Tēnā Koutou, Talofa Lava, Malo e Lelei, Namaste, Ni sa bula, Noaia’e mauri, Fakalofa lahi atu, Kia Orana, Ni Hao, An Nyung Ha Sai Yo, Nay Ho, Hej, Hallo, Sawat Dee, Cześć, Goeie Dag, សួស្តី, Здравствуйте, hola, 안녕하세요Greetings to our school families.

At the Year 6 Camp Meeting for parents this year I mentioned the need to encourage our kids to “believe they can”, to have a go”, and to grow stronger by taking risks. I they did that. Last week I was so hugely proud to see kids, and adults, try new things, including challenges that seemed too great, or too scary. I sat in a raft next to one student, who prior to camp was really nervous about the White Water Rafting, and watched her smile, laugh with her classmates and ultimately feel proud that she’d become “a rafter”. Our kids can do it. We don’t support our kids by excusing them to opt out. Opting out reinforces that they are somehow not as good, strong or brave as their classmates. Instead, we work with our kids, adjusting the challenge so they face a more “mild” version, than some of their classmates who prefer “spicy”, and then everyone feels like a winner. And winners are grinners!

Nga mihi,

Kathryn Ramel

Principal

School Diary

Week 8: Mon 17 June – Fri 21

  • Fri 21st June – Cultural Friday
  • Fri 21st June – Pizza Day

Week 9: Mon 24 June – Fri 28 June

  • Wed 26th June – School reports sent home
  • Thur 27th June – SBS Matariki celebrations (details below)
  • Fri 28th June – Matariki Public Holiday

Week 10: Mon 1 Jul – Fri 5 Jul

  • Mon 1st July – Year 6  attend Madagascar Production at Mahu College (9.00am-1.00pm)
  • Tues 2nd July – Te Muri Planting Day Nik 1/Nik 2
  • Wed 3rd July – Year 6 Camp Assembly 9am – all invited
  • Wed 3rd July – Parent Interviews (2pm start)
  • Thur 4th July – Parent Interviews (3 – 5pm)
  • Fri 5th July – End of Term Assembly 2:15pm – Rata 2
  • Fri 5th July – Pizza Day

Welcome to our new students – we hope you enjoy your time at our school!

Lily-Rose M, Emily T, Binataake T and Jordan W

Cohort Entry for New Entrants

The Snells Beach School Board of Trustees are considering a change to Cohort Entry for New Entrant Students, starting 2025. We have already had to start a version of this, this term, where we had a small pocket with very few kids turning 5, but not enough to start a class, before a bigger group starting next term.

Cohort entry is where New Entrant students do not start on their birthday, but at set times in a year. There are a number of models you can consider, but we would like to use the model where New Entrants start on the first day of each term, and at another fixed date, where the majority of students will have their birthday, near the middle of the term. This will likely fall in Weeks 4 – 7 of a term.
In 2022, ERO released a comprehensive review into Cohort Entry for New Entrants. You can read the review here:
Essentially, the review found that Cohort Entry supported positive transitions, wellbeing, and learning:
No child had to be “the new kid” – they started with a wee peer group.
The existing class wasn’t continually disrupted as new students were settled in.
It was far easier for teachers to plan for, and track progress of, learning.
Here is the information from the Ministry of Education regarding Cohort Entry in Schools:
This survey is confidential and anonymous. If you would like to discuss your thoughts with Kathryn, please enter your name in the comment box, along with a brief summary of your thoughts.
Have your say and complete the Whanau Cohort Entry Survey here:
The Board will make a final decision on Cohort Entry, following feedback from staff, community & ECE’s in our area.
Year 6 Camp Tongariro

Our Year 6’s had the most perfect weather for their school camp this year. Warm, but with plenty of snow! They caved, rafted, sledded, went up the Sky Waka and negotiated the High Ropes – it was an absolute blast. Huge thank you to our whole school whanau for supporting them to get there and experience this life changing camp. Amy, Roxy, Leon and Andy were the most amazing parent helpers – thank you for what you gave our kids. Marissa took charge of the kitchen and made sure we had full bellies, and the SBS teachers gave it their absolute all. Come along to our Year 6 Camp Assembly on Weds 3 July at 9am to hear more.

Significant Work in the July Holidays – temporary move for Kelly Club
Over the July School Holidays, there will be significant work taking place at SBS, as our sprinkler and fire systems are upgraded. This will involve almost all classroom blocks, and the hall, being fenced off. This created a major problem for both Kelly Club, and our whanau that rely on Holiday Programmes for child care over the holiday period. We were hugely relieved when our mates from the Sandspit Holiday Park leapt to the rescue, and offered the use of their hall and facilities for Kelly Club’s Holiday Programme. Same amazing programme, with some beachy/bushy twists, at a beautiful location. Very limited numbers. Bookings open now! (Bookings are available to families from the wider area – we suggest SBS families book soon).  www.kellyclub.co.nz/snells-beach or contact Lauren 0211954227
SBS Matariki Celebrations
Further details will be sent out next week, but all whanau are invited to come along and celebrate Matariki with us on Thursday 27th June. The day will start with an assembly in the hall, with performances from both our Junior (Yr 0 – 2) and Senior (Yr 3 – 6) Kapa Haka Roopu.  After that, students will take part in an activity rotation, which parents and whanau are also welcome to take part in. Finally, we will all share soup and rolls together at lunchtime. Come along, and learn a little more about Matariki with us!
Kapa Haka Performance – at Matariki at Matakana Village
Our Senior Kapa Haka Roopu will be performing at Matariki at Matakana Village on the Public Holiday, Friday 28th June. Information and a permission slip will come out next week, and we appreciate that some families will have other plans on the holiday. The event runs for much of the day, but we only ask out students to attend for our performance. This year, our Roopu will perform on a stage on the other side of the river – this will look amazing, and be a much nicer performance space, as we were very cramped last year. We will not be asking our Year 3’s to perform – they will perform at our school assembly, but they are very new to the Senior Roopu, and we don’t want them to feel out of their depth in a public performance.

Matariki at Matakana Village runs from 11am to 3pm and also features performances by Matakana School and Mahurangi College.Enjoy delicious kai like whitebait and paua fritters, participate in weaving workshops and face painting (gold coin koha), shop for unique Māori crafts from independent artists and live music. Guest speakers will also share the cultural significance of Matariki.

Support our students and enjoy a day of culture and community. For more details, visit Matakana Village’s event page.

Here’s some pics from last year’s event:

Tawharanui Trip

This week Mrs Young took a group of senior students to visit Tawharanui Regional Park this with Ranger Michael. They learnt about the history of the park, fauna and flora and the pest control methods being used in the park.

Some other interesting facts they learnt:

  • The pest proof fence across the peninsula is 2.5km and was constructed in 2004.
  • Artificial Intelligence is being used effectively in many parts of the park,  to monitor the traps when they have been triggered and hidden cameras are used to identify the pests.
  • The greywacke rock used in the construction of the Auckland Harbour Bridge was dug out from the ground near the start of the park, which later was flooded to create the lagoon.

Thanks to Michelle Brogan and Gay Spittal for being great adult helpers.

Performing Arts Club

Do you have a talent that you would like to share with the school? Would you like to come and practice singing, dancing or drama? Come and join the Performing Arts Club on Wednesdays at lunchtime in the hall. A special note to parents that children will sometimes practice their performances for the school during Values Assembly. This is just for the children but we will be putting on a small performance later in the year for parents, friends and family. Thank you, Mrs Supernault.

Request for milk bottle lids from Rātā 2

We are in desperately in need of light blue and yellow top milk as you can see from our Milo picture. Please drop to the office or the classroom if you have these.

Skoolloop now available on ZERO DATA

We know that times are tough and data for your phone is expensive so we are thrilled to announce that our school app, Skoolloop, is now available on zero data.
Follow the instructions below and you will always be able to access the app, regardless of whether you have data or not. Skoolloop is a great way to receive school notices and to let us know if your child is going to be absent.

 

Basketball for Term 3

If you have a child interested in playing basketball next term please contact Kyle Port on kport@snellsbeach.school.nz. There will be teams for Year 1-2, 3-4 and 5-6. We also need volunteers to coach and manage the teams, without these helpers we will only be able to put in limited teams.
Details are:
Season: 13 weeks (11 regular season games, plus semi-finals and finals).
Cost: $640 per team (plus $12.50 per player GameDay registration fee). Will end up being around $100.00 per player.
Start: Tuesday 23rd July. 3:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Where: Mahurangi Hope Centre
Community Events

Bus drivers needed

Holiday programme