In this Welcome Back to Term 3 newsletter you will find:
A little bit about our Tremendous Three
Our Puna of Manaaki focus for Week 1
Renaming of our Building and new classroom numbers
What's events are on the calendar for Term 3
A property update
Safety Reminders
Sickness and Contact detail update reminders
Communication with whānau
Enjoy your weekend whānau and we look forward to seeing the students back on Monday 22 July 2024. Ngā mihi Kylie
Kia Manawanui - Be Strong of Heart
Kia Manawanui At Rototuna Primary School we value being part of a team that strives to achieve kindness, safety and strength of heart. We will all be working to achieve the tremendous 3 next term and would love you to support us with this kaupapa (strategy).
Renaming of our Hubs and New Classroom Numbers
We have renamed our hubs to align with our vision. During the holidays new signage has been erected on each hub. During this process we also renumbered the classrooms. Attached is a document to clearly show the changes that have been made. Even though classroom numbers have changed, there is no change to the actual classroom that your child is in.
We communicate with our whānau in many different ways:
Fortnightly newsletters: a link to our newsketters will be sent to whānau via a school app notification. The school newsletters can also be found on our website. Online Newsletters
Website: Our school website has been recently refreshed and has lots of information about our school. RPS Website
School Calendar: We post all our school events on the school calendar for whānau to view: Online calendar
Facebook Page: We share lots of everyday notices and celebrations via our Facebook Page. If you are a facebook user, make sure you follow our page so you get up-to-date notifications: RPS Facebook
SchoolAppsNZ: This app is widely used by all of our whānau. This app allows easy access to many functions via a mobile phone.
It is important that you reset your notifications each year to align with your child/ren's year level so that you get the correct notifications.
You can access the following information from this app:
ll of your children’s assessment and reporting via Spotlight and Reports
Absentee (email or phone notification that your child will be absent)
Calendar (school events)
Contacts (email staff)
Kindo (School payments programme)
Lunch Orders (pre-order student lunches)
Newsletters (current information)
Check-In (this was set up during COVID times for contactless sign in and sign out of the school grounds -you can still use this to sign in and out rather than coming to the school office)
@School Parent Portal (Spotlight) The @school app supports parents to easily access all things learning, assessment and reporting for their children, via our student management system (etap). If you cannot remember your User ID please contact Delwyn (reception@rototunaprimary.school.nz) who is more than happy to provide this for you. Check Out the Help Sheet for further information.
Kindo: Rototuna Primary School works with Kino to offers you a simple and quick way to view and pay for school items, complete registration and permission forms for trips, sports and support fundraisers. This is our preferred method of payment, and we encourage you to set-up your myKindo account today. Kindo Information
Puna of Manaaki
Puna of Manaaki Time
Next week we will continue teaching Puna of Manaaki time in each classroom. All teachers will teach the Puna of Maanaki lessons every morning from 9.05-9.15am so that we are ALL learning the Rototuna Way. We will have a different school-wide focus for each week. Our Puna of Manaaki lesson for Week 1 next term is focused on Manaaki:
Sickness
Going to school every day is important for all school aged tamariki (children). It helps build their confidence and social skills, and to achieve their education and life ambitions. This information helps you decide when it is okay to send your child to school, when you should keep your child at home and when you should contact a health professional for advice.
These guidelines have been developed to ensure that your child is completely well before returning to school and therefore less likely to become unwell again. The guidelines are also in place to protect other ākonga (students) and the staff at Rototuna Primary School School.
Have your Contact Details Changed? Please make sure that we have the correct contact details for your child on record. You can check these details through the parent portal at www.atschool.nz using your User ID and Password.
If any of the following details have changed, please let us know:
Mobile number
Email address
Home address
Work number
Emergency contacts
Medical Information for your child
Please send through any updates to reception@rototunaprimary.school.nz or pop in and see one of our friendly office staff.
Term 3 Events
Below are the planned events for Term 3:
Week 1 Monday 22 July 9.00am Whakatau for new entrant students starting school 11.00am Whole School Welcome Back Hui 1.30pm Board Meeting
Week 4 Tuesday 13 August: Fun Run Yr 3-6 (9.30 - 12.30) Wednesday 14 August: ICAS English Yr 4-6 Thursday 15 August: PPD Fun Run Yr 3-6 Friday 16 August: PTA Read-a-thon closes
Week 8 Wednesday 11 September: Wig Wednesday - Child Cancer
Week 9 Monday 16 September - Friday 20 September: Te Wiki o te Reo Māori Monday 16 September - Thursday 19 September: Nohotahi (Parent Teacher Interviews) Friday 20 September: Te Āo Māori Whole School Celebration and PTA Disco
Week 10 Monday 23 September: Board Meeting Friday 27 September: Last Day of Term
Safety Reminders
AbsencesIf your child is absent from school or will arrive late due to attending a before school appointment, please use either one of the following options: Phone 07 853 2470 and leave a message on the answer phone. Please state the child's name, room number and reason for the absence or lateness. If no reason is given it is recorded as explained but unjustified according to the Ministry of Education guidelines.
You can also log into SchoolApp and use the absentee link.
If students are late for school: Please sign your child in at the office where they will be issued with a late card to take to the classroom. Late arrivals are also recorded on our attendance system.
If you follow these requests, we will not have to contact you to check on a student’s safety. If there is a concern about your child’s attendance, we will contact you via email with details from our system so that you are fully aware of the reasons for the contact.
Road Patrol DutyIt is our normal practice for road patrol duty teachers to bring any student back to the front of the school office if they haven't been picked by the time the road patrol has ended. We prioritise child safety and would never leave a child unsupervised on Thomas Road or Hukanui Road. When the teacher on road patrol duty does bring a student back to the front of the office, please ensure that a phone call is made to the parent to let them know they are now at the front of the school office area waiting for pick up.
Arrival At School Please remember that there is no supervision of children on the covered courts before school. We want to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of your children so we ask that you do not drop your children off unattended at school before 8.00am. If you do need to drop your children at school earlier than 8.00am we recommend considering before school care. This is provided by an external agency: Kiwi Club in our school Hall. Refer to the link for further information: Kiwi Club
Children are welcome to go to classrooms from 8.30am, when teachers will be in classrooms.
Playground Extension Update
The PTA funded Playground Extension is well underway but unfortunately won't be open for the start of Term 3. We will keep you updated with progress.
