WAIOURU SCHOOL

Ko te Mana te Mea Nui Honour Above All

Ruapehu Road, Waiouru 4826 Telephone: 06 387 6860 Fax: 06 387 6129 Email: principal@waiouru.school.nz

Essential Information for Waiouru School 2013

Thursday 13th December 2012

Kia Ora Everyone Here is a list of information for your preparation for next year.

REMINDER: School closes at 12.30pm tomorrow.

School Dates:

Our first day of school is Wednesday 30th January 2013. The office will be open from Monday 28th January (9.00am - 3.00pm) for inquires, enrollments, uniform and stationary purchases. School will commence with a full school assembly before children will be assigned to their classes. Teachers will be at school on the 28th and 29th for two teacher only planning and professional development days. Please remember that Wednesday 6th February 2013 is Waitangi Day, therefore school will be closed.

School Lunches: Early Birds:

School lunches will begin on Monday 4th February, Week Two. After consultation with the community, and staff, the Board of Trustees and Management have decided Early Birds will not continue to run for 2013. This decision was not made lightly and took into consideration the varying needs of our community, the availability of alternative childcare and the effective use of classroom space. We also took into consideration the heavy workload of our teaching staff and the distance most of the teachers travel each day to get to work. The hour and a half before school begins is a crucial time for teacher to prepare for their classes needs during that day. Using teachers to babysit students is not a effective use of their time. Hence the decision to discontinue Early Birds was made. From 2013, Waiouru School will come into line with the majority of New Zealand primary schools. This means that children are not to be on school grounds before 8.20am, class doors will be opened at 8.30am. If you have concerns or questions please make an appointment to speak to Marama directly.

School Dental:

If your child has not yet been seen or had their work completed the dental nurses will be back to treat them in February 2013. They will also be examining pre-schoolers who are enrolled with the School Dental Service. Merry Christmas from Marg Mickleson and Elizabeth Cottrell.

WAIOURU SCHOOL
Ko te Mana te Mea Nui Honour Above All
Ruapehu Road, Waiouru 4826 Telephone: 06 387 6860 Fax: 06 387 6129 Email: principal@waiouru.school.nz

Reading Recovery:

Beginning next year, Waiouru School has been given partial funding to provide Reading Recovery for our junior students. Cath Donaldson will be running Reading Recovery next year, while she also co-teaches with Rachel Wallace in the Year two and three class. This is an excellent programme with proven benefits for struggling learners and we are delighted to be able to provide it next year.

Next Years Classrooms:

New Entrants Year One and Two Year Three, Four and Five Year Six, Seven and Eight -

Petra Corbett Cath Donaldson and Rachel Wallace Kelly Fogden Wendy Bell

Other Feedback from our Consultation:

On a whole our community are pleased with the progress we have made this year. People are please with the "friendly" and "fun" environment we have created for our learners. The areas which were identified as needing the most attention were that of the organisation of sporting events and communication, in particular classroom communication to parents. To begin to address these areas, Management has appointed Rachel Wallace as our sports co-ordinator. Rachel has excellent management skills and will be a huge asset to us all next year. To address communication issues, management will be reviewing our policies and procedures to ensure that all staff have clear guidelines around the expectations in this area. We will also be reviewing our homework and behaviour management policies and procedures. Have a happy and safe summer holiday, and we are looking forward to seeing you all next year. Marama Principal Waiouru School