Principal's Message
Goeie dag!
Thanks to the families who sent in ‘greeting’ ideas last term. The one above is from South Africa. During Term 3 the Ngaru Syndicate are going to be using these greeting suggestions to create signs for the Gray Ave entrance, which should really enhance this area.
You may be interested to know the cultural make-up of PBS. Currently 57% of our students identify as NZ European/Pākehā, 21% as Māori, 12% as Other European (including UK, Australia, South Africa), 3% Pasifika (drawing from Samoa, Cook Islands, Tokelau), 2% from India and 3% from Asian nations. It’s wonderful to have such a mix of cultural backgrounds – it adds to the richness of our school.
Covid Update:
After spending most of the term break looking after my eldery parents who had Covid and then contracting it myself, I can now understand first hand just how menacing this virus can be. At first I thought I had a mild dose and was feeling quite smug, but by day four I was really struggling. In a word the experience was ‘rough’!
Public Health is reporting high numbers of influenza, RSV and Covid across the country. With four weeks of winter to go and the hospital system struggling to cope, it’s imperative that we all keep practising good health routines. With this in mind, we have made the decision to go back to mask wearing (Year 5-8 students and staff) when indoors. The day after we made this decision, the Associate Minister of Education, Hon. Jan Tinetti, wrote to all Boards with a strong recommendation for all schools to review and implement a mask wearing policy.
At PBS we experienced our highest bulk of student Covid cases in May/June and we are starting to hear of families now experiencing reinfection. Wearing masks indoors again is one measure we can take to protect students and staff. It is especially important to keep our staff well as there is a very limited pool of relief staff to cover. If we can stay well, then the school can stay open and functioning as usual.
Thank you for your ongoing understanding in this matter.
NB: School has a good supply of masks available for students. We also have Rapid Antigen Tests if any parents want to pick some up from the office (for use at home).
Important Date Next Week:
Wednesday, 3 August (next week) – PBS is ‘closed for instruction’ to allow time for Learning Conferences. Please ensure you have booked a slot to bring your child in to meet with the class teacher. These conferences are a vital part of your child’s learning journey, so we hope all parents make it a priority. NB: Parents please wear a mask when inside your child’s classroom.
PRINCIPAL’S GREAT NEWS CORNER:
Sharing good news spreads positivity, changes attitudes and ultimately leads to more people feeling encouraged and happy
Welcome to Laura Powell (nee Mackfall) who rejoined the PBS staff this term to teach our new New Entrants class in Room 19. Laura has started the term with 7 new 5 year olds, all buzzing with the excitement of being big school kids!
Thanks to Kaye Gilman and Vanessa Brewer for stepping in to job-share Room 3’s teaching position. We couldn’t ask for a better solution 🙂
Ngā mihi nui
Jess Ward
Tumuaki ~ Principal.
Welcome to Our Recent New Students
Isla – Rm 19
Anaiya – Rm 19
Winter – Rm 19
Grayson – Rm 19
Board News
Our next Board meeting is being held tonight at 7pm in the staffroom. If you’re considering standing in the Board elections (September) and want to see a meeting in action, we welcome you to join us.
PBS Board Elections
It’s election time! The PBS Board elections (for both parent and staff representatives) will be held on Friday, 23 September 2022. You will receive further information about the election from the Returning Officer, Libby Richardson, this week.
Nominations will open shortly and I encourage you to consider nominating yourself, or someone else, to put themselves forward to join the Board.
Still have questions about what the role of a school Board member involves? There is useful information at https://www.schoolboardelections.org.nz/becoming-a-board-member and https://www.nzsta.org.nz/advice-and-support/informationfor-board-members Alternatively, I am very happy to have a conversation with you to talk about what being on the PBS Board might involve.
You can contact me either at boardchair@pbs.school.nz or by leaving your name and number with the office staff to pass on. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch – any question you have is a good question to ask!
Ngā mihi
Zoe
Board Chair
Need Help with Sports Fees?
We recently applied for and were granted $500 by the Paraparaumu-Raumati Community Board to help families struggling to pay sports fees for children. We are so grateful for this money and know it will help a few more kids get active. The last few years have been especially hard on some families financially and we don’t want that impacting on the opportunity for kids to get involved in sports.
If you need some assistance with sports fees please contact Libby Richardson in our school office at lrichardson@pbs.school.nz
Term 3 Learning Conferences
Did you know that research shows that students developing the ability to talk about their own learning makes a big difference to the progress they make? That’s why we want to involve our students in learning conferences with their parents this year.
Next week, on Wednesday 3 August, Paraparaumu Beach School will be using a Teacher Only day to host Learning Conferences throughout the day (from 9am – until 6pm). We are changing the way these conferences are organised so students can take part in the conversations about their progress and achievements.
Each learning conference will be 10 minutes in length and will be a conversation between the student, their teacher and their parents/whānau. This opportunity aims to strengthen partnerships between home and school, focusing on what the student has achieved so far this year and how we might support them moving forward.
- The role of the teacher is to facilitate and lead the conversation about the student’s learning. They may use supports such as Spotlight, Seesaw or other examples of learning within the classroom
- The role of the student is to share some of their learning and join in the discussion as they feel comfortable or as prompted by their teacher
- The role of the parent or whānau members is to listen, ask questions (of their child or the teacher) and encourage their child to participate
We hope that by involving our students they will gain more confidence and ownership of their learning journey. Furthermore, we hope that student involvement will enable parents to gain a deeper understanding of their child’s strengths and needs.
The school playgrounds and library will be available for siblings to play or wait at this time. The library will have adult supervision during the conferences. These, or other alternative arrangements for siblings, mean that your child can have your full focus during their learning conference slot.
Please note that there will not be time to raise complex social issues or confidential matters, but you can arrange a time to do this with your child’s teacher at another time by emailing them.
Conference Bookings (Excluding Rm 3 Students)
Parent/Teacher learning conference bookings are now open for Wednesday, 3 August. The booking code is pcsxg. Go to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and enter the code and follow the prompts.
Bookings will close at 9am on Wednesday, 3 August.
Using Māori Language at Home
It’s important for all Kiwi to learn te reo. Each week our newsletter will include phrases that you might like to try out at your place. After all, it will take the whole nation to keep this unique language alive.
Spread the reo! Kāuru Ltd are excited to offer whānau members of PBS the opportunity to register for Term 3 Te Reo Māori classes. Some of the benefits can include: learning pronunciation techniques, feeling a connection to the local iwi, whanaungatanga and being able to normalise, foster and nurture te reo Māori at home and in a learning setting.
Who is a whānau member? Parents, caregivers or legal guardians of students and Board members. Also close associates such as coaches, the school dentist, guidance counsellors or even the school nurse. Whānau members must be over the age of 18 to participate.
How does a whānau member register? Complete the registration form at www.tereochampions.com
Ensure to select • “Whānau member” where prompted “What role is held at the place of learning”.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to make contact to ako@kauru.co.nz
@School App Assistance During Parent Teacher Interviews
If you are wanting support with the use of the @school app, please feel free to pop in to see Vanessa Brewer during the day. You can find her in Room 3.
Kid's Quote
One of our incredible junior teachers dressed up as an ‘100 year old’ to celebrate 100 days at school. One of her students saw this outfit and said “you already looked a 100 to me.”
From the Student Council
CREST Card Winners
Wellington Free Ambulance Onesie Appeal
Last term we gathered student voice around which charity we could support this year. There are so many deserving charities that could do with our help. Wellington Free Ambulance took out the majority vote. So, on Wednesday September 7, PBS will be supporting Onesie Day. We hope to raise some valuable funds for this essential service to our region by bringing along a gold coin donation. No onesie? All good, you could rock your pjs to show your support!
Digi Corner
This week is Net Safety Week. We recommend having regular conversations with your child/ren about cyber safety topics so that they feel confident navigating the digital world and recognise that they can approach you for advice if an issue arises. Netsafe New Zealand has a lot of really good advice and guidance for parents about all things related to young people and the internet. Click on the link to access the parent toolkit- https://www.netsafe.org.nz/parenttoolkit/
An important message that we regularly convey to our tamariki is about keeping it kind. Unfortunately, this does not always transfer when young people engage online. Please help us to promote this kaupapa within our community.
Kiwi Spelling Bee Competition
Dear Parents and Caregivers
The University of Canterbury is offering your child the opportunity to participate in the KIWI Spelling Bee competition. These competitions take place annually and are designed by New Zealand teachers for New Zealand students. The competitions are administered by the Centre for Assessment and Monitoring (CAM) at the University of Canterbury. The competitions are open to all Year 5-8 students.
The Kiwi Spelling Bee assesses
aspects of English grammar, spelling and vocabulary relevant to the student’s Year level. The online Spelling Bee will take place in the last three weeks of Term 3. Certificates will be sent to all participating students and prizes will be awarded to overall top students. Students will need to have their own headphones/air buds to listen to audios throughout the competition. Entries are administered by the school.
For further information, please consult the CAM website www.canterbury.ac.nz/cam
Entries close 4 August. Please enter via KINDO..
TE MOTU CAMP 2023
Amazing Camp Fundraising Opportunity!
We are so grateful to Tony Shalders from PLATINUM HOMES for this generous offer.
If you know of anyone embarking on the building process we would be eternally grateful if you made them aware of this.”
Yummy Stickers
Please collect your yummy stickers and send them to your child’s class or to Ginny Hawke in Rm2. The more stickers we collect the more sports gear we can purchase! This runs all through term 3.
Raffle Reminder
Thanks to all the amazing people that have been working hard at selling their raffle tickets – you are awesome. For those that have still got some to sell we appreciate your support in selling these.
Can you please return any sold raffle tickets to the box in the office. Alternatively, if you need some more please email sandys@pbs.school.nz.
PTA Committee
Future Student Achievements
If your child has an achievement you would like us to share in our newsletter, then please send details (and a picture if you would like) to mbarfoote@pbs.school.nz
Important Changes at mykindo
Kindo and ezlunch was built to support families so it is important to us to give you advance notice of a change that could affect how you use myKindo.
The Growth Collective Limited (known as Kindo, myKindo and ezlunch) has recently been classified as a Financial Service Provider. This means that there are additional responsibilities we must undertake, including compliance with the strict regulations imposed under the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act (AML).
We have negotiated exemptions, which are awaiting approval, however one issue was around the cash withdrawal of account balances. We expect to publish updated Account Holder Terms on or around 31 July 2022 to cover the new arrangements. In summary:
- If you have received a refund from your school or registered charity, e.g. in relation to a cancelled event, you can withdraw that value to your bank account using the myKindo facility at any time within 12 months of the refund
- Otherwise, cash withdrawals will no longer be available, including when you are closing your account
- Credit balances may be spent, or you have the option of donating to your school or a registered charity, without undergoing AML due diligence checks
- When topping up your myKindo account, please take care to top up only the amount you will be able to use during the time you have a myKindo account
There will be a transition period as we change the withdrawal facility to respect these new arrangements. You can expect access to the current withdrawal facility until the new Terms are published.
Thank you for your understanding as we take on these new responsibilities. If you need any assistance, please get in touch with hello@mykindo.co.nz.
Advertise in our Community Directory
Do you have a business and want to support PBS through advertising?
Check out the Community Directory on our website https://kapiti.pbs.school.nz/ You can advertise your business here for a small contribution. Businesses can list their services, events and opportunities all here for others in our large school community to see and access. This helps us support local businesses, encouraging PBS parents to support your business, and keeps all listings in one easy to find spot. Below are a few screen shots of what you can find. Click on a listing and explore the content!
