Tēnā koutou Parents / Caregivers / Sunnynook Whānau and 'Eid Mubarak' to our Muslim families

Tomorrow is the last day of Term 1 and it will be a gold coin mufti day for children.  

Over the holidays around the country, we will be recognising ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) day on the 25th April.  ANZAC Day is  a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand which is commemorated every year to honour the many soldiers who fought and lost their lives in war. ANZAC Day ceremonies are held at dawn in many towns and cities, where wreaths will be laid and we reflect on the lives of those lost and the devastation of war.  The red poppy flower worn by many is a symbol of remembrance of those who died or suffered in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations.

Our  Better Start to Literacy Approach (BSLA) workshop for our Y1 whānau has been postponed and we will advise the new date as soon as possible.  Please join us to find out more about this successful programme we run in school. 

Yesterday we farewelled our ESOL teacher, Emily Ko and we wish her all the best for her new position.  Many of you will know Cheryl Klein who is currently teaching at Sunnynook.  Cheryl will be taking over the position of ESOL teacher for the remainder of year.  

We are coming to the end of the term and planning classes for our new students starting next term.  Due to the current shortage of primary teachers, if your child is leaving school at the end of the term or in the near future, it would be very helpful if you could let us know your intentions.  Could you please email: secretary@sunnynookschool.nz advising your child's name and their last day of school.  This will assist us in our planning.    

If you know of any families in our school zone who have a child turning 5 this year, and they have not yet enrolled, could you please encourage them to fill out the enrolment form on our website. We greatly appreciate your help.

We have had an increasing number of students who are on holiday during term time.  We do understand that sometimes this is unavoidable, however we would ask you to please arrange for holidays to be taken during the school holiday periods.  This avoids disruptions to your child’s learning.  

I hope you all have a relaxing and enjoyable holiday period and I look forward to seeing our students back at school in Term 2 with a bright and happy smile!  

Ngā mihi 

Virginia

At Assembly
Banner:
In Week 11 the banner went to R6 for their self portraits with pastels, and learning where they all came from.

Yummy Apple Stickers:
R11 and Mrs Heays - 1 sheet

Caught Being Good:
Grace, R7 for showing kaitiakiatanga
Jason, R21 for showing responsibility

Travelwise Lucky Draw:
YuTong, R3
Rachel, R22
Yevein, R12
Saarah, R22
Noah, R5
Jenul, R14
Luke, R4

Assembly
Thank you to Year 2 for hosting our assembly on Monday - well done!  We all enjoyed it and so did the parents who were able to attend.

Room 1 enjoyed their lunchtime swim with Mrs Montague and it will be Room 3 tomorrow!

Rooms 10 and 9 
The children from Ruma Tekau and Iwa took on the role of Kaitiaki ( guardians) for our school. They teamed up to protect their school by gathering litter from the senior and junior playgrounds and the field. These young Kaitiaki felt proud of their efforts and understood the importance of maintaining cleanliness in both their school and its surroundings.

amadan started on the 12th March and finished yesterday, 10th April.  The conclusion of Ramadan  depends on moon sightings that mark the end of the month.  Today Muslims will be celebrating Eid worldwide.  This is a major Muslim holiday which commemorates the end of the holy month of Ramadan, in which Muslims fast daily from before dawn until sunset.

It is celebrated by a prayer service in the morning, followed by meals and conversation with friends and family. Fasting refers to the act of abstaining. Fasting in Ramadan is abstaining from food and water from sunrise until sunset. Muslims are encouraged to work on character habit goals by abstaining from habits they want to overcome and building new ones. There is the philosophy of “empty the stomach to feed the soul” and teaching empathy and gratitude for those who have less than we do.

Best wishes  to those in our Sunnynook community celebrating the holy month of Ramadan. 

Look at how our Travelwise Tree grew over the week with children using alternative transportation to cars. Wow! We are impressed with the number of Sunnynook students who walk, scooter, bike and also park and walk to school! A fabulous celebration of being a Travelwise School.  

Room 5 was the lucky winner with 94 points in total for the week. They had a pizza lunch to celebrate. 

A big thank you to all the teachers who helped the Travelwise Team with the tree and the leaves. Your participation and enthusiasm during the Travelwise Tree week were greatly appreciated.  Thank you to all the parents who contributed to making our school Travelwise by encouraging your children to walk, scooter, bike and park and walk to school.  It really does make a significant difference to the congestion at the main gate! Thank you to the new travelwise leaders for this year, for helping create the travelwise tree. 

Travelwise tree after each day of the week of walking, scooting and biking!

A big thank you to Ms Fifield for all her hard work!

Last week, we celebrated all the children who bike and scooter to school and the Walking School Bus children. They enjoyed warming up with a hot cup of milo and a muffin to start their day.  Buster came to celebrate with us. 

Milo & Muffin mornings are one of the incentives Walking School Bus walkers, bikers and scooter children enjoy for their commitment to using alternative transport to school.

New Route
From next term the walking school bus has a minor change leaving from the corner of Laurina and Salamanca on Monday-Wednesday.   

Walking School Bus Easter Egg hunt

The walking school bus children enjoyed their Easter Egg Hunt in the Lyford Bush. They searched high and low to find their Easter treats to enjoy—a huge thank you to Serenade and Page for walking with our students to school.

As you will have seen on HERO, we are happy to announce an exciting addition to our Arts and PE/Health curriculum for Term 2! Our school will feature a dance program led by a dedicated instructor from FootSteps Dance Company. FootSteps specializes in tailored movement programs for students designed to align with the New Zealand National Curriculum.

Through these dance programs, students will have the opportunity to enhance their social skills, confidence, fitness, creativity, and coordination. The program will provide a safe and stimulating learning environment, fostering personal development in both dance skills and physical fitness. Our collaboration with FootSteps ensures a holistic approach to student growth.

The dance sessions will take place every Tuesday throughout Term 2. Each session will last for 45 minutes and will be guided by a specialized instructor from FootSteps Dance Company. The classroom teachers will actively participate alongside the students, enriching the learning experience for all involved. You will be invited at the end of the term to a performance as a compilation of the dance programme. 

The cost of the Dance program for the term is $32.00 per student. We are very fortunate to have The Sunnynook Board of Trustees subsidizing the program by 50%. This means that the cost for each student will be reduced to only $16.00. This works out to just $1.60 per lesson which is very cost effective in comparison to after-school classes.

This cost of $16.00 will be invoiced to you through Kindo Payable accounts:  

As we approach the holidays, it is important to think about what opportunities you can provide to ensure that your child(ren) reads each day. There are huge benefits to reading with your child each day, some of which are:

Reading together as a family during holiday routines strengthens bonds and fosters communication. It provides opportunities for shared experiences, discussions, and reflections, enhancing family relationships and creating lasting memories.

Reading exposes children to new words and phrases they might not encounter in their everyday conversations. This exposure broadens their vocabulary and improves their ability to express themselves both verbally and in writing.

Reading for pleasure during holidays helps children associate reading with enjoyment rather than just academic obligation. Developing a love of reading early in life sets the foundation for a lifelong habit of learning and exploration.

Numerous studies have shown a positive correlation between reading frequency and academic achievement. Children who read regularly tend to perform better in various subjects, including language arts, mathematics, and science.

Overall, encouraging children to read during school holidays not only supports their academic development but also nurtures their curiosity, creativity, and empathy, laying the groundwork for lifelong learning and success.

Our local libraries are free and provide amazing holiday activities for your children to enjoy.

Click the link below to find a range of free activities at libraries across the North Shore and greater Auckland

https://www.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/Pages/school-holidays-events.aspx

Today we were lucky to have students from our kāhui ako high schools come and perform excerpts from their upcoming shows with us. The incredibly talented students entertained and delighted our students and followed with a question session as well as sharing some acting tips. 

Opportunities like this provide inspiration for our students and give them exposure to a range of Art’s genres. One of our ex-Sunnynook pupils Theo Powell is one of the main characters so we are very proud of him.
 

Below are details of the shows (they were most taken with ‘The Three Musketeers!) if you would like to take your children to see the production in its entirety:

Dear Parents/Caregivers

We have been made aware from a member of our Sunnynook community, that there has been a man in a white van at Sunnynook Park who has been making inappropriate and concerning remarks.  He has been seen at Sunnynook Park at the end of the school day when students are returning home.  The police have been informed.  

Today all students have been reminded about going to a trusted adult if they are feeling uncomfortable and not talking to strangers.  We also advised children to go straight home after school.  We ask parents to re-inforce this message with your children.  

If you have arrangements to meet your child at the park after school, we recommend that you are there waiting for them so they are not unsupervised. 

Please contact the police directly should there be any future incidents.  

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 your child arrives on time.

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.

Hero School App
In 2024 our main form of communication with you - our school community, is 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.

Hat Orders
Our school is a SunSmart school and hat-wearing is compulsory for Term 1 and Term 4.  A reminder to place your hat orders as soon as possible. You can place your orders with Argyle Uniforms here or purchase one from the school office for $14.50.