Newsletter

Principal's Message

A terrific start to Term 2, 2024, school life continues without the disruption and irritations and the previous 4 years, providing an opportunity to bed in many of the initiatives we have in place.

Winter sports are well underway, with Rugby, Netball and basketball having very good numbers involved. 

Learners are working well in the classroom, grateful for the absence of disruptions that have marred the past 3 or 4 years.
 
ERO has begun its Te Ara Huarau process this is the ‘normal’ ERO process that all schools do, (nothing to do with the special review of 2023).
 
The Education Review Office (ERO) continues to work with Wesley College using the Te Ara Huarau approach. All state and state-integrated schools have an ERO evaluation partner who supports the school in a process of continuous improvement. Approximately every three years an evaluation report is published on the ERO website. 
 
The school can expect their evaluation partner to visit the school and undertake a variety of evaluation activities to support monitoring of progress towards the schools priorities. These include classroom observations, focus group interviews and compliance verification. 

If you would like to learn more about the Te Ara Huarau approach to school evaluation, please visit: How ERO reviews schools/kura (English-medium) | Education Review Office. If you would like to contact ERO, information about how to do that is here: Contact us | Education Review Office (ero.govt.nz)
 
SAS 
We continue a spotlight on SAS - Safeguarding, Attendance, and Standards - the pillars that ensure a safe, inclusive, and high-quality learning experience for all our students.

Safeguarding: fostering a Safe and happy learning haven
Safeguarding is our commitment from Board level down, to creating a secure and nurturing environment for every student. Our school places the utmost importance on the physical and emotional well-being of each child.
This is a significant piece of work that is going to be the game changer for Wesley, the Child Safeguarding programme. We are well into this with our Safeguarding officer appointed and the work is extremely intense and time consuming.
 
Attendance: Building consistency for Academic Success
Regular attendance is the bedrock of academic achievement. It lays the groundwork for a disciplined routine and fosters a sense of responsibility among our students.

Attendance is improving and we are close to 90%, but we want to hit mid 90% and higher.
 
If a student misses one day of school every two weeks, they miss a whole year of school by 16 years of age. As a parent or caregiver, you, alongside our school, play a key role in building strong habits of regular school attendance.

You must let the school know if your child is going to be absent for a day or intends to be absent for a portion of the school term for whatever reason, like a tangi or medical procedure. Family holidays or taking time off for external extracurricular activities (those not organised by school) are not acceptable reasons for being absent.
 
If you're struggling at home with getting your child to school, talk to us! Our school is committed to supporting your child to attend school and building a culture that fosters excellent attendance by having:
 - School staff who have strong relationships with students and whaanau.  
 - A school culture that recognises your child and your family for who they are, where they come from and who they want to be.
 - A school community that does everything to make sure students are at school, and they are participating, and progressing in their education.
 
Standards: Elevating Educational Excellence
High academic standards are at the heart of our commitment to providing quality education. We strive to instill a love for learning and a pursuit of excellence in every student. This includes all aspects of school life, including grooming, uniform and haircuts – we want that feeling of ‘look good, do good’.

Night School
Night School will be well into full swing in Term 2. Our Night School programme provides a number of paid tutors to be on site helping with student homework/assessments. Please talk to your children about this opportunity – it is unique and gives Wesley students a distinctive tutoring edge that many families pay for themselves.

Phones away for the day
The Government has introduced regulations that require all state schools and kura to have student phone rules in use. Rules must be in use as soon as possible in Term 1 2024 and no later than Term 2

Please remind students that we are a No Phone school. This means that phones need to be always kept in bags. If they are seen, they will be confiscated. Please note that the new government regulations require that schools must ensure students do not use or access a phone while they are attending school, including during lunch time and breaks. This includes students who are on a school course or visit outside the school grounds. For more information, please visit https://www.education.govt.nz/school/digital-technology/cellphones/ 

Notifying a daily absence from school

Daily absences can be made by:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (09) 2370224
Portal: https://login.bridge.school.nz/?
Special extended leave requests of more than 2 days must be made to the Principal.

KEY DATES

Thursday, 30 May 2024 – Exeat Weekend: Students leave for exeat weekend after school. Hostels are closed for the weekend.
Friday, 31 May 2024 - Teacher's Only Day
Monday, 3 June 2024 - Kings Birthday: Hostels reopen boarders return between 3 - 5pm.
Tuesday, 4 June 2024 - Full school recommences: All students to Chapel at 8.20am

EVENTS CALENDAR

Hostel Contact Details:

House Parents are on duty to take phone calls from 6.30am - 7.30am and 3.20pm - 9.30pm. The Hostels are closed during the day.

Alternatively you can email the hostels on:

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