From the Principal
The final week of the 2019 year is here!
By 3pm on Friday, we will have wrapped up the 2019 academic year, and it is a great time to take stock and look forward to the holiday break.
For me, the year is notable for a number of significant developments and additions.
-The ongoing impact of PB4L on our school has been profound. Our values are lived by our students, teachers and community.
Our school has NEVER been so full! We briefly reached 644 students in late December, before dropping to the current figure of 642. This is entirely in-zone enrolments and the enrolments of current and ex-PMPS students.
-We were part of a coalition of schools who worked to re-shape radical Government proposals which would have centralised control of school finances, governance and property. The final proposals were greatly watered down, and focused on targeting support where it was most needed.
-The Kōanga Festival performance at Howick College will live long in the memory!
-The largest ever travelling party of PMPS students headed to China in September to visit our sister school in Zhejiang province.
-We farewelled a number of very experienced PMPS staff, but welcomed exciting new people into our team.
This is a very small selection of what could have been a huge list!
I am proud to be principal of our incredible school.
Enjoy a peaceful holiday- I hope you are able to enjoy happy family time, and may the sun keep shining!
Ian
We had a really successful meet your new class and teacher exchange on Friday, and have another planned for next Thursday.
All of our children met their teacher for 2020, had a chance to connect with their new classmates and see their new rooms. We have some very excited students moving into next year.
The process has come a long way since my time as a Pigeon Mountain parent- class lists for the coming year would be posted up in the reception windows a week or so before the start of the new academic year. We feel that it is more supportive for students and families to make the transition process more personal and to allow children to know who their new teachers and classmates are well in advance. It also gives teachers a great opportunity to meet the students and spend some time looking ahead to the next year together.
Our class placement process is a long one. We gather a lot of data from teachers and then create draft lists. These lists go back to teams to see what the combinations look like. We then tweak and rework the lists until we have our final class placements. We think about children who work well together and those who don’t. We think about having a range of abilities for literacy and numeracy. We look at those who are introverted and those who are extraverted, the list goes on.
No doubt there will be children who may not have their best friend in their class. This happens! Where we mix students up, we try to have children that are known to each other. We would never place students or form new classroom groups to leave them without peers with whom they have worked well with during 2019. Our teachers are wonderful observers and judges of the relationships in their rooms, and we tap into this expertise when making up class lists.
We encourage you to be positive about the class placements with your children, they take their cue from you. If they don’t have their best friend in their class, reassure them! Tell them that everything will be ok and that they will have an opportunity to make many new friends in their new class. Tell them they will still get to play and hang out with their friends. Our children test our reaction to news to gauge how they should react, we need to be the reassurance they need. So be positive, reassure them and show them that you are confident that they will have a good year.
Other than administrative errors- children from the wrong year group appearing on a different class list etc, our class lists are final. Any request for change will be met with a “let’s have a chat 6 weeks into next term.” If we have made an error of this nature, please let us know!
If you are desperately unhappy about the class placement do make a time to talk with any member of our Senior Leadership Team.
Helpers’ Morning Tea
During last week, we held a morning tea for members of our school community who have helped and supported our school during 2019. This generous group of people give their time and skills to support our teachers which in-turn greatly benefits our learners. We know there were some helpers who could not make this event, and would like to thank them through this newsletter, and reinforce our gratitude to those who attended.
Our helpers are amazing people with the most wonderful hearts for our school. It is no coincidence that the Māori word for kindness is also the same word for love- aroha.
“It is the heart that does the giving; the fingers only let go.” —Nigerian proverb
Dates for your Diary- 2019
Term 4 Ends- 3pm Thursday 19th December
Dates for your Diary- 2020
School Starts for 2020- Monday 3rd February
Term 1 Ends- Wednesday 8th April
Teacher Only Day- Thursday 9th April
ANZAC Day Public Holiday- Monday 27th April
Term 2 Starts- Tuesday 28th April
Term 2 Ends- Thursday 2nd July
Teacher Only Day- Friday 3rd July
Term 3 Starts- Monday 20th July
Term 3 Ends- Thursday 24th September
Teacher Only Day- Friday 25th September
Term 4 Starts- Monday 12th October
Term 4 Ends- TBC
For the convenience of parents, we have elected to hold 3 Teacher Only days at the conclusion of Terms 1, 2 and 3. These were provided to schools as part of the negotiations of teachers’ pay and conditions in 2019. We will hold a further 3 in 2021 and a final 2 in 2022.
BOT News
SCHOOL DONATION
The Board of Trustees have set the school donation for 2020, at $230.00 per student. This remains unchanged from this year. Donation tax credits are also available from Inland Revenue. Please keep your donation receipts if you are wanting to make a claim from 31st March 2020.
There are several options to pay –
* Online when purchasing student stationery from OfficeMax – www.myschool.co.nz
* Online through your Kindo account – www.kindo.co.nz
* Direct credit a/c 02 0168 0210765 00 (please use student name as a reference)
* At the school office by eft-pos, cheque or cash
STUDENT STATIONERY
Stationery is now available from the schools supplier, Officemax. Stationery is sold in closed packs, so itemised lists are not available from the school. These packs can be ordered online at www.myschool.co.nz for delivery to your home/work. Please leave the student I.D field blank and remember that the school donation may be paid at the same time.
Packs can also be purchased from the OfficeMax store at 5 Ronwood Avenue, Manukau from the 20 December 2019.
OFFICE HOURS JANUARY 2020
The school office will be open prior to school starting from Tuesday 28th January 9am to 3pm. The uniform shop will be running on Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th January for selling new and secondhand uniforms plus receiving good condition uniforms to sell.
SCHOOL UNIFORM
John Russell Schoolwear (9 Moore Street, Howick) is open throughout the summer holidays for purchasing new uniform. They will be opening on Sundays (5th January until 2nd February) from 10am to 3pm. Purchases can also be made online at www.johnrussellmenswear.co.nz.
The second hand uniform shop will be open in the school office on Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th January 2020 from 9am to 3pm. Used uniforms (no hats or socks please) in good condition can also be brought in for selling on your behalf.
In March 2020 we will again be offering sales of new polar fleeces and long trousers at a discounted price ahead of Term 2.
PTA News
Term 4 has been a busy and fun time in PTA with Family Photos, Frozen Fridays and Black Friday BBQ to list a few of our events
Planning is already underway for some events in 2020 and we encourage everyone to get in touch if you would like to be part of the PTA. It is a great opportunity to strengthen the ties between home and school, have fun, meet new people and it’s never too late to join!
Our donation to the school this year will be around $13 000 and we look forward to seeing this used for enhancements to our school facilities
The PTA would like to thank all Pigeon Mountain Families for their help and contributions throughout 2019 and wish everyone a safe and happy holiday
Next Meeting Wednesday 12th February 2020 at 7:30pm
How to get in touch pmpspta@pmps.school.nz
Sports News
Term 4 was a busy term for sport activities, especially with athletics. Our school athletics day was in week 4 and year 6 students were involved in the planning and organisation of the successful day.
In week 6 our students participated in the Zone Athletics Competition that was held at Lloyd Elsmore Park. The students had a great time and also achieved in the different events.
Here are some of the results:
8 Year old Girls and Boys:
Bernadette Lavemai – 3rd in 70m and 100m Champ sprint
Jack Hermons – 2nd in 100 m sprint
10 Year old Girls and Boys:
Debbie Mao – 1st in 70m and 2nd in 100m Age sprint
Alex Lister – 1st in 70m and 1st in 100m Champ sprint, 1st in High Jump
Qiuran Zhang – 3rd in Softball Throw
11 Year old Girls and Boys:
Cherry Lee – 1st in 100m Age sprint
Christian Cousins – 1st in High Jump, 3rd in 70m Champ sprint
Oscar McConnell – 2nd in High Jump
Relays – 10 and over Girls 3rd
Community Notices
STEAM classes Term 1, 2020 in Room 25. Y3/4 beginners Thursdays and Yr4/5/6 class on Fridays. Newsletter can be picked up from the office with enrolment details and costs.
