Teenaa koutou e te whanau o te Kura A Rohe o Whaingaroa
Education Review Office onsite Thursday 31 October and Friday 1 November 2019
On Thursday 31 October and Friday 1 November, we had the Education Review Office (ERO) visiting our school. They were here to look at the quality of the education and care for the students that we are providing. The ERO team will report back to our school Board of Trustees on what we are doing well and where we need to improve. The ERO report will be made public later this year and will be available to view on our school website once it is published.
30 Year Celebrations – Te Roopu Aroha Ki Te Reo
A fantastic two days celebration was held at school on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 October. Members of the community alongside our kaiako, tamariki and whanau, past and present, turned up to affirm and applaud the 30 years birthday of Te Roopu Aroha Ki Te Reo – our very own vibrant and engaging environment where tikanga and te reo maori are at the centre of all the learning. I extend sincere thanks and congratulations to all our whanau who worked so hard during 2019 in the preparation and build up to the weekend’s festivities. Many hours were spent by tamariki, whanau and kaiako in the evenings, weekends and holidays to ensure that we were ready for this prestigious celebration. I especially want to acknowledge Quenten Browne, Kylie Hollis, Kahurangi Whitiora and Ariana Wakefield who have led the way in working tirelessly alongside their colleagues, students and whanau doing the background and day to day mahi in and out of the classrooms to prepare for this event. We listened to the stories of many who have lived and breathed this journey during the 30 years; both formally and informally and much laughter was shared while doing so. It was a privilege to be a part of such a momentous occasion. Our school Mission Statement “ Celebrating Education in A Bicultural Environment” was truly embodied during the weekend’s festivities. A wonderful taonga, carved by Simon Te Wheoro was unveiled and can be viewed by all as you enter into the school grounds main entrance.
School Library – Classroom Use 2020
The school roll has grown significantly this year to the extent that the Ministry of Education has informed me that our school will be getting four new classrooms. Planning and preparation for the installation of these buildings starts this term and it is hoped that the buildings will be on site ready for the start of the 2021 school year. However, we require additional classroom space for the 2020 school year, so we will use the Library building as classrooms in 2020. It has not yet been decided exactly who will be working in this space – but we will keep you informed of progress. Students will still have access to Library books in the way that they have been doing this year with class sets of books being provided to class teachers on request. Junior classes also have books delivered and these are rotated around the classrooms.
Classroom lists for 2020
Please note that the class lists for 2020 will not be published until January 2021 – but definitely before the start of the school year. We usually have all of our staff changes completed over the December/January holiday break and this means that the published lists will be as up to date as possible. However, if you have particular concerns that you would like to discuss with regards to the placement of your child in 2020 please email or come in and see Aroha Hohepa (Deputy Principal) for Years 1-6 and Quenten Browne (Deputy Principal) for Years 7-13. You may also choose to make contact with the Principal, Louisa Barham.
End to the School Day Returns to 3.00pm in 2020 – PLEASE NOTE
The Board of Trustees wishes to extend our sincere thanks to everyone for your support of the trial process that we have undergone throughout 2019 to end the school day at 2.30pm. The Board has now made a decision to return to the 3.00 pm finish time in 2020.
Community consultation took place one to one, in focus groups and via an online survey sent to staff, students and parents in Term 1 and again in Term 3.
The survey data showed that the group largely affected by the 2.30pm finish is parents of children between 0 – 10-year groups. This group represents 84.56% of the school roll. 60.4% of this group voted to return to a 3pm finish.
Upon reflecting on these things, our final decision as a board has been underpinned by the philosophy that “this decision must contribute towards lifting the leadership culture and student achievement outcomes across the school”. We will ensure that we inform our After School Care and Bus providers accordingly so that these services have time to be realigned ready for the start of the 2020 school year.
Leader of Learning Roles 2020
There have been two internal leadership roles appointed due to the two Deputy Principals assuming other responsibilities in 2020. Congratulations to Jeanette Mcdonnell-Rata (Te Roopu Aroha Ki Te Reo) and Anne Ruxton (Years 4-6) for being appointed to the role of Leader of Learning for 2020.
Positive Behaviour For Learning (PB4L)
In reviewing our school values the following language will be used hereon throughout our school in our PB4L signage, certificates and communications. We believe that the language is appropriate to all adults and children within our learning community.
Mission Statement: Celebrating Education in a Bicultural Environment
Vision Statement: Growing Mana
Values:
- Manaakitanga – We are respectful, kind and empathetic
- Kaitiakitanga – We are caretakers of Te Ao Maori and our world
- Whanaungatanga – We are inclusive and connect genuinely with others
- Poutama – We are resilient and aspire to excellence
2020 Enrolments
We have completed our enrolment information evenings for Years 7-13 students for 2020. Thank you to those families who were able to attend. We are always open for new enrolments, but I also invite current whanau, parents and caregivers to make an appointment at any time to come in to school, if you have any queries about 2020.
“Vaping” not permitted at school
It has come to our attention that some of our students are “vaping” and may believe that this is permitted at school. Please note that smoking and vaping are both not permitted anywhere on the Raglan School site.
Cellphone Policy trial Term 4 2019
During my time at Raglan this year, I have had many conversations with parents, teachers and students about our students’ access to digital devices and cell phones during the school day. To this end, we are trialing our new procedures during Term 4. In discussions with teachers, we have made the decision to restrict students access to using digital devices to class time only with teacher approval – this includes cell phones. We will seek whanau and student feedback before making a final decision for 2020.
The main reasons for taking this stance are:
- We want our students to have device-free break times.
- We will be encouraging our students to participate in outdoor activities and to communicate verbally and face to face at these times.
- We wish to minimise students unsupervised access to use their devices inappropriately to bully other students via messaging and sharing of photographs and videos.
Term 4 Dates
The complete list of dates that may affect our families is available on our community calendar on the website. Please take note and pin on to your wall, fridge or the family public newsletter space.
All the best for the coming holiday break – we all need some rest and relaxation and time to enjoy the freshness of the Spring weather,
Ngaa mihi nui
Louisa Barham
Principal / Tumuaki
For more stories, including classroom news, please see the digital version of our newsletter: https://hail.to/raglan-area-school-community/publication/Lr4XyUj/article/1dAR5lQ
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