T1, week 3 Newsletter

Term 1 Week 3: Friday 16 February 2024

Important Dates 2024
Thursday 22 February – BOT meeting, Staffroom 5:30 pm 
Friday 23 February – Whole School Assembly 2:15 pm, All Welcome
Wednesday 28 February – Parent Teacher Conferences 1:20 – 7:00 pm – School Closes at 12:30 pm
Thursday 29 February – Parent Teacher Conferences 3:20 – 6:00 pm
Tuesday 12 March – Year 1 & 2 Swimming Carnival 1:30 – 2:30 pm
Thursday 14 March – Year 5 & 6 Swimming Carnival 9:20 – 11:00 am
Thursday 14 March – Year 3 & 4 Swimming Carnival 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Friday 15 March – Family Fun Fest 4:30 – 7:00 pm
Thursday 21 March – BOT meeting, Staffroom 5:30 pm
Wednesday 27 March – Whānau Hui in the Staffroom 5:00 pm
Thursday 28th March – Whole School Assembly 2:15pm, All Welcome

IN THIS ISSUE:
Parent Teacher Conferences
Spotlight on Year 3 & 4
Emergency Drills
Being Absent from School
Composite Classes
Pick up is at 3:00 pm
Student Contact Details Update
Lunchtime Recorder Lessons
Crossing Duty Helpers Needed 
PTA Update: Family Fun Fest – Ways you can help
Sports Update: Basketball Registration 
Community Notices

The PB4L focus for next week will be on: 
Independence: Everywhere Be organised and be ready to learn
Respect: Swimming Pool  Walk around the pool and keep safe
Independence: Swimming Pool Get changed quickly and quietly, take care of my belongings and use the toilet when required

Parent Teacher Conferences & Goal Setting
We are holding our Sunnybrae Parent Teacher Conferences and Goal Setting on Wednesday 28 February from 1:20 – 7:00 pm and Thursday 29 February 3:20 – 6:00 pm.

We hope that all families will attend these meetings so that you can share your insights on how we can best support your child. Teachers are interested in learning about what success looks like for your child, what supports their learning, and any potential barriers to the learning process. Teachers will share how your child has settled into their new class and routines. Parents and teachers will collaboratively set learning goals for your child for the coming term.

Please note that children will need to be picked up at 12:30 pm on Wednesday the 28 February. 
Click here if you need after-school care with the YMCA

Bookings on Hero
Please book an appointment with your child’s teacher. You will be able to book a 10 minute interview. If you have more than one child, you will not be able to book back to back interviews. This is to allow time for you to move from one class to the next and to ensure that the scheudle stays on track. 

Bookings are now open for both of these evenings and can be made electronically through the Hero app. If you need support to make a booking on the Hero app please email your child’s teacher. 

If you need language support please add a note in the comment to the teacher section at the time of booking so that we can arrange a translator.

Click here for instructions to make a booking

SPOTLIGHT ON YEAR 3 & 4:
Welcome Back
Welcome back to all our returning students and to new students to Sunnybrae. We are looking forward to an exciting year of learning, making new friends, trying new things and taking on different responsibilities. 

For our Year 3 students, there are different opportunities, e.g. recorder group, choir and Kapa Haka. For our Year 4 students, now they are the oldest, there is an expectation to show leadership and guidance. For all of us, it is about extending our friendship circles, welcoming new students and showing our RICE values of Respect, Independence, Cooperation and Excellence every day. 

Our team is as follows:
Room 12: Rachel Olliver, rolliver@sunnybrae.school.nz
Room 13: Anna Blair, ablair@sunnybrae.school.nz
Room 14: Catrina Scott, cscott@sunnybrae.school.nz
Room 15: Melinda Clow, mclow@sunnybrae.school.nz

Swimming
Rooms 13 and 14 have just finished their 8 lessons of swimming instruction, and Rooms 12 and 15 are just beginning. We are so fortunate to have a school pool and for the Board to pay for lessons for each of our students. A note is always required if, for some reason, your child is unable to swim.

Home Learning 
Please make sure your child brings their book bag back to school each day. Children take a book home each night if they have their book bag at school.

Thank you for sending your children to school every day; well-rested, excited about the day ahead and most of all, ready and willing to be challenged in their learning and proud of all that they accomplish. We are excited about the year ahead!

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES:
Drills at Sunnybrae
The purpose of Emergency Drills is to ensure all students and staff at Sunnybrae Normal School are safe and that everyone is aware of emergency procedures so they can respond appropriately in the event of an emergency.

All students will be informed and prepared for each drill in advance. Classroom teachers will debrief students after each drill. 
In Term 1, we will have the following practice Emergency Drills: 
Week 4 – Fire Drill 
Week 8 – Lockdown Drill (Inside)

Get on Board with Hero
Sunnybrae’s goal is to use the Hero platform for our communication from Term 1 in 2024. We are, therefore, asking that our school whānau go through the process of signing up to Hero. We are excited about the features that Hero has to offer our families. Download the app today.

Click here for help signing up to Hero

Being Absent from School
It is very important that you let us know if your child will be absent from school before 8.45am in the morning.

The easiest way to let us know your child will be absent is via the Hero school app.  Other options are from the school website, calling the office on 443 5058 or email absences@sunnybrae.school.nz. You need to say when the student will be expected to return and the reason they are away. Be specific with reasons as this helps aid us in monitoring illness that could be passed to other children.

Unnotified or unexplained absences are followed up via text message or phone call as soon as is practical. You may also receive this message if your child was late to school and did not sign in at the office. Please reply to these texts so we can mark your child’s attendance accordingly. Unjustified or unexplained absences are tracked and contact made with the family if a pattern or trend is occurring. Contact will also be made if there are consistent ‘justified’ absences. Where appropriate, referrals may be made to external agencies to support students achieving regular attendance.

If you plan to take a holiday during term time for longer than 5 days, you will need to seek permission from the Principal in advance. Please email absences@sunnybrae.school.nz with your dates and destination.

Composite Classes
Have you ever wondered why we have composite classes at Sunnybrae Normal School? A composite class is one that contains students from more than one class level. This information explains how and why we opt for composite classes.
Composite classes are very common in primary schools throughout New Zealand. Understandably parents may question how the teacher can cater to the range of abilities across two-year levels. The key to understanding this model is to appreciate that growth and learning are determined by stages, not ages. Although a child might be chronologically older or younger – their maturity, social needs, and academic needs are all individual. Teachers group students to match these specific needs to teach. 
If you reflect on students that attend kindergarten and preschool centres, there can be up to two or more years of difference in a class. The key is the relationship with the teacher. 
Older students are not “held back” in composite classes as there is no one curriculum level per age group. The New Zealand curriculum is not designed as one level per year but is set up in developmental bands which can range from 1-3 years per level (see Years and Curriculum Levels table below). In New Zealand, children usually start school around the time of their 5th birthday. This means that teachers have always had students who range in age.

Schools are funded per student, and this is given as a total number to the school. There are guidelines for schools to work towards in terms of class numbers, but no set rules. At Sunnybrae Normal School we often form composite classes to balance the number of children in each class to ensure that our students get the best student teacher ratios. 

Research has also shown that there are several benefits to having composite classes, such as: 

• Peer modelling – more socially able students set the tone and model the values and key competencies for the class. 
• Greater flexibility for meeting children’s needs as well as matching children to teacher styles and strengths. 
• If appropriate we will keep children with the same teacher for two years as this reduces transition time and capitalises on strong student-teacher relationships.
• Multi-level classes allow equitable class numbers and a greater spread of student needs throughout classes.

3:00 pm Pick up
Contact the School Office before 3:00 pm if you will be late. 
Children regularly collected after 3:00 pm will need to join the YMCA After School Care as Office Staff are unavailable to supervise students.

• Be on-time to collect your child.
• Please do not take home another student unless you have contacted their parents to obtain permission. 
• If you see a student who is not accompanied by a parent/caregiver just outside of our school grounds and you are concerned, direct the student to return to the school office to wait for their parents to collect them. You may wish to walk the student back to the office. The Office Staff will call the parents. It would be most helpful if all students knew at least one parent’s phone number or have the number(s) written down and stored in their school bag in case of these situations.
• Ensure your child knows what gate they will be picked up from and by whom.
• Clarify each morning if your child will be attending After School Care or not.
• If you have booked your child into the YMCA after school care, but you decide to collect your child personally, please let the YMCA know in advance.
• If there are any changes to pick-up plans during the day, please call the office on 443 5058.

Student Contact Details Update
It is very important that all our contact details for parents and caregivers are current and accurate, so we can contact you in the event of an emergency. Please let the office know, either by calling 09 443 5058 or email office@sunnybrae.school.nz, if you have moved house or changed mobile numbers or email addresses. 

Lunchtime recorder lessons
If your Year 3 – 5 child has indicated that they will attend lunchtime recorder practices, we have a $10 bond for a recorder and a $10 charge for lesson books this year. These will be loaded onto Kindo for your convenience.

Crossing Duty Helpers Still Needed 
If your child uses the crossing on Sunnybrae Road, or you live locally, please consider offering to be a Crossing Monitor. This is a very busy road and we urgently need parents to assist the students to cross the road safely.
We still need helpers for the following slots:
Thursday Afternoon 3:00 – 3:15 pm
Friday Morning 8:30 – 8:55 am
If you are able to help by doing the crossing duty on one of these days, please let Katrina Bambury know at office@sunnybrae.school.nz or call 09 443 5058.

PTA UPDATE:
Family Fun Fest 2024
We are in planning mode for the Sunnybrae Family Fun Fest coming up on the 15th of March from 4:30 – 7:00 pm. This is our major fundraising event for the year. As a school, we rely on community fundraising to help provide great opportunities and facilities for our children. This year, we are fundraising for a new playground – how exciting!
Ways you can help…
Click here to register as a helper

CHOCOLATE BAR DONATION
Back by popular demand will be the famous Chocolate Coin Toss game at the
Family Fun Fest. We are asking each family to donate one king size bar of
chocolate as a prize for this successful carnival game. Chocolate bars can be
dropped off at the school office anytime. 

PROVIDE HOME BAKING – CAKE STALL

This is always a popular stall with the kids! If you can help with home baking for us to sell on the night at our cake and dessert stall, please bring baked goods to the staffroom on the day of the Fun Fest. Please only provide cakes and biscuits that can be served at room temperature. 

KIDS-ONLY GARAGE SALE
This year, we would like to have a kids-only garage sale as part of the Family Fun Fest. If you have toys, puzzles, games, bikes, or scooters that your child no longer uses, start setting them aside and donate to the Family Fun Fest. Please note: we will start collecting the items in the week beginning 11th March. Thanks for your help.

SPORTS UPDATE:
Basketball
Registrations are now open for all year 2 – 6 students wanting to play basketball for Sunnybrae this semester. 

The Year 2 – 4 Mixed/Boys League will be played on Tuesdays at Eventfinda Stadium, Silverfield, Glenfield between 3:40 pm – 7:00 pm. Games commence on Tuesday 5th March 2024 and run for 13 weeks across Terms 1 and 2.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER YEAR 2 – 4

The Year 5 & 6 Mixed/Boys League will be played on Wednesdays at Eventfinda Stadium, Silverfield, Glenfield between 3:40 pm – 7:00 pm. Games commence on Wednesday 6th March 2024 and run for 13 weeks across Terms 1 and 2.
Year 5 & 6 Girls Only League will be played on Tuesdays at Eventfinda Stadium, YMCA, Massey Uni and AUT. 3:30 pm – 8:15 pm. (Having a team in this league will depend on the numbers of girls wanting to play). Games commence on Wednesday 6th March 2024.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER YEAR 5 & 6

The fees will be approximately $90 per student and will be loaded onto your MyKindo account for payment before the start of the season.  Parents are responsible for transporting their children to and from the venue.

Registrations close on Friday 16th February 2024 – please note this is 3 days earlier than previously advertised due to the timeline around registering our teams with Harbour Basketball.

Kind regards
Lorene Hurd, Principal
SUNNYBRAE NORMAL SCHOOL

REMINDER:
Please note that all children are to be collected from school by 3.00 pm. If you are unable to collect before this time, you may be interested in booking your child into the YMCA after-school club held in the School Hall.  

CLICK HERE TO BOOK FOR YMCA 

COMMUNITY NOTICES: