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Kia Ora Everyone, It was my happy duty to welcome new students to our Kura at the start of Term 2. I have been fortunate to attend three Mihi Whakatau gatherings at school since I became a Board member and it is a pleasure every time. The participation of our entire student body, our Kapa Haka group, our teaching staff and our Principal make every occasion such as this something our entire school community can be very proud of.  I am very pleased to inform you that Board Parent Representative Sonya Stewart has been appointed Deputy Presiding Member of our Board of Trustees. This an important role in actioning Board business as well as working alongside our Principal. The Board is grateful for the engagement of our parent community with the new Attendance Management Plan set out by the Ministry Of Education. There is ongoing and consistent Ministry oversight and follow up of our actions around our management of student attendance. We appreciate your ongoing support and attention to this very much. With the start of a new Term the School Policies and Procedures team reviews current school policies on a number of topics. We really want as much participation in this as we can get from our School Community. To review a policy just go to the school app, select ‘Links’- School Docs. Depending on your device you can type in our school name or select from the drop box. User name- westgore Password- wiggie Policies for review will be highlighted. You can select which one you wish to review. Once you have read the topic you
can select the blue button ‘Start Your Review”. We appreciate your input very much so over the term if you have a spare five minutes do have a look. All of the school policies are in place for the well-being and safety of everyone at West Gore School. Nga Mihi Susan Hasselman Board Of Trustees As we prepare for upcoming events such as the Cross Country Meet, and for students who use the bus daily, we ask all parents and caregivers to please take a moment to review our key transport policies on SchoolDocs. These include the Daily Bus Policy, Bus Safety, Bus Behaviour, and Responding to Bus Incidents. These policies outline important expectations for safe and respectful behaviour while travelling to and from school and school events. Understanding these guidelines helps ensure all students travel safely and that bus journeys remain positive for everyone. Thank you for your support in keeping our students safe on and off the road.  I had three beautiful tamariki come and share their writing with me this afternoon. This was after the ANZAC service that Te Kakano held yesterday. Their goals are individual and they could tell me exactly what they were - use finger spaces between each word and write sentences independently. They were so proud of their writing and are super excited that tomorrow their teacher will show this clip on the big screen in the classroom! All three had huge smiles with their Deputy Principal stickers either proudly displayed on their uniform or in their book. Ka pai tamariki, what awesome authors you are!  Kia ora Parents / Caregivers, We loved seeing everyone back after the holiday break. It is certainly challenging times with the fuel situation creating added pressure for all families. Let’s hope we see some relief very soon. The Ministry of Education have assured us it is their priority to keep schools open even in the event of this potential fuel crisis worsening. Our school is heated with wood chips so a less direct effect than diesel radiators. I am sure we will always have enough fuel to stay warm. We are aware some families live a distance from school so we ask you to keep in contact if you require any assistance. ANZAC Service - Saturday 6.30am We are proud to have three of our senior students lay a wreath on our behalf on Saturday morning at the dawn parade. We have Ava, Katelynne and Laya representing us. This is an important day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand commemorating all who served and died in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. We encourage families to attend in honour of those that fought and fall for us all. It is a moving, short ceremony held at dawn. Children who have attended in the past have enjoyed the ceremony and significance of the gathering. Maths Homework We hope you have enjoyed the new routine of the basic facts homework this week. We are very confident that the partnership with you will make a big difference for our students knowledge. If you are unsure about this or the process has been challenging for you and /or your child please talk with your child’s class teacher. Arrival and Departure from School Arrival at school: 8.30am The first bell will ring at this time Departure from School: 3.10pm The bell will ring at this time It is expected children will leave the school grounds as soon as they are dismissed from class at 3.00pm and be on their way by 3.10pm. If these times are challenging for you please speak with Anneke in the office. Enjoy your long weekend and we look forward to seeing everyone back on Tuesday. Nga mihi Linda Fraser Principal    Over the past week, students in Room 15 have been learning about ANZAC Day and the important role it plays in New Zealand’s history and identity. We have been focusing on helping students build a deeper understanding of not only the events of World War One, but also the impact war had on people, families, and communities both in New Zealand and around the world. To support this learning, students have been using a variety of texts and resources to develop their reading comprehension skills, including identifying key ideas, making inferences, and using evidence from the text to support their thinking. As part of our class learning, students have been brainstorming and discussing the ways war affected people both on the battlefield and at home. We talked about the challenges soldiers faced, the emotions families experienced, and the long-lasting effects on countries after the war ended. These discussions have supported students to think critically and empathetically about history and its significance. Yesterday, students worked together to unpack the meaning of remembrance and reflect on what ANZAC Day represents today. Here are some of the key ideas students explored:
“I learned some people who survived and came home from the war may have later died from injuries, and they suffered from PTSD” – Amaya Duggaraju “People risked their lives for us, ANZAC Day is to remember those who have fallen.” – Tama Duncan “I learned there is a purple poppy, to remember the horses and other animals that served in the war with the soldiers” – Billie-Mae  Dear Parents / Whanau, Well, term 1 is done! It has been a very short but very busy term. So many highlights with Year 6 Camp, Athletics - West Gore School, Eastern and Southland that so many of our tamariki did so well in; Swimming and of course a solid term of learning. We are delighted with the progress so many of our students have made in their phonics, handwriting, writing, reading and mathematics during the term.
As you already know there have been so many changes with the Maths and English curriculum and our teaching staff are the real heroes. They have implemented so many changes over the last three terms. We are very proud of the progress so many of your children have made in these areas. Because of the demands of the new curriculum and the higher levels across the board for all students in NZ, many of our students have or are receiving extra support to bridge the gap for their year curriculum. Our Learning Support Coordinators are working very hard with our Teacher Aides to develop and deliver these programmes. We are proud of this work and the professional development providers working in our school are very complimentary of the focus and success of our students.  Fuel Crisis The Government has put out a 4 stepped plan. We are at step 1 currently with no restrictions. The Ministry of Education has said they have no intention for online/ home schooling at this time. It would be a very last resort to do this. The Ministry of Education is monitoring the situation and has advised if there is any dramatic change they would give us notice. Our Board of Trustees met last week and some key areas of focus were: 1. Approval of the Budget for 2026 2. Policy and Procedures , please see the School Doc information in the newsletter and review the policies. This is one way of being up to date on how things run in our school. It only takes a minute or two to review a policy and have your say. 3. Attendance - it is a legal requirement for us, under our Attendance Management Plan to follow up with you when your child has had 5, 10 or 15 days absence over the term. This is regardless of sickness or explained absences. We still have several children away for unjustified absences, ie going to town, recreational trips away, visiting friends, family etc. In New Zealand, school attendance is a legal requirement under the Education and Training Act 2020, and the Ministry of Education (MoE) is now monitoring every absence with unprecedented detail. Schools are strictly required to record and report "Response Activities" through their student management systems, which submit this data to the Ministry weekly. This means that for every absence, we have a legal responsibility to investigate and follow up with whānau. While we understand that illness occurs, medical certificates may be requested for extended or frequent absences to justify why a student is not in class. If your child is sick, of course they should be at home. We also do not want sick children in our classrooms. Remember why we are in this situation, Nationally, we have just over 50% of our school age students, Year 1 -13, attending school regularly. Let’s work together to get our West Gore children to school regularly.
After School Pick Up We would please ask you are prompt to school in the afternoon to collect your children. All children need to leave the grounds by the 3.10pm bell. If you are here with your children you are welcome to enjoy the grounds or your children may return with your guidance after they have been home.
Uniform The holidays is a great time to sort our uniforms. We have uniforms so many of you have kindly donated back to us so others can continue to wear. Come in and have a look and see if the size you require is available. We would love to receive any uniform pieces your children have grown out of. Please ensure your child is wearing the correct uniform. No Canterbury pants or shorts please. Navy socks Thank you for your support during this term. We hope you can enjoy some special time with your whanau over the holidays. The fuel situation may restrict travel but we have so many lovely playgrounds, pool, ice skating rink, Dolamore Park, Art gallery etc. in our own town. We will see you back on April 20th! Nga mihi Linda Fraser Principal   We are incredibly proud to celebrate a special group of boys who have been recognised with our Manaakitanga Awards. Each of these students was initially identified for the genuine care and kindness they show towards a younger student in our school, taking the time to include him, communicate with him, and ensure he feels a true sense of belonging. What has been even more powerful is that, once nominated, so many more stories from teachers and teacher aide's began to emerge. Stories of encouragement at camp, quiet leadership, supporting classmates with their learning, noticing when others need help, and consistently choosing kindness in both big and small ways. These boys remind us that Manaakitanga is not just one action, it’s a way of being. It’s shown through inclusion, empathy, respect, and the everyday choices to lift others up. You are all making a meaningful difference in our school, and we couldn’t be prouder. Keep leading the way. Manaakitanga is a foundational Māori value embodying hospitality, care, respect, and generosity, fundamentally aimed at uplifting the mana (prestige/spirit) of others. Derived from mana and aki (to uphold), it means supporting, caring for, and nurturing relationships, often extending to caring for the environment (kaitiakitanga).
 Skills for Growing Focus: COMMUNICATION We had the pleasure of having Ben Bell, our local Mayor at our assembly on Friday speaking to our tamariki about communication. Ben was excellent and used some great examples that our children easily related to. Key learnings: Negotiation, Voting, Compromise, Listening, Speaking clearly and articulating what we really mean. These are all things children are learning throughout their day at school.  Year 6 Camp We have welcomed back our wonderful group of Year 6 students, a great group of parents who have supported the camp and our three teachers, Rebekah, Sandi and Kasey. A group of tired faces who have all experienced a wonderful time together sharing in a variety of experiences. I am sure we will hear more about their three days away very soon. The aim of our camping experience is for our children to experience time in a communal environment, being self managing, participating in challenging physical activities that stretch their resilience and confidence. Working together to encourage and support each other every step of the way. This year they got to stay at the Otago Museum for the night which posed so many firsts for our tamariki, parents and teachers. We are very grateful to our teachers & parents who accompanied our students. These wonderful experiences do not happen without huge organisation and commitment from a willing team. Thank you to all that made this possible.  Southland Athletes The following children will compete at the Southland Athletics in Invercargill tomorrow. This is a huge accomplishment and we wish them the best of luck. You make West Gore School very proud. 
Attendance As you already know there is a massive focus on attendance in all New Zealand Schools. The rate of attendance across the country is just over 50% of children attending more than 90% of the time. This is a shocking figure, hence the focus for all schools to improve this dramatically. We will be providing you with pieces of information each newsletter to inform you valuable information. Todays focus is on Unjustified Absence. Unjustified absences are when the child is not sick, child medical appointments etc. and away from school. Our response around these are to record the reasons and we have a STEPPED process to manage these. Each term there is thresholds with actions. Some of you will have received phone calls, letters etc. Our aim is to help you return your child to full attendance by working with you to understand the barriers for you or your child.   We only have 10 school-days left before end of term 1. Last day of term will be 2nd April 2026.
Enjoy your weekend Ngā mihi Linda Fraser Principal  In Room 14, we have been writing stories about monsters using characters, similes and dialogue. Here are some snippets.
Furry the angry monster eats his prey in the deep sea where no one ever dares to go. Boats scattered all around the sea. Furry wished for a monster friend. Later that night, he looked around and saw the friend that he had been waiting for. He looked as friendly as a brother… By Fletcher The Megaoctopus emerged from the deep. He lived in the stormy seas where ships vanished to the ocean floor never to be seen again. Captain Seahong trapped the ships that vanished in 1847… By Mindy The Mermaid Monster was lurking in the forest to find water. Each day, she tried to look for more water but there was none anywhere. Then another monster came along and told her where to find some water. The problem was that the water was protected by a big boss… By Zodiac Robyir the monster robbed a shop. He was tired from robbing the shop so he went to his dark black cave. The next day a fox came to the little dark black cave. The fox ran into the cave and he hid there with the monster. The fo got a fright. The monster said, “Who are you?” I am Robyir… By Ollie The deep dark creature lives in the watery cave that is 400m wide and 400m tall. He has two eyes in the middle of his mouth as well as his teeth. His rib bones are exposed and you can see his beating heart. It is terrifying! By Elijah The Megladon crashed into my boat. I had to fight the Megladon. It lives in the deep sea. Don’t go near it, it will swallow you whole. He was as big as a blue whale. Along came Captain Barnickles, caught him and put a tracker on him. He swam as fast as a dog fish. “I’ll see you later, " said Captain Barnickles… By Landen The Megladon lurked under the waves. He was as huge as a tower. He wanted a new friend. One day a monster friend came along. He was named Fangor. By Jake The Teketeke is a no legged monster. He lives in Tokyo, Japan. He lurks around you on the trains. He is very dangerous. He comes out in the dark tunnels. People dare not go there because he is as slimy as an octopus. By Moana The Silk Monster, named Lilly, lived in a small silky cottage. It sat in the middle of a stormy island. But the problem was the Giant, Mr Stampalot. Lilly did not like the Giant. He stamped and crashed his feet everywhere when he walked. Lilly’s body shook timidly when he came in sight… By Indie The Hallway monster waits for its moment to pounce. He lives in the shadowy, scary ends of hallways. When his moment came, he jumped out of the shadows and landed on a little girl named Aleisha. Aleisha screamed so loudly that it woke the neighbours. When the neighbours woke… By Amalia As we continue our focus on our Skills for Growing, we were privileged to welcome Gore District Mayor
Ben Bell to West Gore School today. Mayor Bell spoke with our students about the power of communication—a core pillar of our school’s Skills for Growing curriculum. He shared insightful advice on why it is often better to listen more than we speak and gave the children a practical introduction to using negotiation in their everyday lives. At home this week, we encourage you to keep the conversation going! Ask your child what they learned from the Mayor about being a good listener, and see if they can describe a time they might use negotiation to solve a problem at school or at home. A big thank you to Mayor Bell for investing his time in our future leaders. |
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