited contact in exceptional circumstances, but we want to ensure that we are doing everything we can to keep our staff and your children safe.

Please help us - many thanks.

Take care out there everyone.

Ka kite anō,

Mark Johnson

Principal

It was great being able to hold our annual athletic sports yesterday ... we really are very fortunate to have such a large field area and a wonderful staff who can pull this type of event together. There were so many great performances from children of all ages.

As with so many other events, the interschool athletics for the Taradale schools have been cancelled this year.

Swimming for most of the classes in the Kōwhai syndicate starts on Monday 22 November. All but Room 4 are involved.

On Monday 22 November Rooms 3a, 3b, 1a, 5 and 6 start their swimming sessions. To give our schedule the best chance of staying on time, we ask that children in Room 3a wear their togs to school under their school uniform (kind of like a super hero ...). The first bus leaves at 9.05am sharp, so we need them ready to go!

Then on Tuesday 23 November Rooms 2b, 2a and 1b have their turn. This means Room 2b get the chance to put on their togs straight after breakfast!

AND in these COVID times ... no parents are able to come to the pool and watch the swimming as they have done in the past. No surprises there - but still disappointing.

Traditionally our school prize-giving has been held on the second to last evening of the school year. These gatherings typically bring close to 1500 people into our school for this ceremony.

In the ongoing theme at the moment we will be following advice and changing from our normal arrangements. The prize-giving will still be be held on Tuesday 14 December with a start time of 12.00pm, rather than the usual time in the evening.

Parents will not be able to attend but the prize-giving will be live streamed on the school's Facebook page.

We are really proud of all of the tamariki in our mighty GMS Kapa Haka group and it was wonderful to perform for the school last Wednesday.

Our group seems to get better and better every year and a lot of that is due to the dedication, musicianship and leadership that is shown by our Year 6 pupils. We especially want to acknowledge those children who joined in Year 3 and remained in our group for the next 4 years! We gifted these children a taonga (a pounamu necklace) in recognition of this dedication.

Congratulations to Sarah Burton, Ella Lalonde-Perks, Lacey Skilton, Sahara Ghodke, Greer Hambleton, Claudine Meerlo, Emma Donnelly and Zilin Zhao. Thank you for being amazing!

Also, thank you to The Jade Centre in Emerson Street, who gave us a generous discount when we purchased these.

Do you have a child due to turn five in 2022? If so, do you think we know they are going to enrol at GMS?

If you aren't sure please make contact with the office and let us know. It is better for us to hear twice, rather than not at all.

It is nice to not get a surprise when we weren't expecting a child and we haven't involved them in our fantastic transition to school programme.

For the remainder of the year the canteen will open on Thursdays and Fridays only ... no longer operating on Wednesdays.

School photos were taken last Tuesday the 9th November. Photolife will be emailing the keycodes out directly to parents by email sometime next week. Their email will have instructions how to order your school photos online. Keep an eye on your inbox!

Can we please please have uniform pieces that we have lent out returned as soon as possible.

We are desperately short on spare uniform pieces and if your child has an accident at school and we dont have anything to fit him or her we will be calling parents to drop in a change of clothes. This can be really inconvenient, especially for working parents!

If you need to pick up your child during the school day, please call the office and let the office staff know you are here and at which gate you are waiting. Carolyn or Sara will ring through to the classroom and have your child sent out to meet you. The office staff will sign your child out on your behalf. If you do need to come into the office to collect your child from the sickbay or for some other reason, please make sure you are wearing a mask and have scanned in.

Scholastic Book Orders

Scholastic Issue 8 catalogue is coming home today. This issue will close on Friday 26, November at 9.00am. With students being away at camp next week, the easiest way to order is online. Visit www.scholastic.co.nz/LOOP or download the LOOP app.

Library and School Reader Books

All GMS Library Books must be returned to school by Friday 3rd December.

Totara Syndicate - All readers from the book room must be returned by this Friday 19 November.

Pohutukawa and Kōwhai Syndicates - all readers from the book room must be returned to school by Friday 3rd December.

Any outstanding books will be put onto your school account, so please start looking under the bed, in the toys and wardrobe.

The PTA are currently fundraising for the new children's playgrounds so are organising our annual Christmas raffle. Our top prize will be a Weber BBQ kindly donated by Turfreys. New World Greenmeadows have also donated a generous amount of goodies towards the Christmas hampers.

If you are able to donate towards any of our 10 prizes could you please ask your child to pass it onto their teacher.

Look out in your child’s school bag today as the children will be given a raffle sheet to sell.

• Week 6 - School Camps
• Week 6 - Kowhai Swimming starts
• Week 9 - Tuesday 14 December - Prize giving 12.00pm - live streamed on Facebook
• Week 9 - Thursday 16 December Last day for 2021 - finishes at 12.00pm

Email: admin@gms.school.nz
Website: http://www.gms.school.nz/
Location: Greenmeadows School 45 Osier Road, Greenmeadows, Napier, New Zealand
Phone: +64 06-844 7024
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gmsnapier