Fortnightly eNews
Term 1 Week 6
Kia ora Westminster Whānau! Have you noticed the change in weather? As I write, it feels slightly cooler and wetter than the previous weeks. I marvel at the Lord’s creation of weather and seasons. Genesis 8:22 While the earth remains, seedtime and the harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, shall not cease. How fortunate are we that our Lord created a perfect balance for us, His beloved children, and to be under His authority? Acts 1:7 He told them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.” I also marvel at how quickly this term is passing and how busy we are. Each teaching team works incredibly hard to engage our tamariki in their learning. Just as our children learn, so are our staff as we engage with facilitators to enhance our professional development and learning. Thank you for adhering to the 10km/hour speed limit in the carpark. Pick and drop-off are busy, and the driveway can sometimes become congested. Keeping to the suggested speed limit mitigates the risk of accidents. School attendance, arriving on time, and staying to the end of the day are essential elements of good progress for our children. Please limit late arrivals and early pickups as much as possible. I look forward to our annual Athletics Day at the end of the term, when we can meet as a community again and celebrate the health of our children as they participate in the different events. In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy the waves, smiles and casual catchups in the carpark! Take care, and God bless! Blessings, Sandy Jacobs Tumuaki / Principal | ||||
OUR MISSION Westminster Christian School, through the Spirit of God, educates the children of Christian parents for time and eternity by providing a Christ-centred academic curriculum founded on a Biblical Worldview. OUR VISION To be an innovative and Christ centred primary and intermediate school, providing our children, through the New Zealand curriculum, the skills that will enable them to function and develop as active Christians for time and eternity. For students to become capable life-long learners, who nurture their God given abilities and talents in a responsible and respectful way in service to the school and wider community. | ||||
TERM EVENTS | ||||
Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri |
4 Mar | 5 Mar | 6 Mar | 7 Mar | 8 Mar |
N/E Mid-Term Start | ||||
11 Mar | 12 Mar | 13 Mar | 14 Mar | 15 Mar |
LLC Kiwi Morning Tea | Yr 8 HPV Imms Yr 7 Boostrix | (17 Mar St Patrick’s Day) | ||
18 Mar | 19 Mar | 20 Mar | 21 Mar | 22 Mar |
BOT Meeting | Int Camp | Int Camp | Int Camp | |
25 Mar | 26 Mar | 27 Mar | 28 Mar | 29 Mar |
11am Easter Service | SCHOOL CLOSED Good Friday | |||
1 Apr | 2 Apr | 3 Apr | 4 Apr | 5 Apr |
SCHOOL CLOSED Easter Monday | SCHOOL CLOSED Easter Tuesday | Snr Camp | Snr Camp | Snr Camp |
8 Apr | 9 Apr | 10 Apr | 11 Apr | 12 Apr |
N/E Visit Day Athletics Heats | Athletics Finals | 11am End of Term Assembly | ||
INFORMATION | ||||
Our Board of Trustees meet throughout the year, during term time. You will see their scheduled meetings on our calendar above as “BOT Meeting” | Once a year the BOT (Board of Trustees) request donations and once a term the BOP (Board of Proprietors) send their payment requests. These are sent by email. For a breakdown of what these cover, follow this link. | Prayer is an integral part of our school. Parents are welcome to meet in the staffroom at 2:30pm on Fridays to pray for our students, staff and community. Prayer requests can be emailed or put in the mail box at reception. | Parents and Visitors on site during the school day must sign in at Reception. If you need to deliver something to your child, please give it to our office staff to pass on. | NZ sunlight can have high levels of UV radiation which can cause skin and eye damage. Students must come to school with sun block on and hats for play times. Teachers have spare sun block for students to apply during the day. |
UPDATES | ||||
BIG PICTURE Term one’s Big Picture is IDENTITY IN CHRIST. Easter lands in term one this year. We will be holding our annual Easter Service the Thursday before. Our performing arts groups always present some beautiful reflections on what Easter is about and we celebrate the love that God has for us, that he gave his only son, to die for our sins. Westminster’s Easter Service Parents are welcome to join us Thursday 28 March 2024 11:00am NHSDA Church 45 Bronzewing Terrace | ||||
ONGOING OUTREACH Thank you to the families who have already dropped off some bags! This is an ongoing outreach throughout the year, so please keep bringing them in! If you can provide some bags, please put them in the container provided in the reception area or drop off at Room 3. Thank you! Examples: | ||||
MEMORY VERSES Week 6: I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14 Week 7: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. 1 Peter 2:9 | ||||
INTRODUCING US This week we want to introduce our Senior Team! Pictured from Left: Hamish, Theresa, Nicole, Janica, Renay, Gail, Sarah The Senior Team teaches our Year 4-6 Students, lead by Nicole Bennett Room 16 - Year 4 - Miss Janica Maritz Room 17 - Year 4 - Mrs Theresa Cooper Room 22 - Year 5/6 - Ms Sarah Coombe Room 23 - Year 5/6 - Mr Hamish Morgan Room 24 - Year 5/6 - Mrs Nicole Bennett Room 25 - Year 5/6 - Mrs Gail Goodwin Learning Support Assistants: Renay Marsch, Mercia Hartzenberg, Nancy Molina | ||||
HEALTH & SAFETY If students have not been collected by 3:15pm, their parents will be phoned. Students staying at school after this time are either involved in an afternoon music or sport, or enrolled with Creation Station. Students cannot remain at school after class unsupervised.
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FROM THE CLASSROOM In Room 11, we have been creating our culture trees! For concept this term, Room 11 has been learning about the different levels of culture, through culture trees. Along with this, we studied the impact of culture on our life, and how it affects how we think and act. Culture changes as time goes forward, and we move around, which is why everybody’s culture tree is different. The one thing we all have in common, is our connection to Jesus Christ. We all thoroughly enjoyed this activity and had a lot of fun creating these trees! By Noah Gunawan | ||||
What is ICAS? ICAS is an online academic competition that is designed to assess students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills. Each assessment celebrates students’ accomplishments by providing opportunities for recognition and development. Every student who participates will receive a printed certificate and an online results report. Top performers will be eligible for medals. We encourage you to consider entering your child into ICAS this year. Learn more about ICAS here. (https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas) How to participate in ICAS If you wish for your Year 5-8 child to participate in ICAS this year, please: ● read about ICAS subjects and prices here: (https://www.icasassessments.com/products-icas) ● go to Parent Portal here: (https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps) ● enter our school’s access code –QXI832 ● enter your child’s details, select the tests you would like to purchase, then proceed to payment. (You decide what tests you would like your child to sit) The closing date to purchase these tests is the 26th July 2024. Please note that the ICAS tests shown for selection are at the school’s discretion. The tests available to be taken are English, Mathematics, Science, and Digital Technologies. After payment is made via the Parent Payment System, you will receive an order confirmation email, please keep this for your records. | ||||
The Glenfield Rugby Club would love to welcome new and returning players this season who are looking to experience the thrill of rugby, with Rippa and Tackle grades available for boys and girls aged 4 years and up. This season we are pleased to offer new players and any referred players 25% off their fees. If you already play for Glenfield Rugby Club and refer a player, you too will receive 25% off your fees as our way of saying thanks. This year we are offering free fees for J7 & J8 Rippa Rugby. This is non-contact for 4 – 6-year-olds. We have our Boot Camp /Muster Day running Sunday March 10, 17, 24 th from 3 - 4pm. There will be lots of games to be played, skills and drills, and a few special guests. There will be a free Sausage Sizzle for those who come down for some fun. Any queries, please contact: Aaron Holmes - 021 836 627 or email clubcaptain@glenfieldrugby.co.nz | ||||
STRATEGIC PLAN We shared our three Annual Goals earlier this year. This week we will focus on: GOAL ONE - ASSESSMENT IN LITERACY STRATEGY Building on 2023, staff will continue PLD in Assessment for Literacy. The Junior Team Teachers will carry out Better Start Literacy micro-credential. The Senior & Intermediate Teams will work with a facilitator on consistency in assessing literacy. GOALS Teachers utilise practices that improve student achievement through Assessment for Learning pedagogies, which are measurable . Teachers will develop a deeper understanding of the Literacy programme and provide a consistent delivery across the classes. TARGETS Teachers will be familiar with using the LPF to triangulate their Overall Teacher Judgement, and will be using these in their assessment of student achievement in Literacy. Teachers will be equipped to plan and deliver literacy consistently and be resourced to do so. | ||||
ORCHESTRA Thank you to those students who have joined the orchestra! Mrs McDonald thinks she has a great team and looks forward to working with you this year! 6th March Practice - all Orchestra 13th March Practice - Stringed Instruments Only | ||||
TE AO MAORI Our school integrates Te Ao Maori into our learning and interactions with each other, filtered by our Biblical Worldview. In our classes we pray to God to begin our day by saying a karakia. Here is an example from one of our junior classes: E te Atua Homai Ki a mātou Tou rangimārie, Tou aroha Tou kaha. Tou māramatanga Mō teni rā Amine Oh God Give us Your peace, your love Your strength , your understanding, For this day Amen | ||||
POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR FOR LEARNING This week we are learning to keep ourselves safe and participate safely outside of the classroom. Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out. -Proverbs 10:9 In class, we discussed the importance of staying together as a group on school trips. We talked about how to behave on the bus and about representing our school well by showing our school values; Respect, Resilience, Responsibility. | ||||
Carpooling We have a number of families that travel quite a distance in the mornings. If you are interested in carpooling from your area, please let Mrs G know. If there are families from the same area, she will put you in touch with each other. nicholeg@westminster.school.nz | ||||
FRIENDS OF WESTMINSTER (FOW) If you are available to help our fundraising efforts, please join the team! Athletics Day is coming up so we will need BBQers, food sellers and people to help setup and pack down. Please contact Trish Ragg to join in trishr@westminster.school.nz Friends are like buttons… they help hold everything together! | ||||
GALLERY | ||||
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IMPORTANT LINKS | ||||
Before & After School Care | ||||
Email Iona for piano, violin and recorder lessons | Online Lessons for Brass Instruments | Email Kathy Nel for after school tutoring | ||
COMMUNITY NOTICES | ||||
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OUR ADVERTISERS | ||||
