Newsletter – Wednesday 25 October

Cockle Bay School

School Newsletter

Children and their learning at the heart of all we do.

Principal’s Message

Nau mai, haere mai, parents and whānau,

It has been a busy first two weeks back at school. Of special interest last Friday was the arrival of two temporary classrooms and toilets, in the top staff car park. Decks are to be added, and we hope these temporary classrooms will be operational early November. The speed of this project is very heartening and the MInistry is thanked for their support.

Workmen are on site at night and weekends in fire damaged Rooms 7 and 8, removing asbestos, assessing and cleaning. For details please click here.

Last Friday we also had a visit from Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister-elect, and the news media. Our Kapa Haka group performed with vigour and ambassadors hosted him on a tour of some classrooms and the Art Exhibition. I was very proud of our students and school.

I hope parents found time to view the Art Exhibition. Work was of a very high standard. If you missed this opportunity, please feel free to visit your child/children’s classroom, as some exhibits remain on display there.

‘Bring it Black’ Day Friday

In support of our All Blacks and our national sport, students are invited to wear something black on Friday. They can be in full non-uniform or school uniform plus some black. This is not a fund raiser, rather a fun-raiser.

Communication

It is frustrating for parents to miss out on school communications, so please download the KiwiSchools app on your phone to stay up to date with the latest happenings at school. School newsletters are also on the school’s website. This term is a time of transition, so we are duplicating important messages on Audiri as well, but it is better if you use the new school app.

PB4L (Positive Behaviour for Learning)

This week our students are learning school expectations around what being caring looks like. At our morning assembly Mrs Rossiter talked about being inclusive of others when playing, and saying kind words. Students are encouraged to show empathy and consider how it might feel to be the ‘other person’. The Wheel of Choice is a guide as to how to manage themselves when someone else upsets them (please see below).

Year 3 Playground

The Year 3 playground is going to be replaced by a brand new design. This is very exciting and has been made possible due to P.T.N. fundraising (including Carnival 2023) and Board funding. Thanks P.T.N. and Board! Playground Creations is the same provider as for the very popular junior playground. Please see the design below.

On approximately 6 November the old playground will be removed Some items of the old playground will be recycled into a future school project, along with some of the logs from the macrocarpa behind Room 25.

The new playground will be installed in January/early February.

Regards.

Dorothy Bigwood

Thank You Bunnings Warehouse Botany

A huge thank you to Bunnings Warehouse Botany. Jordan and Charisma from our local Bunnings visited our school to work with our Year 6 emergency management group, the Disaster Blasters. Together they put together “go” bags – emergency bags for the car or home – filled with all the items that might be needed in an emergency. Bunnings kindly donated all the products used and we thank them for their generosity and contribution towards providing these students with the knowledge and skills they need to be prepared for emergencies.

Uniform Shop

The next opening for the uniform shop is Monday, 30 October, from 8:30am-9:15am and 2:30 pm-3:15 pm.

Health & Safety

If you wish to record additional people who are authorised to collect your child, please email the office (office@cocklebay.school.nz) with details – their name, relationship to you, and mobile number.

Dates for your Diary:

Term 4

2 November: Athletics Day Year 3-6

3 November: Gumboot Friday & Friday Freeze

13 November: Teacher Only Day

30 November: 1 December – Year 4 camp

18 December: Report to go home

20 December: Last day of school

Quick links to our school website:

School Calendar

Term Dates (At the bottom of home page)

School events

We are pleased to introduce our refreshed and renewed school website. The URL has not changed, so you will still find all the information on www.https://www.cocklebay.school.nz/ You will notice, however, the refreshed look of the website and the ease of being able to locate what you need. We welcome feedback and hope to hear that this is a great connection/communication tool for new families to the school.

The new app replaces Audiri (formerly SkoolBag) as our main means of communication. Forms that were previously on Audiri can be located on the website, which is linked directly through the app. You can still register an absence and locate all up to date information, as well as current/previous newsletters. The new app is located in your phone’s app store and is called KiwiSchools Connect – use the QR code to the left to download this.

Once you have downloaded the app, search for Cockle Bay School and then save this as your school of choice. You will then be able to keep up to date with regular communication and notifications. Please ask at the office if you have any problems accessing the app.

Botany Taekwon-Do has been training the ITF style of Taekwon-Do at Cockle Bay School for over 15 years.

Come and have some fun with us get fit and learn a new skill with qualifications that are recognised around the world.

We operate a 2 week free trial. Want to know more visit our web site at botanytaekwondo.co.nz or just turn up at 6pm on Wednesday nights and say hi all ages and abilities are welcome.