TERM 3 – Week 5: Newsletter

  FRIDAY 18 AUGUST

Kia ora e te whānau o Birkdale,

Winter weather has been predictably cold and a little miserable. Add to that the pressure of trying to park at school and having children inside more than we would probably like, can sometimes lead to frustration and irritability. 

We really appreciate everyone who enters school and interacts positively with our staff. Unfortuntely, there have been a few occassions lately where this hasn’t been the case. Please remember that all staff at Birkdale are here because they want to help your children be successful and happy. All adults within school grounds whether you’re staff or not, act as rolemodels for our children. If you have a concern you would like to raise with the school, please make a time to discuss it either with your child’s teacher, team leader, Laurie or myself. We would be more than happy to meet with you. You can find our concerns and complaints policy and process on our ‘School Docs’ site.

A note about relievers:

We are experiencing high student and staff absence at the moment. Just like the sickness you’ve had to deal with in your own families, our staff are dealing with sickness of either themselves, or their own family members.

What you’ve read in the news is true, there are limited relievers available; with 4 staff away, we’re lucky to find one reliever to cover. Fortuntely, we’ve not had to close completely due to staff shortages which some schools have needed to, but it does mean that either we split classes, or myself/ Laurie relieve. We don’t mind, and do, but there’s impact on other school work needing to get done (IEPs, reporting etc). Although splitting classes can be a little disruptive for students, our classes are small and our teachers try their best to make learning meaningful and worthwhile no matter who they end up having in class.

Winter can be a stressful time for everyone – let’s stay calm and kind!

Meitaki ma’ata

Whaea Natasha 

SCHOOL MEETINGS

We’ve run 2 out of 4 school hui/meetings to discuss things that matter to you. Your feedback will help create our new school plan forthe next 2 years. Birkdale to 2025!

If you haven’t been able to attend any yet, know you aren’t able to atetnd any coming up OR have thought of something more you’d like to say – here are the questions in an online survey which will take about 5mins (unless you have a lot to share!).

  ************************BIRKDALE to 2025 SURVEY – click here**************************

There are two meetings left:

Pasifika Fono – Pasifika families: Week 6, Thursday 24th August @ 6pm

Auraki Māori Whānau hui – Auraki Māori whānau: Week 9, Thursday 14th September @ 6pm

We will also be trying to catch up with families as we see them to ask: What’s working well, What would be even better if… and, What we’re missing?

HEALTH CURRICULUM

Puberty, vaping, emotional regulation and digital safety are all topics in our whole school health curriculum. Take this short survey and let us know which topics you think are very important and which are not.

   ************************Click this link to take the survey****************************

PROPERTY UPDATE

Netball court You will have seen the damage to our Netball court because of the trucks that helped build the playground. We are repairing it – there are plans to upgrade the courts with turf once the COLA is in.

Covered Outdoor shade – well no suprise to some but there have been delays here. 

Coming up this term…save the dates

ENROLMENTS + COHORT ENTRY

Birkdale Primary School will be moving to ‘Cohort Entry’ from 2024. This will offically start the first day of Term 1, next year.

What is Cohort Entry?

Cohort entry are groups of 5 year old students who start together. Instead of children starting school as soon as they turn 5, students will start at the next available start date.

When will the start dates be?

There are 2 intakes or start dates for 5 year olds a term. The first one is on the first day of the term and the second is a date half way through the term. Across the whole year, there will be 8 dates that 5 year olds can start school. We will publish the start dates for 2024, next term.

Cohort entry will apply to both Māori and English Medium Pathways – the whole school.

Why are you changing to cohort entry?

We feel moving to cohort entry will help students settle faster, as they will be starting with a group of new starts rather than by themselves. Induction for new students and their families will also be easier as we will be able to run set induction meetings. Learning will be less disrupted since there will be groups starting only twice a term, rather than children drip-feeding in through out the term into the classroom.

What happens when I enrol my 5 year old?

You will receive information letting you know when the next start date is – they are ony 5 weeks apart, just over a month. So, if your child turns 5 a few weeks after a start date, they’ll only have a couple of weeks to wait.

We have let our local ECEs and kōhungas know but it’s new and was a little while ago now. You will need to let your child’s ECE centre know that they will be staying past their birthday. 

2024 ENROLMENTS

Please, if you’re in zone and your child is coming to Birkdale Primary this year or the beginning of next, enrol as soon as possible. Our school enforces an enrolment scheme. Out of zone applicants need to be accepted through ballot. Information about the ballot for 2024 will be out next term.

Te Puāwaitanga – Level 1 Immersion Māori Medium. 

This is not bilingual education (Level 2). If you are wishing to enrol your Y0/1 child into TP, you will need to attend an enrolment interview, have an adult living in the home that is fluent in Māori and/or be commited to prioritising te reo Māori in your home by learning the language yourself. If your child is older, they will need to have an oral assessment to ensure they are able to learn fluently in te reo.

ABSENCES

Thank you for keeping your child/ren at home when they are sick. Please remember to phone or message the office when your child is away. We are sometimes sending up to 30 messages home and not getting many responses back. Your child is recorded as Truant if we don’t recieve a reason.