"Together we are lifelong CREST learners"
Principal's Message
Hi everyone,
At PBS, our school year ends on Tuesday, 17 December at 12.30pm, which is 14 days away. We still have a lot to accomplish in that time, so please keep your kids in those great school and sleep routines as best you can. You’re doing great!
Hopefully you got the communication mid-way through last week that we’ve noticed a small spike in illness recently; some of this seems due to gastro and some sounds like Covid. It’s hard to tell on the Covid front as less people are testing these days. From all reports, those who have had Covid recently have only had a mild case but it’s still important to keep sick kids home so those at school stay well. Thanks.
With such little time left please make sure you are aware of everything that’s happening so you don’t miss out and your child is prepared. Here are some things happening:
- Wednesday, 4 December – Come along to watch our Cultural Performance Showcase at school from 9.20am
- Friday, 6 December – Te Moana’s (Year 5-6) end of year trip to Hutt Indoor Sports Centre
- Tuesday, 10 December – PBS school choir singing at Coastlands at 11am
- Tuesday, 10 December – Year 8 Leavers dinner
- Wednesday, 11 December – Whole School End of Year assembly 9.15am (outdoors)
- Wednesday, 11 December – Transition Visits
- Thursday, 12 December – Te Motu’s (Year 7-8) end of year trip to Waikanae Pool
- Thursday, 12 December – Ngaru’s (Year 3-4) end of year fun day at school
- Friday, 13 December – Whole School Christmas dress up day!
- Friday, 13 December – Tātahi’s (Year 0-2) Christmas showcase at 2.15pm
- Tuesday, 17 December – Year 5-8 Prizegiving
- Tuesday, 17 December – School closes for the year at 12.30pm
Don’t stop reading just yet – this newsletter contains information on:
- Cultural Showcase – TOMORROW at 9.20am. All welcome, so please join us in the hall!
- 2025 Syndicate Structures and Teaching Staff
- Classes for 2025 and Transition Visits
- Student Council News – Can you put a present under our Xmas tree?
- BIG CHANGE to Comms and Reporting changes for 2025 – We are acting on parent feedback!
Ngā mihi nui,
Jess Ward
Principal – Tumuaki
P.S. Got a suggestion? Let us know through our online suggestion box.
PRINCIPAL’S C.R.E.S.T CORNER:
At PBS we champion our school C.R.E.S.T values in everything we do.
Curiosity. Respect. Excellence. Self Management. Teamwork
One PBS group that consistently demonstrates excellence, self-management, and teamwork is our School Patrol Students! Yesterday, they proudly represented our school at the end-of-year Road Safety Team Celebration. This event, organised by the Kapiti-Mana Police and KCDC, acknowledges the important job our patrollers do in helping keep our school community safe when coming to kura.
Tom Johnstone and Kaycee De Wit won awards for being PBS Road Patrollers of the year. This award recognises not only their skills as road patrollers but also their willingness to take on extra duties when others are away and the way they display our CREST values when on patrol. What awesome news!
Furthermore, PBS also won the best banner cup for the road safety message on our banner. This banner was designed and painted by Libby, Olive and Alyssa. Ka rawe!
Welcome to Our Recent New Students
There were no new students this week
Have You Checked Out Our Community Notices Directory?
Do you need to advertise your business, an upcoming event, need child care, or looking for a gift or new club to join? Check out the PBS Community Directory on our website https://kapiti.pbs.school.nz/
Teaching Staff & Syndicate Structures for 2025
Below are the staff and syndicates for the new year:
Tātahi Year 0-2
Rachel McDowell -Team Leader
Cristie Gray
Laura Powell
Cherie Parker
Tara Vertongen
Nicola Jarvis
(NB: Sandy Saunders will be on study leave for 2025)
Ngaru Year 3-4
Rachel McDowell -Team Leader (Rachel is leading Ngaru team as well)
Rebecca Jackson
Kathryn Siversen
Bek Sutherland
Jessie Webb
Bridget Nally
Te Moana Year 5-6
Vanessa Brewer -Team Leader
Hillary Houston
Di Puati
Jo Mackay
Jalah Davis
Te Motu Year 7-8
Cath Franks -Team Leader
David Parr
Caty Spencer
Colin Siversen
Teresa Robertson
Release Staff
Sarah Smith
Liz Bell
Julia Nelson
Classes for 2025 and Transition Visits
In preparation for 2025, we have scheduled ‘Transition Visits’ to allow students in Years 0-7 to meet their teacher and classmates for next year. This year transition visits will take place on Wednesday, 11 December. On this day students will spend about 40 minutes with their 2025 class.
NB: Class lists will not be displayed this year, as privacy concerns were raised with us last year regarding the open display of students’ full names and room numbers.
Cultural Showcase
This Wednesday (4 December) we are holding a Cultural Showcase for our Years 1-4 students in the school hall, starting at 9:20am. Our Kapa Haka group, PBS Band, Pasifika dancers, Choir and a Handbell group will be performing.
Whānau are welcome to come along and be entertained. Seating will be limited.
Senior Prizegiving
Our Senior Prize-Giving will be held on Tuesday, 17 December in the school hall, and will start at 9:30am. This event is for our Years 5-8 students. It will include performances from our Kapa Haka Group and the PBS school band.
Whānau are welcome to attend this celebration of student achievement. Seating will be limited.
Fishing Club
Another successful fishing trip for the PBS fishing club. Thank you to the parents for helping out with crowd control and firing up the bbq.
Great to see some new parents and kids coming along 🙂
Here’s a couple of great photos of the students and Mr Trask with their catches of the day.
Student Council
The Student Council are holding Christmas CREST at PBS!
This week there is a tree set up in the office for anyone who would like to give a gift to PBS kids and their families in need. We want to share the love and bring some joy to others on Christmas Day. If this is something that you’d like to support, please bring a small gift to pop under our Christmas tree. Please label the gift with an age & gender the gift is targeted for. Your gift can be wrapped or we’ll wrap it! Or you might prefer to donate directly to the PBS Aroha fund via KINDO.
The last day for gift giving will finish on Friday, 13 December when we’re holding a whole school Christmassy dress up day, just for fun! Ngā mihi nui.
Student Success
Congratulations to William Hamdan who won the Kōtui Ako design a Christmas Card Competition. This competition was open to all students through out Āotearoa/New Zealand who participate in Kōtui Ako virtual classes.
This is what the judges had to say about his work, ‘we loved that you chose our native birds to feature in your design. We like the link to nature and your greeting in te reo Māori’.
Mīharo William!
Library Book Return
Library books need to be returned to school for the end of year stock take. Please check at home for any school library books and return them to the library return box this week.
Thank you.
@school app (eTAP)
With us changing to Hero this will be the last time that we will be using the Blog and the Learning Summary on the @school app for reporting.
Junior School Parents (Year 0 – Year 2) please keep a close eye on the Blog button on the @school app as your child’s teacher will be putting your child’s reporting comments on here. The picture below shows what the button looks like and if something new has been posted the count button will show.
Year 3 – Year 8 School Parents please keep a close eye on the Learning Summary button on the @school app at the end of the term as your child’s reporting comments will be put on here. The picture below shows what the button looks like and if something new has been posted the count button will show.
Comms & Reporting Changes for 2025
Over the last few years we have been listening to parent dissatisfaction regarding communication and reporting. We have worked hard to address these issues, however it has become apparent that a bigger change is needed. Therefore, from the start of 2025 PBS will be moving to the HERO platform.
WHY?
- You told us that you want us to streamline our communications, so we will be removing Skool loop, eTAP and the @school App. The new HERO system will enable us to communicate more effectively with you, with less ‘channels’ involved
- You have told us that your child’s reports are difficult to access, not user-friendly and not as detailed as you would like. Therefore, we will be removing eTAP and the @school App (often called “Spotlight” by the kids) and changing to HERO which we believe will be more effective for our needs
Here’s some more information for you:
Kia ora Whānau,
We are delighted to launch our new communication and reporting system, Hero. An online sharing platform with a complementary parent app.
Hero allows schools to customise an online environment that enables teachers, students, and parents to view and share content anytime, anywhere on any device. The software is secure, easy to use and brings together all school-related information in one place.
With Hero, you can:
- Read and comment on posts relating to your child’s learning
- View information on your child’s progress and goals,
- Read and comment on school notices sent to the class or groups your child is part of
- Respond to school notices such as surveys and trip permission requests
- View school term dates
- View a school calendar of events
- Notify the school if your child is absent or late
- Book your school interviews
- Navigate to other school-related web pages
- Customise your account by adding a profile image
- Select how you wish to receive notifications
- Access Kindo for school related payments
Learning posts combined with curriculum information and goal-setting will form an online report designed to build year-on-year so that over time you will have access to written posts, images, videos, work samples, and helpful resources all in one place.
Over the coming year, staff at Paraparaumu Beach school will be upskilling themselves on the use of our software so please be patient whilst we embrace this change together. .
More information will be coming your way so please keep reading school emails and newsletters.
Using Māori Language at Home
Learning another language provides many benefits including greater academic achievement, greater cognitive development, and more positive attitudes towards other languages and cultures. So, let’s give it a go and help to revitalise this unique language to Aotearoa for our tamariki. Each week our newsletter will include words or phrases that you might like to try out at your kāinga/home.
Here are some essential kupu that you may hear ia ra (everyday)
I te roreoroe (At the BBQ)
Tōtiti – sausage
Mīti kau – steak
Riki – onion
Pīnohi – tongs
Hinu – oil
Tote me te pepa – Salt and pepper
Kei te hiakai koutou? Who’s hungry?
Tēnā homai te tōtiti (pass me a sausage)
Ngaru & Tātahi Christmas Disco
Friday, 6 December
Tickets are $5 each payable on Kindo
Ice blocks, chippies, face paint and fun!
Get your tickets now
Regional Athletics Success
Congratulations to all our Year 5–8 athletes who represented our school at the Regional Athletics Competition on Tuesday, 26 November. Your hard work and determination shone through!
A special shout-out to these outstanding performers who placed in the top 3 of their events:
Ceejay Kraus – Year 6 Girls: 1st in 80m and 3rd in long jump
Lucie Thomson – Year 6 Girls: 1st in 800m and 2nd in high jump
Mia Thomson – Year 8 Girls: 1st in 1500m
Corey Whitfield – Year 8 Boys: 3rd in vortex
Well done to everyone for your fantastic effort and achievements!
Lost Property
Please check the lost property cupboard (and when it is out on fine days) by the netball/tennis courts.
Anything un-named or un-claimed will be sent to Koha Shed at the end of term.
Recent Student Achievement
U14 Hockey: Congratulations to Kyra Pulepule and her Gecko’s team who over the weekend participated in the NZ National U14 Indoor Hockey Tournament in Auckland. After two days of competitive play, her team emerged as the winners of the tournament!
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
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