Tēnā koutou kātoa

Nau mai, haere mai

I am heartened that Greenmeadows School has one of the highest rates of attendance for schools in Hawke's Bay. It is clear to see that so many children want to be here, which is great!

Winter illnesses have been taking a toll of late. We are really noticing the number of sick children has continued these past few weeks. There are a lot of bugs in the school at the moment. Viruses causing coldlike symptoms are especially common.

We also have had a number affected with 'gastrotype bugs' as well. If your child has been vomiting, or has diarrhoea, please keep them at home until at least 48 hours after symptoms have completely stopped. This helps prevent spreading illness to others. Please note - this is not optional.

Just a reminder that parents need to contact the office with a notification about any absences for students—this includes the reason for the absence, as well as their name and class. This can be done by using the GMS App - see below at the bottom of this newsletter how to access the app if you do not currently have this on your mobile phone. Could these notifications please be done by 9.00am each day—otherwise our office staff have to do the ringing ... and they have plenty of other things to do each day.

With the Government push to raise attendance, this means that daily reports are created nationally - so each day it is required to know who is at school, who is away from school and the given reason why.

The countdown is on towards our school's Matariki celebration next Wednesday. We would love to see as many children and their whānau along for the celebrations that begin from 5.30pm. See the flier below for more information.

And finally, we are preparing mid-year report summaries on your children. You may be aware that there are two new curriculum documents that have been released in New Zealand from the start of this year - English and Mathematics. These are bringing a number of changes to the way we do things, and this is creating some slightly different areas of focus. For example, there are now expected end of year achievement markers for children. These did not really exist before. We have always used expectations that we developed within our school, but now they are being put in place nationwide. This different approach is bringing some changes for all schools, so we are working through these over a period of time, without rushing this adjustment.

Rest assured there is still great teaching going on at GMS. Ours is a school that keeps supporting your children in their learning, hauora, developing the arts, and staying active and engaged, as well as acknowledging the range of cultures within our community. We have an incredible staff of teachers and support staff. Our school has such a positive vibe and it is so neat to see the incredible amount of activity going on each and every day here.

Wishing you a happy weekend and a safe and valued Matariki observation next week.

Ka kite anō,

Mark Johnson

Principal

We have had five wonderful new students start with us since the last newsletter. We give a warm welcome to:

Henry Lua, Arwen Eguia, Malachi Kyte, Alice Perry and Cameron McCool.

We wish you the very best for your time at Greenmeadows School.

Our roll is currently sitting at 493.

Its time for our annual swimming sports again! Swimming sports will take place next Thursday 19th June at Green Family Taradale Pool. The children will be transported by bus. All parents and caregivers are welcome to come along and support your tamariki.

Below is a timetable of events for your info:-

Year 6 tamariki – 9:15 am – 10:45 am

Year 5 tamariki – 10:45 am – 12:15 pm

Year 4 tamariki – 12:15 pm – 1:45 pm

Parent-teacher interviews are getting closer. We urge all families to participate in these interviews and have set aside two afternoons and evenings for these to occur:

Monday 23rd June 3.00 pm – 7.30 pm

Tuesday 24th June 3.00 pm – 7.15 pm

We are closing in on four hundred bookings already, which is great at this stage. There are still plenty of spaces left for all teachers. So if you have not already booked, then make sure you do.

You can request an interview by using our online booking program:

• Go to our school website www.gms.school.nz and click on the ‘Parent – Teacher Interviews 2025’ tab.

• There you will see instructions to take you to the interview booking website, along with the necessary code for booking dates and times at our school (remember to use the school code which is (pyg5z)

• Once your booking is completed you will receive an email confirming your interview. These details can be rescheduled if your availability changes.

If you are unable to access the school’s website, then you can ring, or visit, the school office and Carolyn or Sara will book a time for you.

We expect a 100% attendance of families at these interviews, so please let us know of any difficulties you may be having booking a time.

Each child will have a summary report of their achievements and progress so far this year, prepared for them, available at the interview.

Please note the school will close at the normal time on these days.

As outlined earlier in this newsletter, we have a new mathematics curriculum in New Zealand schools. We have arranged for some maths curriculum experts to visit GMS to talk to our staff along with teachers from neighbouring schools. This means that our school will be closed for that day. We apologise for any disruption this might cause.

The GMS gardening group are in need of ice cream containers and seedling pots - can you help??

If you have any of these lying around at home, that havent already ended up in the recycling, we would love to have them.

Wednesday 18th June - Matariki Evening

Thursday 19th June - School Swimming Sports

Friday 20th June - School closed - Matariki

Monday 23rd June - Parent Teacher Interviews

Tuesday 24th June - Parent Teacher Interviews

Friday 27th June - Last day of Term 2

Monday 14 July - Term 3 begins

Friday 18 July - Mihi Whakatau for new whānau and students

Tuesday 12 August - Teacher Only Day: school closed

Thanks for your support in the Blackhawk competition recently for schools. We won!!

We are the proud recipients of a 3 metre by 6 metre gazebo, screen printed with our school logo on it.

The Hell Pizza Reading Challenge is running in the Greenmeadows School library again this year.

Complete the pizza wheel by reading seven different books, then go to any Hell Pizza store and redeem it for a FREE kids 333 HELL Pizza.

Read a book, record the book title and sign on the sheet. When you have completed your seven books, leave it in the box in the library to receive your pizza voucher.

Lucky Book Club orders close Wednesday, 18th June. No late orders and all orders need to be completed online, no cash sorry.

Time to stock up the coffee supplies? You can choose between 250g, 500g, or 1kg sized coffee beans or plunger style grounds. The coffee is available in strong, medium, mild or decaffeinated blends.

Sales from the Greenmeadows School coffee will go towards funding sport and athletic related activities/equipment at our school. For a large 1kg bag, which sells for $52.50, the school will receive around $15.00 back.

Ordering is open so head to our purchase page to get your bag delivered tomorrow! Please EITHER scan the QR code or click on the link below to order. Orders will arrive at the school reception office and can be collected or sent home with students. Please select ‘Pick Up’ at checkout for this option. Delivery is also available via the shipping option.

The ancient mud tree weaves and winds its skeletal branches into the sky, while standing tall, like a guard at Buckingham Palace.

Dry, shrivelled leaves cling onto the branches and shiver desperately, as the cold wind tries to pluck them off. They dance like ballerinas as the strong wind shakes the leaves.

Gracefully, the dry leaves twirl as the fly around like paper planes, zigzagging through the air. They leap and skid as they race down the paving, falling over and getting up again, to continue hovering on the ground.

Fragile leaves cover the ground like weet-bix scattered everywhere. They get caught in the fence, looking like a daring prison break.

In autumn, my friends and I collect leaves and put them in a tyre. I sit guard on the orangey, brown throne like a mother bird guarding her eggs.

Max

The enormous mud tree is like a statue. Its branches overlap each other, weaving into the chilly autumn air.

The colourful leaves cling onto the skeleton branches, rustling and shivering as the wind teases them.

Leaves flutter, fly, and float off the tree, landing gracefully. They tumble, turn, and twirl like acrobats.

Crunchy, brown leaves cover the ground like a scratchy quilt, before being trampled on by noisy children’s feet.

I like stomping on leaves and listening to them crackle like a burning fire.

Makeena

Below is a link to download our school App if you haven't already.

This is how we communicate with the school community any importmant messages or reminders.

https://www.smore.com/app/reporting/out/ktaxf?u=https%3A%2F%2Fschoolappsnz.co.nz%2Finstall%2F&t=install%20link&w=w-5610919473&i=&l=l-7600403145

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