THIS WEEK’S MEMORY VERSE
“Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.
Jeremiah 32:17
Principles Notice
Tena koutou whanau ma – warm greeting to everyone
Welcome back to the final term for 2025. We trust that you have all had the opportunity to spend quality time with whanau and friends over the break. Back to the reality of school for our students, staff and whanau means a refocus back into the demands of school-life for the next nine weeks.
I love the book of Ecclesiastes which tells us that there is a season for everything and that in whatever we do we should do it wholeheartedly and with joy, for the things that God has given us to do are a gift to be enjoyed (Chapter 9). This is a truth that we can grab hold of and bring into our daily lives – we can choose to embrace and enjoy what is before us. Sometimes the situations we find ourselves in are difficult or even stormy and you may say, “How can I enjoy this situation that I am in?” The answer is that our joy is in our unity with Jesus – remember when the disciples were with him in the storm? Joy isn’t something that we produce on our own – it is an outcome of being in the will and purpose of God. He produces the fruit through His Spirit in us and this includes joy (Galatians 5).
A major focus this term is improving our attendance outcomes. This is going to need a BIG push to get the next level of improvement. Let’s encourage one another to push through this term and to enjoy the hard work and the great rewards that it produces.
Attendance
Our attendance stats to the end of the term showed an overall attendance rate of 82%. For your information I have included some of the reporting requirements (to the Ministry of Education) NZ schools have.
- We are required to report on ethnicity, gender and year level outcomes.
- We are required to report chronically absent stats.
- We have a national target of 90% attendance for every student.
This is chart that shows a small part of the data we work with each month – as you can see there are 53 students whose attendance is 90% or above and meeting the MOE target. We unfortunately have a significant number of students whose absences are considered to be ‘chronic’.
Schools have been instructed to take a more deliberate approach to addressing absences which means we need to work differently to address the issue. The following is a brief summary of the guidance we have received…
| For students regularly attending:
(Less than 5 days absent/term) |
Stay in regular contact with parents about their child’s attendance.
Follow up to find out the reason when they aren’t at school. |
| For students who have some absences:
(6 to 10 days absent/term) |
Work with parents to identify any barriers to attendance
Provide support to help students catch up and stay on track. |
| For students with many absences:
(11 to 15 days absent/term) |
Work with parents to develop a plan to support their attendance and learning
Seek support of the Attendance Service or other agencies to remove barriers to attendance |
| For students who are frequently absent
(more than 15 days absent/term) |
Work with parents to implement the plan to support their attendance and learning.
Refer to the Attendance Service or other agencies to support their return to school. |
| For students whose attendance remains frequent and unresolved: | Notify ENROL – NEN Referral (unenroll student). |
The following are the processes we have in our school for when a student is absent…
Expectations
| Who | What |
| Parents/Caregivers | When students are absent, parents will contact the school to inform of the absence (reason and duration) |
| Office staff | Receive notification from parents and record on KAMAR rolls
Review attendance daily at the end of Form Time and contact parents of any students absent for unknown reasons, and record on KAMAR rolls. |
| Form/Primary Teachers | Take the roll first thing in the morning.
Review the attendance register for your class and remove “?” codes on Fridays. |
| Subject teachers | Take the roll at the beginning of each lesson. Follow-up any “?” codes. |
| Department heads | Review Primary, Middle and Secondary attendance to check rolls are complete. Look for patterns.
Refer to SENCO if SENCO support is needed e.g. to coordinate agency support. SENCO refer to Principal if initial contact does not result in improved attendance. |
| SENCO | As requested, coordinate support needed to facilitate regular attendance. |
| Principal | Upon referral, communicate formally with parents/caregivers, using Rock-On letter templates.
Notify ASA if absences exceed 10 days in the term. NEN for student with 20 days consecutive absence or earlier repeating pattern exists |
As you can see, we really rely on parents and whanau to notify us of any absences quickly, and we thank all of you who are doing that.
FYI, the acronyms are explained as follows…
SENCO = Special Education Needs Coordinator (at our school this is Bev Baines).
ASA is the Ministry of Education Attendance service
NEN is a Non-Enrolment Notification made to the Ministry of Education.
We can do this – He waka eke noa
1 Peter 2:9 ESV
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Nga mihi mahana
David Rogers
PRINCIPAL
KEY DATES:
IMPORTANT SCHOOL DATES
| PRIMARY | ||
| Term 4 | ||
| Term 4 | Week 8 Friday 28th November- 8:50am -Yr 1-6 Certificates of Recognition Assembly | |
| SECONDARY | ||
| Term 4 | ||
| Term 4 | Week 8 Friday 28th November -2:20pm- yr 7-13 Certificates of Recognition Assembly | |
| WHOLE SCHOOL | ||
| Term 4 | ||
| Term 4 | Monday 1st December, 10:00am- Special School Event ( Save the date) | |
| Wednesday 3rd December, 6:00pm- Yr 7-13 Prizegiving | ||
| Thursday 4th December, 9:30am- Yr 1-6 Prizegiving | ||
| Friday 5th December, 9:30am- Beach Day Paihia | ||
SCHOOL TERMS
| Term 1 | Start | Tuesday 28th January 2025 |
| End | Friday 11th April 2025 | |
| Term 2 | Start | Monday 28th April 2025 |
| End | Thursday 26th June 2025 | |
| Term 3 | Start | Monday 14th July 2025 |
| End | Friday 19th September 2025 | |
| Term 4 | Start | Monday 6th October 2025 |
| End |
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
| Term 4 | Labour Weekend | Monday 27th October 2025 |
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Meeting Dates:
| Term 1 | Tuesday 18th 2025 |
Minutes:
TEACHERS NOTICES
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Staff representative votes:
Michelle Tito-Brown 9
Robert Torr 11
I hereby declare Robert Torr duly elected.
Signed
Joni Erueti Returning Officer
Congratulations to our amazing Head Girl Danielle. Danielle has not only been accepted into Victoria University in Wellington, but has also been awarded a $10,000 scholarship towards her accommodation. We are so proud of you Danielle and can’t wait to see where your Bachelor of Design journey takes you.
Nga mihi
Jessica Atkins
STUDENT NOTICES
FOR PARENTS AND WHANAU
Mufti/Bake sale Fundraiser
Kia ora Whanau,
We would like to take this time to say Thankyou to all the parents that sent baking this morning to help raise funds today, We would like to let you all know that we raised $459.20 with the bake sale and the mufti day, as mentioned in the letter that was sent home the proceeds will go directly to the family to show our love and support for their loss.
Thankyou
Beverly Baines
Measles
Kia ora
Health New Zealand is urging schools and ECEs in Northland to be alert for measles, with an escalating risk across the motu. Given the recent outbreak in Kerikeri and the Bay of Islands, there is a heightened risk of cases occurring within these communities.
Remind parents, caregivers and the school community
- Watch out for measles symptoms – fever, cough, runny nose, sore eyes, and a blotchy rash.
- To keep students home from school if they have any measles symptoms, and to stay home and ring their doctor, or call Healthline for FREE on 0800 611 116.
- Students who are close contacts of a measles case should stay at home if they are not considered immune. National Public Health Service will check this and advise.
- Check all whānau are immunised, and encourage them to catch up if not fully immunised or not sure: info.health.nz/measles-immunity.
Ask all staff born AFTER 1 January 1969 to check they have records of two MMR vaccinations after 12 months of age, or previous measles
- Non-immune staff will have to stay home if exposed to measles at school or in the community, or if they need to look after children with measles.
- Staff who were born overseas often don’t have immunisation records, and younger New Zealanders have sometimes missed out on two doses.
- It is safe to have additional doses if staff don’t have proof or aren’t sure of their immunisations.
Prepare for possible measles cases
Download the Infectious disease outbreak preparedness in schools and ECEs checklist on getting prepared and what actions you will need to take if there is measles at your school: www.tewhatuora.govt.nz/publications/infectious-disease-outbreak-preparedness-in-schools-and-eces
If you hear of a possible case in your community or at school, isolate them and call public health for advice:
- During office hours 8am and 4:30pm Monday to Friday call 09 430 4101 extension 60592
- Outside of office hours call 09 430 4100 and ask for the on-call Health Protection Officer.
- Isolate anyone sick with measles symptoms and send them home to ring for medical advice.
Measles immunisation – key information
- Getting two doses of the MMR vaccine after 12 months of age protects 99% of people from measles.
- The MMR vaccine is free in New Zealand for anyone aged under 18, and for people over 18 who are eligible for free healthcare.
- Parents can book a vaccination appointment with a pharmacy, their doctor, nurse, or Hauora Māori or Pacific health provider.
- For a list of vaccination sites in your area visit: https://info.health.nz/immunisations/booking-a-vaccine
For more information
- Measles factsheet: https://healthed.govt.nz/collections/measles/products/measles-information-sheet-english-he5000
- Measles is here, social tile: https://healthed.govt.nz/collections/measles/products/measles-here-social-tile-nip9063-5
- Measles symptoms, social tile: https://healthed.govt.nz/collections/measles/products/measles-is-here-social-tile-nip9063-6
- Measles health information: http://info.health.nz/measles
Thank you for your help in stopping the spread of measles and protecting those at risk.
Ngā mihi
Hira Gage | Director of Education for Te Tai Tokerau
Te Mahau | Te Tai Raro
DDI +6494368914 | Mobile +64275015068
Whangarei Office
Juicies
Kia ora Whanau, We have Juicies every Fridays.
Mike Shaw
CEO Celebration Trust
PO Box 235 – Kaikohe
Phone +64 9 405 3996
Cell +64 21 842 302
WHAT ARE ATTENDANCE DUES?
The Ministry of Education does not fund building related costs at our School. Attendance Dues are only used to pay for building related costs. They can not be used for any other purposes. Paying Attendance Dues is a condition of enrolment for all students attending our School. Attendance Dues are compulsory – there is a legal requirement for parents and caregivers to pay Attendance Dues under the Education and Training Act 2020. They are not a donation.
Mike Shaw
CEO Celebration Trust
COMMUNITY NOTICES
Lunch For The Week
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