The latest news/Upcoming events
Welcome to term 3, 2017 at Ōpāwa school
Our Term 3 focus is EXCELLENCE.
- Te Wiki o te Reo Māori - this week.
- Fit-A-Thon this week.
- BOT meeting Thursday 14th September, 7pm.
- Year 6 Camp at Arthur's Pass. Room 13 & 16, Monday 18th - Wednesday 20th September; Room 15, Wednesday 20th - Friday 22nd September. Click here for more information.
- Ōpāwa School Learning Celebration Friday 22nd September 1.30 - 3pm - Nau mai, haere mai ki te ngahau ako!
- Combined Board of Trustees, Home & School and Whānau meeting, Monday, September 25th, 7pm.
- Coffee and Chat - Come and hear all about our school wide 'Play, Eat, Learn' initiative on TUESDAY, September 26th, 9am in the school library.
- 2018 Out of Zone pre-enrolment applications are due by WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 27th, 4pm. Forms can be downloaded from the 'Our School' - 'Enrolment' tab above, or collect a form from the school office. This applies to all out of zone siblings of children currently attending Ōpāwa School, as well as new whānau.
Big breakfast '17
policy review
cultural festival performance '17
Wearable Arts '17
cultural festival '17
Scholastics
Two Years ago Scholastic NZ launched LOOP - the easy way for parents to order and pay for Book Club online - as part of our mission to make things easy and less work for schools and to reduce paper usage. From Issue 5 onwards all parent credit card orders must be placed via the LOOP platform. Parents can order online at: scholastic.co.nz or via the LOOP mobile apps.
food allergies and intolerances
The Opāwa Home and School Committee would love to ensure we cater for all Opāwa students at our events. If your family has any food allergies/intolerances you are welcome to identify this to the committee by emailing jessie@onthegophysio.co.nz with your child’s name, year and food allergies/intolerances. We will collate a list and aim to have some options available at our events so that your family can relax and your children don’t need to miss out.
Community Consultation Feedback
Firstly, on behalf of the Board of Trustees and the school management, we would like to thank everyone who contributed to our community consultation process. We had 104 responses to the survey which means that over 40% of families in our school community had their say, making this the most successful consultation process we have had at Ōpāwa School for many years. It was even more pleasing the see the care and consideration that went into these responses; you provided thoughtful and insightful feedback that will provide a wealth of information to inform decision making and guide the future direction of our school.
While in any process there will be differing opinions, we were encouraged to see that there were some clear themes that came through in both our areas of strength and in identifying opportunities for improvement.
Areas of Strength
The quality of the staff was by far the most consistently commented on strength of our school; with respondents describing our staff as "amazing”, “welcoming”, “hard-working”, “dedicated”, “fantastic” and “supportive”. 'Staff are approachable and accessible' was also the highest rating survey question with 89% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing with this statement. The Board gives our sincerest thanks to all the staff at Ōpāwa School for the dedication and passion that they bring every day to support our young voyagers.
A wide range of other things were identified as being valued and strengths of the school including:
· A strong community spirit
· Lovely grounds
· An inclusive and welcoming environment
· Our Te Reo and cultural programme
· Students that are keen and enthusiastic to come to school
Opportunities for Improvement
As is to be expected, while there are many areas of strengths, this community consultation process highlighted a number of areas where there is room for improvement. These key areas have been identified as:
· Condition of the school’s buildings, paths and hard courts
· Behaviour management
· Communication, in particular around how parents/whānau are kept informed of their child's progress
Over the coming month’s this feedback will be used in the development of the school’s strategic plan and in the process of renewal of our school’s buildings. Later in term 3 we aim to be in a position to share a draft strategic plan which will show how we will address these improvement areas. There will be an opportunity in this process for you to give feedback on these strategic plans. We will also continue to keep you updated on the renewal plans.
Thank you again for taking the time to engage in this process and helping to shape the future of our children’s education at Ōpāwa School.
Ngā mihi hui ki a koutou,
Ōpāwa School Board of Trustees
While in any process there will be differing opinions, we were encouraged to see that there were some clear themes that came through in both our areas of strength and in identifying opportunities for improvement.
Areas of Strength
The quality of the staff was by far the most consistently commented on strength of our school; with respondents describing our staff as "amazing”, “welcoming”, “hard-working”, “dedicated”, “fantastic” and “supportive”. 'Staff are approachable and accessible' was also the highest rating survey question with 89% of respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing with this statement. The Board gives our sincerest thanks to all the staff at Ōpāwa School for the dedication and passion that they bring every day to support our young voyagers.
A wide range of other things were identified as being valued and strengths of the school including:
· A strong community spirit
· Lovely grounds
· An inclusive and welcoming environment
· Our Te Reo and cultural programme
· Students that are keen and enthusiastic to come to school
Opportunities for Improvement
As is to be expected, while there are many areas of strengths, this community consultation process highlighted a number of areas where there is room for improvement. These key areas have been identified as:
· Condition of the school’s buildings, paths and hard courts
· Behaviour management
· Communication, in particular around how parents/whānau are kept informed of their child's progress
Over the coming month’s this feedback will be used in the development of the school’s strategic plan and in the process of renewal of our school’s buildings. Later in term 3 we aim to be in a position to share a draft strategic plan which will show how we will address these improvement areas. There will be an opportunity in this process for you to give feedback on these strategic plans. We will also continue to keep you updated on the renewal plans.
Thank you again for taking the time to engage in this process and helping to shape the future of our children’s education at Ōpāwa School.
Ngā mihi hui ki a koutou,
Ōpāwa School Board of Trustees
Arbor Day '17
zone Cross country '17
Year 4 Dictionary presentation '17
effective praise for children
This article can be found in the Southern View, Tuesday - May 2nd 2017 issue.
Food for thought
Garden show preparation '17
WATER - 'Think to drink, drink to think' strategy
We are continuing with the 'Think to drink, drink to think' strategy with all of our students. This is part of the 'Juniors Settling In and Learning Strategies Project', that we are working on with the University of Canterbury. All students received a named water bottle to keep in class. Raesha, Kathleen and Lee from the University of Canterbury gave all students and teachers a presentation this morning about this strategy. Click here for parents/whānau information.
Ngā mihi,
Sally
Ngā mihi,
Sally
Quick Links
Click the image to view Ōpāwa School's Education Review 2014.
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Click the image to see what has been happening at Ōpāwa School in pictures.
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