Newsletter - Friday 8 April 2022

He mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa
Bonjour à toutes nos familles

Life at school at the moment

It is quite the juggle for us at school at the moment and no doubt you are finding that in your own lives too.  We are having to cover teacher absences by using the staff who we have at school, as relievers are unavailable.  We also have a number of children either isolating or sick and teachers are trying to manage on site learning as well as home learning.  This has put a huge strain on our staff and as a result we will not be running our connection time or googlemeets with children for the rest of the term. Unfortunately we do not have the capacity to manage it with our staff absences. Being in the third year of a global pandemic is certainly starting to bite! 

School Communications

From now on we will send the newsletter out weekly (which means double the jokes for you) in order to increase the communication that gets sent home, following on from feedback from parents. We’ve added an ‘Upcoming Events’ section at the end of the newsletter to help keep you up to date with what’s coming up. Email Sarah with any questions regarding communication because then we are able to answer those questions quickly for you. 

We know some people have had issues with the app, like not being able to have children at different schools on the same app. If you are having technical issues with the app, please get in touch with the developers directly as they are the ones to help out (etap@etap.co.nz).  However, if you’re still not using the app you can email office@ridgway.school.nz  so you can be sent the information.

Whole School Picnic on the Field - PB4L reward

Next week we will have a whole school picnic on the field to celebrate all the R cards the tamariki have been collecting. This will be a fun afternoon with games and music on our school field.  We will wait until Monday to announce a day because it is obviously weather dependent. 

Board of Trustees Newsletter

You can find the Board's current newsletter here.  It includes information about:

• An update on the future of 7 & 8 at Ridgway; with further consultation planned

• Board elections

• School improvements, and

• Whānau hui group. 

Seesaw on the bike track

Bike On NZ Charitable Trust picked up the cost of repairing the Seesaw on the bike track. Thanks to Mike Barker for fixing it, again!

Next week’s end of term assemblies

Kereru/Kaka: Wednesday 13 April 10am Assembly link

Ruru: Wednesday 13 April 11.30am Assembly link

Kōtare: Thursday 14 April 10:30am Assembly link

Tui: Thursday 14 April 12pm  Assembly link

Upcoming Events

Next week: school picnic - at school on the field one afternoon, weather dependent (day TBC on Monday)

Thursday 14 April: last day of Term 1: 3pm

Monday 2 May: first day of Term 2

Monday 16 May:  School closes at 1pm for Kahui Ako Super Hui 

Monday 30 May: Teacher Only Day (teachers working with Rongohia te Hau)

Thursday 2 June: School Photo Day

Wednesday June 22:  Matariki Celebration in the evening

Friday 24 June: Matariki Public Holiday

Monday 27 June: move into the new building (TBC)

Community Notices

Link to our Community News

Welly Philosophy & Creativity is a new holiday programme offered at Ridgway in April. It invites young people aged 10-14 to grow as critical and creative thinkers in a playful atmosphere. Every day, the programme will include a mix of:

-          Philosophical dialogues to explore fascinating questions that matter to young people and to the world;

-          Collaborative creative projects, from making witty comic books to putting on whimsical plays;

-          Outdoor activities including sports, camp games and scavenger hunts!

This programme was designed by a team of educators and researchers at Victoria University of Wellington, notably Dr Baptiste Roucau and Dr Sondra Bacharach, who facilitated philosophy workshops at Ridgway in 2018 and 2019 and a similar programme for younger children in January 2022. 

Dates: April 18-22 (including public holidays)

Time: Drop off 8.30-9am; pick up 3.30-4.30pm.

Location: Ridgway School, 120 Mornington Road, Brooklyn, Wellington 6021, in the classrooms on the field. 

Cost: $75 per child.

Email baptiste.roucau@gmail.com for more details. 

Nga mihi.

 

Sarah Taylor

Deputy Principal

Ridgway School