Week 6, Term 1 Newsletter

Newsletter Contents:

1. Message From the Principal

2. Fundraising Committee

3. Hero – Home/School Communication

4. Lunch Update

5. Important Dates and Reminders

6. From the classrooms – Room 9

7. School Events

8. Community Notices

Kia ora e te whānau,

We are at the mid-way point of the term and it’s going fast! Classroom programmes are in full swing and we have set a high standard in terms of learning expectations and behaviour. It’s been a settled and pleasing start for our kura this year. 

Next week, we are excited to host our MANA hui at Dyer Street School, with an impressive 85% of whānau already booked to connect with their child’s teacher—ka pai! A huge thank you to everyone who has used the HERO app to secure their bookings, making the process smooth and efficient for all. To support these important conversations, a hui template has been sent home in paper form for whānau to complete beforehand or on the night. This will help ensure that whānau and the school are working together to meet the needs of our tamariki and set them up for a successful year. We look forward to seeing you all there!

Next Friday, 14th March, we will be holding a Teacher Only Day to allow our staff to upskill in the new Mathematics curriculum refresh. This will be a great opportunity for our teachers to engage in collaborative professional learning alongside other schools in the Naenae area. As a result, the school will be closed for the day, so we kindly ask whānau to make alternative arrangements for their children. 

We have been working on finalising our 2025 Annual Plan which will continue to be guided by our four pou—Culture, Mātauranga, Environment, and Identity. These pillars are at the heart of everything we do, shaping a rich and inclusive learning environment for our tamariki. I will share this document with you all in the next school newsletter but some highlights that we are working on in 2025 include. 

• Developing our Te Reo Māori Capability- Staff and students
• Develop and create a School Closing Karakia and School Haka
• Create student leadership opportunities
• Create a Cultural committee for students – celebrating our multicultural ākonga
• Gathering student voice to inform teaching and learning programmes
• Apply inclusive and mana-enhancing practice through a Universal Design for learning lens. 
• Unpacking and implementing the new Maths and Literacy curriculum 
• Complete our sandpit
• Playground markings 
• Embed our new school values
• Develop our house group system 
• Embed HERO as our new one-stop shop for communication channels with whānau

We look forward to sharing the progress in these areas over the year. In Term 2, we will begin our community consultation process for the next strategic plan for 2026-2028. 

Have a fantastic weekend with your whānau.

Ngā mihi nui

Lee Ewington

Tumuaki

This week’s principal’s award winners. 

The Fundraising Committee is next meeting on Monday 7th of April 2025 at 7:30 p.m. in the school library. 

This year Hero will be used to communicate about meetings and opportunities to contribute to fundraising and support for the school. If you would like to receive these posts please let Ms Waghorn know – megw@dyerstreet.school.nz

Upcoming Fundraising Events:

April – Easter raffle and Janus Bakery Hot Cross Bun sales

Family Pop-in portraits – 5th of April – book now at the link: www.popportraits.co.nz/schedule.php?id=12526

Our Hot Cross Bun fundraiser is back again! Options of brioche, chocolate and fruit or no fruit available: https://forms.gle/8RoW5qbWZzJ458Fj8

MANA hui

We have had a great response to booking our Mana hui/goal-setting conversations through the Hero app. Thanks for your support with this. At the time of writing 85% of children have a family member coming to speak with their teacher to help set them up for a great year. 

You can check the time of your booked hui by clicking on “School Bookings” on the home screen, the time of your booking will then be displayed. 

Stationery and Sports Invoices

You can view any current invoices and payments made against them in the app – just choose “Finance” in the home screen. 

Lunch Update

Water only please!

Please ensure children do not bring drinks other than water to school – we are a water-only school. If this is a problem for your child due to their dietary needs please get in touch with Lee Ewington 

Medication held onsite

Please remember to bring in any regular medication your child needs. For asthmatic children we also require an asthma inhaler and pump to be held on site. We use these whenever we go out on trips and for hygiene reasons need children to have their own one available. If you are unsure of what we hold for your child please email the office or come in and see us office@dyerstreet.school.nz

Contact Details

Please remember to update the office with your contact details if you have moved or changed email or phone numbers. 

Upcoming Events

Week 6

Friday 7th March – Whānau Fun Friday 3:15 p.m.

Week 7 

Monday 10th March Māori whānau hui 

Tuesday 11th March – Mana Hui (Parent/Teacher conversations)

Thursday 13th March – Mana Hui (Parent/Teacher conversations)

Friday 14th March – Teacher Only Day – SCHOOL CLOSED

Week 8

Wednesday 19th March – Whole School Assembly

Week 9 

Monday 24th March – Ako Iti trip to the Dowse Museum

Week 11

11th April – School finishes for Term 1 at 3 p.m.

Room 9

Room 9 has been working hard with Miss Muzzy on Thursdays. We have made “All About Me” footballs, a name bookmark and written a piece of writing introducing ourselves to our classmates. This has been fun and helped us to learn more about our classmates such as their favourite foods and how many siblings they have. We are very proud of our work.

Last Thursday the teaching staff attended an after-school professional development session from The Halberg Trust. The focus of the session was on making sure our PE and sports lessons are inclusive for all, particularly for our disabled students. 

We had a great time and learned a lot, thank you to Emma, Toby & Amy from the Halberg Trust for coming along to upskill us.