Together We Grow

Ka Tupu Kotāhi ai Tātou – Week 5 

 

Kia ora koutou OVS Whanau and Caregivers,

Welcome to Week 5—can you believe we’re already halfway through the term?

This term we have had a focus on health.  Last week, we had a fantastic visit from St John’s, who shared valuable health and safety knowledge with our students. We received wonderful feedback about the enthusiasm and engagement shown by both our students and our staff!

Looking ahead, we’re excited to welcome Life Education soon and everyone’s favorite giraffe, Harold, and Nadine who will be teaching us even more about healthy social/emotional habits. For our Year 5 and 6 students, Nest Consulting will be coming in soon to lead discussions around puberty ( including a zoom meeting for the parents of Year 5 and 6 children), helping our tamariki understand the changes they’ll experience as they grow.

 It’s shaping up to be a busy and enriching term!

Ngā mihi

 

Heidi Nieddu

 

Dates for your calendar 

Term 4

27th November – Harold and Life ed come to visit

28th November – Whangarei Primary School Kapa Haka festival

6th December – Whole school beach day 

11th December – Kai and Carols

12th December – Year 6 fun day

13th December – Library Pool Party 

17th December – RURU fun day – Wet and wild! 

18th December – Last day of school.   

 

Star Spot – Celebrating Student Learning @ OVS

Every week at assembly we celebrate super OVS students, and this week’s shout out is to say a huge congratulations to our R.U.R.U award winners from today’s assembly .

Week 4’s super star students are Clara and Archer. 

 

In week 5 we are celebrating Ruby and Dillon.

 Ka mau te wehi (that’s outstanding)!   Your wonderful RURU values help to make our school a cool place to be! 

    

 Health Curriculum community survey.

All schools in NZ are required to consult with their school community every two years about their health education programmes. Health education is part of the Health and Physical Education learning area. Learning in health is guided by underlying concepts, key areas of learning and the achievement objectives. The purpose of this consultation is to outline the programmes that we are delivering, how we are delivering them and what we see the education needs are, within health, for our students. The last round of consultation was held in Term 1 2021. Since then we have also been involved in Wellbeing initiatives within our school and as part of the Whangarei Kāhui ako. 

Please fill in our Health Curriculum survey by clicking here.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ugFRrYD9xzjbSW6VzSUNAeECVvo4QyapdlFYqkqc2bQ/edit

Athletics

Last Friday, we travelled to Maungakaramea School for a fantastic athletics event with Waiotira School, celebrating resilience and the ‘Up to Me’ attitude. Our students embodied the RURU values, showing courage, perseverance, and a positive mindset as they gave their all in each event. It was inspiring to see everyone supporting each other, embracing challenges, and demonstrating true team spirit. A big thank you to Maungakaramea School for hosting and to all the students and teachers who made it such a memorable day!

Signing in and out of school

Just a quick reminder that if you are picking up your child early for any reason, please let the office know so we can keep track of who is at school.  Also, if your child is late to school, please make sure they come to the office to be signed in. .  

The Learner FIrst ( Maths)  PD day

Earlier this week we had some teachers from a variety of schools around town come to visit us for the day to learn more about using The Learner First ( our maths program).  We spent some time in Room 4 and in Room 7.  It was an incredibly proud moment for us all to receive such positive feedback about our students and our school from our visitors.  Way to go,  Ōtāika Valley School! 

Swimming Time

Our pool is officially open!  Our expectation is that children will bring their togs daily so that they can learn how to swim, become more confident in the water, improve their swimming techniques, build their fitness, play collaboratively, and just have fun!  Swimming is a part of our curriculum.  As such, if your child cannot swim for any reason, please let your child’s teacher know.  

Pool Keys – watch this space! 

Later this term we will be offering the OVS community the opportunity to buy the school pool key and use the pool over the Christmas holidays and into some of Term 1.  The cost covers chemical costs over the summer and helps to keep our pool ready to swim in.  Keep your eyes on your Hero posts!

Hero – Reporting and technical issues

We’ve encountered some recent issues with the Hero app, and several parents have reported that it occasionally signs them out unexpectedly. I’ve been in touch with the Hero support team, and they’re actively investigating this problem. In the meantime, please check your Hero app regularly to ensure you’re logged in, and keep an eye on your email for any notifications about new Hero updates.  You will receive two real time reporting posts this term, the first of which was posted recently.  At the end of the term you can also expect to see updated expectation graphs, new goals for 2025 and a general report comment.  

PTA Update

Our second art calendar cut off day is fast approaching!  Make sure you make your orders by the 20th November. 

Please reach out to our PTA if you’re interested in supporting our school. Every bit of time you can give makes a difference!  

Next meeting for the PTA – 18th November after school.

 

Next newsletter – Week 7