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.
Welcome back, and a particularly warm welcome to our many new students and families. The start of the year seemed to go exceptionally smoothly, and when I have popped in to classes, everyone has seemed quickly happy and settled – let the good times roll!
A reminder for our new parents that once again, our Board have opted into the MOE School Donations Scheme, so there are no fees of any sort to pay this year, for anything except camps. Parents of students in Year’s 5 & 6 may wish to start making small payments towards this, if it helps relieve the pressure at the time. See/contact the office for details.
SBS does not do Bring Your Own Device. All devices that our students use (Chromebooks in Years 3 – 6 & iPads in Years 1 – 2) are provided here at school, 1:1 for our Seniors.
I’m looking forward to catching up with many of you at next week’s Meet & Greet – I really love seeing the kids relaxing and having fun together, and parents meeting. Communities are stronger when people know each other.
Ngā mihi nui,
Kathryn Ramel
Principal
School Diary
Week 2: 10th Feb – 14th Feb
- Fri 14.2 Yr 3 – 6 Kapa Haka in hall 2:00pm – 2:45pm
Week 3: 17th Feb – 21st Feb
- Mon 17.02 Junior swimming
- Tue 18.02 Junior swimming
- Weds 19.02 Junior swimming, Year 5 Camp Parent Meeting, Board Meeting 6:30pm in Rātā 2 (temporary staffroom)
- Thur 20.02 Junior swimming
- Fri 21.2 Full School Assembly 2:00pm, Junior swimming Snells Fun Beach Day
Week 4: 24th Feb – 28th Feb
- Mon 24.02 Senior School Athletics
- Tues 25.02 Middle School Athletics
- Fri 28.2 Yr 3 – 6 Kapa Haka in hall 2:00pm – 2:45pm
Welcome to our new students – we hope you enjoy your time at our school!
Daniel B, Reggie B, Marika B, Ivy B, Lucian C, Willow-Rose C, Liv C, Eden D, Noa F, Willow F, Avigail H, Remy H, Emily M, Elijah P, Zach P, Albert R, Indi R, Tairangi R, Mack R, Nina R, Eva R, Ted R, Frida S, Harsifat S, Ariana-Lee V, Rylen W, Lilly Y
Keeping in touch – communication is key
Keeping in touch is important. We need to be able to contact whānau quickly and efficiently. If you have changed address or contact details, please let us know asap, either via email admin@snellsbeach.school.nz, or by calling the school office 09 425 6058.
- Following our school Facebook page or Instagram
“Snells Beach School”, which operate as a digital newsletters. This is a great way to get quick updates and reminders. We post reminders and notices on Facebook – Instagram is more quick updates and snapshots of school life
- Downloading our School App
Simply download the “Skool Loop” app from either App Store or Play Store & select “Snells Beach School” from the drop down box to receive instant notifications & reminders. This is an effective way to get immediate notices – they will pop up direct to your phone. Mahurangi College use the same app which is useful – just use the drop down box to change schools.
- Subscribing to our school email database
Please email us admin@snellsbeach.school.nz to be added to the list. If you do not receive this newsletter via email on Friday afternoon, you are NOT in our database. All new families should have been added – please check. You can unsubscribe at any time.
- School Newsletters
We do not usually print newsletters – just the first one each term while people update their contact details if needed. They are emailed out or linked to our school Facebook page. School newsletters come out once a fortnight – teachers may send home additional class or team messages at other times.
Who’s who – what’s new?!
We have some changes to our staff this year, mainly due to growth and the retirement of Ms McDonald & Mrs Fergusson. We welcome two new full time teachers into our SBS family, introduced in more detail below, and a number of part time teachers, in roles supporting staff and students, whom we will introduce in the next newsletter. Here’s an overview of teaching staff here at SBS:
Senior Leadership: (Based in our temporary office – Rātā 1 this term)
- Miss Kathryn Ramel – Principal
- Mr Trent Morley – Associate Principal & SENCO (Special need support), Years 0 – 3
- Mr Kyle Port – Associate Principal & SENCO (Special need support), Years 4-6
Team Leaders:
- Mr Ben Howson – Senior School (Years 5 & 6)
- Mrs Jade Walker – Middle School (Years 3 & 4)
- Mrs Nicki Holland – Year 2
- Miss Sarah Jolliffe – Year 0/1
Senior School:
- Totara 1: Mr Ben Howson, Yr 6
- Totara 2: Mrs Stacey Marfleet, Yr 6
- Kōwhai 1: Mr Colin Chapman, Yr 5/6
- Nīkau 1: Mrs Laura Morley, Yr 5
- Nīkau 2: Mrs Toni Waddell, Yr 5
Middle School:
- Kōwhai 2: Mrs Edie Henchie, (& Mrs Heather Dean – Fridays), Yr 4
- Puriri 1: Mr Sam Sutherland (& Mrs Holly Browne – Tuesdays), Yr 4
- Puriri 2: Mrs Jade Walker, Yr 4
- Manawa 1: Mrs Jen Sands, Yr 3
- Manawa 2: Mrs Tracey Hardey, Yr 3
Junior School:
- Kahikatea 1: Mrs Nicki Holland, Yr 2
- Kahikatea 1: Ms Kat Wallis, Yr 2
- Kauri 2: Miss Rachel Waterhouse, Yr 2
- Kauri 1: Mrs Sally Jack, Yr 2
- Rimu 1: Mrs Jess Supernault, New Entrant Yr 1
- Rimu 2: Mrs Sarah Jolliffe, New Entrant Yr 1
If you need to contact your child’s teacher, all email addresses are on our website.
Welcome to Mr Sam Sutherland and Mrs Stacey Marfleet!
We feel very lucky to have had Sam join the SBS crew. He is a long time local, who has been playing for the Warkworth Football Club since he was 4 years old and is still heavily involved playing and coaching. Sam is a keen and talented musician, playing the guitar and piano – he loves all music. He was already teaching his class songs and waiata on his first morning here. (Miss Ramel is SUPER excited to have another guitarist in the school for Kapa Haka). Sam is teaching a Year 4 class in Puriri 1. On Tuesdays that class will be taught by Holly Browne who we are delighted to have back from maternity leave.
Stacey is a proud Westie, who has swapped her view of the Waitakeres, for Kawau Bay. Stacey is a wonderful teacher, who has come to join her one, soon to be two, daughters here at SBS. She is particularly experienced in working with Senior School students, and we are lucky to have someone with her knowledge and skills. We are also looking forward to taking her on her first Tongariro Camp next term! Stacey and her whānau live at the beach in their spare time, and travel regularly to Samoa to visit whānau and ‘aiga there. Stacey is teaching a Year 6 class in Tōtara 2.
SBS Beach Meet & Greet 2024 – next Weds 11 Feb at Snells Beach 5:00pm – 6:30pm
You will have received information regarding our SBS Meet and Greet next week. This is an opportunity to:
- meet your child’s teacher
- meet your child’s class mates and new friends (before you get asked for play dates!)
- meet other families from our SBS community
You will also receive some “parent homework” to bring along to the teacher that evening. This is an opportunity for you to help us get to know your child a little better, so we can really understand them and their strengths, interests and needs.
Bring a picnic dinner, or buy a sausage sizzle, and come on down!
PTA Meeting – Monday 10 Feb (next week) 7pm in Rātā 2 (temporary staffroom)
New to the area and/or SBS, and keen to meet some of the locals? We can confirm that our PTA are NOT the Parents To Avoid! Pop along to the PTA meeting on Monday night to check it out. There will be “cold drinks”, no-one arguing over the dishes or bedtime and a great bunch to enjoy the peace with. Want to know more, or keen but can’t make it? You can email them at pta@snellsbeach.school.nz
What’s the deal with all the building stuff happening?
Our Admin, Office, Sickbay and Library building will be being worked on over the duration of Term 1. We are hopeful that we will get handover late in the term, so we can move in and be “back to normal for Term 2”. We are still learning to work in our new setup – and trying to figure out what is stored in which container. It’s really challenging for the Admin crew, to say the least, but the kids have adapted quickly, and are as unfazed as ever. The Admin Building will be getting a new roof, and some remediation work done to fix a condensation issue we were having with the steel framing design. We will acknowledge her more closer to re-opening, but we wanted to say a huge thank you to Celene Busher Nepia, one of our SBS parents who has assisted us with our colour choices as the interior is reworked – Celene is amazing and easy to work with. If you require any assistance with interior design, staging or other project work, keep it local and get in touch. For more details, see her website: https://www.celene.co.nz/
In the meantime:
- students signing in and out (inc late students) go to the cabin outside admin, nearest the hall
- uniform shop is as above
- Miss Ramel’s Principal Office and Meeting Room, is in the second cabin, outside the admin building
- Mr Port, Mr Morley, Sickbay and general admin drop off – Rātā 1 (down the hill, next to the junior sandpit area)
Please help keep our kids safe at drop off/pick up time!
We are always concerned regarding safety in our carpark area, especially around our buses and drop off/pick up zone. There have been a number of “car v car near misses”, and we are concerned that pedestrians of all ages may be at risk. Dawson Road regularly becomes a log jam, further putting safety at risk, and creating issues for residents and other road users. To mitigate this we have:
- moved the buses to the area nearest to Dawson Rd. This means buses are not trying to pull in or out around cars. While our school buses work on regular times, buses can appear or depart at all hours, depending on trips and activities, so please leave the yellow lined bus area (see below) empty at all times. It is a large area – buses are long vehicles, and can’t manoeuvre in small places.
2. Marked an area with blue lines, strictly as “drop and go”. Cars are not to be stationary for longer than a quick drop off/pick up, or parked in this area – this creates a massive bottle neck as other cars can’t get past, and creates a problem right along Dawson Rd. We also had the continual problem of cars parking over our marked pedestrian crossing, making this really unsafe. Please see the “drop & go” area marked in blue below:
We realise that this will cause inconvenience for some, but the reality is, that as our numbers continue to grow, there is simply not a car park available for everyone. If you have a special reason that you need to park closer to the school (crutches etc), please contact the office and we can help with this.
Getting to and from school safely
School buses: We have two main buses which service SBS. Students who live between Algies Bay and both Martins Bay & Scotts Landing can catch the bus to and from school. There is also another bus for students who live at the Northern End of Snells, and Sandspit. This does one group stop on the corner of Muncaster Rd, (suitable for students in the Tamatea/Gov Grey area) before heading down into Sandspit. Many of our students use these buses every day – including many students in the Junior School and New Entrants. Please contact the office to add your child to the bus list.
Dawson Rd Crossing: The crossing on Dawson Rd, by Kia Kaha Drive is patrolled every day from 8:30am – 8:50am, and from 3:00pm until the school is cleared (usually around 3:15pm). Our senior students are trained by the police as road patrollers, and a member of staff is always there. You can rest assured that students can cross the road safely at these times. Please, don’t run across the road with your child without using the crossing – if you model this they will do it when you are not there. The crossing is a significantly safer option, and only a few steps out of your way.
Safe walking/riding to school: To avoid the “busyness” immediately around the school at drop off and pick up times, we really encourage parents to let students walk or ride a little further afield for pick up. Kids really enjoy both riding and the independence of this. Safe options include:
- Kia Kaha Drive or Brigette View (the children can safely use the crossing to access these)
- The large Baptist Church carpark near Horizon School
- Foster Crescent/Iris St (accessed via our back pathway)
- The Fire Station (accessed via Foster Cres)
- The Tennis Club/Library (the kids love riding scooters etc through the park & the pathway is clearly visible and open)
Walking and Riding School Buses: keep an eye on communication about these coming up. This is when one parent “driver” walks or ride s with a group of kids to school, so you can be assured that your child is supervised on the way to school and “share the load”. We are always looking for more drivers – get in touch with the office if interested.
Thank you to Blake and Tanah
SBS students Blake and Tanah (& big sister Tatum) ran a successful business over the summer holidays picking up and disposing of Christmas trees. They have donated a portion of their profits to the school and we are so grateful for this donation. Thanks so much!
Community Notices
Toukon Ryu Karate
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