Address: 282 Victoria Avenue, Remuera, Auckland | Telephone: (09) 520 0602
E-mail: [email protected] | web: www.victoriaave.com
Dear Parents,
VAS Forest Project
Have you seen the plans for the VAS Forest Project yet? This is such an exciting project split into three stages, with the first stage planned for construction early in the year. The plans are displayed in reception so please come along and have a look and perhaps give some feedback. This year, the PTS raised nearly $70,000, which is just fantastic! We are only able to start this project as a result of all the fundraising the PTS has done this year. I know you will love seeing the slide area redeveloped, knowing that the money you contributed either attending an event or buying things is going towards giving our children an amazing space in amongst the trees.
PTS News
As you know the PTS underwent a renaissance this year with a group of parents and a board member who met and designed a different structure for the PTS. Charlotte Houghton spearheaded the new PTS and has done a fantastic job rallying parents to help either organise or help out at events. Charlotte is standing down and I want to express my huge thanks for all her hard work this year. Charlotte and another group of parents have been revisiting the structure of the PTS as well as working with the board to improve communication and transparency around the use of the funds raised by the PTS. The VAS Forest Project is just the start of the new improved way of doing things as the VAS community, with board, PTS and parents all working together.
Carol Service
The Carol service was well attended on Tuesday night and was absolutely delightful. The singing was beautiful, the organist ensured we could sing the carols loudly and the children’s snippets of what ‘shine a light’ meant to them were gorgeous. Thanks to Alison Laxon and Jane Cameron who were supported by all the teachers.
Year 6 Leavers
The Leaver’s dinner with the theme ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’ was such a great occasion. The children came past a ticket booth, had candy floss and popcorn while they watched circus performers outside. They were let into the big top where performers from Flip n Fly put on a show. The dinner was superb, the MC Gene Kuhtze was a great ringmaster. It was a brilliant night! Thanks to all the year 6 parents who organised it. We are also very appreciative for the ‘loop’ outdoor seat and the donation of an oak tree as the Year 6 Leavers’ gift to the school. Thank you for your generosity.
Board of Trustees
Thank you to the Board of Trustees, Bob Weston Chair, Nicky Hall, Dave Shields, Bridget Snelling, Anna Scott, Martin Cooper, John Thorman, Alison Laxon. You have all worked very hard to ensure that the school is governed at such a high level. This has ensured that the high standard of education and community involvement has continued.
Farewells
There are many VAS families (of year 6 children) for whom this is the last farewell. Their youngest child is leaving VAS, so their time with us is over. Thanks to all of you for your wonderful contributions to the school over many years. To all the families leaving Victoria Avenue School this year, thank you for your support of the school and I am sure you take away many fond memories.
We have some teachers leaving at the end of the year for various reasons. Nashta Hawke has been pinched off us by Dio where she will be a specialist teacher in Maker Industries. Sam Holderness lives in west Auckland and has found the commute tedious. She has won a position closer to her home. Judy Chao has a particular interest in working with English language learners. She has won a position in a school with a large percentage of Chinese students. Rob King has not been with us very long, but he is secondary trained and has discovered that he really prefers 16 years old to 6 year olds! Huge thanks to the teachers leaving for all their hard work teaching our children. We wish you all well.
Thanks also to Marion Martin, Kate Chisholm, Chris Francis, Libby Hendriksen and Anna McDonald who opened the new entrant classes during this year and have done a fantastic job transitioning the new children into school.
This is not a farewell, but more of a ‘have a fabulous time’. Alison Laxon has been granted a one year sabbatical by the board. She is off to find out about life outside of VAS. We will see Alison back in 2020. Lynette Leggett will be our music teacher for 2019. She is very experienced and comes highly recommended.
Welcome
We have appointed new teachers. Petrea Barker who comes to us from Richmond Rd School. Renee Lee is an experienced teacher who has recently returned to New Zealand. Alice Wohlers is also an experienced teacher who is moving from Wellington to Auckland. We have not yet found a new PE/Sport teacher but I hope we will have someone wonderful by the beginning of the year.
So to all the staff; teachers, teacher aides and admin staff thank you all for your dedication and hard work with our lovely students.
Please have lovely restful holidays, drive safely and enjoy the precious time with your families.
Kind regards
Janice Adamson
2019 Classes
The class notifications will be sent home tomorrow after 11.30am. All parents will get an email with the class their child is in, and you will also get a photo and bio about the new teacher. Children will meet their new teachers tomorrow so you can all have a lovely conversation after school.
2019 Staffing
SENIOR SYNDICATE
Teacher | Miss Carla White | 6 | 1 | |
Teacher | Mr Mike Hogg | 6 | 2 | Senior teacher Years 5, 6 |
Teacher | Mrs Renee Lee | 6 | 3 | |
Teacher | Mrs Petrea Barker | 5 | 4 | Year 5 leader |
Teacher | Miss Jennifer Noone | 5 | 5 | |
Teacher | Mrs Kate Chisholm/Mrs Clare Fuller | 5 | 6 |
MIDDLE SYNDICATE
Teacher | Miss Alice Wohlers | 4 | 15 | |
Teacher | Miss Alice Meurice | 4 | 16 | |
Teacher | Mrs Ilona Lumborg | 4 | 17 | Senior teacher Years 3, 4 |
Teacher | Mrs Ally Young | 4 | 18 | |
Teacher | Mrs Kirsten Ngan | 3 | 19 | Year 3 leader |
Teacher | Mrs Dynelle Isdale | 3 | 20 | |
Teacher | Miss Gabrielle Brabyn | 3 | 21 | |
JUNIOR SYNDICATE
Teacher | Ms Brittany Mills | 2 | 7 | |
Teacher | Mrs Lee Kang | 2 | 8 | Year 2 Leader |
Teacher | Mrs Marguerita Muirhead/Mrs Sara Weatherall | 2 | 9 | |
Teacher | Mrs Kathy Chan | 2 | 10 | |
Teacher | Ms Bron Andrew | 1 | 11 | |
Teacher | Mrs Shelly Orange | 1 | 12 | |
Teacher | Mrs Lynn Morriss | 1 | 13 | |
Teacher | Mrs Nickie Marshall | 1 | 14 | Senior Teacher Years 0, 1, 2 |
SPECIALIST TEACHERS
Designation | Name | Responsibilities |
Teacher | Mr Jason Des Forges | ICT support; maths, robotics, coding, ICT GATE programmes |
Teacher | TBA | PE, Sports |
Teacher | Ms Carolyn Crook | SENCO, Reading Recovery |
Teacher | Mrs Lynette Leggett | Music |
Teacher | Mrs Julie Hadlow | ESOL |
Councillors and House Captains
The councillors and house captains were announced at the Leavers’ assembly last Friday. Congratulations to the following students:
Councillors:
Emily Fippard-Peacock, Bella Innes, Annabelle Judd, Isobel Pennington, Olivia Wood, Josie Treagus.
Connor Clark, George Clausen, Matthew Cunningham, John Gray, Jonathan Hu, Henry Wilson.
House Captains:
Karaka – Carolyn Yang and Cooper Thomson
Koromiko – Grace Thomson and Kai Wang
Kowhai – Meg Brew and Ethan Binsted
Pohutukawa – Olive Magness-Wignall and William Munro
School finishes next Thursday 20th at 12.30pm.
After School Care
Bizzy Bodz will finish being the provider of After School Care at our school, effective the end of this year. A very big thank you to the Bizzy Bodz team for their great contribution over many years.
We are delighted to let you know that Monique Patient is taking over with her Magnificent Kids Out of School Care – www.magnificentkids.co.nz. Many of you already know Monique who currently provides holiday programmes and clubs at the school. She can be contacted at [email protected]
Lost Property
Please take the opportunity to come in before Wednesday if your child has mislaid uniform. One of our wonderful parents regularly returns named uniforms to children but there are still a lot of unnamed pieces.
Dates for 2019
Term 1: Monday 4 February to Friday 12 April
~ Waitangi Day Wednesday 6 February
~ Good Friday 19 April
~ Easter Monday 22 April
~ Easter Tuesday 23 April
~ ANZAC Day Thursday 25 April
Term 2: Monday 29 April to Friday 5 July
~ Queen’s Birthday Monday 3 June
Term 3: Monday 22 July to Friday 27 Sept
Term 4: Monday 14 October to Wednesday 18 December
~ Labour Day Mon 28 October
Kind Regards
Janice Adamson
Click Here to view our BLOG PAGE.
DRAMA/SPEECH LESSONS: Click here for information
MUSIC LESSONS: Click here for information on Musiqhub music lessons
AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES:
FOR TERM 4 2018
Click here for details on these activities.
Also:
Click here for After School and Holiday Community Based Programmes and Activities for 2018
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 2019
Term 1: Monday 4 February to Friday 12 April 2019
~ Waitangi Day Wednesday 6 February ’19
~ Good Friday 19 April
~ Easter Monday 22 April
~ Easter Tuesday 23 April
Term 2: Monday 29 April to Friday 5 July 2019
~ Queen’s Birthday Monday 3 June ’19
Term 3: Monday 22 July to Friday 27 Sept 2019
Term 4: Monday 14 October to Wednesday 18 December 2019
~ Labour Day Mon 28 October ’19
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
1. ‘Daily Lunch and Catering’ ordered through ezlunch: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays – ONLINE ORDERS ONLY
Click here for ezlunch and here for Subway menus.
Join ezlunch today and Place an order Sushi is available through Daily Lunch and Catering
2. Pita Pit: ordered through ezLUNCH: Thursdays – ONLINE ORDERS ONLY
Join ezlunch today and Place an order
School Dental Service
8b Ngaio St Orakei Ph 520 0603.
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
To download the app for free on iPhone or Android click this link. http://is.gd/3ffmjc
Challenge to all parents….. to go down the water slide! Bring your togs!
Fundraising for 2108
Click here for playground design plan, and click here for an outline of the project.
Your thoughts on the VAS Forest Project
We’d love to hear your feedback on the Forest Project.
Let us know what you like, don’t like and how you would use the new space?
We’ll be talking with teachers and children next year about the Forest Project to see what you think.
Please email [email protected] with your thoughts.
Class Parents for 2019
Is communication one of your things? Are you a people person? Are you handy with emails?
We are looking for class parents for next year. This is a great way to get to know your child’s teacher and other parents in the class. If you are wanting to be involved this role can be done whether you are working or at home. It can fit around you.
Please email Annette [email protected] with the name(s) of your child/children, what year they will be in next year, and your contact number. Thanks so much.
Attendance Codes
As you will have noticed on our portal, codes are used to explain student attendance. These codes are approved by the Ministry of Education and our teachers take care to code each absence accordingly using our electronic attendance register.
Commonly used codes at Victoria Avenue School include:
Justified Absence Codes
P – Present
L – Late for class
M – Medical reasons
D – Medical appointment – eg doctor or dentist
Q – Attending off site school activity eg camp
F – Attending an off site course/class
J – Justified absence as approved by the principal
Unjustified Absence Codes
E – Explained but unjustified absence
G – Holiday during term time
T – No explanation provided
The Ministry Of Education recognises that “being present and engaged is fundamental to student achievement” so recommends that justified absences(J) are only for unpreventable events such as a family bereavement or a force majeure. Although holidays during term time are coded accordingly they are still considered unjustified absences.
Julie Hadlow, our ELL specialist teacher, is arranging donations of unused and/or new cosmetics, toiletries, bathroom things etc for Shine Women`s Refuge. Items for males, females, adults, children and babies please! Drop off would be to Julie at the Atrium (between Rooms 15 and 16).

Summer Holiday Opening Times
Homestay Required for 2018
Yu Xuan our Mandarin Language Assistant (MLA) will be returning to China in December. Yu has been a wonderful asset to our Chinese language and culture programme and we wish her well for the future.
A new Mandarin Language Assistant will start with us at VAS next year and consequently we need to find a homestay placement for her. You would receive $250 per week for her room & board. If you would be interested in providing a homestay for our MLA please let me know as soon as possible.
Kind regards
Jane Cameron
Futsal Success
This term a newly created Year 5 Futsal team – the Victoria Avenue Fortniters participated in the Year 5/6 Auckland Futsal League. They came first in their group and without losing a single game. Congratulations to Samuel Enright, George Clausen, William Munro, Connor Clark, Charlie Barrqtt-Boyes, Louie Hogan and Oliver Munro.
Gifts for the Elderly – Remuera Gardens
Dance & Cheerleading Programmes
We’d like to thank Sport Auckland and Kiwisport for approving funding to promote the high quality dance and cheerleading programmes. We hope the instructors have enjoyed working with our students as much as the students have loved working with them.
Hip Hop Dancing
This week our students have been working with Caitlin from Groovit Dance School. Throughout the week Caitlin has run multiple sessions with different grades between years 1 – 6, teaching them a range of different dance routines and skills.
Over 100 students danced at the audition on Wednesday. A second audition was held today. The standard of dancing was very high and it was difficult to choose a dance crew from so many talented dancers. Caitlin helped select a Dance Crew who will compete in the Evolution Dance Competition in Auckland in 2019. Mrs Dynelle Isdale & Ms Gabrielle Brabyn have worked hard to make it happen.
Here is the link to the competition – https://evolutiondancecomp.com/
Cheerleading
Over 100 students tried out at the audition on Tuesday. Former NZ representative, Ms Michelle Williams, helped select a Cheerleading Team who will compete in a Cheerleading Competition in Auckland in 2019. Mrs Dynelle Isdale & Ms Gabrielle Brabyn have worked hard to make it happen.
Here is the link to the competition – https://cheerbrandz.com/competitions/2019-eutopia-cheer-auckland
To join our SCHOOL GROUP, click on the following link: https://www.registernow.com.au/secure/Register.aspx?E=31836&G=78316
If you would like to enrol for 2019 with our experienced modern dance school Stow Austin Studio, please visit our website http://stowaustinstudio.co.nz or email [email protected] or [email protected]
NZAMD exam syllabus covering Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop and Ballet plus a stunning professional annual production in November. Positive and affirming classes with excellent standards. Positions for preschoolers from 4 years and above are available. Classes held in St Heliers and Epsom. Enquiries most welcome.
Flippaball
Flippaball is junior waterpolo played in waist deep water, 7 players per team. VAS plays in the Epsom League on Sunday afternoons at the Diocesan, St Cuthberts or Epsom Girls Grammar pools, catering for teams from Years 3 to 6 (mixed boys and girls). VAS teams are coached and managed by willing parents.
This term we have 3 teams playing in a variety of year group grades including the 2m deep min polo. If you’d like to see what this sport is all about then the draw is available on the league website, get along to a pool on a Sunday to take a look. https://www.sporty.co.nz/epsomleague
If your child and friends/classmates are interested in playing flippaball in Term 1 2019 please contact Anna Scott [email protected] ph 0211 532 132 as entries will need to be made before school starts next year.
Click here for class prices and timetables