Tēnā koutou katoa. Tēnei te mihi atu ki a koutou
A special welcome to students Harry W, Isla & Finn T and Sadie Y who have joined us in the last fortnight.
We have had a busy fortnight at Sumner School. It has been wonderful to see the students getting back into their learning programmes, building new friendships and making the most of all the opportunities that are coming their way. Water safety seems to have been the theme of the last two weeks with a successful whole school tsunami evacuation drill, Rapanui (Years 0-2) beginning their Aqua Gym lessons and Tuawera (Years 3 and 4) and Te Onepoto (Years 5 and 6) involved in Beach Education. A huge thank you to all of our parents and whanau who have volunteered their time in supporting the Beach Education programme - we couldn’t have managed this safely and successfully without you, so thank you!
Spot Light on Learning - Identity and Positive Education..
This year as a school we will be continuing to focus on Positive Education. Positive Education focuses around the development of educational environments, such as ours, that allow students the opportunity to engage in high quality learning programmes, but which also promotes the knowledge and skills that young people need to develop their own and others’ wellbeing. Schools and communities that have continued to use this approach around the world have seen decreased depression levels in their young people and have positively affected their wellbeing and happiness, providing them with the tools and skills needed to navigate difficulties they may face. One of the ways that we do this at Sumner is by using the language of Character Strengths. Character Strengths are essentially the positive parts of your personality that impact how you think, feel and behave and are the keys to you being your ‘best self’. In school we use the language of Character Strengths to not only build our relationships with students and understand their unique identities, but to also enable us to help our students develop a better understanding of themselves and their classmates. During Monday’s assembly we focused on the Character Strength of ‘bravery’. We talked about how important this strength is when we are facing new challenges in our learning and settling into new classes. I look forward to hearing about all the opportunities the students have had where they were able to used their bravery Character Strength.
Upcoming Learning Conferences...
Our first set of Learning Conferences for 2019 will take place on Tuesday 5 March from 1.45pm - 7.30pm and Thursday 7 March from 1.45pm - 5.30pm. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to connect with your child’s teacher, talk about how your child has settled into 2019 and to set learning goals for the year, based on the information sent home in the reports at the end of last year. As always, we strongly encourage all children to attend the Learning Conferences so they can actively participate in setting the future direction of their learning.
Once again we will be using the online system for booking conferences which will open on Monday 25 February. To book a conference you will need to visit www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and enter the code that will be sent via email to you on 25 February. Online bookings will close on Monday 4 March at 3.00pm. If you do not have access to the Internet or need assistance booking a time, please contact the Office and they will make a booking for you.
A reminder that lessons will cease at 1.30pm on both Tuesday and Thursday. Please arrange for your child(ren) to be collected from their class at this time. We appreciate your support with this. Once again we will be providing supervision in the hall until 3.00pm for those children who cannot be collected earlier. If you would like to take up this opportunity please let the Office know in advance so we can keep track of the children involved.
The PTA will be also be holding the annual Big Book Book Up during the Learning Conferences outside the school office. This is your chance to make a donation to the library collection. Please see the notice below for details.
Build update… Today Trevor (our tireless Caretaker) and myself took our first steps into the new two-storey block and Library/Wellbeing Centre. It was incredible to get a feel for the space and I am really excited and impressed about the progress being made each week with the build. Since the last newsletter the 2nd storey concrete pour has happened, the window frames are going in and the stairs have arrived. Earlier this week our new Admin building also had its concrete slab pour and next week we will see all of the framing going up. It really is all go! Please check out our dedicated Building programme page here for some photos of our walk through today. As many of you know, in Terms Three and Four last year we opened the Senior Hub up for you to have a look at our first purpose built flexible learning space. If you missed these days and would like to have a look through Awaroa, please contact the Office to make a time. This is an ongoing open invitation.
And Finally… On Monday our amazing Parent Teacher Association (PTA) will be having their first meeting of the year at 7pm in the Colenso Room (in the Senior Hub). If you are interested in finding out what the PTA does to help our school please come along on Monday. There is no pressure to have a specific role within the PTA or to volunteer large amounts of time, but many hands really do make light work... and they also have a HUGE impact on the opportunities and experiences we are able to provide our students.
Have a wonderful weekend with your families,
Ngā mihi nui,
Anna Granger
Principal
A special welcome to students Harry W, Isla & Finn T and Sadie Y who have joined us in the last fortnight.
We have had a busy fortnight at Sumner School. It has been wonderful to see the students getting back into their learning programmes, building new friendships and making the most of all the opportunities that are coming their way. Water safety seems to have been the theme of the last two weeks with a successful whole school tsunami evacuation drill, Rapanui (Years 0-2) beginning their Aqua Gym lessons and Tuawera (Years 3 and 4) and Te Onepoto (Years 5 and 6) involved in Beach Education. A huge thank you to all of our parents and whanau who have volunteered their time in supporting the Beach Education programme - we couldn’t have managed this safely and successfully without you, so thank you!
Spot Light on Learning - Identity and Positive Education..
This year as a school we will be continuing to focus on Positive Education. Positive Education focuses around the development of educational environments, such as ours, that allow students the opportunity to engage in high quality learning programmes, but which also promotes the knowledge and skills that young people need to develop their own and others’ wellbeing. Schools and communities that have continued to use this approach around the world have seen decreased depression levels in their young people and have positively affected their wellbeing and happiness, providing them with the tools and skills needed to navigate difficulties they may face. One of the ways that we do this at Sumner is by using the language of Character Strengths. Character Strengths are essentially the positive parts of your personality that impact how you think, feel and behave and are the keys to you being your ‘best self’. In school we use the language of Character Strengths to not only build our relationships with students and understand their unique identities, but to also enable us to help our students develop a better understanding of themselves and their classmates. During Monday’s assembly we focused on the Character Strength of ‘bravery’. We talked about how important this strength is when we are facing new challenges in our learning and settling into new classes. I look forward to hearing about all the opportunities the students have had where they were able to used their bravery Character Strength.
Upcoming Learning Conferences...
Our first set of Learning Conferences for 2019 will take place on Tuesday 5 March from 1.45pm - 7.30pm and Thursday 7 March from 1.45pm - 5.30pm. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to connect with your child’s teacher, talk about how your child has settled into 2019 and to set learning goals for the year, based on the information sent home in the reports at the end of last year. As always, we strongly encourage all children to attend the Learning Conferences so they can actively participate in setting the future direction of their learning.
Once again we will be using the online system for booking conferences which will open on Monday 25 February. To book a conference you will need to visit www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and enter the code that will be sent via email to you on 25 February. Online bookings will close on Monday 4 March at 3.00pm. If you do not have access to the Internet or need assistance booking a time, please contact the Office and they will make a booking for you.
A reminder that lessons will cease at 1.30pm on both Tuesday and Thursday. Please arrange for your child(ren) to be collected from their class at this time. We appreciate your support with this. Once again we will be providing supervision in the hall until 3.00pm for those children who cannot be collected earlier. If you would like to take up this opportunity please let the Office know in advance so we can keep track of the children involved.
The PTA will be also be holding the annual Big Book Book Up during the Learning Conferences outside the school office. This is your chance to make a donation to the library collection. Please see the notice below for details.
Build update… Today Trevor (our tireless Caretaker) and myself took our first steps into the new two-storey block and Library/Wellbeing Centre. It was incredible to get a feel for the space and I am really excited and impressed about the progress being made each week with the build. Since the last newsletter the 2nd storey concrete pour has happened, the window frames are going in and the stairs have arrived. Earlier this week our new Admin building also had its concrete slab pour and next week we will see all of the framing going up. It really is all go! Please check out our dedicated Building programme page here for some photos of our walk through today. As many of you know, in Terms Three and Four last year we opened the Senior Hub up for you to have a look at our first purpose built flexible learning space. If you missed these days and would like to have a look through Awaroa, please contact the Office to make a time. This is an ongoing open invitation.
And Finally… On Monday our amazing Parent Teacher Association (PTA) will be having their first meeting of the year at 7pm in the Colenso Room (in the Senior Hub). If you are interested in finding out what the PTA does to help our school please come along on Monday. There is no pressure to have a specific role within the PTA or to volunteer large amounts of time, but many hands really do make light work... and they also have a HUGE impact on the opportunities and experiences we are able to provide our students.
Have a wonderful weekend with your families,
Ngā mihi nui,
Anna Granger
Principal
Upcoming Dates For Your Diary
Monday 18 February - PTA Meeting, 7pm Colenso Room
Tuesday 26 February - Awaroa (Years 7 and 8) and Te Onepoto (Years 5 and 6) Swimming Sports
Wednesday 27 February - Tuawera (Years 3 and 4) Swimming Sports 11am-12.30pm and Rapanui (Years 1 and 2) Splash and Dash 1.30-3pm
Monday 18 March - Teacher Only Day - School Closed
Monday 18 February - PTA Meeting, 7pm Colenso Room
Tuesday 26 February - Awaroa (Years 7 and 8) and Te Onepoto (Years 5 and 6) Swimming Sports
Wednesday 27 February - Tuawera (Years 3 and 4) Swimming Sports 11am-12.30pm and Rapanui (Years 1 and 2) Splash and Dash 1.30-3pm
Monday 18 March - Teacher Only Day - School Closed
Spot Light on Excellence
Sincerity: Remo R for showing himself to be a responsible, engaged and friendly member of Awaroa. Ka Pai Remo on making such a positive start to your life in the senior school.
Unity: Finlay S for having a great attitude towards learning and the positive way that he has taken on responsibilities as a Year 8.
Respect: Eve T for demonstrating a high standard of work ethic, respect and diligence within Awaroa.
Respect: Ana L for a fantastic start to the term. She demonstrates respect to her learning environment, peers and teachers. Fantastic effort Ana!
Empathy: Olly P for leading by example in his role as a Year 8. Olly you have offered your support, guidance and kindness to the new members of Awaroa, and have done so in a natural and unassuming manner.
Empathy: Callum G for consistently thinking of others by assisting his home group mates with a range of tasks. He is a thoughtful, caring classmate.
Resilience: Toby I for showing maturity as a new Awaroa member and a willingness to step up to the expectations this will bring.
Resilience: Harvey C for starting his time in Awaroa with such a positive, hard working attitude! This was highlighted by him presenting his first home-learning challenge in Week 2. Outstanding start!
Sincerity: Remo R for showing himself to be a responsible, engaged and friendly member of Awaroa. Ka Pai Remo on making such a positive start to your life in the senior school.
Unity: Finlay S for having a great attitude towards learning and the positive way that he has taken on responsibilities as a Year 8.
Respect: Eve T for demonstrating a high standard of work ethic, respect and diligence within Awaroa.
Respect: Ana L for a fantastic start to the term. She demonstrates respect to her learning environment, peers and teachers. Fantastic effort Ana!
Empathy: Olly P for leading by example in his role as a Year 8. Olly you have offered your support, guidance and kindness to the new members of Awaroa, and have done so in a natural and unassuming manner.
Empathy: Callum G for consistently thinking of others by assisting his home group mates with a range of tasks. He is a thoughtful, caring classmate.
Resilience: Toby I for showing maturity as a new Awaroa member and a willingness to step up to the expectations this will bring.
Resilience: Harvey C for starting his time in Awaroa with such a positive, hard working attitude! This was highlighted by him presenting his first home-learning challenge in Week 2. Outstanding start!

Music Achievement
Finlay S (Year 4) showed great determination in passing his Grade 1 piano exam recently.
Congratulations Fin!
Finlay S (Year 4) showed great determination in passing his Grade 1 piano exam recently.
Congratulations Fin!
Parent Portal
A reminder to please ensure your contact details are up to date for 2019 if you have moved addresses or have a new phone number. The Portal can be accessed by clicking here
This enables you to view your child’s contact details, attendance and payment details. Login using your existing account and password at Google+, Yahoo, Facebook or Windows Live. Alternatively click on ‘manually enter your login details’ using the email address you have supplied to school and request a password via the ‘forgotten password’ option.
Your contact details are listed on the Edge Caregiver home page. If any of these details require updating please email the changes required to admin@sumner.school.nz. The school no longer forwards requests to parents to update their details and we really appreciate you keeping them current.
Year 8 School Based Vaccination Programme - (HPV, Tetanus, Diphtheria & Whooping Cough)
We are pleased to inform you the Canterbury District Health Board will continue to offer vaccinations to Year 8 boys and girls who have not completed the eleven year old vaccinations at their General Practice. Your Year 8 child should have brought home a consent form to complete which needs to be returned to their teacher by next Friday 22 February. Please return the form whether you intend your child to be vaccinated or not. Thank you for taking the time to consider this important aspect of your child's health.
Sumner School Annual Big Book Buy Up On Tuesday 5 March and Thursday 7 March during the Learning Conferences, we will have a large selection of new books on display in the School Library by the netball court. These books are available to purchase for donation to the Sumner School Library. We are inviting every family to get involved by buying a book to donate to the school library. Each donated book will have a nameplate inside the cover with your child’s name. Your child will have the right to be the first borrower once the books have been processed. This is the school library’s annual fundraiser and really helps the school to be able to keep providing a wide selection of engaging reading books for students of all ages. Payment can be made by cash, cheque and eftpos. We will hold orders till the end of the week if you forget your wallet. Many thanks for your continued support. Sumner School PTA |

Calling all Parents to our Annual General Meeting on Monday 18 February 7-8pm in the Colenso Room located in the senior Hub.
A great way to take an active role in your school community. Come and find out what we’re all about and bring any fundraising ideas for 2019.
Also feel free to email: pta@sumner.school.nz with your suggestions before Monday.
We’d love to see at least one parent from each classroom attending!! Thanks.
Sunscreen available to purchase at the Office - $5

Teacher Only Day - March 18
Please contact MASH on 0800 420520 if you require childcare on Monday 18 March for our Teacher Only Day.
Please contact MASH on 0800 420520 if you require childcare on Monday 18 March for our Teacher Only Day.

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