Te iwi tahi tatou - We are one family.
Tēnā koutou, Konnichiwa, As-salāmu 'alaykum, Hola,
PRINCIPAL'S PĀNUI
1 September 2022
Dear Parents & Whānau,
We've made it to the first day of Spring and isn't it great to see the sunshine! It certainly feels like spring brings a current of energy with it, and we've had a number of great events to kick off the new season.
We were lucky enough to have Jazz Thornton and Julian Dennison visit our assembly as part of a presentation from Voices of Hope (see more about this here). Voices of Hope aims to spread mental health awareness through sharing the lived experience stories and messages of hope - all important things for our students to hear.
We've also had a chess tournament, a rugby tournament, the Mathswell Competition, and the ICAS exams. Congratulations to all our students who participated in these extracurricular events, it's fantastic to see you giving things a go!
This week I'd like to give a special welcome to our new Teacher Aides - William Lim and Tana Tau; our Somalian Bilingual Support Worker, Mardiya Abdulaziz; our Spanish Bilingual Support worker, Mauricio Lopez; and our Arabic Bilingual Support Worker, Sara Daoud. We are thrilled to have you join our SWIS whānau, and are really excited about the wonderful support you'll be able to give our students.
Ngā mihi
Toby Stokes
Principal
Don't forget to check out the school's Facebook Page which has the latest updates about what is going on at school.
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Attendance update
As you will have seen in the media, a big focus at the moment is on school absences and the number of children not regularly attending school.
What can I do to make sure my child is going to school?
The key here is to make school the priority. There are things you can do at home, and things we can do together.
At home
- talk to your children about why it is important to go to school every day – ask them what they want to be in the future. Their education is the key to doing well in life
- be positive about school
- set good habits about going to school from day one
- prepare your children the night before school - make sure they have done their homework
- have a good morning routine that gets them to school on time, relaxed and with everything they need
- don't let them have the day off just because they would rather be at home
- keep absences due to sickness to times when your child is actually sick - don't keep them at home when you know that they are just nervous about school – talk to us so we can help your child overcome this
- know about your child's school life – ask questions, listen to your child. This will make it easier to pick up on any issues they might be having
- keep family holidays outside of term-time, as every day at school is an opportunity to build skills, and repetition is critical for learning – especially for primary school children
- don’t overload them – school may be exhausting for your child so make sure they have some downtime after school to relax and have a break.
Working with school
- build a strong relationship with us at school, especially your child's homeroom teacher to improve communication – it’s easier to talk to them if a problem arise.
- know how to report an absence, and contact our school office as soon as you know your child is not going to be at school that day
- talk to your child's homeroom teacher if your child is reluctant to go to school, and we can work together to problem solve.
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Upcoming Dates
Term 3
- 12 Sep - School Board Meeting - 6pm in the staffroom. All welcome
- 21 Sep - Market Day - 3-6pm
- 22 Oct - SWIS Seedling and Cuttings swap
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COVID Update & Reminders
At our last School Board meeting on 8 August, we reviewed mask use. We have decided to extend the use of masks at school and will review this at our next Board meeting on 12 September. The reason for this is the ongoing number of staff and students who are off school school with illness.
Students, staff and visitors to SWIS will be required to wear masks while inside the buildings.
If you or your child has a mask exemption, then this is still in place and there is no change regarding this.
Thank you for your ongoing support during these changing times.
Additional info
Self-isolation advice
Extra support if you are self-isolating or have COVID
Book your Vaccine
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School Noticeboard
School Board Election Results
We would like to congratulate our new School Board Parent Representatives Devon Heaphy, Emma Rutherford, Catherine Buyck and Melissa Millington, and returning Staff Representative Chris Hickey. We are looking forward to having you join us.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank our outgoing Board members, Arlene Smyth (presiding member), Nathan Crocker, Laurel Barr, James Wallace and Marnie Woodd.
Many thanks for the great contribution you have made to SWIS during your time on the Board, and we wish you well with your future endeavors.
Icecream containers please
We are looking for 2 litre icecream containers and lids to make the moneyboxes for Market Day. Please bring them to the office, many thanks!
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School News
Showing the community our school
It was great to meet so many Year 6 students and their families at our Open Day and Whānau Open Evening last week! We are looking forward to welcoming them into our SWIS whānau in 2023!
A big thank you to all our students and staff who acted as guides and helped out with the Open Evening.
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Showcasing Hilma-inspired art & potty for pots!
Hilma af Klint was a Swedish artist and mystic whose paintings are considered among the first abstract works known in Western art history. Our students have been working on pieces inspired by Hilma - check them out!
We have also been using the kiln to make some gorgeous pots, and our Art for Art's Sake Enrichment class has made lovely tea light houses.
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Thank you for your support!
A wonderful turn out to support the AIMS fundraising yummy bake sale this week.
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Chess Power
On Thursday SWIS hosted a Wellington regional tournament run by Chess Power. 27 of our akonga took the opportunity to participate. All the players enjoyed the day and everyone won some of their games. SWIS Gold came 3rd in the intermediate competition and Ava got a medal for the most successful girl. Thanks to Berhampore School for lending us the their tables. It was an excellent day of chess and the SWIS students did an awesome job of packing up the hall. Kua pai te mahi!
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CodeCamp
CodeCamp allows kids from the ages of 7-12 to develop 21st century skills in a fun and action packed environment. Develop confidence & initiative through design, creativity, solving problems, presenting & collaboration. Create games, apps.
Wednesdays, 3pm till 4:30pm
Book Now at https://codecamp.co.nz
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Island Bay Tennis and Squash Club is an inclusive and vibrant community sports facility that caters for players of all ages and abilities. We would love to share our club with new members. Love Tennis is an opportunity for us to do that with a free event. The day will be packed with lots of great activities and we are offering a 25% off membership deal for new members.
We hope to see you there! You can find us at 2, The Parade in Island Bay.
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Subway on Mondays & Tuesdays
Pita Pit on Wednesdays & Fridays
O'Sushi on Thursdays
See the full menu here.
Order your lunch or register for KINDO here
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