Pink Shirt Day in the Hub
Tēnā koutou e te Whānau,
Welcome to the following students who joined us this week: Phoenix P, Scarlett L and Meah Q.
Welcome to the end of week 3! We have had another busy fortnight at Sumner School and it has been great seeing the children getting to grips with their learning under the concept of ‘Relationships’. The concept of relationships is a really important one for us here at school as I truly believe that positive, open and trusting relationships need to be at the very heart of everything we do. Our relationships at school underpin not only high quality teaching and learning, but they also grow children who are respectful, empathetic and understanding of the value of positive relationships.
Spotlight of Bully Free NZ... This week we have been focusing on the concept of relationships through the lens of Bully Free week. This is a national week where schools throughout New Zealand focus on the subject of bullying. The theme for this year is ‘Whakanuia Tōu Āhua Ake! Celebrating Being Us!’’ While I believe we have wonderful students and an inclusive and caring culture, it would be incredibly naive of me to say that bullying does not occur at times in our school. What I can say though is that it will absolutely not be tolerated. I believe that by raising the mana of our school values and using the language of Character Strengths throughout our school and creating lots of learning opportunities that encourage respect, value opinions, celebrate difference, and promote positive relationships, we will continue to grow a school culture which makes it incredibly difficult for bullying behaviour to thrive or be tolerated. To achieve this, it needs everyone – school staff, students, trustees, parents, whānau and communities – supporting diversity, talking about bullying and working together.
Our Bully Free week kicked off in assembly where our wonderful School Leaders Johnny, Brooke, Isa and Harry shared our definition of bullying and the language we use at school to talk to our children about bullying. They shared with the students that at school our definition of bullying behaviours are: Deliberate and targeted, involve an imbalance of power, and are repetitive and harmful. Our School Leaders also shared with children the common misconception that many children have around the number of people involved in a bullying situation. Many children assume there are only two, but there are of course at least three; the target, the initiator and the bystander(s). They talked about the role of bystanders in these situations and the choice that needs to be made about whether to stand by and watch or do something about it. The role of bystanders is such an important one and it’s really important that our children know that all adults at school are a ‘safe tell’ and that by coming to us they are not ‘snitching’ or ‘tattling.’ As adults we know that this is an incredibly hard thing to do, and so our Wellbeing Leaders have created a special ‘kōrero Mai’ box in our School Office where children can pop a note with anything that they want to share. This box will be checked each week and any information passed on to the relevant adults to work with. Open communication between school and home also has a key role to play in how we tackle bullying incidents at our school. Our classroom teachers are always your first port of call if there is anything you would like to discuss about your child, so please make sure you let us know if your child has passed anything onto you.
At school we use the following language with the students:
Welcome to the following students who joined us this week: Phoenix P, Scarlett L and Meah Q.
Welcome to the end of week 3! We have had another busy fortnight at Sumner School and it has been great seeing the children getting to grips with their learning under the concept of ‘Relationships’. The concept of relationships is a really important one for us here at school as I truly believe that positive, open and trusting relationships need to be at the very heart of everything we do. Our relationships at school underpin not only high quality teaching and learning, but they also grow children who are respectful, empathetic and understanding of the value of positive relationships.
Spotlight of Bully Free NZ... This week we have been focusing on the concept of relationships through the lens of Bully Free week. This is a national week where schools throughout New Zealand focus on the subject of bullying. The theme for this year is ‘Whakanuia Tōu Āhua Ake! Celebrating Being Us!’’ While I believe we have wonderful students and an inclusive and caring culture, it would be incredibly naive of me to say that bullying does not occur at times in our school. What I can say though is that it will absolutely not be tolerated. I believe that by raising the mana of our school values and using the language of Character Strengths throughout our school and creating lots of learning opportunities that encourage respect, value opinions, celebrate difference, and promote positive relationships, we will continue to grow a school culture which makes it incredibly difficult for bullying behaviour to thrive or be tolerated. To achieve this, it needs everyone – school staff, students, trustees, parents, whānau and communities – supporting diversity, talking about bullying and working together.
Our Bully Free week kicked off in assembly where our wonderful School Leaders Johnny, Brooke, Isa and Harry shared our definition of bullying and the language we use at school to talk to our children about bullying. They shared with the students that at school our definition of bullying behaviours are: Deliberate and targeted, involve an imbalance of power, and are repetitive and harmful. Our School Leaders also shared with children the common misconception that many children have around the number of people involved in a bullying situation. Many children assume there are only two, but there are of course at least three; the target, the initiator and the bystander(s). They talked about the role of bystanders in these situations and the choice that needs to be made about whether to stand by and watch or do something about it. The role of bystanders is such an important one and it’s really important that our children know that all adults at school are a ‘safe tell’ and that by coming to us they are not ‘snitching’ or ‘tattling.’ As adults we know that this is an incredibly hard thing to do, and so our Wellbeing Leaders have created a special ‘kōrero Mai’ box in our School Office where children can pop a note with anything that they want to share. This box will be checked each week and any information passed on to the relevant adults to work with. Open communication between school and home also has a key role to play in how we tackle bullying incidents at our school. Our classroom teachers are always your first port of call if there is anything you would like to discuss about your child, so please make sure you let us know if your child has passed anything onto you.
At school we use the following language with the students:
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Spotlight on Mana Ake… During assembly on Monday we also introduced three new faces to our Sumner School whanau; Linda, Greta and Roger. These three wonderful people will form our school team of Mana Ake Kaimahi (workers). Mana Ake - Stronger for Tomorrow provides support for children aged five to 12 years old across Canterbury. Mana Ake kaimahi work with schools to support teachers, families and whānau when children are experiencing ongoing issues that impact their wellbeing such as anxiety, social isolation, parental separation, grief and loss and managing emotions. Kaimahi have a diverse range of skills and include psychologists, social workers, counsellors, teachers and youth workers. Kaimahi can work with individual children and their families at school, in the community or at home and with groups of children in schools. They provide advice, guidance and support for teachers and family/ whānau. Over the next couple of weeks Roger, Greta and Linda will be around school working with teachers and getting to know our community. Please see below for a personal bio for Greta, Linda and Roger.
Spotlight on Building progress… I am VERY excited to share that our new two storey, Library and Wellbeing Centre are close to completion and we have had confirmation that these are due to be handed over to us during the Term Two holidays. This will see Awaroa (Years 7 and 8) moving into the top floor, Te Onepoto (Years 5 and 6) into the bottom floor, enabling Rapanui (Years 0-2) to move into the space currently home to Awaroa in time for the start of Term 3. It will also mean that our students will have access to a wonderful new library space and a very special wellbeing area.
Please note: Due to these changes over the holidays we have made the decision to move our Term Four Teacher Only Day from 14 November to Monday 22 July. This additional day will be used as an opportunity to make final preparations for the start of Term Three on Tuesday 23 July.
Our new Administration Building is due for completion a short while later in August. This will see the second phase of our building project completed and our attention will turn to Phase 3. This will be the redevelopment of Tuawera’s (Years 3 and 4) learning spaces. As soon as I have some more information about this phase I will share it with you.
Our new spaces will allow us to easily configure our classrooms in a variety of ways to support and enable a range of teaching and learning approaches on any given day, or at any time of the day. This includes creating spaces which support the ‘traditional’ model of a single teacher working with a whole class, through to a fully open learning space that will enable teaching teams space to connect and work together. At present we only have one purpose built space at school which is currently home to Awaroa (Years 7 and 8). Later this year this space will become home to our Rapanui (Years 0-2) learners, although in a slightly different formation to the way it looks now. If you haven’t already seen this space and are interested in having a look around, you are warmly invited to make a time to do this with myself or Rebecca Power our Deputy Principal - this is an ongoing and open invitation.
Spotlight on Learning and Support… Our Board recognise that human resourcing is the most important resourcing that can occur within our school. Due to the growing numbers of students enrolling in Rapanui and our commitment to ensuring the very best environments for our children, our Board of Trustees are funding an additional New Entrant Teacher to meet the needs of our growing numbers. They also recognise the importance of our learning support team in enabling us to provide the best learning experiences and programmes possible. Therefore they have also funded an additional Learning Support Worker to work across our school. We are in final stages of finalising these appointments and will be able to share these new members of our school whanau with you soon.
And finally… As I am sure you will have seen in the news, teachers across New Zealand are striking on Wednesday 29 May. As all of our staff are NZEI Union members the Board of Trustees has confirmed that the school will be closed on this day. We thank you for your ongoing support with this as the teachers continue to negotiate their pay and conditions.
MASH will be open to offer care for children on the Strike day so please contact their Office to book a place. Phone 366 9408.
Have a wonderful weekend with your families.
Ngā mihi nui
Anna Granger
Principal
Spotlight on Building progress… I am VERY excited to share that our new two storey, Library and Wellbeing Centre are close to completion and we have had confirmation that these are due to be handed over to us during the Term Two holidays. This will see Awaroa (Years 7 and 8) moving into the top floor, Te Onepoto (Years 5 and 6) into the bottom floor, enabling Rapanui (Years 0-2) to move into the space currently home to Awaroa in time for the start of Term 3. It will also mean that our students will have access to a wonderful new library space and a very special wellbeing area.
Please note: Due to these changes over the holidays we have made the decision to move our Term Four Teacher Only Day from 14 November to Monday 22 July. This additional day will be used as an opportunity to make final preparations for the start of Term Three on Tuesday 23 July.
Our new Administration Building is due for completion a short while later in August. This will see the second phase of our building project completed and our attention will turn to Phase 3. This will be the redevelopment of Tuawera’s (Years 3 and 4) learning spaces. As soon as I have some more information about this phase I will share it with you.
Our new spaces will allow us to easily configure our classrooms in a variety of ways to support and enable a range of teaching and learning approaches on any given day, or at any time of the day. This includes creating spaces which support the ‘traditional’ model of a single teacher working with a whole class, through to a fully open learning space that will enable teaching teams space to connect and work together. At present we only have one purpose built space at school which is currently home to Awaroa (Years 7 and 8). Later this year this space will become home to our Rapanui (Years 0-2) learners, although in a slightly different formation to the way it looks now. If you haven’t already seen this space and are interested in having a look around, you are warmly invited to make a time to do this with myself or Rebecca Power our Deputy Principal - this is an ongoing and open invitation.
Spotlight on Learning and Support… Our Board recognise that human resourcing is the most important resourcing that can occur within our school. Due to the growing numbers of students enrolling in Rapanui and our commitment to ensuring the very best environments for our children, our Board of Trustees are funding an additional New Entrant Teacher to meet the needs of our growing numbers. They also recognise the importance of our learning support team in enabling us to provide the best learning experiences and programmes possible. Therefore they have also funded an additional Learning Support Worker to work across our school. We are in final stages of finalising these appointments and will be able to share these new members of our school whanau with you soon.
And finally… As I am sure you will have seen in the news, teachers across New Zealand are striking on Wednesday 29 May. As all of our staff are NZEI Union members the Board of Trustees has confirmed that the school will be closed on this day. We thank you for your ongoing support with this as the teachers continue to negotiate their pay and conditions.
MASH will be open to offer care for children on the Strike day so please contact their Office to book a place. Phone 366 9408.
Have a wonderful weekend with your families.
Ngā mihi nui
Anna Granger
Principal
Mana Ake Team
Left to right: Roger Harris, Linda Van Den Berg, Greta Shearing, Liz Riley.
Linda Van Den Berg- Kaimahi
Kia Ora, my name is Linda van den Berg and I am from the Netherlands. I am a social worker and one of the team of Mana Ake Kaimahi based with Barnardos. I was a liaising Kaimahi for three schools in the Hurunui cluster for the first term of this school year and before that I have been working as a family social & case worker and Group Home Worker overseas. I’m looking forward to using my skills and experience to support tamariki and their whanau, as well as their teachers and schools in the Aupaki cluster.
Roger Harris – Kaimahi
Hi I’m Roger. I’ve been working with kids and young people for over fifteen years as a counsellor and a nurse. I’ve got three kids of my own, all grown up with kids of their own, and one great-grandson. My grandkids keep me young. I enjoy working with young people because when they get help, their lives can really take off, and it’s a privilege to be part of that. When I’m not at work, I’m outside sailing, tramping, gardening or chasing my grandkids.
Greta Spearing - Kaimahi
Hi my name is Greta and I live with my husband, 2 children and our cat. I have a background in Teaching with a particular interest in individual differences and diverse learning needs which led to my most recent employment as the National Fieldworker for the Dyspraxia Support Group of NZ. I am currently in my final year of a feelings based, intuitive therapy training which also supports this role in working with children, families and schools to support their physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health and wellbeing.
I enjoy experiencing different cultures and countries, learning new skills and spending time in the outdoors with family and friends in a range of pursuits which best suit the season or mood. I look forward to meeting you and being a part of your schools team of Mana Ake Kaimahi.
Kia Ora, my name is Linda van den Berg and I am from the Netherlands. I am a social worker and one of the team of Mana Ake Kaimahi based with Barnardos. I was a liaising Kaimahi for three schools in the Hurunui cluster for the first term of this school year and before that I have been working as a family social & case worker and Group Home Worker overseas. I’m looking forward to using my skills and experience to support tamariki and their whanau, as well as their teachers and schools in the Aupaki cluster.
Roger Harris – Kaimahi
Hi I’m Roger. I’ve been working with kids and young people for over fifteen years as a counsellor and a nurse. I’ve got three kids of my own, all grown up with kids of their own, and one great-grandson. My grandkids keep me young. I enjoy working with young people because when they get help, their lives can really take off, and it’s a privilege to be part of that. When I’m not at work, I’m outside sailing, tramping, gardening or chasing my grandkids.
Greta Spearing - Kaimahi
Hi my name is Greta and I live with my husband, 2 children and our cat. I have a background in Teaching with a particular interest in individual differences and diverse learning needs which led to my most recent employment as the National Fieldworker for the Dyspraxia Support Group of NZ. I am currently in my final year of a feelings based, intuitive therapy training which also supports this role in working with children, families and schools to support their physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health and wellbeing.
I enjoy experiencing different cultures and countries, learning new skills and spending time in the outdoors with family and friends in a range of pursuits which best suit the season or mood. I look forward to meeting you and being a part of your schools team of Mana Ake Kaimahi.
Disco Fun - Week 2
Face Painting at the Disco
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Spotlight on BOT elections… As you will have read last term in our newsletter and in last Term’s Board Talk, on 7 June we will have the triennial Board of Trustees elections. Boards play a crucial role in the success of any school as they bring families, communities and the school together to work towards quality education for our children. Becoming a trustee is a fantastic way to get involved in the governance of the school by allowing you to utilise your skills and experience for the benefit of all of our students. We are hoping that the upcoming elections will attract a large field of interested parents who are excited in working alongside us to support our Senior Leadership Team. |
Pink Shirt Day - Room 10
Spotlight on Excellence
Congratulations to the following students who received Surfer Awards at Monday's assembly:
Sincerity: Emma-Kate W for building and maintaining sincere, positive relationships and being a fantastic role model to others. Ka pai Emma-Kate!
Sincerity: Lucy R for always being industrious and working hard. You are taking risks and branching out in your learning and friendships. Keep widening your net. Karawhuia! Give it heaps.
Unity: Josh B for displaying fantastic teamwork skills during our Inquiry unit. You always make sure that everyone's ideas are heard and cooperate successfully with your peers. Ka pai Josh!
Respect: Issy S for showing respect to your classmates and teacher at all times. You have shown you can listen to others and support them to achieve a goal. Tino pai!
Respect: Summer R for always being respectful of everyone in the class. You offer help and support to those around you. You complete everything with grace and you are always motivated to do your best. Ātaahua Summer.
Fairness: Monty H for always looking out for others and ensuring that they are included in games. You are a kind and respectful Tuawera team member.
Kai Pai Monty!
Empathy: Joe O for being a caring and inclusive member of Tuawera. You have built kind and caring relationships and work hard to maintain them.
Keep it up Joe!
Empathy: Ellie Y for being quick to support others and for understanding the importance of including everyone. You are a fantastic tuakana Ellie!
Empathy: Hugo B for showing genuine empathy and kindness towards others in the class. You look out for others and offer support to them when they need it. Kia pai mai hoki! You have many good qualities.
Resilience: Illiane P for the positive energy you put into all your learning. You are developing your maths skills by applying a growth mindset in problem solving. Tō kaha hoki! What strength!
Resilience: Archie M for showing resilience and being a determined learner - you don't give up easily when you face a tricky challenge. Ka pai Archie!
Resilience: Mya T for being resilient in your learning. It has been awesome to see you gaining confidence to try new things and approaching your learning with a growth mindset. Keep it up Mya!
Christchurch School of Young Writers
Congratulations to Cooper H (Room 20) who was chosen by the Cycle Action Network to read his poem aloud at the Big Bike Film night. Amazing!
Click here to listen to Cooper's amazing poem.
Surf Life Saving Club
Congratulations to the following students from the Taylors Mistake SLSC who received awards recently:
Congratulations to the following students from the Taylors Mistake SLSC who received awards recently:
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Surf Sports Awards:
Under 9 Zaela P Under 10 Amelie C Under 12 Callum G |
Taylors Spirit of Surf Life Saving Awards:
Under 7 Chelsea M Under 8 Frankie C |
Top U14 Male
Callum G Board Riding Cup Callum G |
Top Team
Under 10 Board relay team - Luca R, Amelie C, Hannah G |
Book your Babysitters NOW!! Our Main Fundraiser for the year is soon upon us. A GREAT night out for all of the Sumner and Bays Community.
There are plenty of ways Sumner School parents can jump on board and offer a helping hand.
Please make contact with Amanda Price pta@sumner.school.nz
Upcoming Dates For Your Diary
May 20 - Cross Country event from 1.30 - 3pm.
The times for each year level is as follows:
1.35pm Years 3&4, 2.00pm Years 5&6, 2.30pm Years 7&8
May 21 &22 - Aupaki Tech Fest
May 21 - Riverdale Parents Meeting 6pm in the Office
May 24 - Pink Ribbon Event - Years 7&8
May 28 - Years 0-2 Cross Country, 11.15am-12.30pm
Upcoming Dates For Your Diary
May 20 - Cross Country event from 1.30 - 3pm.
The times for each year level is as follows:
1.35pm Years 3&4, 2.00pm Years 5&6, 2.30pm Years 7&8
May 21 &22 - Aupaki Tech Fest
May 21 - Riverdale Parents Meeting 6pm in the Office
May 24 - Pink Ribbon Event - Years 7&8
May 28 - Years 0-2 Cross Country, 11.15am-12.30pm
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Environmental Group - Freshwater Frolicking at Styx Mill
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Thank you to our newsletter sponsors
This space is now available. Please contact the Office for further information on: admin@sumner.school.nz |
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