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23 February 2024  |
Kia ora koutou On Tuesday this week we had our school athletics sports day and what a great day it was. The House spirit was alive and well, participation high and the events brought great competition for our best athletes. We had a high level of student helpers and the staff vs student events, which are always a highlight, saw the 100m relay race won by our students and the tug of war competition was also won by our supported learning students. Great work! Two school records were broken. Congratulations to: Rico Poutama - U16 High Jump - 1.95m (previous record 1.83m) You can check out our athletics day photos below or on our Facebook page. We now look forward to Te Rauparaha Shield on Wednesday which will see our athletes competing against the other Kāpiti Coast schools in their annual event at the Domain. |
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On Tuesday we also had our first Board meeting for 2024. Our college has a fantastic Board and I thoroughly enjoy working with them. They play an important governance role and have oversight of property, finance, policy, strategic direction and importantly student achievement. On Tuesday, Michelle Mason was appointed to the role of Presiding Member and I want to congratulate Michelle on this. Our Board consists of the other parent elected representatives: Lawrence Kirby, Greg Selby, Paula Helms; Staff rep. - Kate Cormack; Student rep - Manit Desai and myself. Damian Parata finished in his role as iwi and parent elected rep at the end of last year as he headed off to Australia. Greg Selby will be finishing at the end of this term and we are therefore looking to select two Board members for the remainder of this Board cycle and the election in 2025. Below is the formal notification of this. Casual vacancies for parent representatives on the Board Two casual vacancies have occurred on the school Board for elected parent representatives. The Board has decided to fill those two vacancies by selection. If 10% or more of eligible voters on the school roll ask the Board, within 28 days of this notice being published, to hold a by-election to fill the vacancies, then a by-election will be held. Request for a by-election should be sent to: Presiding member (chair) Toilets The Board has been considering feedback received from our students and school community about student safety in and around our toilet facilities here at College. The Board has asked us to look at those toilet areas where we have been experiencing a higher level of student behaviour issues, to see whether it would be possible to install cameras. Any cameras installed would be positioned to provide better visual coverage of the common spaces, whilst maintaining appropriate privacy for students. Currently our policy is that cameras are not installed in sensitive places such as bathrooms however, we know students want to feel safe in whichever bathroom they are using so we are considering this option for the block bathrooms. If you have serious concerns about that policy being changed to allow for cameras to be positioned in bathroom areas (with appropriate privacy safeguards), please let the board know by emailing board@pc.school.nz. We do have clear rules around who can access any information collected, what it can be used for, how it is stored and how long it is retained for so these rules would still apply. On this front, we are excited to be only a couple of weeks away from the completion of the gymnasium changing rooms which represent how we are shifting arrangements of toilets across the school to single cell, external entry spaces. I have attached a couple of photos to illustrate where we are heading. Photos of toilets are not typical newsletter content, but I’m sure you appreciate we’re excited for these developments which follow on from the recently completed auditorium bathroom and kitchen upgrade. |
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Magazine 2023 We still have a large number of the pre-purchased 2023 magazine to be collected. These are available from the College Office. Uniform Please can you ensure that all uniform items are named. This helps our office team to get items back to their owner quickly if they are mislaid or lost. Thank you. Short Term Home Stays Our International Department is currently looking for warm and caring homestays for short term students (1 to 3 weeks). Some of our visiting groups allow 2 students per family. Host families will receive $50 per night. If you are interested in hosting one or two students , please email international@pc.school.nz. Hall of Fame We are still seeking nominations for our Hall of Fame. All the details about past winners and how to apply can be found below. Nominations close next Friday 1 March. |
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School Bus information for Waikanae students We have been advised by Usabus that some students are catching Route 290, wanting to connect to the school buses at Waikanae but not making it on time as they are catching the 290 at the wrong time. To make their connection to the school bus, students should catch the following service as the stated time: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday
Thursday
Both of the above 290 services will connect with the school buses. Safety concern for pedestrians crossing Waikanae Bridge We have received communication from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency regarding safety concerns for pedestrians crossing the Waikanae bridge during the construction of the clip on. This work is due to be completed in June. In the past few weeks since construction started, the on-site temporary traffic management staff reported there have been a number of pedestrians crossing the bridge (mostly to access the swim hole under the rail bridge) by walking/running on the narrow ledge next to live traffic. There are ’No pedestrian access’ signs on the bridge ends, however the signs are ignored and people take their chance by dashing across the bridge. This is a serious safety concern, and we have been asked to advise our community to adhere to the signs. Waka Kotahi has advised that if there are groups of students that want to cross without using the detour, and before they may decide to dash across the bridge, to please signal the traffic management site staff and ask to cross the bridge. Site staff will stop traffic so that pedestrians can cross safely. Note that this will not be allowed during peak times, and there may be a waiting time of up to 15 minutes to cross. As traffic will need to be stopped every time pedestrians are allowed to cross, this will have a significant impact on the traffic performance across Waikanae bridge. If this arrangement severely impacts on traffic at Waikanae bridge, the impact will be reviewed and this arrangement may be withdrawn. Note that the default pedestrian access is still via the pedestrian detour and should be considered first. A reminder that we use our School App and Facebook page for any urgent messages and to highlight student success and we would love you to follow us. You can find the links at the bottom of this newsletter along with a link to our Instagram page and Youtube. Kia pai tō koutou rā Craig Steed
Up Coming Events PARENT EVENING - MINDFULNESS & EMOTIONAL REGULATION Wednesday 6 March, 7 - 8pm Venue: Paraparaumu College Staffroom Overview and Purpose Sara Watchorn is passionate about teaching children how to notice and regulate the range of emotions that we all experience. By learning to manage these emotions it can help students as they navigate their way through their schooling and their lives. Mindfulness plays a big role in emotional regulation and helps us to really be in the present moment. Sara’s workshops explain how mindfulness works both at school and home. She provides practical tips and activities for both parents and teachers. Presenter: Sara Watchorn Facilitator: Sara Speight Intended for: Parents of students at all Northern Kāpiti Kāhui Ako Schools.
CYBER SAFETY EVENINGTuesday 5th March, 7 - 9pm Venue: Te Raukura Ki Kāpiti, Coastlands Theatre, 34A Raumati Road, Paraparaumu Tickets are $10 and are available from Eventfinder The Ultimate Parents Guide to… Understanding our kids Online World and how to keep them safe.
Hear filmmaker & Author Rob Cope in what promises to be a hilarious, straight talking Parent to Parent talk. |
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