WGS Newsletter - Week 9 - Term 2

Kia ora Parents / Caregivers, 

We are rapidly coming to the close of another term but some very important events before that.

Staff Farewell - Jill Robb
A heartfelt thank you to our wonderful class teacher, Jill Robb, as she steps down from her full-time teaching role. We are incredibly fortunate that Jill will remain a vital part of our school community providing release teaching.

Jill’s passion for teaching and deep love of books inspires our students every single day. Her thoughtfulness, kindness, and steady, friendly presence create a nurturing environment where both children and colleagues feel truly valued. Jill is a natural problem solver who approaches every challenge with well-grounded common sense.

Thank you for everything you have given to full-time teaching, Jill, and we look forward to your continued presence in our classrooms!

We are delighted that Juliearna Napier will take up the full-time teaching position in Room 2. Juliearna is currently the release teacher in Room 3 and 4 and no stranger to our Junior children. This makes this a very smooth transition for our children. We are very grateful to Jill, Juliearna and Margaret Norton for their continued teaching and expertise in our Junior classrooms. 

Reporting 
> Your children’s reports will be sent home on Tuesday 30th June,  the last week of term. 
>  If you require reports to be sent  to another parent and you have not notified us please let Anneke know in the office. These will usually be emailed. 

>  Parent teacher interviews will be held early next term, Wed 29th & Thursday 30th. These will be very important to discuss your child’s progress so you have a clear understanding of how they are tracking. You will be able to book appointments with your teacher through the School App. We will let you know when the bookings are open. 

What you need to know about our current reporting? 
Your child’s progress will be assessed against 5 progress descriptors. 

They are : Emerging, Developing, Consolidating, Proficient & Exceeding 

These descriptors are used to grade each individual child’s attainment with their Year level in the New Zealand Curriculum. 

Children will be assessed on what they have been taught so far this year. The reports reflect approximately 14 weeks teaching  and learning so this is a limited amount of the years’ curriculum. 

Your child’s assessment at this time will mainly be in the developing and consolidating areas as they cannot be proficient in a curriculum they have not covered unless they are clearly working beyond their current year level expectations. 

It may look like your children’s learning has gone backwards, but really it is because the curriculum at each year level has got harder with greater expectations.  

The comments are very important because they will tell you what your child is achieving and what their next learning steps are.  We are proud of our children’s achievement with so many children making significant progress. 

The big message is that the goal posts have shifted and it will take time to move our learners closer to them. 

Enjoy your reports, celebrate your child’s achievement and what they have achieved to date. 

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Cultural Festival
We are excited to welcome all families to our Cultural festival on Thursday July 2nd, 5 - 7 pm 
This is a special celebration where all families come together and we celebrate who we are. 

Sharing food together is an important part of this. This will be followed by a time to view children’s work and a concert to conclude our evening. Further information will be coming home over the next week so please look out for this. ​

Uniform  
Thank you to those of you that send your children to school each day looking fabulous in our correct uniform. 

However, we have many children wearing all sorts of items that are not our regulation school uniform. This affects how people see us and reflects on the culture of our school. 

We want to look good and be proud of our presentation and who we are at West Gore School.   

Please note: 
> Extra tops for warmth can be worn under the long sleeve t-shirt so they are not seen;
> Pants/ shorts must be navy, no flairs, jeans, Canterbury pants and other branded pants ;
> Navy socks / tights only;
> No jewelry, nail polish, elaborate hair decorations or makeup (except cultural and studs / short earrings);
> No Croc footwear, only black or sport shoes.

Teachers will check uniforms and inform you via a written slip if required.  Let’s work together to get this sorted quickly as this is time consuming and takes time away from learning for our teachers. 

 Please send a change of clothes for playing on the fields please. Our grounds are exceptionally muddy and we want our classrooms to be clean and show respect for our lovely cleaner, Kristine.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Ngā mihi

Linda Fraser
Principal​