Mental Health Awareness Week

Kia ora parents, whānau and caregivers,

It's well worth considering that this is mental health awareness week in Aotearoa New Zealand. We know that emotional wellbeing is essential to a healthy and happy life. We also know that our children are not immune to mental health issues and concerns.

We at school are vigilant with all the children, monitoring their outward appearance and seeking to be aware of changes or signs that may reveal underlying worries or concerns. We will always talk to parents and/or whānau where we detect anything that may be a concern.

The attachment here lists a number of support services available should we or you wish to take advantage of them.

We also have a recommendation for counselling services available here in Kerikeri, although there will be others. Please be in touch if you have any questions of concern.

Room 5 - Project Island Song

Room 5 and I went on a trip to Urupukapuka Island which is a part of Ipipiri ( A group of islands, Ipipiri means shelter). We went there on the 22 of September on an Explore boat. I enjoyed the ride and loved going to the bow of the boat where the wind flew into my face. We went there to learn more about a project progressing on that group of islands, Project Island Song. When we got to the bay we listened to the birdsong that they worked on daily, it was so relaxing. The water was beautifully blue and the trees swayed with the wind.

When we arrived at the dock Ria and Debs, volunteers to the project, told us about the island and then we exited the boat. It was a sunny hot day and as my friends and I walked down the dock we arrived at the base, somewhere I had been before 2 years ago. They told us about how they wanted the birdsong to be so loud that you couldn't even hear yourself think and how they would achieve this by trapping all of the pests, planting trees and translocating birds.

After we settled we ate our morning tea and split into groups. I was in group 1 and started my activity of making traps. Bosco, Nate, Vinnie and me got all of the supplies and brought them to the tables. I had made traps before and I was excited to make them again. We screwed all of the screws in (extra tight) and decorated our perfect trap with names, patterns and colourful designs. Then we went for a walk on a track and fed the birds. There were so many pretty birds flying over our heads and landing on the tall trees like rosellas that are from Australia and Tuis that are endemic to New Zealand.

As we sat down to eat our lunch group 2 came from another path and walked slowly towards the eating tables. After eating we all listened to the instructions of Ria as we got our shovels, trees and gloves. We took turns with the GPS marking spots on the island. We came up a hill and as we looked down Ria started talking about how we couldn't run down because of how steep it was and how we had to walk down. We slowly made our way down the hill and we finally reached our destination. We listened intently as Ria taught us how to plant the trees and what they were. As Mia, Shanae and I said our karakia to thank our tree everyone started finishing, putting their gloves away and started to climb back over the fence. None of us wanted to go back up the hill so we took the cliffside track. Ria started talking about how dangerous this track was and everything went eerily silent. We finally started walking and talking about the black scale, a disease brought by the European settlers to kill the trees but it backfired when the Manuka and Kanuka trees were too strong to die of the disease.

As we walked through the flower filled paddock towards the base Shanae, Mia and I chatted happily and made our way to our bags, slouching on the deck. I pulled a green apple out of my lunchbox and bit into it, the juice seeped into my mouth before the flavour hit my taste buds and lit up my face. We pulled our bags onto our back and made our way to the docks but before we could go the teachers wanted a photo. We all bunched up and smiled as the camera took the photo. We all got up and headed to the dock again where we brushed off our feet. We were all getting ready to go when Debs started handing out bread so we could feed the fish. Everyone started chucking bread in but the snapper went to the other side of the dock and me and my friends were getting a bit disappointed when I threw a piece of bread in and a snapper dove up and caught it. My face lit up with a humongous smile, as I tossed small bits of bread in even bigger snappers huddled around it before two of them dove up fighting for it, they flicked water up my legs as my friends and I laughed. I got up and entered the boat as I felt water trickling down my legs, I couldn't hold back my smile.

The ride back was short and calm. Whilst Ria and Debs were talking everyone did their crosswords. When I finished I walked to the bow and let the wind blow in my face. Shanae joined me and a little bit later Mia did. We all talked and laughed when we decided to go to the stern with the boys. The motor was so loud we had to shout to be able to hear people. We were making our way to the bow when we were called back inside, we were coming close to the Paihia wharf. Once we were all seated Ria started giving credit to everyone who helped with the trip before saying goodbye and excusing us. As I stepped off the boat a sudden sadness washed over me like a wave, I was sad we were leaving, I was sad it was all over.

Molly Para

Student Led Conferences

 We look forward to seeing you in week 2 of term 4 for student led conferences.

Student Achievement updates (YTD)

We are really pleased to let you know about achievement at school in the area of literacy (reading and writing) and numeracy (mathematics), year to date (YTD) 2020.

While our IB inquiry style of learning is rich with engaging content covering all aspects of a diverse and future focussed curriculum, we are dedicated to building the levels of literacy and numeracy that will set every child up with the ability and confidence to access all the learning available to them in their world.

Our 2020 published goals for the Bay Academy state that we target 90% of students performing at or above the expected curriculum levels in all of reading, writing and math. This is a challenging yet, we believe, realistic target. It goes without saying that we would want 100%.

I hope you agree with me that the results below are cause for us to be very satisfied that children are progressing extremely well at the Bay Academy. In the year we have had this is massive credit to our teaching team, including teacher aides. Their dedication and commitment to continuous improvement is amazing.

Reading

Year to date we are on target at 90%. Initiatives in the school including Quick60 and StepsWeb are currently targeted at accelerating those in the 10%. A renewed focus on phonics in the early years is beginning to show excellent results for children.

Writing

Most schools will tell you that writing is their biggest challenge. We are tracking below our school goals in writing, but we are far from resting on these results. We understand that writing is about communication and includes a variety of expression, including oral and digital. Creating opportunities for children to communicate about what is of interest and relevance to them is constant learning for us as a teaching team.

Maths

Maths progress across the school has been very satisfying. 89% performing at or above expectation represents a strong result so far this year. 

Disco Reminder - This Thursday

 

Theme: Glow in the dark!!! So dress in your brightest coloured clothes or white and bring some glow sticks.

We have separate times for the different classes. 

Time: Rooms 1,2,3  at 5.00-6.00pm 

Time: Rooms 4,5,  at 6.15-7.30pm

There will also be a free sausage sizzle, ice cream and drinks provided.

Best of all, lots of dancing, fun, entertaining games to play and prizes to be won.

Kerikeri Cricket Club

 

Newsletter Updates

Student Led Conferences 

We will be holding student led conferences on Wednesday 21st October, which is week 2 of term 4. These will run from 1pm to 7pm, and will only run on this day.

Teacher Only Day

We are providing early notice of our intention to hold a Teacher Only day on Monday 2nd November. On this day our school will be closed for all students. More information will come out early in term 4.

School Disco

Maranga Mai are a local community group who have recently established to support healthy and fun opportunities for our tamariki/children to engage with each other. They are currently working with our school leadership group of students to organise a disco for all of our school children, to be held next Thursday evening 24th. Full details have been shared in your HERO app and a notice home.

We look forward to a fun way to farewell term 3 and to signal the upcoming term break.

Thank you

A big word of thanks to parents and whānau for your recent support of our school fund raising efforts, Daffodil Day and Wig Wednesday. Both great causes. We have been able to forward on significant donations to both of these causes.

Celebrating Cultural Diversity

We would like to let you know about our current policy on cultural diversity, specific to tikanga Māori, in relation to our school kapa haka group.

The group meets weekly to learn about and participate in cultural practices that are uniquely Te Reo and tikanga Māori, and often specifically Ngati Rehia and /or Ngā Puhi. This can include visits to either of the local Marae at Te Tii, and trips to other places. These trips may include from time to time visits to tangihanga to pay respects to people of significance to the hapu or iwi who have passed away. For those that are familiar with this cultural practice you will be aware that open caskets are the norm, and children may see this as part of the practice.

The knowledge gained in kapa haka weekly sessions in Te Reo and tikanga Māori is significant and fundamental to the educational development of our tamariki.

Kapa haka is also open to anyone at school who wishes to learn about Te Ao Māori, the Māori world. If your child is participating but there are cultural practices that you consider not suitable for them to participate in, please let us know. As a sign of respect we will keep them at school to avoid any discomfort.

All our school policies are available at http://boi.schooldocs.co.nz/. You can log in with the username boi and the password tetii.

Disturbing Tik Tok Clip

We have been advised of a Tik Tok clip circulating the internet in New Zealand. It contains content which is deemed highly inappropriate for children to watch. We want to make you aware of this and offer the following advice from Netsafe NZ.

For now, we recommend that students are being made aware not to share or view the footage as it can be highly distressing content. Our webpage has information about helping tamariki exposed to upsetting content that you may find useful. We have also provided some support lines for students and staff if they need to reach out for support below.

· Need to talk -. Free call or text on 1737 and there is support available 24 hours a day

· 0800 What's Up - Available Mon-Fri 12pm-11pm Sat/Sun 3pm-11pm on 0800 942 8787

· Lifeline - call on (0800 543 354) or text HELP (4357) for confidential support.

This content can have an impact beyond those immediately engaged with it. It is likely to have had a range of impacts on each person – some may be severely affected and others may not be affected at all. It is important to be aware of the need to talk with young people who have heard about it and to encourage them to express their feelings in response to the video. We recommend that having regular, open conversations at home around online safety is important to help young people navigate the myriad of digital challenges they will experience.

You can read more on our parental control advice page here. There is an option to switch to Safe Search when using Google search or alternatively, you can consider looking into this article to block Google images without blocking Google search.

This staying safe online guide and some of our printed resources may be useful.

Reminder to download the HERO app

 This flyer will come home with children today. Please be in touch if we can help.

Māori language moment 2020

Next week is Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori. Yes, we agree, every week should be Māori language week, and we are committed to keeping this beautiful, cultural treasure alive in our community.

The Māori language moment 2020 is a wonderful opportunity for each of us to use Te Reo, to the level of our confidence or even beyond, to support the journey. Mauri ora! 

Learn to sail - Adults and Children

 

Wig Wednesday

 

Ministry of Education help for families

Te Manawa Tahi Hubs

Are you worried about your tamariki at school/kura/ECE and the way they learn and/or misbehave? Do your tamariki have difficulty speaking, hearing or seeing?

Te Manawa Tahi is a learning support Hub where you can come in and talk about your child’s needs. This is a free service. You can come into the Hub without an appointment or you can call 080052484256 to arrange one.

NEXT HUB at Bay of Islands International Academy, Wednesday 9th September 9.30am to 12pm. Feel free to drop in any time between those hours.

RIP Auntie Bloss

This week our school, like many others, has been affected by the passing of Te Puawaitanga, Blossom Silich. Bloss was nan to two of our current students, mum in law to one of our teachers and an ex student and friend of our school. She is also tangata rongonui, a very special Kuia, to the people of the Ngati Rehia hapu. We share the grief of all those mourning the loss of Auntie Bloss. Moe mai rā e te whaea.

The whole school formed a guard of honour as Te Puawaitanga returned to her marae on Monday.

Holiday Surfing

If you are interested in the holiday surfing programme running at Taupo Bay in the upcoming term holiday break, follow the link below to let them know;

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfsDG-EspfOwBlI2_zgm3_cuH7FcJuA8iqR0LhGjqwsDSuKEw/viewform

New Shoots - ECE opening

 Supporting the ECE sector in Kerikeri