School Drop-off/Pick-up

A reminder that parents/caregivers pick-up/drop-off your child at the top of the driveway on Stuart Street, unless your child is a new entrant to The Catlins Area School. This is due to the re-surfacing of the driveway and the new transport safety plan that will commence soon. Your co-operation in this matter is appreciated.

Hi-Viz Vests

A reminder that students need to wear their hi-viz vest to and from school each day.

If your child has not yet received a hi-viz vest, or has lost theirs, please contact the Student Centre. Families are not charged for the first school-issued vest but will be charged for replacements.

Food and Nutrition at School

Since returning to school, teachers have noticed a number of items appearing in lunchboxes that don’t meet the required nutrition standards for students at school.

Some of the items that we’ve experienced recently, that should not be brought to school are:

• Chocolate bars and packs
• Energy drinks
• Fizzy drinks
• Family-sized packs of chips
• Full-sized packets of biscuits
• Fried food such as bags of hot chips or pies/sausage rolls

Don’t forget -  most classes have a fruit break during the day (all students have the opportunity to eat fruit during the course of the day) - please ensure they have a piece of fruit for this purpose or contact us if you need help.

You can also be assured that all items on our Friday lunch menu meet the Health Foundation requirements and include items such as oven-baked chicken (rather than fried), pasta and vegetable options.

Here are some examples of lunch ideas to combat the items with poor nutritional content from the New Zealand Nutrition Foundation: Lunchbox Ideas

Or visit the 5+ a day site for family recipes and ideas: 5aday.co.nz

Delayed Disco and Mufti Day

You might remember we had a disco planned before lockdown? Our Year 10 students had prepared a fantastic experience for our younger students and were so let down that it couldn't go ahead at the time.

Good news! The Year 10s have set a date for the post-lockdown extravaganza! The new disco will be on Wednesday 24th June from 3 - 4.30 pm at the School Hall. Year 1-6 students are all welcome!

On the same day, we'll host a Food Bank Mufti Day. On Wednesday 24th June students can attend school in Mufti, please deliver your donated food bank items to the Student Centre on arrival to school.

Examples of suitable items for donation are:

• dried goods such as rice and pasta
• tinned goods
• long-life items
• bathroom items such as soap, shampoo etc

Board of Trustees Community Consultation

The Board of Trustees Community Consultation relates to the school's strategic direction for the next Charter. You will notice in this year's survey a number of questions relating to the pandemic, which can help us in framing what our community desires in the future of their child's education. Your opinion is highly valued, please take the time to complete the consultation survey.

To complete this year's survey, click the link here: https://forms.gle/9wpvj1F7q9H2YWUK7

School Uniform Scrunchies

We have a number of School Uniform style scrunchies, made by a member of the Owaka community, for sale for $3 from the Student Centre. If your child would like to buy one, please see Tania in the Student Centre.

Overdue Library Books

Now that things are getting back to normal, Mrs McPhee would really appreciate parents and students having a look around the house to find any overdue school library books.

Teachers have told students which books are overdue from before lockdown, and a good way to check what books your child might have out is on The Catlins Area School portal.

COVID-19

In regard to the new cases of COVID announced earlier this week, there is no school or early learning service linked to these cases. 

It is timely to remind our community to continue to follow good hygiene practices and to act with caution for anyone who is showing new onset or worsening symptoms of one or more of the following:

• Cough
• Fever
• Sore throat
• Runny nose
• Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing
• Temporary loss of smell

Anyone with these symptoms should stay away from school and call Healthline on 0800 358 5453 or their GP. They will advise on testing for COVID-19.

BakeHouse Takeaways

The BakeHouse Takeaways are now accepting your reusable containers again, for Friday Lunch Orders. Details of how to order online can be found here: catlins.school.nz/news/bakehouse-lunches. After you have emailed your order, simply drop your reusable container (with your name written on) into the Student Centre before 3 pm on Thursday.

Events

For your information:

learn@catlins.school.nz

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