Week 11, Term 1 Newsletter

Newsletter Contents:

1. Message From the Principal

2. Welcome to new students

3. Link Up Committee (Fun and Fundraising group)

4. Sport at D.S.S. – updates and events

5. From the classrooms (Room 3 & Room 10)

6. Important Dates and Reminders

7. Community Notices

Kia ora e te whānau,

Amazing to think we have already got through 25% of the school year! Term one is always a special term in allowing our tamariki to connect with their new class, fellow peers and their teacher. Our focus has been on valuing and acknowledging each child’s mana and their cultural backgrounds. The artwork around our classroom walls showcases the rich cultural diversity that our kura has. It’s been pleasing to see this development over the term. 

On Wednesday we celebrated Eid which is the Muslim celebration for the end of Ramadan. It was a pleasure to meet with local Islamic leaders the week before to get some insight into how we can best celebrate this event. Our tamariki loved the henna artwork in the library as well as the artwork activities on offer. Ngā mihi to our kaimahi who gave up their lunch to do the Henna artwork.

Huttfest is back again for 2024 and we are looking for our performance group to represent our kura again. It is open to our Year 2-6 children as we want to be as inclusive as we can. However, there are clear expectations around what we are expecting of tamariki and the commitment they need to make to gain a place in the performance group. Please talk with your tamariki about this before entering. Ngā mihi to Whaea Col for her leadership of HuttFest this year.

The Ventilation Project on the main corridor is well underway. You’ll see most of the windows boarded up with the first window units arriving in the holidays. There was always going to be a level of disruption but we have worked closely with the builders to be considerate of timings and ensure health and safety is the first priority. Realistically, this project will be finished by the end of Term 2.

Last week, I sent a survey out to gain community voice around our school values. So far we have around 40 responses. It would be awesome to get a few more so I will keep this open over the weekend. If you haven’t had your say, please do.

Have a safe and happy holiday,

Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou,

Lee Ewington 

Tumuaki

This week’s Principal’s Award Winners

Room 1 – 

Lily and Oscar

Room 11 –

Maani-Raye

The Link Up Committee (the friendly and relaxed parent-led fun and fundraising group) is next meeting on Monday 6th May 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

Upcoming Fundraising Events:

Eid Celebrations 

This past Wednesday we recognised Eid at school. Eid is an Islamic holiday to recognise the end of Ramadan. Our students had some awareness of Ramadan already as some of their Muslim peers fast during the month. We met with representatives from the Lower Hutt Islamic Centre who helped us to decide on an appropriate way to recognise this celebration that is really special to several of our families. The idea to recognise Eid at school came directly from a Muslim student in 2023. 

In classes we learned about how our families celebrate Eid and talked about the many similarities to other celebrations recognised by our family such as Christmas, Lunar New Year, Matariki and Diwali.

Our school Eid day was held the day before the official day so that our Muslim children would be able to be present. 

We had face-painting and henna in the library and then came together in the hall where Essa and Saynab (Munira and Samira’s parents) spoke to the children about Eid. We learned to say “Eid Mubarak” to our Muslim students and families. We then shared some dates, a traditional food used to break the fast in Ramadan. 

Touch Rugby:

Most Impressive Player: Tyler Weldon-Smith

Most Valuable Player: Jeremiah Kapene-Skinnon

 

 

Interschool Sports:

 

We had teams compete in two interschool events this term. Rippa Rugby and Non-Stop Cricket. On both days our students showcased both skill and fair play and enjoyed the opportunity to compete against other schools in our area. Once again, thanks to the whānau who were available to support our teams at these events. 

Coming Up:

Cross- Country:

Zone Cross-Country is scheduled for the 21st May at Trentham Memorial park.

Interzone takes place on the 11th of June also at TMP

Tough Guy/Gal challenge: 

The specific date is still TBC, there is a clash with the zone cross-country postponement date so we are waiting to confirm a date change with the event organisers. A notice will go out over the holidays to those who have registered their interest. 

Pedal Ready:

All children will participate in Pedal Ready (bike and scooter safety sessions) in Week 1 of term 2. 

Drop-off and pick-up times

Our school bell goes at 8:55 a.m. and class starts straight away. Being at school on time is a calmer way for children to transition into the school day, especially if they have any issues with anxiety.

We are noticing an increasing amount of children being picked up early regularly. We understand that occasionally there are appointments or commitments that require an early pick-up but the day-to-day expectation is that children are in class until 3:00 p.m. Frequent early pick-ups can disrupt end-of-day routines for your child and their classmates.  If children are being collected earlier than 3:00 p.m. please ensure they are signed out at the office. 

Upcoming Events

29th April – Term 2 begins

30th April – Pedal Ready sessions Room 10&11 and Room 1

1 May – Pedal Ready sessions Room 10& 11 and Room 2

2 May – Pedal Ready sessions Rooms 3, 4 & 9

6th May – Link Up Committee Meeting

11th May – Dyer Street Brick Show 

Room 3

In Room 10, we looked at cultural patterns and inquired into the similarities and differences.  For example “The Latin American patterns use mostly bright colours” (Kaia).  In African culture, the colours “are mostly warm because Africa is warm” (Theart) and these colours are similar to the African landscape and their tribes.  In Māori patterns, there are “lots of koru because they represent the baby ferns that grow in NZ” (Alfie).  In the Cook Islands, “their patterns have bright colours” (Rebecca) and “flowers because lots of them grow in the Cook Islands” (Phoenix). The dragon is represented in Chinese culture and can be seen as a symbol of “protection” (Maxwell).  “Dragons are also a combination of different types of animals”  (Anna).  In Aboriginal patterns, the “colours of their land are in their art” (Theart) and they use “dots, dots, dots and more dots” (Alfie).  We looked at patterns in our Pacific cultures and other cultures around the world which can be seen in our art below:

Safety at Pedestrian Crossing on High Street (near alleyway to Dyer Street)

We know that many Dyer Street School whānau have safety concerns when crossing at the pedestrian crossing on High Street that leads into the alleyway from High Street to the Dyer Street culdesac. One of our school parents and neighbours has been in contact with local Hutt City Councillor Glenda Barratt to push for safety improvements for this crossing. If you also have safety concerns or have experienced near-misses with traffic on or around this crossing please email Glenda glenda.barratt@huttcity.govt.nz and include the school office (office@dyerstreet.school.nz) in the email so we can keep a list of concerned parents. Thank you.