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Newsletter - Term 2 Week 6
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Principal's Notices
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Kia ora whānau, nau mai ki te pānui a Tumuaki | Hello family, welcome to the principal's notices.
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Firstly, I am starting off by acknowledging a mistake I made last fortnight. We all make mistakes, and the quality of a person is generally in how they respond to a mistake. I often make mistakes on purpose (although not this time!) in front of the kids because mistakes offer one of the most powerful lessons we can learn. I find it strange sometimes how they respond - usually with laughter and an attempt to shame me. Certainly not the qualities I am sure you want for your children.
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Micky Dean - I apologise for spelling your name incorrectly last newsletter. Names are definitely something to get right, they're usually one of the most special gifts our family bestow on us when we are born. My niece (who I will not name for reasons of embarrassment to her) has a beautiful Māori name. Her form teacher at college outright told her that she's not going to try pronounce it correctly and she'll keep saying it how she wants. Imagine the hurt felt by this 17 year old being told that her name is not important enough to get right. So Micky, I'm sorry!
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At the moment, I feel there are so many things we need to keep you in the loop about, so in the interests of TL;DR (that's too long; didn't read), I'm going to bullet point/summarise the next few items for you so we remain on this journey together.
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- In August, I have been invited...selected...voluntold that I am representing New Zealand at the World Pipe Band Championships with the Celtic Pipe Band from Nelson. I will be away from 31st July, with the intent to return on the 21st August (all going well with my flight through Dubai!). I've probably sold myself a bit short here but I don't really like to...beat my own drum...🥁😂.
- Hero have released what reports are going to look like. We are doing a lot of work in the background to get them ready for you and your child(ren). The very basic message I'd like to give here is basically every single school is starting from square one again, so please bear that in mind - we cannot compare any previous achievement data with the new regime.
- I am currently working through my Beginning Principal programme, which is two years of what feels like a Masters Degree on top of my day job - it's massive. Whilst I wouldn't change my journey for anything right now, I think it's only fair that our community have an understanding of the time commitment this requires of me. For those who want to view the requirements, they are here. Oh, did I mention it was entirely via Zoom with no face-to-face interaction other than visits to my mentor principal?
- School interview sign up will be live around Week 7-8 (12th June is Friday Week 8). It is an expectation that all parents will come and have a kōrero with their child's teacher. Sign up will be through the Hero app. The plan is to hold the interviews Tuesday 30th June and/or Wednesday 1st July, after school.
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Have a lovely looonnnnggg weekend, team.
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Upcoming/Important Dates
- SCHOOL CLOSED - Maths TOD Day - THIS Friday 29 May
- SCHOOL CLOSED - King's Birthday - THIS COMING Monday 1June
- Writer's Trip to Seddon (selected students) - Wednesday 3rd June
- Arbour Day Planting (selected students) - Friday 5th June
- Small & Rural Schools Cross Country - Friday 26 June - INFO BELOW
- Mid-Year Reports sent via Hero - Friday 26 June
- School Big Day Out! - Tuesday 30 June (TBC)
- School Interviews - Tuesday 30th/Wednesday 1st July (TBC)
- Last Day of Term 2 - Friday 3 July
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I highly recommend you sign up/subscribe to our school community calendar. Click the link here to access it. The calendar is also visible on our school website.
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Sneak Peek Exclusive - our new School Values
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Parents that have come for a kōrero have likely seen our staffroom whiteboard. It is covered with some mahi that the teachers and I have done this term in relation to assessing our current values (at this point, I challenge you or your child to name all four) and whether they are fit for purpose, and, looking at a new set of values that better reflects the Wairau Valley community.
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We are getting to a point where we are comfortable sharing the refreshed vision and values with the community to see if we missed or overlooked anything.
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I have also included the message that went home Friday on Hero for the wider community.
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Are your children coming home talking about being given R.I.V.E.R. stones? GREAT! They should be!
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As we work towards our goal of becoming a PB4L/PP4L school, we are implementing small steps that make a difference and boy, what a difference the introduction of the R.I.V.E.R. stones has made. R.I.V.E.R. stones are little tickets that we write the kids names on, and every Monday morning I will pull a few out of the box and those random kids who get drawn will receive a small but lucrative prize - a hot chocolate or an ice block! More importantly, we will also count the number of tickets that go into the weekly prize draw and every week a corresponding number of actual river stones will be put into a jar in the Office. Once the jar is full, the WHOLE SCHOOL will receive a reward.
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Today, I gave out over 40 R.I.V.E.R. stones! The meaning behind the R.I.V.E.R. part will all become clear later in the term, once we have been through our values refresh process.
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In the meantime, check in with your tamariki and find out how many R.I.V.E.R. stones they got this week! Maybe they could explain to you what the R.I.V.E.R. part means? If you're as passionate as I am about values and want a kōrero, come and see me!
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So you know - we gave out 93 R.I.V.E.R. stones last week.
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Ikura Programme
Free period products available through Ikura
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• Our school is part of the Ministry of Education’s nationwide Ikura initiative, which
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provides free period products for students.
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• The programme makes sure no young person has to miss learning, sports,
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cultural activities, or feel uncomfortable at school because they don’t have
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access to the products they need.
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What free products are available?
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• A range of liners, regular and super pads and tampons are supplied.
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• Products meet the needs of students of different ages, preferences, and cultural
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• Each period pack is designed to support a full menstrual cycle.
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• Students are encouraged to take as much as they need for each cycle, including
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How students can access products
• Pads and tampons can be discreetly collected by asking your teacher, or Lisa in the office.
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Want to learn more?
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• More information is available on the Ministry of Education website: education.govt.nz
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Message from Marlborough Boys College for Year 8
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Kia ora / Welcome. Year 8 students and families.
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We want to ensure a smooth transition to MBC for your family. Our uniform shop offers the following.
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Simply enrol your student, and they will be allocated a student number, which will then allow you to make payments into their student account. This will allow you to spread out the payment before they start in 2027.
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Marlborough Boys’ College Board ASB Bank 12-3167-0143330-00
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Student Name: Student ID No: Reason for payment: [Uniform] as reference.
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Enrolment | Marlborough Boys' College
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Additionally, we provide quotes for WINZ and other agencies. Feel free to visit the Uniform Shop, and we’ll assist you with the necessary requirements and arrange the quote for you. Please arrange this before the end of the year.
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Please return orders by the 8th of September 2026; late orders cannot be guaranteed and may result in students starting the year without the correct uniform.
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If you are unsure of size, feel free to come and try on our samples.
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Order forms are available in the shop or via the link on the school's home page.
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The Dates will be posted in January, on Facebook and in the newspapers, for collecting your orders.
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Monday 12:30 pm - 4:00 pm
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Friday 9:00 am - 12:30 pm
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Cross Country Information
The Wairau Cluster Schools' Cross Country is at the end of June and planning is underway. Permission to attend will be sent out via Hero by the end of the week, and parents must respond to this.
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Where? Waiview Farm - Campbell’s Road, Tua Marina. The courses are challenging with mud, streams, hills and farm paddocks. The approximate distances are: Year 1-2 = 1 km; Year 3-4 = 1.5km; Year 5-6 = 2 km plus; Year 7-8 = 2.5km plus. Might even be 3km!
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When? Friday 26th June at 1pm sharp. We will run the; Year 7-8’s first at 1pm, Year’s 1-2 at 1.20pm, Year 3-4’s at 1.40pm and the Year 5-6’s at 2pm.
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General information:
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Sausage sizzle: Our school will be running a sausage sizzle on the day. Sausages will need to be pre-ordered, so we will send out order forms prior to the event. (We will still be getting our school lunches delivered to Tua Marina School as well - no need to pack a lunch, just morning tea as usual).
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Clothing: Children are expected to wear their Wairau Valley School sports top. All runners need sneakers and shorts. A change of footwear is suggested as there is a stream crossing, mud and wet grass. Warm jackets, pants and hats are advised as the venue is exposed and can be cold.
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Marshalls: each school needs to supply two adults for marshalling roles on the course. We will call these people to a briefing just before 1pm. Please let Mr A know if you can be a marshall!
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Travel: We will be travelling as a school on the bus. Your child needs to be on the bus going to the event, and in our care/control during the event. This is an EOTC expectation. After the event, you are welcome to take your child - this needs to be indicated on the Hero excursion event.
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Congratulations, Superstars!
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Ari Neville: We have loved seeing you try really hard to make positive connections and stay focused on your work. When people asked if they could dig with you in the sandpit, you invited them straight in! When people weren’t playing fair, you walked away and played somewhere else. Mrs Kumar also recognises you for making great choices and helping out when Mrs Wadworth was in the class. Great job Ari, keep it up
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Mac Gerrand: Mac, I love your sense of right and wrong. You know what kinds of attention to engage in and what to ignore. What we focus on, thrives and it’s clear with your focus that your learning is thriving!
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Alex Keane: Alex, since joining our class and school just a few weeks ago, you have impressed us all with your polite and respectful manner. Your friendly greetings, kind attitude, and the way you consistently use manners and gratitude do not go unnoticed. You have settled into our class routines so positively and have made a real effort to become part of our classroom community. We are so pleased to have you as part of our school and look forward to seeing you continue to grow and thrive.
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Linkyn Kahu: Welcome to Wairau Valley School, e hoa!
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Cullen Christian with his Sportsperson Medal.
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Harry Eaton, tackler of the day.
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Ella McCabe, Player of the Day for her netball team.
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Player of the Day this time: Harry Eaton
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Tackler of the Day: Johnny Nicholls
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We are now going to shift how we share student successes in our school newsletter. Moving forward, we will no longer be publishing individual Player of the Day sports photos. We want to ensure our school-wide celebrations reflect the varied strengths of all our students, and we are working on new ways to spotlight our tamariki that will tie in our new values and celebrate more diverse achievements than sport to enhance the mana of all.
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Of course, those weekend sports achievements are still a massive deal for some. We love seeing our students thrive, and we warmly welcome parents to celebrate and share those individual weekend highlights on their own personal social media platforms.
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A reminder that all of our policies and procedures are available to the school community on SchoolDocs. This link can also be found on our website, and is a goto place if you have wonderings about how things work or the processes we follow at Wairau Valley School.
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To access, our username is: wairauvalley and our password is: sunshine.
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These policies and procedures are constantly updated, using the best available advice from all schools who use the platform, reviews by principals and School Boards alongside the team of lawyers they have working at SchoolDocs.
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At our next Board meeting, we will be reviewing the EOTC (Education Outside the Classroom) policies - one of the meatiest topics schools have to grapple with. If you would like to look over the policy and comment, you will find the review button on the homepage of the link above.
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An FYI - Minecraft: Education Edition is here!
There has been a lot of media recently about kids and gaming. Personally, I couldn't care less for gaming. I dabble now and then at best, and didn't really grow up with it, even though I'm the generation that saw the height of gaming consoles, from the Sega Master System to the PlayStation. One thing I would actively recommend to parents is that they entertain, nor their child goes anywhere near Roblox! It doesn't take long for kids to realise it's full potential and circumvent the security settings put in place.
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Enter: Minecraft: Education Edition.
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Though our school Microsoft365 licence, the Wairau Valley students get free access to Minecraft: Education Edition. The coolest thing about it is it's the full version of normal Minecraft, with a lot of added security features. It does not allow anyone without an @wairauvalley.school.nz account to play in the same worlds as our tamariki.
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I have been blown away by the creativity and technical knowledge of children who play Minecraft - different types of building materials, Earth minerals, animals - it's actually only constrained by their creativity and hours in a day. I would have kids playing this in a heartbeat over most other games out there, ESPECIALLY Roblox. My kids play Minecraft: EE quite a bit as a reward at home.
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Every kid at Wairau Valley has an @wairauvalley.school.nz account, and if you need help accessing it, just ask me (Adam...apparently a Certified Minecraft Educator if you Google it - I did do a course during lockdown) or the Y4+ students should know their Google credentials.
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In the Office to claim if it's yours.
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