"Together we are lifelong CREST learners"
Principal's Message
Kia ora koutou
Welcome to Term 3!
With our Learning Conferences taking place next Wednesday, it’s fantastic to see that more than 70% of families have already booked a conference with their child’s teacher.
At PBS, we believe students make the greatest progress when they are active participants in conversations about their learning. That’s why our Learning Conferences bring together the student, their teacher, and their parents or whānau in a shared discussion about progress, achievement, and next steps.
Research consistently shows that when students are meaningfully involved in these conversations, they develop a stronger sense of ownership of their learning, greater confidence, and increased motivation to achieve their goals.
Each Learning Conference is 10 minutes long and is designed to:
- Celebrate the student’s learning and achievements so far this year.
- Discuss areas for growth and identify practical ways that both home and school can support continued progress.
- Strengthen the partnership between students, teachers, and whānau to help every child succeed.
Learning Conferences are intended to focus on your child’s learning progress and achievement. If you would like to discuss more complex, sensitive, or confidential matters, please contact your child’s teacher to arrange a separate meeting at a more appropriate time.
Keep reading this newsletter for information on:
- Book your Learning Conference slot via HERO
- Parenting Support
- PBS Aroha fund
- Super Hero Friday is coming!
Upcoming dates of importance:
- Wednesday, 29 July – Learning conferences throughout the day (school closed for instruction)
- Friday, 14 August – Super Hero Friday!
- NB: For your awareness: Term 4 – Friday, 23 October for our second Curriculum day (as gifted by the Minister for Education)
Mā te wā
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
Meet PBS CRESTY, our brand-new school mascot, created by one of our talented students, Jesse May.
Last term, the Student Council invited students to design a mascot that reflected the spirit of our school. After receiving some fantastic entries, the shortlisted designs were displayed for a whole-school vote. Jesse’s creative design, PBS CRESTY, was the clear favourite!
To bring the original drawing to life, ChatGPT was used to transform Jesse’s artwork into a polished 3D clay-style character while staying true to the original design. Jesse gave his approval to the final version—including one small improvement: giving PBS Cresty a subtle smile to make him even more welcoming.
We’re incredibly proud of Jesse’s creativity and look forward to seeing PBS CRESTY become a familiar face around our school for years to come!
Welcome to Our Recent New Students
Kolten – Rm 3; and Caelan, Hunter, Brody, Declan and Wyatt – Rm 22
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/
Paraparaumu Beach School Board - Casual Vacancy
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)
Ka nui te mihi – Thanks heaps
E whakawhetai ana – Really grateful
Ka nui ngā mihi ki a koe – Big thanks to you
He mua nui tēnā – That means a lot
From the Student Council
Super Hero Friday is coming! Who’s your hero? Dress up as your favourite hero and bring a gold coin to help us to support The Ronald McDonald House Charity. These guys are heroes in our community who help families when they need it most. They provide free accommodation when families have a child in hospital and need to stay nearby. They help with meals and other practical things as well. We’d like to give back and show them our support.
We’re also going to run a hero themed Cupcake Competition, so get your baking skills on and start planning some cupcakes to enter. More details will be in next week’s newsletter!
Parenting Support
Triple P Parenting is an organisation that offers courses for parents. Triple P empowers parents with a flexible “toolbox” of simple, proven strategies to confidently guide their parenting journey. Rather than telling you what to do, it builds on your existing strengths, allowing you to choose and adapt the techniques that best fit your family.
They also have a number of great articles worth reading on their website. This one explores the importance of healthy risk taking and how it builds resilient kids.
PBS Aroha Fund
One thing our school community is rich in is KINDNESS. It’s something we work hard to promote amongst our students. When we know someone is in need we try to give some additional support because not everyone’s circumstances are the same. We do our best as a school to ensure every child has equal opportunities regardless of finance or personal circumstance. Our PBS AROHA fund was set up to enable our whole community to offer support to such families.
The PBS AROHA fund enables anyone in our school community, including businesses, to donate money to help those in our school community who are finding it hard to make ends meet or those who are experiencing tough personal circumstances. This fund enables our school to support these families in some small way. In recent times we have used this fund to purchase food/gift vouchers, cover trip costs, camp fees, sport fees and stationery. It also means that we can provide lunches when kids don’t have any.
If you would like to contribute to this fund you can find it in KINDO labelled PBS AROHA. You can contribute $5, $10 or $20 at any time during the year. If a local business wants to make a contribution they can contact Debbie on dweekes@pbs.school.nz
If you would like to know more about our PBS AROHA fund please do not hesitate to call, drop in or send me an email on jward@pbs.school.nz. All discussions will be confidential.
Giving a little means a lot!
Wearable Arts
Support Paraparaumu Beach School at the Wearable Arts Show on Thursday, 30 July at the Paraparaumu College Auditorium.
Touch Rugby
Volunteer Team Co-ordinator needed. See below for details.
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
Pre-Loved Clothing & Toy Market - 25 July
