Tēnā koutou Parents / Caregivers / Sunnynook Families

Welcome back!  I trust that everyone had a good break over the school holidays and our tamariki are feeling refreshed and ready for another term at school.  I would also like to welcome Kaitlin Hubble (Rm 21) this term.   

It is hard to believe that we are already thinking of next year and we have included the term dates for next year in this newsletter for your holiday planning.  Our Year 6 students visited Wairau Intermediate School this week to find out more about Intermediate School, and this was very exciting for our students. 

We look forward to seeing you at our Student Learning Conferences on Wednesday 2nd August.  Please make sure you book a time with your child’s teacher using 'school interviews'.  

Finally, we have had such miserable wet weather and staff were finding themselves short of umbrellas as we were moving around the school.  We would like to say a big thank you to Alex for supplying us with some large umbrellas that will keep us dry when on duty.  A big thanks to the Timoti family as well.  Chico arranged to have the Harcourts Coffee Cart on-site during our open morning.  Despite the weather it was fantastic to see so many of you at school on this day.  

Look out for our Team Newsletters in Week 3 to see what learning is happening this term.  

Ngā mihi 

Virginia

On Wednesday 2 August we will be having our Student Learning Conferences. These differ from our Term 1 parent/teacher conferences which are adult led and one-on-one. The idea behind student learning conferences (SLCs) is for children to have an opportunity to share their learning experiences with you and to have agency around their learning. 

There will also be other families in the classroom with you as your child shares their learning successes. Teachers will ensure they check in with each family, although this will be for just a brief chat. Each interview slot lasts 20 minutes. You will find this process different from the SLCs in Term 1 as students are leading these conversations. Therefore it is really important that your child comes with you. If you are hoping for a more indepth, private conversation about a specific concern you have for your child it will be necessary for you to organise with the teacher another time to do this. 

You are now able to book your SLC online through https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/code/9wyds for Wednesday 2 August from 3.20 to 7.20pm. Time-slots will be 20 minutes for up to four families in the classroom at any given time. If you don't have internet access, please complete a form from the school office to book a time. 

Parents must enter the event code 9wyds or scan

Then follow these three simple steps: 

1.Enter your name, your child's name, and your email address. If you need to book for more than one child, change the “Book for x students” setting, and enter the other child's name. 

2.On the next page, select your child’s teacher. 

3.You will then see a timetable showing when your chosen teacher(s) is available. Simply click on the time that suits you. If you have two or more bookings, ensure you leave a gap between each one to allow for travel between classes. When you have finished, your interview timetable will be emailed to you. 

You can return to the site and enter the event code 9wyds again to change or cancel your interview(s). 

Our ESOL teachers, Mrs Ko and Mrs Morrison will also be available for you to book and talk to and find out more about our English as a Second Language programme. They will be located in the ESOL learning space (the old computer suite)- which your child will be able to take you to. Ms Baker, who runs the Āwhina initiative, is also available in the tech room so parents whose children attend Āwhina can also book in with her.

Students must be present for the interview. It is important that children take responsibility for their own learning and as part of the reporting process, this can enhance the commitment they give to their learning. We look forward to seeing you at school celebrating your child’s learning.

Banner:
In week 1 the school banner went to R10 for their amazing kiwi and matariki art work.

Caught Being Good:
Arlyn (Rm 1) - for showing responsibility.

Principal's Certificates:
Congratulations to the students receiving the Principal's Certificate at Assembly. These were awarded for demonstrating respect.

It was lovely to see so many whānau members in our kura for the Matariki open morning. Matariki is a time to come together with family and friends so beginning the Matariki period together as a community was a perfect opportunity.

The children loved having whānau in with them at school and were so proud to share their learning space. I was very proud of our 6 tauira Māori who designed the school assembly, researched and wrote their scripts and led us with such confidence. Thank-you to Mrs Batra and her junior choir for their performance and to our wider kapa haka group also. For the year 3's in this group this was their first time performing as it was for our junior choir - Ka mau te wehi! 

We would also like to thank one of our parents Chico Timoti for his generous sponsorship of the ‘Harcourts Coffee Cart’ at our Matariki open morning.

It was a great success with parents very pleased to see coffee available on a wintery morning! Through your support parents alongside Chico’s sponsorship we are pleased to have sold 143 coffees which raised $326 for our school.

We are thrilled to share the exciting details of the New Zealand Playhouse performance that took place at our school on June 29th.
The talented actors recreated the thrilling story of pirates and treasure hunts, transporting our young audience to a world of adventure. The outstanding acting, engaging storyline, and vibrant costumes delighted and awed the children.
The performance emphasized the importance of empathy, self-belief, and the ability to overcome obstacles. We hope that this experience has inspired them to embrace these values in their daily lives.

Here are a few highlights from the show.

We have become aware from other schools, that a few students at these schools have been purchasing PRIME branded energy / hydration drinks and bringing them to school to share with other tamariki.

This is a cult brand of energy / hydration drink that has gained recent popularity here and overseas, and can be dangerous if consumed and may result in a cardiac episode.  The energy drink is said to contain 140 mg of caffeine which is more than twice that in a standard cup of coffee.  This is unfortunately being sold at local dairies which students could potentially buy on the way to school.

A reminder that we are a "water only" school which means that we highly recommend children only drink water during school hours.  

Although the sharing of these drinks have not been an issue at our school, we would really appreciate you helping us to ensure that this particular PRIME brand of energy / hydration drink does not come to Sunnynook Primary School for the safety of all children. 

What we have been doing in Term 2.

By Benjamin Barnes & Zayan Khan
We shoved our feet into gumboots and we were off! Our Class Rūma Tahi was going tree planting out in Lyford Reserve. As we strolled down to the designated area, our conversations with our friends echoed around us. And our gumboots made crunching sounds when they clashed against the gravel.

Suddenly all of us stopped. We were at one of the bridges made of recycled plastic bottles. This was the place. Glenn

& Tabatha (The People Helping Us) showed us how to plant the trees. It looked fun.

The way that we planted all of the trees was split into four simple steps.

First we dug a hole that could fit the plant that we had chosen.

Secondly we massaged the bottom of the plant so it could come out easier.

Thirdly we took the plant out of the plastic pot and placed it in the hole we dug.

Last we filled in the gaps that are left and covered the dirt that came in the pot.

It has come to my attention that some drivers are disregarding the STOP sign at the intersection of Lyford Crescent and Tonkin Drive.  This is a reminder of our obligations and duties as a driver when it comes to stop signs.  We must stop our vehicle completely before the yellow lines and look both ways before proceeding.

 

The same goes with the pedestrian crossing near this intersection.

We must stop and allow pedestrians to cross safely.

 

At the peak times of drop off and pick up we should be extra vigilant as the safety and well being of our children is paramount.

 

Also it is extremely important that your children are wearing seatbelts and in the appropriate approved car seats.

 Failure to comply with these road rules will end up with positive enforcement being taken and infringement notices will be issued.

 

We thank you for your cooperation and understanding on these matters.

Senior Constable Brent Stewart

Sunnynook Community Constable.

We encourage you to walk with your children to school, but if you need to drive them sometimes, please observe and discuss with your child the following safe practices:

Dropping Off 

Please don’t park on the yellow lines outside our school - you are stopping other drivers from seeing children on the crossing.

Celine Wu - Rm 21, won three trophies at the Auckland Brass Contest in the Under 11, Under 13 Slow Melody, and Under 13 Not Slow categories in May.  Over the holidays, she achieved first place at the New Zealand National Brass Contest in Dunedin, in the Under 15 category.

Well done Celine  - that is a fantastic achievement!

Playball is a sport and movement program for children between the ages of five and nine. All of the programs are taught in a fun-filled, energetic and positive environment.

Playball programs are age specific, with each of our programs taking into account the difference in the cognitive, emotional, social and motor development of the children in each age group.

Our Playball North Harbour coaches are dedicated to providing the best learning environment for children by using physical activity as a vehicle.

Some examples of sports we focus on in schools are; Hockey, Football, Tennis, Basketball and many more! We also bring in competition and more team elements to our 5-8 year old program to prepare the children for sport in the future. Each week will be different, to build on the skills and movements learnt in previous lessons.

 

Classes at Sunnynook Primary School will be held on:

Mondays from 3:00-4:00 starting July 17th.

The cost for the term will be $110

 

If you would like your child to take part this term, please click the following link to complete the sign-up process: https://www.playballkids.com/parent-zone/basket_bookings.php?classid=55497

 Classes will be held at the covered netball courts.

If a class is postponed, parents will be notified ahead of class time. 

Please let me know your child's classroom.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Coach Reuben on 0277674060 or reuben@playball.co.nz

School Hours
Our school day is structured as follows:

Late - Students who arrive after 8:50 am need to report to the office via the student entrance for their late pass before going to class. It is important that students arrive before this time to organise themselves for the day.

Absences - If your child is going to be absent from school, please inform the school office every day that your child is going to be absent by either phoning 410 6534 option 1, via the Hero app or via our website. If possible, please inform the school office before 9:00 am.

New to Kindo
Working together with Kindo and ezlunch, our School offers you a simple and quick way to view and pay for items, order lunches and complete forms.  This is our payment system, so any emails you receive from Kindo will not be spam.

Please set up your Kindo account by following the instructions  on our website here.

This is our preferred method of payment and we encourage you to set-up your myKindo account today.

Hero App
We encourage you to use our Hero App. 
In 2023 our main form of communication with you - our school community, will be via Hero. On the Hero app, the little bell icon at the top right of your screen shows whether you have any new notifications.  At times if the post is a longer one you may need to click ‘read more’ to view the whole message. We would appreciate it if you could also use Hero to report absences.

Any parents/caregivers who haven't yet signed up for the Hero App can do so by clicking on this link.