Thursday 4th May 2023 | Term 2 Week 2 |
Kia ora e te whānau,
We hope this newsletter finds you all well and enjoying the autumn weather.
We are pleased to let our community know that we have seen an improvement in attendance so far this year. We’ve been encouraging all students to strive for regular attendance, which is essential for academic success, for example, we know that the average attendance for our students achieving Merit and Excellence in their 2022 NCEA qualification was 92.5%. In our recent Primary and Middle/Senior Assemblies, we acknowledged the students who achieved regular attendance in Term 1 (categorised by the Ministry of Education as 90% or above) with WAKA Cards and certificates. Well done to all the recipients!
Congratulations to our PALS leaders who have started constructing new items to play with in the junior courtyard, which our wonderful Home and School Committee has recently purchased. We are excited to see the new additions and know the junior school will love them!
Congratulations also to all our netball teams who started their North Otago competition strongly over the last weekend. It’s great to have so many teams this year; we’re certainly experiencing growth in Netball participation. We wish them all the best for the rest of the competition. I know that Chelsea (Sports Co-ordinator) is looking into many different opportunities throughout the season to get out and play locally and regionally.
Looking towards next week - there is a full-day strike on Tuesday next week (9th May). This includes all Primary and Secondary teachers at Twizel Area School; therefore, the school will be closed to all students. We appreciate your understanding and support during this time. Additionally, our Year 13 students who are not attending Tournament are rostered home on Thursday, 11th May. We hope they follow their teacher’s advice to use their time wisely and catch up on any work or assignments.
Please note that the Conference Days scheduled for later this term have been revised due to the ongoing industrial action. The Conference Day on the 2nd of June will have available appointments from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, but we have needed to include additional Conference times on the 1st of June in an afternoon event from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm. Unfortunately, our teachers cannot work after 4:30 pm due to the industrial action, hence the additional afternoon rather than evening sessions. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Booking details will be released in next week’s newsletter.
He waka eke noa,
Kate Staniford
Tumuaki | Principal |
From the Head StudentsHead and Deputy Students, Billy and Fred, look forward to a busy couple of weeks with the Southern Area Schools Tournament in Lawrence, and the Otago Tertiary Open Days. | |  |
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Whakamihi, Billy!Congratulations goes out to Billy Garbutt for successfully applying and gaining an On-Campus Experience (OCE) scholarship for Year 13 secondary students of Māori descent to experience learning at the University of Otago. 🎓 | |  |
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Cupcakes and SprinklesCreativity was flowing this week, with ākonga taking part in 'Decorate your own Cupcake' on Monday Lunchtime. | |  |
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Wellbeing WednesdayWednesdays are an opportunity for students to participate in various activities designed to promote a healthy mind and body. There's something for everyone, from yoga, to kapa haka, to chess, and more. 🧘♀️♟️ | |  |
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Term 2 Industrial ActionThe PPTA and NZEI Teacher Unions have let the Board of Trustees know that the following industrial action will take place this term. Click the link to read how this may affect your child. | |  |
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Join Our Facebook Sport GroupJoin our new Facebook group, specifically for School Sport. This is where you'll find everything sport related at Twizel Area School. 🏀🏏🚣♀️ From athletics and rowing in the summer months to netball and Snow Club in the winter, and everything in between. | |  |
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Students Learn About DNAM4 and M3 students have been learning about genetics, and creating DNA code sequences using pipe cleaners. 🧬 | |  |
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Senior English UpdateWe caught up with the Senior English class this week to see what the students are working on. 📚📝 | |  |
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Netball Season Gets UnderwayThe 2023 netball season got underway last week with all the Twizel teams performing well, with some excellent results. 🏐 | |  |
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Dates for your DiaryHere are some important dates for Term 2, including Teacher Only Days, Conference Days and Public Holidays affecting this term! 🗓️ | |  |
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Talking About: Winning and LosingConversation starters to help our kids embrace the reality that winning isn’t everything and losing isn’t failing. | |  |
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 → Monday, 8th May | Otago Uni & Polytech Open Day
→ Wednesday, 10th - Friday, 12th May | Southern Area Schools Tournament, Lawrence
→ Thursday, 11th May | Chris Long - The Boy From Gorge River | Yr3-9
→ Monday, 15th - Friday, 19th May | Road Safety Week
→ Wednesday, 17th May | Timaru Pathways Expo - Year 11
→ Friday, 19th May | Pink Shirt Day
*All dates above are subject to change* |
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