Relationships – Whanaungatanga, Resilience – Manawaroa, Respect – Manaakitanga, Responsibility – Tiaki
Kia Ora, Nǐ hǎo, Hallo, Greetings,
Welcome to our new students and their families who have recently joined us: Jaydee Nathan, Kashmi Dukkan and Vicky Li.
My Principal exchange was cut short due to family circumstances for the other Principal – hopefully we will try again at a later stage in the term. This has meant that I had the pleasure of enjoying the amazing junior production. Some of our new entrants had only been at school for three days and were up on stage with confidence! It’s great to see the arts being celebrated and enjoyed. We look forward to the other productions over the term. I’d like to thank our talented staff who worked so hard to make the production possible, and the parents who helped with props, decorating the hall and the costumes.
Vision
After the gathering of many ideas from a range of people we have come up with a draft vision for the school. The vision is a short statement that gives us a direction in the future. It was quite a challenge combining key ideas to create a manageable statement! All of the ideas and thinking that were condensed down to the draft vision, have been retained to help us with future planning. Here’s a link to the process and draft vision. If you would like to give any further feedback, please email the feedback to principal@bbps.school.nz. In term four we will be seeking input into our next strategic plan to bring the vision to life.
Project Based Learning
In line with the new vision, the staff have taken a different approach to teaching inquiry this term. The idea of project based learning is that a project is created that is authentic, and has a purpose at the conclusion, as opposed to just being written work in a book that doesn’t reach much of an audience. There is a focus also on finding opportunities to be creative, innovative and with the older students entrepreneurial. The theme for the school is looking at our community. Teachers brainstormed a number of potential ideas, and these were taken to groups of students to see what appealed, and what further ideas they had. This narrowed down the way each team has approached this topic.
The senior school are working on the following scenario: BBPS has many new families arriving from out of town, and they would like to know what is available in our community for their children. These students and parents would feel welcomed if the school could help them know what is available. How can we (Senior School) find out what activities/clubs/groups are currently available to students/parents outside of school hours in the Bucklands Beach area
and what is the most efficient and creative way we can present this information to newcomers to our school? How can we (Senior School) creatively and collaboratively create an end product in 6 weeks. Can we create an end product which can be sustainable and updated as new information occurs or is found?
Each newsletter I’ll share a bit more of our Project Based Learning, and at the conclusion we will be inviting in parents (and new parents to the area) to present our finished products. Student motivation is high, and we have been really impressed at the collaborative work that has gone on to date.
Linc Ed and Three way Conference Feedback
Thank you to all who took time to fill out the feedback form. Overall the feedback was very positive, and there were some good ideas for future planning. One of the quick fixes that you asked for was for a direct link on the school website page which took you straight to Linc Ed. A link has now been put up, and can be found under the ‘Parent’ tab, then ‘Linc-Ed log in’. This link will take you directly to the log in page. Check in on Linc Ed at the end of the week to see what new work and goals have gone up for your child.
School Donation
Thank you to all of those who have paid, or who are paying off their school donation. So far we are at 90% of our budgeted target for the year. As a decile ten, we are vastly underfunded for the running of extra programmes and activities beyond the straight curriculum, and your donation allows us to offer so many more opportunities, as well as employing extra teaching assistants to work around the school. If you would like to set up a regular payment, please see Julie in the office.
Stay dry, and have a great week.
Kelly Slater-Brown
Principal
PTA News
Thank you to everyone who sold and purchased tickets in the PTA raffle. Here are the results:
First: Pam De Afonseca, chose prize 3
Second: Kieran Turner, chose prize 5
Third: Arthur Zheng, chose prize 4
Fourth: Mark Arellano, chose prize 2
Fifth: Emma Lang, prize 1
Thank you to everyone for supporting our fundraiser! We are getting closer to being able to purchase the solar panels.
Community Notices
Are you interested in Kung Fu? Lessons are available for all ages on Wednesday evenings from 6.15 p.m. in our school hall. Please contact Master Darrin 0272620054 or email darrinsegedin@xtra.co.nz see: https://gopro.com/v/pJED08BQoaK7r
HOWICK SAILING CLUB – NEW SEASON
It has been cold and wet, but when the sun shines it reminds us that it’s time to plan for summer. The Howick Sailing Club is once again offering Learn to Sail courses on Wednesday afternoons and Sunday mornings, starting on October 23. These very popular courses aim to give girls and boys aged 8 to 12 basic skills and enjoyment of this lifelong sport , in the great marine environment right on our doorstep. Our small group instruction has been very successful in the past, and we are especially pleased to have new Optimist sailing dinghies to make the experience even better. The cost per student is $250 for a minimum of 6 weeks. Registration is online. Sailors who have done the first Learn to Sail course and want to keep developing their skills, have fun on the water, and try a bit of racing, will have sessions on Tuesday and Sunday afternoons. Ring Malcolm on 0276494912 if you would like more information. You can also follow us on Facebook.
Recent Comments