The latest news/Upcoming events
Welcome to term 3, 2017 at Ōpāwa school
Our Term 3 focus is EXCELLENCE.
- Senior Kapa Haka Wananga is on Sunday 6th August, 10am-3pm in the school hall. We only 4 weeks to go until we are on stage at the Horncastle Arena! PLEASE REMEMBER all YEAR 4 -8 senior Kapa Haka members need to attend our wananga. This rehearsal day is very important, as it is when we finalise all choreography.
- Sausage Sizzle each Thursday. $2 a sausage.
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
Matariki - Māori new year
Ngā mihi o te tau hou ki a koutou katoa.
(Happy New Year to you all.)
As part of our ‘in-school’ Matariki Celebration, we were lucky to have a team from the Christchurch City Council Libraries pick our school, to come and present their interesting plays, fascinating Matariki facts and artistic stars. The children were captivated for an hour with some tamariki recording the presentation to share with the whole school at Te Reo Māori. Over the last two weeks of school, your children will be involved in a variety of activities, both in their own class and with Whaea Tracy, including, soup making, weaving stars and windmills with paper, origami stars and star boxes, designing posters, poem writing, ‘mihi’ writing, story-telling, singing, plays and recreating the woollen stars.
Quite a number of parents have found their child’s ‘hoe’ (paddle) which is up in our school hall. The childrens’ ‘mihi’ (their written, individual, personal introduction) is on the back with a stunning visual representation of themselves on the front.
Ka mau te wehi!
(Happy New Year to you all.)
As part of our ‘in-school’ Matariki Celebration, we were lucky to have a team from the Christchurch City Council Libraries pick our school, to come and present their interesting plays, fascinating Matariki facts and artistic stars. The children were captivated for an hour with some tamariki recording the presentation to share with the whole school at Te Reo Māori. Over the last two weeks of school, your children will be involved in a variety of activities, both in their own class and with Whaea Tracy, including, soup making, weaving stars and windmills with paper, origami stars and star boxes, designing posters, poem writing, ‘mihi’ writing, story-telling, singing, plays and recreating the woollen stars.
Quite a number of parents have found their child’s ‘hoe’ (paddle) which is up in our school hall. The childrens’ ‘mihi’ (their written, individual, personal introduction) is on the back with a stunning visual representation of themselves on the front.
Ka mau te wehi!
Arbor Day '17
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zone Cross country '17
Year 4 Dictionary presentation '17
Tower construction - room 12 & 14
effective praise for children
This article can be found in the Southern View, Tuesday - May 2nd 2017 issue.
Food for thought
cross country '17
tabloid sports '17
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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