Address: 282 Victoria Avenue, Remuera, Auckland | Telephone: (09) 520 0602
E-mail: [email protected] | web: www.victoriaave.com
Dear Parents
Earlier this year ERO published a report ‘Wellbeing for Children’s Success at Primary School’. Just as background to these reports, as part of their review cycle ERO personnel carry out reviews based on the School Evaluation Indicators. They also gather data for Education Evaluation Reports. These report on national educational issues based on information compiled by ERO through its reviews of individual schools and early childhood services. These reports are particularly relevant to the year in which they are published. ‘Wellbeing for Children’s Success at Primary School’ fits within the Prime Minister’s Youth Mental Health Project started in 2012.
On the basis of current research, ERO identified nine key ideas that demonstrated the desired outcomes for student wellbeing. These are:
- Students have a sense of belonging and connection to school, to whanau, to friends and to the community
- Students experience achievement and success
- Students are resilient, have the capacity to bounce back
- Students are socially and emotionally competent, are socially aware, have good relationship skills, are self confident, are able to lead, self manage and are responsible decision makers
- Students are physically active and lead healthy lifestyles
- Students are nurtured and cared for by teachers at school, have adults to turn to who grow their potential, celebrate their successes, discuss options and work through problems
- Students feel safe and secure at school, relationships are valued and expectations are clear
- Students are included, involved, engaged, invited to participate and make positive contributions
- Students understand their place in the world, are confident in their identity and are optimistic about the future
So, why the focus on student wellbeing? According to research, a student’s sense of achievement and success is enhanced by a sense of feeling safe and secure at school and affects their resilience.
The ERO report noted that most primary schools relied on their positive culture and respectful relationships to promote wellbeing. Reminders about values and the valued way of working were evident in the classrooms, around the school, in communications sent home. These values were reflected in the relationships between and among teachers and students. Many schools celebrated good behaviour through classroom and school rewards. Students were clear about the school’s values and the behaviours they represented.
At VAS, we have the approach as noted above. It is timely though, to check in with our children to ensure that what we think is happening around wellbeing is the reality for them. I will let you know what our children think early next term and if we identify any gaps, then I will also let you know what we will put in place to ensure that our children experience a high level of wellbeing.
Kind regards
Janice Adamson
Teacher Science Professional Development
As part of our schoolwide professional development in science, all teachers attended another session at MindLab in Newmarket after school last Thursday.
This was our second session there and it has challenged our thinking, especially the real concern that we need to have deep scientific knowledge to teach science. It was made very apparent that we don’t need to know all the answers, but what we do need to know is how to use an inquiry approach when teaching science. Rather than give the answers, let the children explore and for them to come up with answers or thinking. This brings in many skills and learning dispositions; problem solving, risk taking, analysing, comparing, evaluating, resilience. We were shown some basic information about the equipment we were given and then were given the task of designing and making a vehicle that moved along the floor. Working in pairs we all had to use the whole range of skills above to get our vehicle moving. It was a fantastic learning opportunity for all of us and we loved it. And of course, the competitive instinct came to the fore when we raced our vehicles.
This was followed by a whole group debrief as to why some worked better / went faster than others which was more powerful learning. The end result? Teachers who now see teaching science as fun and very accessible.
Click Here to view our new BLOG PAGE on our website.
DRAMA/SPEECH LESSONS: Click here for information
MUSIC LESSONS: Click here for information on Musiqhub music lessons
AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES:
FOR TERM 3 2015
Click here for details on these activities.
Also:
Click here for After School and Holiday Community Based Programmes and Activities for 2015
What’s Ahead?
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VIEW OUR ONLINE CALENDAR
IMPORTANT DATES AND TIMES
School Times
School starts: 8.50am
Interval: 10.30-10.50am
Lunch: 12.30-1.25pm
School finishes: 3.00pm
Term Dates for 2015
Term 3: Mon 20 Jul to Fri 25 Sept ’15
Term 4: Mon 12 Oct to 16 Dec ’15
~ Labour Day Mon 26 October ’15
Term Dates for 2016
Term 1: Wednesday 3 Feb to Friday 15 April ’16
~ Waitangi Day Mon 8 Feb and Easter Holiday Friday 25 March – Tuesday 29 March’16 (During school term)
Term 2: Monday 2 May to Friday 8 July ’16
~ Anzac Day Mon 25 April and Queen’s Birthday Monday 6 June ’16
Term 3: Monday 25 July to Friday 23 Sept ’16
Term 4: Monday 10 October to Friday 16 December ’16
~ Labour Day Mon 24 October ’16
Stationery Sales
Tuesdays and Thursdays: 8.30-8.45am
Uniform Shop
– half way up dragon drive in the old dental clinic
OPEN FRIDAYS only: 8.15-8.45am
Orders and payments for uniform can be made online on our website ~ Click here
Lunch Orders for 2015
1. ezLUNCH: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays
Join ezlunch today to take advantage of this promotion. and Place an order
2. Subway: Wed and Fri
Register to order online at www.subwayrialto.co.nz
3. Sushi on Thursdays
Click Here for order forms/instructions
School Dental Service
8b Ngaio St Orakei Ph5200603.
The dental team will be posting letters to all new entrants to our school as required.
Remember to ‘like’ Victoria Avenue School on Facebook.
NIT NIGHT TONIGHT!!
PLEASE, PLEASE CHECK FOR NITS – a number of classes have reported nits and if your infected child is not treated then many others will be!
Here is a link from NZ Health for info and treatment.
http://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/conditions-and-treatments/diseases-and-illnesses/head-lice
Reminder school Banking is on every Wednesday
To join go to the ASB display/banking box in the foyer.
CROSSCOUNTRY RESULTS
Last week the Juniors, Middles and Seniors competed in our cross country event. The results can be viewed HERE.
The senior and middle students competed on the Monday at Martyn Wilson Field and the juniors on Friday afternoon. The juniors were cheered on by the older students and our traditional “rabbits”
As ever they were great events thanks to great organisation by Rachael and school staff and supported by our wonderful parents.
PUPILS OF THE WEEK
Charlotte Ellis and Ava Newton
- Room 1: Hannah Macgill
Room 1: Jojo Woo
Room 2: Jonathan Colwill
Room 2: Phoebe Cotter
Room 3: Finn Walkley
Room 3: Max Graham
Room 4: Bria Cotton
Room 4: Morgan Tapper
Room 5: Miguel Mok
Room 6: Jessie Barclay
Room 6: Felicity Thompson
Room 7: Raphael Portugal
Room 8: Alexandra Yeoman
Room 9: Grace Thomson
- Room 10: John Gray
Room 11: Luca Devereux
Room 12: Sean Zhang
Room 13: Michael Sun
Room 14: Lawrence Song
Room 15: Jayden Naran-Patel
Room 16: Anastasia Voronina
Room 17: Oscar Kidd
Room 18: Nina Haydon
Room 19: Holly Brazendale
Room 19: Callum Rae
Room 21: Coco Lorenzon
Room 21: Jonny Barclay
Room 22: Emily Tham
TRAVELWISE
Walking Tree
Our walkers have so enjoyed being part of the walking tree campaign
~ please don’t stop walking when the tree has gone!!
Please remember you can use the Walking School Bus on a regular basis to avoid having more cars than necessary on the roads around our school. Click here for more information regarding the Walking School Bus routes at our school.
A huge thank you to the councillors who helped out every morning this week as the walkers came in to pop their apples on the tree.
Westhaven Marina is the heart of boating in Auckland. It’s the biggest marina in the southern hemisphere, and home to more than 2,000 boats and numerous boating and watersports businesses, clubs and groups. The marina team would like to invite your school community to visit on Saturday 3 October from 10am-2pm for its first fun gala open day, where there is lots of stuff to try, see and do, including:
- Free boat rides and Have a Go sessions for sailing, SUP, and dragon boating; Keen to get sailing? Find out how; Visit Westhaven’s yacht clubs; Helicopter flight simulator
- And so much more
There is a full event program, including info on getting there and car parking, at www.Westhaven.co.nz.
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