Gateway to Discovery • He Kūaha Kitenga

Please see information attached

Welcome-to-Week-7.pdf

Kia ora e te whānau, and welcome to Week 5! We are racing through the term.

Thank you to everyone who visited our classrooms last Tuesday afternoon to check out your child's learning and chat with teachers. Your support is really valuable in teaching our tamariki to also value their education.

We are drawing our amazing raffle hamper (thanks to Kiwi Holiday Tours) this Friday! If you have purchased a ticket, thank you for supporting our tamariki on their way to camp at Mistletoe Bay. If you still need to pay for your tickets, please keep an eye out for a Facebook Messenger message from Picton School, or pop into the school office to pay. 

A massive thank you to our parent fundraising group! Thanks to their hard work last year, Kahikatea and Kauri classes visited the Ōmaka Aviation Museum last Friday to learn about aviation and history. More class trips are planned! Please check the Hero app regularly for posts from your child's teacher and fill out any permission forms. Tamariki without completed permission forms will unfortunately need to stay at school.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 5th for a Drive-In Movie right here at Picton School! This is sponsored by Four Square Picton and run through Firefly Cinemas. Keep an eye out for notices coming home and follow the "Picton Drive in Movies" Facebook page for more details. It's shaping up to be an awesome, family-friendly event!

Please ensure students arrive between 8.30 and 8.55am Classroom learning and the morning roll start promptly when the bell rings, which is a key part of our health and safety procedures.

There are a lot of persistent winter bugs going around, affecting both our staff and tamariki. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we navigate this. We are actively reminding tamariki to wash their hands before eating and after play to stay healthy.

We are already looking ahead to 2027! If you have preschoolers who you plan to enrol at Picton School in 2027 could you please help us by collecting an enrolment form now so that we can include these numbers in our planning. 

Have a great week! As always, feel free to pop in if you need anything.

Kia ora e te whānau,

Here is your update for the week ahead across our school.

This week is Rail Safety Week. Please take some time to talk with your tamariki about staying safe near railway tracks and crossings. Simple reminders about stopping, looking, listening, and staying well back from the tracks make a big difference in keeping everyone safe.

Nīkau Class is hosting our school assembly this Friday at 2:00pm in the hall. We warmly invite whānau to come along and celebrate our learners' progress.

Our Kauri and Kahikatea classes are heading off on an exciting trip to the Ōmaka Aviation Heritage Centre this Friday! The tamariki and staff are looking forward to a fantastic day of learning and discovery.

A paper notice regarding trip permission processes is coming home today. With multiple trips throughout the year, our kaiako can't phone individual whānau to secure last-minute verbal permissions. Moving forward, please ensure you read trip information sent via HERO and complete any permission surveys promptly. If permission is not given via HERO, your child will unfortunately need to remain at school during the trip.

If you are having any trouble accessing or using the HERO app, please pop in to see Mrs McManaway in the school office for help.

There are a load of winter bugs going arouud at the moment! Splitting a class is always our absolute last resort. However, there is a significant nation-wide reliever shortage that is particularly challenging here in Marlborough. When staff are unwell, we exhaust every available option before making the decision to divide a class.

We really appreciate your ongoing patience and understanding. On that note - if you know any registered teachers who might be available for relief work, please encourage them to get in touch with our office!

Lastly, we are thrilled to announce that our school has been selected as one of the first 500 schools in the Ministry of Education’s Solar on Schools initiative!

Following site assessments, we hope to have solar panels installed on our grounds. This project will not only lower our energy costs allowing us to direct more funds straight into classroom learning, but it will also offer our tamariki a fantastic real-world learning tool for sustainability and green energy.

Have a wonderful week, thank you for your ongoing support & pop in anytime! 

PAID UNION MEETING

On Friday 22nd March a number of our kaiako teachers are attending a paid union meeting in Blenheim at 1.30pm. 

School will remain open as we have the Duffy Theatre performing in the afternoon. You are most welcome to come along and watch. 

Please note - there will be no assembly that day. 

If you have any pātai questions at all please email me at katie@picton.school.nz

Thanks! 

Kia ora e te whānau,
We are excited to run our first assembly at 2.15pm in the hall this Friday.
If you can make it, you are most welcome to join us!