2024 Newsletter - Week 8, Term 1
Greenmeadows School, 22nd March 2024
PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Tēnā koutou kātoa,
I wish to express my sincere thanks to the small group of parents who helped at our recent working bee in the junior playground. We are not far off getting this space reopened and while we have had to scale it down a bit, I'm sure our youngest children will appreciate having their own space back. Our next working bee is this Sunday at 9:00 am and we could use a few extra hands if you are available. Please bring a wheelbarrow, shovel and rake (if you have them). Look forward to seeing you there!
Earlier this month, Central Football recognised girl's and women's month by offering football sessions to all of our girls, and this week they ran a girls only football tournament which 54 of our girls took part in. We've had 30 children sign up for guitar lessons and an incredible 72 registrations for our Ukettes! Wednesday mornings see around 35 - 40 children regularly attend our chess club and this past Wednesday afternoon saw hundreds (no exaggeration) of children try out senior kapa haka. Just a few examples of some of the neat opportunities available to our learners.
Finally, thank you for those of you who have taken time to provide feedback on our school vision. At present, most feedback has been supportive of change, but there have also been some great suggestions about retaining the school values: Respect, Perseverance and Excellence. There was also a suggestion to have the values translated into Māori - something which we will continue to consult on throughout this process. The survey is still open if you'd like to contribute your thoughts.
Ka kite anō,
Darren Holloway
Principal
WELCOME TO GREENMEADOWS SCHOOL
We welcome Asher Shoaf, Alex Turner, Yerin Lee, Blair Husband, Ben Smuts and Rewi Hemopo.
Our roll is currently sitting at 448.
We wish every one of you, all the very best for your time at Greenmeadows School.
EASTER HOLIDAYS
It's been a while since the Easter holidays landed in term time. In recent years, Easter has fallen in the holidays so you may not have noticed which days are deemed public holidays for schools. Please be aware that our school is closed on the following days:
29 March - Good Friday
1 April - Easter Monday
2 April - Easter Tuesday
PLANNED NETWORK OUTAGE
Our network is due to be upgraded next week from Monday to Wednesday (25 - 27 March). During this time we expect to have periodic interruptions to our internet and telephone services. If you try calling the office during this time and do not get an answer, you may need to wait a while before calling back or potentially visit the office in person if it is urgent.
BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL CARE SURVEY
We are wanting a clearer understanding around the before and after school care requirements for students at GMS. If your child attends any of these can you please assist us by clicking on the link below and completing the short survey:-
GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN SUPPORT GROUP
The local group of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren have been in touch to advise their next monthly catch up is on the 5th April 2024, 10.30am at All Saints Church, corner of Puketapu Rd and Church Road Taradale.
Come along for a coffee and a chat. All grandparents raising grandchildren welcome.
For more information about our friendly group contact Leonie Lewis 0276074748
UNION MEETINGS
You may be aware of upcoming meetings for teachers union meetings, scheduled for 26 and 28 March. In order to allow union members to attend these meetings, we will be spreading attendance over four meetings. Therefore, we will NOT be closing the school and your children should attend as usual over these days. There will not be any interruption to learning programmes as we will be working in buddy classes.
KEEPING OURSELVES SAFE
Our teaching and learning in this area has been going well. Most classes will continue to work on this programme for another week or so. One area that parents need to monitor closely, is the online safety of their children. I recently met with Rob Cope who is working pretty hard to educate parents about online risks and how to minimize them. He is running a seminar in Napier soon and I strongly encourage all parents to go. You can find the event details below, and you can save some money when booking by using the event code: GREENMEADOWS2024
TRAFFIC UPDATE
Thank you to those of you who have responded to our request with regards to entering the church car park on a left hand turn. I appreciate that it may increase your journey time to make that happen and I understand your frustration that we haven't had more uptake on the request.
On the subject of the church car park, please park considerately to allow other users to enter or exit their cars without causing damage to neighbouring vehicles.
PLAYGROUND SUPERVISION
If you choose to allow your child to play on our playground outside of normal school hours (e.g. during cricket matches on Saturday morning or after school during the week) then please ensure that they are supervised by an adult. When the gates are locked, we expect that people do not enter our grounds.
GMS SCHOOL BOARD - CASUAL VACANCY FOR A PARENT REPRESENTATIVE
With the resignation of Chris Siebert from our school board, a casual vacancy has occurred for an elected parent representative. The Board has decided to fill the vacancy by selection.
If 10% or more of eligible voters on the school roll ask the board, within 28 days of this notice being published, to hold a by-election to fill the vacancy, then a by-election will be held.
Request for a by-election should be emailed to:
Ryan Hambleton
Presiding Member
No later than Thursday 18th April 2024.
ABSENT NOTIFICATIONS
If your child is going to be absent from school, please let the school know before 9.00am on that morning.
To report your child being away please use the school app. Find the absence "button" then select the "email" button.
If we cannot make contact with you or receive notification, truancy will be called.
OSCAR ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
OSCAR are holding their Annual General Meeting on Monday 6th May 2024 at 5.30pm. Anybody is welcome to attend.
PTA NEWS - YUMMY APPLE STICKERS
Please keep collecting the Yummy Apple Stickers in 2024.
Shop at your local New World, Pak’n Save and participating Four Square stores. Purchase Yummy apples, either bags with cut-out labels or individual apples with Yummy stickers. One cut-out label is worth 10 apple stickers.
Send the stickers into school to be placed on collection sheets in each class. However, if you would like your own collection sheet for home please collect one from the school office. Competition runs until the end of Term 3 2024.
GMS SCHOOL APP LINK
This is how we communicate with the school community any importmant messages or reminders.
Contact Us
Email: admin@gms.school.nz
Website: http://www.gms.school.nz/
Location: Greenmeadows School 45 Osier Road, Greenmeadows, Napier, New Zealand
Phone: +64 06-844 7024
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gmsnapier