|
|
|
Newsletter - Term 3 Week 2
|
|
|
|
|
|
Important Notices
Kia ora whānau, nau mai ki te pānui a te kura o Wairau Valley | Hello family, welcome to the newsletter of Wairau Valley School and welcome back to Term 3! It's hard to believe we're celebrating 100 days of school today. we hope you are all staying warm during this time.
|
A special welcome to our new students who started this term - Ned Saville, and Ned & Jim Neal. What a fantastic start to Wairau Valley School you have had and we feel very lucky that you have all come to join us. Equally, a farewell to the McCabes (Archie and Ella); the Deans (Aria and Cadence); and Erinn Denniston who have all moved on.
|
We want to extend a huge ngā mihi nui | thank you to those who came and supported our Matariki event on last day of Term 2. It was such a fantastic event, and it demonstrated the strength of the Wairau Valley School community. Our parent fundraising committee shouted the ice-creams, so thank you to them, in particular, Jane Fowler.
|
The Ministry of Education advised that we are entering our 10 Year Property Planning cycle later in the year which is exciting for us as it determines the property works and improvements that will be made over the next 10 years.
|
|
While Adam is away (Weeks 3-5), Katie will be Acting Principal. If there is anything you need, she will be the first point of contact. Adam will still be at the end of the Principal email if there are any confidential matters or concerns but there may be a delay in a response.
|
|
|
|
Upcoming Dates
- Y4-5 Tackle Tournament - Wednesday 5th August
- Choir Festival - Wednesday 12th August
- Y5-8 Cluster Maths Day - Wednesday 19th August
- Harold and the Life Education Truck - Friday 21st August
- MOTAT Robotics Visit - Monday 31st August
- WVS In School Speech Competition - Tuesday 8th September, 2 PM
- Jingo Night at the Woody - Friday 11th September
- Community Meet and Greet - Sunday 13th September, 2-4 PM
|
We 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. All events that require permission can be found in Hero under the Events tab (on the left hand side of the app).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Our trip to town - in photos
|
What a wonderful day this was! The Y1-5 cohort of Wairau Valley School farewelling the Y7-8's at Technology and walking to town for a day of adventure. First stop: The Whitehaven Theatre where we got to watch the Marlborough Civic Orchastra perform some well known songs from movies. For some kids, it was the first time they had ever been inside our wonderful theatre we have here in Marlborough AND we got to sit right up the front. The kids were awesome here, clapping enthusiastically for the performers and singing along to some of the songs. After out theatre trip, we popped across the road and made some new friends at Blenheim School. Fa'afetai Kellyann, the Principal of Blenheim School, and your kura for welcoming our kids.
|
|
|
|
|
Next stop was the Marlborough Library, or Te Kahu o Waipuna. Here, we were greeted by Tracey - the children's librarian who has been welcoming kids to the library, old and new, for as long as I can remember. Tracey explained all the services the Library provided (free of course) and then read a book to the children. The children then got to explore the kids section and issue books to themselves if they had a library card. Again, the kids listened so attentively and respectfully proving to the world that Wairau Valley kids are the best kids in the world.
|
|
|
|
|
We then went and had our lunch at the Amphitheatre on the Taylor River. The kids sat under the masts installed there from the ship "Echo" - a ship that crossed the Cook Strait more than 15,000 times.
|
|
|
|
|
This was an awesome trip - one that we will most definitely do again when the opportunity arises.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some Wonderful Writing to Share
|
In the latter part of Term 2, Fishtail were learning about Whaling in the Marlborough Sounds. This has produced some excellent information report writing by our tamariki who should all be really proud of what they have achieved. Some examples can be found below, written by Kobe, Kyan and Xanthe. Make sure your child has shared their writing with you!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wairau Valley School Speeches
Our school speech competition is at 2 PM on the 8th September in the Chalice Room. All of our learners speak in their class competition and will have significant learning and guidance from Nimmi and Katie. Teachers will also prepare a timetable so parents and students know when they will present their speech or poem (Years 1-3 only). Teachers will judge 3 children in each section to go through to the school final.
|
This notice is a heads up so you can help your child prepare for their speech. Katie and Nimmi will give more information in due course but in the meantime, the Y4-8 Students can be thinking about their topic. Speakers prepare a 3 minute speech that fits within the 2026 overarching theme: “Me and what is important to me.”
|
Here are possible topics that are not clichéd and perhaps link to the theme:
|
-
|
Social media and what banning it for under 16 year olds will do.
|
-
|
AI use in schools - positive or negative impacts.
|
-
|
My whanau are just so special.
|
-
|
Rural life versus living in a big city.
|
-
-
-
|
Do I really have to go to university to be successful?
|
We like to start on speech making early so we also have a year 1/2/3 speaking competition as well. At this level students can choose to recite a poem - any poem that fits with me and what is important to me. We will provide some options in class. They can read their poem, but to learn it is even better.
|
|
A big thank you | ngā mihi nui to Dr Anne Malcolm, who is assisting us with the background work and finer details - we appreciate it heaps, Anne!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Congratulations, Superstars!
This fortnight, we celebrate the following superstars:
|
|
Declan Wolland: Congratulations on the fantastic effort you have been putting into your learning and personal growth. You have been working hard to focus on your own choices, show resilience when learning feels challenging, and stay committed to your learning goals. Your perseverance is really paying off, especially in mathematics, and your classmates have noticed the positive changes you are making in the way you interact with others. Keep up the amazing work—super proud of you!
|
|
Gus Fowler: This award recognises your outstanding character and leadership. You actively seek opportunities to challenge yourself, never shy away from difficult tasks, and show resilience when learning something new. Your friendly and inclusive nature makes you a wonderful classmate, as you are always willing to encourage, support, and include others.
|
|
Valentina Leov: With this certificate, I want to reinforce how awesome you are and how much we truly appreciate you. You’re a diligent worker, kind classmate, exceptional PALs leader, and someone who I can see going on to do some wonderful things in life. You’re a credit to all those who have helped you be the person you are today - great stuff.
|
|
Beau Beattie, Finny Callanan, Penny & Harry Eaton, Declan Wolland, Gus Fowler, Johnny Nicholls and Ryan Boon: We are recognising you for your near perfect attendance! These kids have only missed 1 or 2 days of school so far this year. What an awesome achievement.
|
|
Jim Neal, Ned Neal and Ned Saville: Welcome to Wairau Valley School!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y7-8 VR Trip to Renwick School
Our Year 7-8's received a lucky opportunity to attend a VR (Virtual Reality) experience at Renwick School yesterday. The opportunity was provided by Enrivoschools (MDC) and run by The University of Otago Marine Studies Centre, and a wonderful educator named Glenis Paul. The VR experience was an underwater experience, exploring marine reserves and prestine habitats (and contrasted with some not-so prestine habitats to reinforce the message). It was provided in collaboration with NZ Geographic and the Blake NZ Trust (Sir Peter Blake) to illustrate the impact humans are having on our marine ecosystems and environments.
|
It's not every day you get to scuba dive with some of NZ's taonga | special species and NOT get wet! The kids represented our school with pride and were really engaged with the experience. If you want to see some of the vista we got to experience, the NZ Geographic link above will take you to the same footage used on the VR goggles.
|
|
Thank you Ange and the Marlborough Enviroschools team for bringing this experience to Blenheim. Also, a HUGE shout out to Blenheim Toyota for the use of their community van to get us there and back.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Our Values Focus this Fortnight
|
This fortnight, we are focusing on Respect in All Settings. This means, no matter where we go in life, these four expectations will contribute to our students being the best human beings alive. Although the look will change, the values will remain. We encourage you to use this language at home too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wairau Valley School has chosen to enable data sharing between Hero and Te Rito, the Ministry of Education's secure, cloud-based data-sharing service. Te Rito allows approved education systems, including Hero, to exchange information safely and efficiently. You can find out exactly what data can be shared with Te Rito via this link.
|
|
Our school’s use of digital apps and services, including Hero, is covered in our privacy policy. Explore Hero’s own Privacy Policy, as well as Te Rito’s Security & Privacy information below:
|
|
For any questions regarding our school’s decision to connect with Te Rito, please get in touch via principal@wairauvalley.school.nz.
|
|
|
|
School House Up for Rent
|
|
|
|
|
The school house is up for rent if you know anyone looking. Please make contact with Rhonda if you know someone who is interested. Listing is here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shout out to Marlborough Roads
|
Thank you very much for coming and repainting our bus stop and car park. It looks fantastic.
|
|
This was actually a project the Y4-5 Students took on. You can see their submission here (this video is unlisted so you need to use the link).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Community Notices
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
