A warm Rototuna Primary welcome to all our new whānau, and returning whānau. It was so lovely to see many of you at morning drop off time last week. The students have been so happy to be back and have settled into their new classrooms well. We started the school year with a whakatau for new 5 year old students and ended our first week of school with a whole school gathering last Friday. It was a fabulous whole school hui where we introduced all of our teachers, sang waiata, introduced our new vision and values, shared some safety rules and got excited about all of the opportunities to look forward to this term. Here are some of the planned events that we are excited about this term:
Summer Sports enrolments are open for Flippa ball, Mini Ball, Touch Rugby
Y4-6 School Swimming Sports
Y4-6 Interschool Swimming Sports
New Entrant / Year 1 Parent Literacy Workshop
Whānau Picnic
Y0-2 Fun Run
Year 3-6 FUN Tabloid Sports
Whole School Manaaki Celebration
Year 5 and Year 6 Beach Education Elective
PTA Gala
Please refer to the calendar at the bottom of this newsletter for specific dates and times.
Last Thursday NZ celebrated Waitangi Day, a significant day in New Zealand's history. It provided us with the opportunity to reflect on our commitment to being Te Tiriti partners. Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Treaty of Waitangi, is a foundational document that shapes our nation's identity and calls for a partnership between Māori and non-Māori New Zealanders. As teachers, understanding and embracing this partnership is crucial in fostering a sense of unity, respect, and cultural appreciation within our kura (school). At Rototuna Primary School we learn about the Te Tiriti o Waitangi in our classrooms, we embed Māori culture, language, and traditions in our daily school life, and above all, we foster an environment where diversity is embraced. We are proud to be active Te Tiriti partners at Rototuna Primary School and are appreciative of the valued support we receive from our Kaumatua and Kaiako Te Ao Māori.
We have whakawhanaungatanga hui next week - see below for further details. Our teachers ook forward to meeting with you and supporting your child as they continue their learning journey at our kura (school). Ngā mihi Kylie
Whakawhanaungatanga Hui with your child's teacher
At Rototuna Primary School, we value whakawhanaungatanga hui where we meet the parents at the start of every school year to learn more about your child and your whānau. This approach is the opposite to the traditional Meet the Teacher evenings that schools often organise. Our whakawhanaungatanga hui is a time for the teacher to listen to whānau, to be curious about your child and to learn as much as they can about your child and your whānau. Our school’s whakawhanaungatanga approach helps teachers to build a trusting relationship with you and supports them as your child’s teacher to be able to be culturally responsive in their practice to meet your child’s unique needs. We have attached a document which outlines some of the things you may wish to share with us.
Whakawhanaungatanga hui is not a session for children to attend and it also isn’t the right time to discuss academic achievements - we will have many other opportunities to discuss this once our learning programmes are up and running!
You can go online to schoolinterviews.co.nz and use the code provided below to book your hui time now. Go to: www.schoolinterviews.co.nz
Enter the event code: bkkfp
Or go to the School App, click on the 3 lines on the top left of the app, click on links, scroll down and click on Parent Teacher Interviews, this will take you directly to the booking page.
Remember you will need to enter the event code: bkkfp
Our first week back for 2025 has been very special for our kura. We have been absolutely thrilled with you, our whānau, for the way you have supported our new uniform policy. We have had 99% of our students In Y1-5 turn up in the correct uniform from day 1. This is outstanding! We thank those parents for supporting your children in wearing the correct uniform each day! The students too are so proud to be wearing the uniform and they are taking pride in representing our kura.
As the school uniform is policy and a bylaw it is a requirement that students will be wearing the correct uniform each day. Below are the uniform guidelines for our kura (school):
Currently we have a small handful of students who are being reminded to wear the correct black shoes, and the correct bottoms or tops.
From Week 3 of this term, if any child is not wearing the correct uniform, we will follow the process which is outlined in our uniform guidelines and written below:
Process for students who do not follow our School Uniform Requirements:
We follow school processes for managing non-compliance with our uniform policy and requirements, which may include contacting parents/caregivers and involving senior staff.
If your child is unable to wear the uniform due to an emergency situation, parents are to send an email to the class teacher explaining the situation.
If a child does not wear the uniform without a written explanation, they will be given a verbal warning and a reminder about our uniform requirements.
If this occurs again, then an email will be sent home by the classroom teacher.
We will follow our school behaviour guidelines for continual non-compliance with our school uniform policy and requirements.
If uniform breaches are due to financial hardship, our uniform supplier, the Brand Makers, will support families with payment plans and WINZ applications.
Thank you again for your support. It has been absolutely outstanding!
At Rototuna Primary School we use OfficeMax for our school stationery orders. Click on the link below to find information about setting up your OfficeMax account:
Click here to go to www.myschool.nz to order your child's stationery online.
If you require any further information about how to order school stationery, please contact one of us in the office. We are more than happy to help!
Sunhats
Our sunhat policy continues for Term 1 of 2025. We require students to wear hats whenever they are outside and involved in school activities. Students without a hat must remain in an allocated shaded area at break times.
Our sunhat policy is a little bit different this year. Hats must be the Rototuna Primary School uniform bucket hat or cap. Caps must be worn so that they provide protection to the eyes. Students who wear cultural head dress (eg hijab and patka) are exempt from wearing a sunhat.
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.
IllnessPlease keep unwell children at home to avoid spreading illness. 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.
To show care for other students and staff at Rototuna Primary School the following criteria has been developed in response to Ministry of Health Guidelines. If your child becomes unwell at school the teacher will refer them to the Sickbay. The first aider will contact you to collect them if necessary. 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.
Communication with whānau
We communicate with our whānau in many different ways:
Fortnightly newsletters: a link to our newsletters 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:
All 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
Student 'phones away for the day' regulation
As you may be aware, the Government introduced regulations that require all state schools and kura to have student phone rules in use. Rules must be in use as soon as possible in Term 1 2024 and no later than Term 2. The regulations require that schools must ensure students do not use or access a phone while they are attending school, including during lunch time and breaks. This includes students who are on a school course or on a visit outside the school grounds.
Our school has an existing student phone/digital device policy which meets the government regulations regarding student phones. The policy also includes management of other digital devices (like smartwatches, ipads, tablets, computers) owned by the student. Attached is the policy for your information.
Any digital devices (including smartwatches) that are brought to school by a student must be signed in at the office before the 9.00am bell. The devices will be stored safely for the day and the student can pick their device up at the end of the school day.
We appreciate your support with this policy. If you wish to contact your student at any time during the school day, you are welcome to phone the office.
Safe Travel to School Pledge
Safe Travel to School Pledge
As you will be aware there are times when our drop off and pick up zones are inundated with traffic and the safe traffic and parking rules are not followed. This causes unnecessary stress and tension at drop off and pick up times.
Student safety is our priority and we have partnered with Cameron Ward and the Hamilton City Council to create a Safe Travel to School parent pledge. This document outlines the expectations that our school and the Hamilton City Council have of you, our parents when dropping off and picking up students.
Your eldest child will bring home a copy of this document for whānau to read. On the back page we would appreciate you signing a pledge agreeing to follow the Safe Travel to School expectations and return the 'tear-off' slip at the back of the book to school with your children's names and room numbers.
It is important that you put all your children's names and room numbers on the form because all children who names are on a signed pledge will receive an ice block in early March.
Signed pledges are due to be returned to school by Friday 28 February.
We look forward to your support of the Safe Travel to School Pledge and improve drop off and pick up times for all whānau and keep our students safe.
Rototuna Primary School 2025 Swimming Sports: Years 4,5 & 6 Competitive Only
Rototuna Primary School 2025 Swimming Sports: Years 4,5 & 6 Competitive Only
Date: Monday 26 February 2025
TIme: 10.00am to -12.30pm
Venue: Fairfield College School Pool
Cost: $8.00 per student
We are excitedly looking forward to our school swimming sports on Monday 26th February. A big thank you to Fairfield College for allowing us to use their school pool to run our school swimming sports.
This year we will only be able to take students who are very confident, capable, competitive swimmers able to race over 25m using the correct stroke without stopping.
If you are a student in Year 6 and are selected to go to the Fairfield Cluster Interschools swimming event on Thursday 14th March, this will clash with the second Year 6 Camp (Rooms 33 & 39). Contact will be made directly with these students and families closer to the time.
PLEASE NOTE: There is no facility to accommodate non competent students or non swimmers.
Events will be: Freestyle, Backstroke & Breaststroke
Registrations close: Wednesday 14 February 2024
Please consider your child's swimming ability very carefully before enrolling them on KINDO.
For further information please contact Anna Beveridge: annab@rototunaprimary.school.nz
Concerns and Complaints Procedure
Where appropriate, Rototuna Primary School handles concerns and complaints informally in the first instance with your child's classroom teacher. If you would like to raise a concern with us, please follow the steps outlined in the concerns and complaints policy attached below. The leadership team are here to help and support.
Knowing your child is very important to us. This is an opportunity for you to meet with your child's teacher and tell them about your whānau, let them know your child’s strengths, their interests and hobbies, their friends, and what your aspirations are for your child as well as anything else you think the teacher should know about your child.
Your child's classroom
Y4-6 School Swimming Sports
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Fairfield College
Literacy Workshop for New Entrant / Year 1 parents
