From the Principal
This week is our celebration of ‘Support Staff Week’ and we would like to recognise the amazing work our non-teaching support staff put in for us each day. From maintaining our school site, to running our library, managing our students and staff, and working with our students, the support staff at Pigeon Mountain Primary School are vital components in our organisation.
As parents, both you and your child benefit from the hard work of our support team. During the week, we will be paying our own tributes to our support staff, but we encourage you to take the time to send an email, or share a positive thought with them too!
Enjoy the upcoming holiday break- we are now half way through the academic year. Thank you for your support thus far in 2023. The most supportive and simplest thing you can do as a parent is ensure that your child attends school regularly, and we have an impressive number of students who have attended EVERY day in Term 2 so far- 22%! A further 49% of our school roll has less than 4 days absence during the term. These 2 groups account for almost 400 of our students- this is amazing, especially in Winter months. Thank you!
Mr Daniels
It is with mixed feelings that we share the news of Mr Daniels’ departure in mid-August. Johnathan joined us from the Australian International School in mid-2020 and has been granted a year’s leave from his role to take up a Head of Junior School Role at the British International School in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Johnathan has helped shape the strategic direction of our school in the past 3 years, and our staff, students and community will miss him greatly, but wish him well on his next adventure, and look forward to seeing him back in 2024!
Kathy Marich
We were saddened by the news over the weekend that Kathy Marich had passed away. Kathy was our music specialist until 2017 and shared a limitless passion and enthusiasm with numerous Pigeon Mountain students. She was a valued colleague who brought laughter and humour to our staffroom, and it was always a pleasure to hear the sounds of ukulele ringing out from under the trees in summer months when Kathy took her lessons outdoors in summer months.
Feedback on Communication
Thank you to those people who participated in our simple feedback survey on Communication. The findings were interesting and in short, school communication methods were ranked in this order of effectiveness;
Most Effective First
- Direct eMails
- Fortnightly newsletter
- Class Dojo/Seesaw
- School Website
There was a significant gap to those methods seen as less effective;
- SkoolLoop App
- School Calendar
The two Social Media platforms we operate were considered to be least effective;
The general feedback was that communication was good, but some suggested is was challenging to keep on top of the multiple channels we use. WhatsApp was suggested as a new channel to amalgamate some existing communication platforms, but eMails was considered to be the most effective way by far of keeping everyone well informed.
We will use these result to help us rationalise our channels of schoolwide communication in order to simplify the process for families.
Feedback on Facilities
In coming months, our board will be discussing strategic facility development, and considering where budgets are best use to enhance school property and/or facilities. Your feedback will assist the board in their discussions. This survey has 2 questions and should take no more than 5 minutes to complete. Follow this LINK to participate.
Mandarin and Cantonese Speeches
Once again we are offering our children the opportunity to participate in Mandarin and Cantonese speech practices in school and will be hosting the HPPA finals in September for the 4th successive year.
Children wishing to participate should email Mr Dickinson iand@pmps.school.nz before the end of Week 1 next term with an expression of interest, or return their green slip (available at Student Reception) to the office. Speeches will need to be 3 minutes in length and be written to meet one of three themes;
-Why diversity is important
-The importance of my culture to me
-My unique family
In-school practices and shortlisting will take place in the first week of August so speeches should be to a performance standard by this time.
Dates for your diary
Friday 30th June – Library Mini Golf Extravaganza
Friday 30th June – 3pm – Term 2 Ends
Friday 14th July – Matariki Public Holiday
Monday 17th July – 8.30am – School Opens for Term 3
Wednesday 19th July – School Cross Country
Friday 21st July – School Cross Country SAVINGS DAY
Friday 21st July – 100 Days of School
School Cross Country
Junior School – 11.30am to 12.45pm
Senior School – 1.30pm to 3.00pm
Whānau are very welcome to attend our Cross Country event! Please cheer all the runners and celebrate their achievements and how they show the school values on the cross country course!
BeeBro – PMPS Fundraiser
This decadent 500g jar of honey is a collaboration between Beebro and Mike Kings Mental Health Awareness non-profit organisation ‘The Nutters Club’ fronted by Hamish and Kyle Newstalk ZB on Sunday evenings.
The Nutters Club is a world first, online and offline media phenomenon that has changed and saved lives. It has spawned a very large, strong and supportive Facebook community and morphed into a popular television series on Māori Television. Over 500,000 people view the Nutters Club Facebook page every week.
Founded by Mike King in 2009 The Nutters Club deals with all the tough stuff that many in society would prefer to keep in the closet. Topics like mental health issues, drug/alcohol addictions and the socially taboo. The show is hosted by Hamish Williams and Kyle MacDonald on NZ’s #1 ranked radio station Newstalk ZB Sunday evenings.
Beebro Rewarewa fundraising Honey and/or Large Honey Comb. Both have a retail value of $18 each.
FOR EACH JAR SOLD
- $5 goes to Pigeon Mountain Primary School
- $1 goes to Nutters Club
In summary, purchase 2×Beebro Nutters Club 500g jars or Large Honey Comb and pay $36 delivered to your door. **$10 IS PROFIT FOR THE SCHOOL**
The money fundraised will be used to enhance the physical environment of the school.
How Can I Purchase my Honey?
Step 1: Go to www.beebro.co.nz
Step 2: Select Beebro ‘Nutters Club’ 500g Rewarewa honey
Step 3: Select a minimum of any 2 products for FREE DELIVERY (otherwise 1 product will incur a $6 delivery cost).
Step 4: In Shopping Cart when you enter your DETAILS, please include PMPS. This way money will be donated to school.
Community Notices
MUSIQHUB LESSONS:
Please note that these lessons are not at Pigeon Mountain Primary School as on the image above but are held at St Johns Church, Bucklands Beach. Any further information contact Ben Lee
Email: ben.lee@musiqhub.co.nz
Phone: 021 529 531
After School Art Class
Held at Pigeon Mountain Primary School
Drawing, Oil pastel, Sketching, poster Painting …
Day: Wednesday after school
Time: 3.15 pm—4.15 pm
Age: Year 1—Year 6
Fee: $13.00 per lesson
Phone: 027-6555574 (Janet)
E-mail: janeto@xtra.co.nz
