Newsletter – Wednesday, 6 December 2023

Principal’s Message

Dear Parents and Whānau

2024 Class Organisation

Children will learn their new classroom and meet their new teacher on Monday, 18 December.

Celebration Night

Planning is well underway for our Celebration Night on Thursday, 14 December. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the event, our Cockle Bay families bring their picnic baskets and blankets and set up on the school field, where they watch our students perform a variety of musical items. This is held late afternoon/early evening and students expected back at their classrooms by 5:00pm, with the performance starting at 5:30pm. A variety of different foods will be available for purchase, including icecreams, hot chips, sushi, cookies, gelato, dumplings and coffee. 

Important Dates

Please check the calendar below for important dates for December.

Swimming

Our summer swimming programme has commenced with classes enjoying time in the pool. We have delayed opening the pool to the community due to contractors still being on site. Watch out for a post regarding pool key sales next week!

Camp Year 4

Year 4 had a very successful camp at Willow Park, Eastern Beach. Thank you to the staff and parent helpers involved – we couldn’t do it without you!

Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L)

One of the features of PB4L is that it is about nurturing and demonstrating positive behaviours that reflect the core values of the school.

The 4Cs – Caring, Collaboration, Continuous Improvement and Celebration are at the heart of all learning at Cockle Bay School and are reflected in the lessons we teach around the expected behaviour we want from our students. 

For the next couple of weeks the PB4L focus is around our 4C of Celebration. Students will be learning about how to give and receive a compliment as well as celebrating their own and others’ successes. At home you could practise giving each other compliments and celebrating the successes of 2023.

Playground Update

Our new year 3 and 4 playground is officially open! We had an official opening ceremony, with a blessing from Hemi on behalf of the Matariki Marae. All the students will have an opportunity to try the new playground, but this week we are limiting before and after school use to year 3 and 4 students only. 

Excitement is building among students as construction progresses on our new Nature Trail and outdoor classroom. An artist’s rendering provides a glimpse of the ongoing installations.

While the school is eagerly anticipating landscaping developments, their costs are yet to be determined and incorporated into the budget. Our vision includes a planting plan for native trees and bushes to be implemented in Autumn, transforming the entire area into a beautiful environmentally friendly space—a potential teaching area for New Zealand natives.

In collaboration with the Parent Teacher Network (P.T.N.), we are presenting a lasting legacy fundraising opportunity to families closely connected to Cockle Bay School. 

Lasting Legacy

What is the Lasting Legacy?

Families can contribute to Cockle Bay School’s lasting legacy by donating towards the planting of the Nature Trail and Outdoor Classroom. There are bronze, silver, and gold donation levels, with acknowledgements for each. Students and their families will have the chance to plant native trees and shrubs next autumn, and watch them grow over the years.

For this year’s departing Year 6 students and their families, a donation to the Nature Trail could be a meaningful gift. They might return in the future, as “big grown-up people,” to see how the plants they contributed to have flourished.

For Year 0 – 5 students and families, a donation to the Nature Trail serves as a gift, allowing them to witness the growth of the plants as they progress through Cockle Bay School.

How will donations be acknowledged?

Various donation options are available, each with its corresponding acknowledgments:

• Bronze Donation $100: Mention in the school newsletter.
• Silver Donation $200: Inclusion in the school newsletter, website, and acknowledgement in the school hall for one year.
• Gold Donation $350+: The above acknowledgments, plus inclusion of the donor’s name on the gold donation plaque.

Smaller donations are also warmly welcomed e.g. $5, $10, $20, $50.

Who will do the planting?

A community working bee will be organised to dig the holes, and students still attending Cockle Bay School will take part in the planting on a designated school day. Where manageable, leaving students might be able to return as well. Families will be encouraged to join in and lend a helping hand.

How can I donate?

Donations can be made through Kindo or at the school office.

For any inquiries about the Lasting Legacy, please reach out to the school office, or myself.

Ngā mihi

Dorothy Bigwood

Your Kindo Account

The end of the year is fast approaching, so just a friendly reminder to log in to your Kindo account or contact the school office to contribute to the events your child has participated in this year.

Contributions can be made from your Kindo account, by internet banking (02-0168-0013657-00) or by credit card, eftpos at the school office.  

New World Local Heroes

We have been nominated as a Local Hero at New World. If you shop there, please remember to drop your tokens into the Cockle Bay box before you leave.

PB4L Token Amnesty

We are missing a number of our reward tokens for PB4L. If any of these blue or yellow tokens have made their way home to you, please arrange for these to be returned to the office. Thank you.

Uniform Shop

The final opening day for the uniform shop will be Monday 11th of December, with the Year 6 Uniform Donation day on Wednesday, 20th December.