Week 10, Term 2 Newsletter

Newsletter Contents:

1. Message From the Principal

2. Link Up Committee (Fun and Fundraising group)

3. Hutt Fest

4. Important Dates and Reminders

5. From the classrooms (Room 2 & 9)

6. Community Notices

Ngā mihi ki a koutou e te whānau whanui

We are officially halfway through the year and what a first 6 months it has been. There have been many highlights to celebrate from our first Eid Celebration, Samoan Language Week, rebranding of the school logo, the new windows along the main corridor, brand new soccer goals and a cricket net, designs for our new sandpit and outdoor spaces plan, and the opening of our Raumanuka Cafe. We have upskilled many of our teachers in Structured Literacy, Maths, and inclusive practices. We have had a close eye on reducing barriers in classroom environments and provided learning support where needed. Our dedicated team of educators are focused on providing mana-enhancing environments for our tamariki. It is indeed an honour to lead this wonderful kura and I am extremely proud of the achievements so far this year. 

Thank you to the whānau who have supported the Raumanuka cafe. We are getting some positive feedback around the concept and the fact that it creates a sense of community for our whānau and staff. We look forward to developing and strengthening this kaupapa in Term 3. A reminder that the cafe is open in the hall 8:15 am – 9:15 am on weekdays. 

Our Huttfest Rōpu was simply outstanding on Tuesday. Being placed into the opening slot and setting the standard was such a humbling and quite emotional thing to see. Many of you may not know, but I was heavily involved in Kapa Haka at previous schools and spent most of my time out the back and at the coalface preparing tamariki for certain performances and events just like Huttfest. It was such a pleasure to sit on the audience side for a change and know we have such strength in our teaching team. The mana that our tamariki showed was unreal. It was an immense performance that made many people proud. Ngā mihi to Whaea Col for her leadership of the rōpu. Ngā mihi to Mr Ward for his support and to all our kaimahi and whānau who contributed to the overall success of our rōpu. We look forward to our next performance as we host Epuni School on Friday 9th August here at Dyer Street. 

Mid-year reports went out this week to provide whānau with a sense of your child’s current progress. Further on in this newsletter, you’ll see some information explaining more about the curriculum levels and the structure of the reports. It was a pleasure to read the mana comments and to see the progress our tamariki have made in both academic and social aspects. We are always looking for feedback to enhance and improve our processes so please let us know if you have any ideas for improvement.

With the wet weather of late, we often have parents dropping children closer to the Dyer Street office entrance and this causes congestion. We had an incident the other day, where a child was nearly hit by a car as a result of congestion and people parking in places they shouldn’t. Please be mindful of where, and how you are dropping or picking up your children from school. There are 5 access points around our kura for you to choose from, if we all choose a drop-off outside the office area, it will naturally become a problem. There are drop-off parks directly outside the office entrance. Please use these for drop-and-run purposes and not for longer-term parking. The health and Safety of our tamariki is paramount so please consider your choices during these times. 

I remember taking my first stroll around Dyer Street School. I knew as soon as I walked down the long junior corridor that this was a place that would be a good fit for me, and where I could make an impact. The school had a great foundation to build upon and I could envision what it might look like with some nurturing and investment. I feel very passionate about our kura and making sure that we are the school of choice for whānau in the valley. The collective actions that we have made over the last two years have put us in a much better position to achieve this vision. 

Today marks two years as tumuaki at Dyer Street School. Firstly, I want to acknowledge the kaimahi and the team around me. Without them, we can’t make the impact that is required. I can’t thank our staff enough for the dedication and effort they put into this kura every day. 

Getting to know this community and finding different ways to make positive change has been special. There have also been many challenges that have allowed me to stretch and grow in my leadership capabilities. Ngā mihi ki te whānau for your support and feedback as your voice has been instrumental in developing our strategic plan and goals for the kura. I also want to acknowledge our wonderful Board of Trustees who have provided progressive leadership and governance of our kura.

Finally, Ngā mihi ki ngā tamariki mā. It’s been amazing getting to know all of the wonderful children in our kura. Seeing their progress but also supporting them with their challenges has been a real highlight. 

Have a wonderful holiday and we’ll see you back, ready for Term 3. 

Kia pai ngā rā whakata

Lee Ewington

He Tumuaki ki te kura o Dyer Street

This week’s Principal’s Award Winners

REPORTING INFORMATION FOR PARENTS – MID-YEAR PROGRESS 2024

On Tuesday 2nd of July you will have received a digital copy of your child’s report. On Wednesday 3rd July, you will have received a paper copy for your reference.

The purpose of this report is to share progress about your child’s learning for the year to date. 

We have done our best to cater for whānau who need more than one copy. Please let us know if you need more than one copy going forward. 

Here is an overview of what is included in your child’s  Mid-year report.

Mana Comments

The purpose of this section is for teachers to share the strengths that they value in your child. Some will be written in bullet points and some will be written in sentences. 

Curriculum Levels 

We are required to provide two updates around your child’s progress and achievement throughout the year. Here’s a graph to show you the curriculum levels in the current NZ curriculum. As you can see, most of our tamariki fall into the first 3 to 4 levels. This reflects in how we have reported your child’s current level for mid- year 2024.

On your child’s report you will see the following graph to show current progress in Writing, Reading and Maths.

As you can see from this example, this child is currently working towards the mid-year expectation for Writing and they are working above the mid year expectation for both Reading and Writing. You will also see a level called “Pre” this means Pre Level 1 and relates to early childhood levels.

Reading, Writing and Maths Comments

These comments are shared to expand on the progress made in these areas as well as identifying some next steps for your child to work on over the remainder of the year.

L.E.A.R.N Values – Student Comment/ Reflection

This section is an opportunity for your child to reflect on how they have shown our L.E.A.R.N values at school. You’ll find these comments to be less formal as they have been co-constructed or written by our tamariki themselves. 

General Comment

These comments are written by our teachers and cover aspects like behaviour, curriculum progress in areas like P.E, Art, Inquiry, Te Reo Māori as well as next steps for the remainder of the year. You’ll also find more personalised comments from the teacher’s observations and connections with your child.

Feedback to further strengthen our reporting systems. 

We are always looking for feedback to help improve and grow how we engage with whānau, especially around progress and achievement. If there are any pieces of feedback you would like to see in further reporting or suggestions, then please feel free to email lee@dyerstreet.school.nz

The Link Up Committee (the friendly and relaxed parent-led fun and fundraising group) is next meeting on Monday 22 July at 7:30 p.m.

All supporters of Dyer Street School are most welcome. We meet in the school library. 

To contact the committee or be added to the Facebook group please email linkupdyerstreet@gmail.com

Please book via the link: Movie Fundraiser Booking Form

Head lice

Please take time over the holidays to check your child’s hair for headlice and remove any eggs or insects you find. The holidays is a great chance to stop the spread of lice. 

Late arrivals/Early pick-ups

We are noticing an increase in the amount of children being dropped off late or being picked up early from school. The expectation for attendance is that all children are in their classrooms at 8:55 a.m. to begin their learning. Late arrivals and early collections are disruptive for children, their classmates and their teachers and create a lot of administrative work for office staff. We would really appreciate the community’s support in ensuring children are all at school on time and ready to learn. 

Upcoming Events

8th July – 21 July – School Holidays

12th July – School Holiday Movie Fundraiser

22nd July – Term 3 begins

26nd July – Pōwhiri for new students, staff and whānau

29th July – The NED Show (social emotional learning show)

2nd August – Avalon Intermediate Open Day

2nd August – Whole School Assembly, Room 11 hosting

5th – 9th August – Cook Island Language Week

Room 2 

AIS will be holding an Open Morning for potential enrolments for 2025 on Friday 2nd August 2024 for Year 6 students from 9 – 11:30 am. Please contact Jessica Byrne at jessicab@ais.school.nz or phone 567 7453, with your child’s name and school if you are interested in registering your child for this visit. It will be a great opportunity for your child to experience a morning at AIS before our Open Evening on Tuesday 13th August from 6 – 7:30 pm.