Newsletter - 19 March 2019

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Kia ora koutou

Last Friday was a terrible day for Christchurch, for Muslim families and for New Zealand. The shooting in Christchurch has brought a firm reminder to us about what is important in life. Be kind and show empathy to each other. Diversity is good.

As a school, we want to reassure our school community we have very clear lockdown procedures should we need to put them into place. We will be holding a practice this week and then will further review our procedures. One of the most important things for all families to remember is that should we need to go into lockdown, then parents and caregivers need to stay away until we are given the all clear. I know that this could be an incredibly worrying time for families, but there will be regular communication and advice from the school and relevant authorities.

Staffing update
I would like to welcome Gemma Lawry to our staff. Gemma will be working across all classes releasing teachers.

Welcome
A big congratulations to Cam and Izzy on the arrival of Jocelyn. A little sister for Michelle.

Freedom Village
We have had several calls from Freedom Village. The children are NOT to go through the village on the way to and from school. They have seen a number of near misses over the last few weeks and they are very concerned that the next time it will not be a near miss and that a child is going to be hit by a car.

Good luck
Good luck to our swimming representatives who will be competing at Mount Clusters this week!
They are Sophia, Paige, Hope, Tayla, Madeline, Max, Samuel, Jett, Tom, Isabel, Esmé, Brooklyn, Lily R, Lily E, Oliver, Luke, Kahn and Tiber.

Paid Union Meeting (now postponed)
The NZEI Te Riu Roa National Executive has postponed ALL paid union meetings for primary teachers and principals due to begin nation-wide tomorrow (Monday). This is as a mark of respect for the 50 children, men and women murdered in Christchurch on Friday and to ensure schools and ECE services can focus on children and their needs.

Welcome to the following new students this week - Rhiya Rose in Sheppard

Camp Fees
Year 3 Noho Friday 5 April $42 due now
Year 4 Camp Wednesday 20 March $200 due now
Year 5 Camp Monday 25 March $215 due now
Year 6 Camp Tuesday 2 April $100 due now

Please make sure your child's camp fees are paid the week before they are going.
Please contact the Office if you need to set up a payment plan.

Each week we'll introduce you to our staff members. They'll share some of their life experiences and interests and what they like to get up to when they're not at school enriching the lives of our students.

My name is Dylan Parry and this is my first year at Golden Sands School.
My family and I moved here from Wellington where I was a teacher, Team Leader and head of Arts and Technology at an Intermediate school. Before that, my family spent an amazing 4 years living and working in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. My wife and I taught at the Australian International School of Malaysia and our eldest two children also attended the school. We had the chance to experience living in an incredibly culturally rich and diverse country. We also got to travel extensively around Malaysia and wider Asia.
My wife, Rebekah, is also a teacher. We have three children Lara, Stella and Ezra.
In my spare time I like to be with my family at the beach and explore places around the Bay of Plenty. I also have a passion for music and I enjoy playing and listening to a wide variety of styles and genre.

Hi, my name is Naomi Davoren and I am part of the Mahy team and guardian teacher of Mahy 2. I have been working at Golden Sands School since 2017 and thoroughly enjoy teaching and contributing to our Golden Sands Community. I was previously a secondary school teacher and have also worked in early childhood education and community education.

I have a very active family and enjoy many adventures with my husband Matt and my three beautiful children. We are all passionate members of Papamoa Surf Lifesaving Club and involved in surf sports and lifeguarding our breathtaking beaches. In my spare time I like to undertake some form of swimming or running adventure and hang out with my family and friends.

My husband and I moved to Papamoa 23 years ago since then we have had two children that keep us busy watching and driving them to their sports. We also enjoy spending time at the beach. We spent 8 years teaching overseas, the first time was in Doha, Qatar and then later in Dubai for another 4 years, but we always come back to Papamoa. These times away were great experiences living and working with many cultures. I joined GSS halfway through last year in Blake and I am now in Mahy this year.

My name is Melissa Davie and I am a brand new teacher in Mahy, teaching Mahy 4. I am originally from Gore in Southland and prior to moving up had been studying in Dunedin. I am enjoying the beach and warm lifestyle up here!I love spending time on the farm, at the beach and hanging out with my family. The environment at Golden Sands school is so supportive and friendly and is great for my teaching practice as a beginning teacher..

My name is Tanya Steiner and I am the Teacher Aid in Mahy. This is my 7th year with Golden Sands School and I have worked across the school over the years. I have lived in Papamoa for about 15 years. I am a local girl, originally from Te Puke, where I also used to work as a Personal Assistant to a Scientist. My husband and I have two gorgeous girls aged 14 and 12 who are both ex Golden Sands students and now attend Papamoa College. My passion is helping children see their greatness and to find their voice, see success and discover their strengths big or small. I love working with the senior kids in the school and transitioning them off to their next step of College. My family is my everything and my happy place is somewhere on or beside a lake. We spend many weekends jetskiing at Rotoma. I also love our gorgeous beach, stage musicals and am a huge movie fan. I love all types of movies especially seeing them in the cinema with a huge tub of popcorn and Ice Cream too!

Student Council Group
Our student Council group works hard to promote fundraisers for local and nationwide organisations. In the past they have organised mufti days, wheels days and last year’s group even helped design our new playground!

Congratulations to the following pupils who have been selected to be a part of the 2019 GSS Student Council group:
Ngata - Ava Kennedy and Wyatt Jones
Batten/Hillary - Emily Dyke and Reeve Percy
Sheppard - Indie Taepa and Sam Thorpe
Cooper - Molly Brosnahan and Ari Rod
Blake - Evie Metcalfe and Samuel Monk
Mahy - Amy Eason and Liam Carswell

Fro Friday for Mental Health
Mental Health day is coming up on April 5. This is an initiative started by Mike King to help raise money for people suffering from mental health issues. The Golden Sands student council group have decided to hold a mufti day with the added bonus of wearing a wig (fro) if you have one! They will be spreading the word over the next few weeks to promote mental health at GSS. In their respective communities they will talk about things like:

How to be a good friend
Checking on how your buddies are feeling
What to do if we aren’t feeling great
Making sure you talk about any problems that might be getting you down.

Please bring a gold coin donation to your guardian teacher as you arrive in the morning.

Lucky Bookclub
The latest brochures have been sent to classrooms.
Our preferred way for you to order is through mybookclub.scholastic.co.nz. Please do not return your paper order form to school if you choose this ordering option.
If you prefer to order with the paper form, these need to be returned to the school office. Payments for these orders can be made by cheque, cash or EFTPOS.

Please place your order by Wednesday 20th March (tomorrow)

Orders are sent to your child's classroom when they arrive. However, if you wish to purchase as a gift, please select the "gift" option if ordering online or write office in the class if you are completing a form. We will then phone/ email you to collect from the school office.

Kindo - our preferred payment option for School Fees
You will find the green Kindo School Shop button on the homepage on our website.

We offer Kindo as our preferred payment option for all school fees. You just need to click on the link below and enter the email address the school has on file for you. Easy, convenient and open 24/7!

Click here to set up your account

You will be able to pay ALL school fees via Kindo, along with Sports Registrations, ordering School Lunches and school fundraisers, such as pizza lunches.

No more scrambling for cash or queueing up! However, you will still be able to pay at the office via cash, cheque or eftpos.

Term 1, 2019
Wednesday 20 March - Rutherford Funky Fun Day
Wednesday 20 March - Year 4 Camp
Thursday 21 March - Mount Cluster Swimming Champs
Friday 22 March - Chat with Matt 8.30am in the Staffroom
Monday 25 March - Year 5 Camp (Blake 1 & 3 and Mahy Year 5's)
Wednesday 27 March - Year 5 Camp (Blake 2 & 4)
Friday 29 March - Chat with Matt 8.30am in the Staffroom
Tuesday 2 April - Year 6 Camp
Thursday 4 April - Year 3 Noho
Friday 5 April - Year 3 Noho
Friday 5 April - Fro Friday Mufti Day - Gold coin donation
Friday 5 April - Chat with Matt 8.30am in the Staffroom
Wednesday 10 April - WBOP Swimming Championships
Friday 12 April - Chat with Matt 8.30am in the Staffroom
Friday 12 April - Last day of Term 1

Winter Sports Registrations (open now)
Winter Sports registrations are now available on Kindo.
Prices are in the form on Kindo.
The following sports are available:
Basketball Years 1-6
Netball Years 1-6
Hockey Years 1-6

Registrations are open until Tuesday 2 April. (No late registrations will be accepted after this date)

Remember - to register you must pay at the same time. We had a lot of parents who thought they had registered but hadn't paid. The registration isn't valid until payment has been made in full.

Go Girls Cricket
Congratulations to our seven teams of girls who went to the Go Girls Cricket Tournament on Wednesday. They had a fun day and learnt heaps! There is a possibility of a photo and an article about our participation in one of the local free papers or the BOP times in the next week. Keep a look out and let us know if you spot it.
Our girls won the prize for “Commitment to Girls Cricket”
A massive thank you to the parents who supported the trip and an extra thanks to the wonderful Papamoa College Girls who came along to coach the teams! (Olivia Tilby-Adams (ex student) Ariella Midwood (Ex Student) Hannie Mastny (ex student) Phoebe Mclaren and Jasmine Spice)

Sports Results

Rippa
GSS Grey v Papamoa Piranhas 10 – 6.
GSS Green v TCS Sharks 10-11.

Kip McGrath - Professional tutoring in Maths and English in Papamoa East, click here to view notice
Te Puke Gymsports - Gymnastics & Parkour classes, click here to view
Piano Lessons, click here to view notice
NumberWorks'nWords - Individualised and fun tutoring in Maths and English, click here to view website

Reading and Writing Tutor
Alison Kendall is a local experienced New Zealand trained teacher with a specialist background in Literacy teaching. She is offering individual tuition to develop and improve literacy skills. Contact Alison on 022 1568613 for more information

Guitar Classes for 2018
Bookings are now open for 2018 guitar classes held at school.
Please book early to ensure your child a place.
For more information and bookings please contact:
Rahim Callaghan
Phone 027 4751023 or (07) 574 0995
Email rahimc@email.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/guitarsingingbasslessons/

Host Families required
Student Exchange Australia New Zealand is a not-for-profit organisation that is registered with the Ministry of Education in NZ and all state and territory Departments of Education around Australia. We were the first secondary exchange organisation in the world to be certified to ISO 9001 (Quality Management System) and we ensure the highest standards of care and support to our participants. You can find out more about our organisation by visiting www.studentexchange.org.nz.

Guitar & Ukulele Lessons
Darrah Campbell, an ex Golden Sands student is starting up private guitar and ukulele lessons for beginners. The cost is $10 for 30 minutes.
Please contact Darrah on 027 3207179 if you are interested

Join us for 60 minutes of Yoga, Wednesday nights in Golden Sands School Hall. Book online at Facebook.com/GoldenSandsYoga
Begins Wednesday 20th March.

This gentle class focuses on flowing from pose to pose, incorporating basic yoga postures. Breathing techniques and meditation are also integrated. You can expect an emphasis on flexibility, strength, and balance as we work through the body’s range of motion with standing postures, twists, forward folds, and hip openers.
If you have never tried yoga this series is perfect for you and is designed to meet the needs of those new to yoga as well as those seeking to lengthen and strength tight muscles. Beginner level/Intermediate. The instructor will offer a variety of modifications to suit everybody.

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Golden Sands School · 26 Golden Sands Drive · Papamoa · Tauranga, Bay of Plenty 3118 · New Zealand