Dear Parents

Just this week, a parent said to me that she thought we didn’t teach values at Victoria Avenue School. It was part of a general conversation and rather than be upset by that assertion I thought that it would be better if I explained to all parents the very important role the values, skills and learning behaviours have in our teaching and learning programmes.

Every week in assemblies I give out Principal’s Awards and celebrate Pupils of the Week. If you listen to the reasons children are chosen for these awards you will hear the language of values and learning behaviours coming through very strongly.

Our long term inquiry planning includes values and we have learning intentions based around these values. Our topic overview for every year has an overarching value which is threaded throughout the learning. Last year it was excellence and this year it is integrity. Over the past 12 months, teachers have been looking closely at learning behaviours, inquiry skills and values. We have delved deeply into the place of these in our teaching and learning, not just our inquiry topics.

So, what is the difference between these? Here are a few (but not all!) examples:

Skills: analysing information, locating keywords, summarising main ideas, evaluating, sorting, comparing, presenting, planning, classifying, interpreting, skimming and scanning text.

Learning behaviours: participating, persevering, persisting, contributing, listening, managing self, thinking, being inquisitive, sharing information, being enthusiastic, motivated, reflective, taking risks

Values: empathy, respect, honesty, integrity, kindness, caring, being responsible, excellence, courage, fairness, sharing

We have the values in the VAS Charter: Kindness, honesty, respect, love of learning, our best always, consideration and co-operations, manners. The NZ Curriculum lists values: excellence; innovation, inquiry and curiosity; diversity; equity; community and participation; ecological sustainability; integrity; respect

Every family has a set of values by which they live. Every family also has a set of behaviours that they expect their children to live by. Every family has a set of skills that they work towards all the family learning and knowing. The VAS family is no different. We have identified skills, learning behaviours and values which are important for all of us to ‘live by’ in the school. The children and teachers have identified a few key ones which we believe cover many aspects. Of course we learn and live by a whole raft of values, skills and behaviours but these are our core ones.

Victoria Avenue School Children are:     Responsible          Caring           Honest

 These core values cover so many aspects of our lives – we are responsible for ourselves, for our choices, for our behaviours, for our environment, for our learning. We care about ourselves, others, our family, our friends, people less fortunate, the environment, the future of our environment, animals. We are honest about ourselves, our behaviours, in the way we talk and act with others.

Victoria Avenue School Learners are:   Curious     Collaborative   Risk Takers     Creative  Reflective

These learning behaviours are just a few key behaviours our children use as they do their best always.

Everything we do here is based on sound values and learning behaviours. We love that what we value at VAS sits alongside the values and behaviours that our parents expect of their families.

Nut Allergies

We have children at Victoria Avenue School who have an allergy to nuts. If they eat any nuts they could have trouble breathing, require an adrenalin injection quickly and have to be hospitalised. To avoid such an emergency, we are asking for your help.

We recognise that many children love nuts, peanut butter and Nutella. However, we ask that, whenever possible, you would limit the amount of nuts, peanut butter and Nutella you send to school with your child.

We would be very grateful if all students washed their hands after eating, so that any residual nuts on hands is not accidentally transferred to items in the classroom causing accidental exposure. Also, if your child has eaten nuts/peanut butter/Nutella before going to school, we ask that you ensure that your child’s hands and face have been thoroughly washed prior to leaving the house.

If you ever bring any treats to school to share with the class, please ensure that it does not contain nuts or nut based products.

Thank you for helping to keep all our children safe.

Ski Teams for 2016

I know it is early in the year but we are thinking about the VAS ski teams. If your child is a very able skier and you would like to be involved with the ski championships held later in the year, we are holding a meeting for interested parents on Wednesday 9 March at 8am. Trials will be held later in the year. This meeting is to discuss organisation, accommodation and personnel.

Kind regards

Janice Adamson

Second-hand uniform sale – Friday 11 March, 8.45-9.30am

Please donate your clean, good-quality uniform to our sale.
Items may be dropped in the shop on Friday morning before school, or left at the office.