Te iwi tahi tatou - We are one family.
Tēnā koutou, Konnichiwa, As-salāmu 'alaykum, Hola,
PRINCIPAL'S PĀNUI
20 March 2023
Dear Parents & Whānau,
First of all a big thank you to everyone involved in our four school camps over the last two weeks - it's a massive undertaking! Particular thanks to all the parents who came along and gave us their time and skills - we couldn't run camps without you, and of course a huge shout out to all the staff who went on camp. Thank you for giving our students such a great experience - see some great camp photos below.
It has been a busy couple of weeks - camp notwithstanding! Our Art for Art's Sake enrichment students helped a resident at Village in the Park celebrate her 100th birthday, and we've been lucky enough to host six students from Shibuya Makuhari in Japan. We welcomed them with a Mihi whakatau on Monday last week - thank you to our Kapa haka students for leading this. I'd like to say thank you also to those families who are hosting these students. See photos below of both these events. Congratulations also to all our students who participated in the school athletics day today. You did yourselves proud.
I'd like to thank our school whānau for your understanding last week when our staff attended the NZEI Strike. The issues raised by the strike are very real, and ultimately affect not only teaching staff across the country, but also the quality of education that can be provided. See here for the results of a nationwide survey about the issues our teachers and principals are facing.
Don't forget that our School Photos will be held THIS WEDNESDAY. Please make sure all students are in their full SWIS uniform (not their PE uniform) for the day.
Finally, I'd like to draw your attention to our Student-Led Conferences evening coming up on 30 March. Please make sure you book a slot to attend with your child. These evenings are an important part of your child's learning journey. See more details about what to expect and the philosophy behind it here.
Have a great week!
Nga 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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Dates for Term 1
- 22 March - School photos
- 30 March - Student-led Conferences
- 31 March - WRISSA Athletics at Newtown Park
- 5 April - Kids Lit Quiz @ Wellesley College
- 5 April (Wednesday) - Last day of school for Term 1
- 24 April - Teacher Only Day (school closed)
- 25 April - Anzac Day (school closed)
- 26 April (Wednesday) - First day of Term 2
Term dates for 2023
- Term 1: 2 Feb - 5 April (Note: 6 April is a Teacher Only Day & 7 April is Good Friday)
- Term 2: 26 April - 30 June
- Term 3: 17 July - 22 Sep
- Term 4: 9 Oct - 15 Dec
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School Noticeboard
School photos
School photos will be taking place on Wednesday 22 March. Please follow this link to the pre-order form.
Student-led Conferences - Thurs 30 March
This evening is an important part for the learning journey of all our ākonga.
Tamariki lead the conversation about their learning with support from kaiako. They will share what they have been learning at SWIS this term, as well as anything else they are proud of. Teachers will be available to support the conversations, but these are very much student led. Each booking is 30 minutes however, this time is flexible, and you may find that you take slightly more or less time than this. See full details about how these Student-led Conferences here. You can book your Student-led Conference time through this link:
https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/code/9kdw7
Lost property
We have had a set of SWIS clothing brought in by a member of the public. It was found at Island Bay Beach a few weeks ago. There was also an expensive handheld digital device found with this. Please contact Toby if this belongs to your child. (They are not named).
Photoshoot opportunity
Wellington City Council officers are looking for parents and children to be in a photoshoot. The photos will be used in a campaign highlighting that safer speeds mean a safer journey for children walking, scooting, and cycling to school. As thanks for participating in this photoshoot, a $50 supermarket voucher will be provided as koha. If you would like to participate, please get in touch with Sophie.parkes@wcc.govt.nz.
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BETTY ROBERTSON TURNS 100!
On St Patrick’s Day our enrichment group called ‘Art for Art’s Sake’ visited Village at the Park: the retirement village across the road from SWIS.
With us we were carrying cards with raindrops on leaves artwork. We had created these using watercolour pastels, acrylic paint and dye. Inside the cards we included photos of famous people who had also turned 100!
We hadn’t met Betty before - Village at the Park had contacted Ms Shuker asking if we would like to help her celebrate with some artwork.
Phoebe: I was surprised at how clean and tidy the place was. I had never met someone who was 100. Everyone was very helpful. Betty was so lively and nice! We sang her happy birthday and it was really lovely.
Juno: I was looking forward to meeting someone who had lived on the planet for SO long! I was expecting a really old woman sitting in her chair who wasn’t very ‘present’. However, I was stunned to find that Betty sat up in her chair - interacted with us, wanting to know more. She showed us a beautiful card from King Charles and Camilla. She even stood up! We had an array of muffins and chocolate coins as well as Easter eggs!
Overall, the trip was fun as well as interesting. It was our first time being in a retirement village like that.
Juno Room 12 & Phoebe Room 4
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Pride Escape – Summer 2024 – Open To Receive Enrolments
Our Pride Escape Summer Adventure is now open to receive enrolment. This adventure programme is extremely popular and fills up very quickly well before the early-bird deadline. The programme details are attached for your perusal. Please note that this programme is age restricted, 9years and up. https://pridelands.org.nz/services/pride-escapes/
Adventure Weekends – Mid-Term Breaks
Three more Adventure Weekends to go in 2023.
Our Autumn Adventure Weekend is full and the other 3 seasons that are yet to take place are filling up and they are as follows: Winter (2nd – 4th June), Spring (25th – 27th August) and Summer (10th – 12th November). Please make your booking. Here is a link to our new service to support families across Wellington Region: https://pridelands.org.nz/services/adventure-weekend/
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