Latest News Brief

21^st November

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            To all Parents/Caregivers,                                                                                                                                          

Athletics day

A huge thank you to all of the families who supported yesterday’s Athletics Day. Once again this annual event was a real highlight to the year. The children were fantastic and it was such a pleasure watching them trying so hard and supporting each other win, lose or draw. Another highlight was seeing such a warm family atmosphere with participation from younger brothers and sisters. Thanks so much to all of the staff,  as Athletics day is one of the many times of the year I get to look around and feel so proud and fortunate to have such a great team.

Milk in Schools

Starting on Monday we are very excited to announce that Waltham School will be an official ‘Milk in Schools’ participant. What this means is that Monday-Thursday all students that choose to participate will be given a free serving of milk to drink. The system works in the same way as our Fruit in Schools, where children will have the milk delivered to the classroom and all those who want it will be able to have a box. We will be trialling it after lunch initially as a part of the afternoon session.

 If your child has any allergies or intolerances to milk or you would like to discuss their participation for any reason could you please phone the office and let us know urgently.

Waltham Star Search

Next Friday  28^th later in the morning we will be holding the finals of our Waltham Star Search. The children who entered will be performing to their own classes over the next few days and those who make it through next Fridays public performance will be confirmed on Monday. Once we know how many performers we will have in the show we will decide on an exact start time. If your child is chosen to perform next Friday we will send home the exact details and start time  early next week. Parents and friends are welcome to come along and cheer the performers on.  A  huge thank you to Mrs Atherton and Mrs Planika for organising this great new event.

School Holidays

I have had a few people ask me again about finish dates for this year and start dates for 2015. Our final day for normal classes is Monday 15^th December when we will also be having our Final Prize-Giving Assembly. School will be open for supervision and  tidy ups all day Tuesday 16^th and the morning of Wednesday 17^th until 12:30pm for those families who choose. School opens for 2015 on Monday 2^nd February.

Kind regards

Gordon Caddie

Principal

Athletics Information for Tomorrow.

Athletic Sports

A warm welcome to all friends and supporters of the school to come along to our annual Athletic Sports this Thursday.  All children will be competing in their class groups and will rotate around a combination of traditional and 'fun' athletics events. If you do not have a full programme please call in and pick one up from the school office at any time or give us a call.

See you Thursday!

Term 4 Update

Year 5/6 Camp

This week we had a fantastic overnight experience with our Year 5/6 students at Woodend Camp. Climbing Wall, Go-Karts, Orienteering, Archery and a whole lot of great team building time were the highlights of a neat few days. A huge thank you to Mrs Atherton, the driving force behind the camp and to three of our amazing support staff, John, Kelly and Sylvia, who came and supported us throughout the visit.

Parent Conferences

Last week we held our second round of main Parent-Teacher Conferences. Students were also invited to join in the meetings to discuss their strengths and dreams for the future. it was a really positive time and we thank everyone who was able to attend.

New Entrants

Waltham School is steadily growing and as a result it is really important to help with future planning that we know about children turning 5 over the next few years. Please give us a call or pop in to the office if you have a 3 or 4 year old who might be starting with us in the future. This really helps us to plan ahead.

Some Dates....

Show Day- Friday 14th November-School Closed

Athletics Day- Thursday 20th November

Monday 15th December-Final Assembly

Wednesday 17th December 12:30pm School Closes for 2014

Monday 2nd February-Classes start for 2015

Term 3 Update....

Hi again all,

Can I start with a sincere apology that the past few weeks have seen a total absence of blog updates.

Senior Camp:  Senior camp this year was a three day ski adventure to Porter Heights. What a fabulous experience it was for myself, Craig (class teacher) and out two support staff Kelly and Sue, to accompany our Year 7/8's on this trip.
We stayed at the Ski field Lodge right at the bottom of the mountain for the two nights and this meant it was only a 10 minute shuttle bus trip to the the slopes.
Three days of skiing, a lot of  great community time together and some very sore muscles latter... we headed back to school very proud of our achievements on the slopes.
For almost everyone it was their  first experience on a ski field (and for some the first time in snowy mountains).
Thank you so much to our wonderful senior class for sharing such a special time with me, and to our fantastic Board of Trustees who helped me ensure every child had the opportunity to attend the camp.

Some photos will follow shortly.


Swimming:  We are currently in the middle of our two week swim programme. All classes are busing to Pioneer Pool every day for a lesson with their great instructors. Thanks to everyone who is supporting this great annual initiative.

Welcome to Term 3

A warm greeting to all of you as we begin on a new term. I hope you were all able to squeeze a little bit of extra family time in to the last couple of weeks.

We have a busy and exciting period ahead as we look forward to the days becoming lighter and warmer as Spring approaches.

Our Year 7 and 8 students are planning and organising their up coming Ski Camp to Porter Heights, we have whole school swimming lessons at Pioneer Pool, Cultural Festival, Book Week, Maths-a-thon, and 'Computers in Homes Programme', just to name a few of the interesting things on our Term 3 calendar.

We have also just opened up our 8th classroom and are currently working with the Ministry of Education on plans to extend and upgrade our school buildings to accommodate our growing school and provide the best modern learning environments for our amazing kids.

Please keep in touch with us and remember we are always keen to chat about your children's hopes and dreams.

Gordon and all of the Waltham Team

Friday Sport at Hagley cancelled again!!! Friday 20th

Very sorry kids and supporters but the council have closed Hagley Park again today so the Primary Sports Association have had no choice but to cancel Friday sport for another week.
Fingers crossed for a dry week coming up!

Friday 13th June

Hi all,

There will be no news letter today so I thought a quick blog post was in order!

Senior Sport at Hagley Park in cancelled today due to City Council ground closures.

A huge thank you to everyone for their part in another great 'Waltham Week'.

Have a great weekend with your families,

Gordon

What a great night!

Thank you so much to all of you who made Friday night's disco such a great success. The behaviour and attitude of all our students was brilliant and this made it such a great event.

 Parent and community support was also amazing. Thank you so much to all those who helped bake, clean, supervise or just join in with dancing! I have never seen such a brilliant display of family and school joining together to have fun.

We raised enough money to enable our Room 7 'Dancing Like the Stars' group to have great costumes to help show case their talents.

Finally thank you so much to Rochelle Atherton for being the master planner behind this great event and to all the staff who joined together to make it such a successful team effort.

Friday 30th May

Looking forward to our Disco tonight.

Please remember that there are no door sales.

 Children stay in the hall until they are picked up by an adult.

All children must be picked up by 8pm.



Final reminder that school re-opens next Wednesday after the long weekend due to our cluster schools staff training day on Tuesday.

Long Weekend Coming Up

Just another reminder so no one gets caught out....

It's Queen's Birthday this weekend and Monday is a Public Holiday. Tuesday school is also closed with many local primary schools joining together for a training day. The After School Programme (WOOSH) have also advised us that they will be closed on Tuesday as well.
Once again I apologise for inconvenience to working families that this closure causes. We are very aware of this, and that is the reason that despite many schools having regular teacher only days this is our first one during term time for many years.

Kind Regards

Gordon Caddie

School reminders

A warm greeting to all families from the team at Waltham School.  Here are a couple of reminders…

House Colours Day

This Friday 23rd we are having a mufti day and encouraging all children to dress up in their House Colours. (Green, Red, Yellow or Blue). There is no charge for this as it is not a fundraiser, it’s just for  fun.

Winter Sport

Many of our seniors are in teams that will travel to Hagley Park on Friday afternoons. Due to wet grounds the council is now hoping this will start NEXT week.

Local Teacher Only Day

Please keep in mind that Waltham School and WOOSH are closed on Tuesday 3^rd June which is the day after Queen’s Birthday (making it a 4 day weekend for students).  Teachers are having a training day at Beckenham School with several other schools in the area.

Disco

Next Friday 30^th  is our school disco to raise money for Room 7’s dancing costumes. This is a whole school disco from 6pm-8pm next  Friday evening in the Hall. It will be strictly supervised by school staff and parents are welcome to join in. Only children need tickets ($5 from the office) but for security reasons there are no door sales on the night so please be in and buy tickets as soon as you can.

Gordon

Teacher Only Day / School Closure Coming Up on June 3rd.

Hi all,

It has been advertised for a long time now in school newsletters etc that  Waltham School will be closed for a staff training day on Tuesday 3rd June. There will be no school for students on Tuesday 3rd of June.

The reason we are having  this day is to join with the teachers at several other local schools to learn more about modern learning and to ensure the students at Waltham School  receive the very best teaching possible in New Zealand.

We understand that closing the school is a disruption and inconvenience to working families. That is the reason that while most other schools have 'Teacher Only Days' regularly, this will be the first one we have called in many years.

We have made it the 3rd June to follow on from Queen's Birthday on Monday, making it a four day weekend for children.

WOOSH (Before/After School Programme) have informed us that they will also be closed for this day.

Thank you for your understanding. I know it is disruptive but it is a rare and valuable opportunity to work with other local schools. I assure you that our staff will be working extremely hard on 3rd June to learn about all the latest developments in teaching and learning so that our children get the very best education possible in the modern world.

Gordon

TERM TWO

A warm welcome to everyone as we embark on Term 2 of the year. A huge welcome to our newest families and children. Our roll continues to grow and we are extremely fortunate to be welcoming so many wonderful new families in to our school community.

Before we look ahead to this term could I take this chance to thank you once again for the tremendous support you showed for our 'Walk-a-thon / Fun Run' at the end of last term. So far we have raised over $3,500 which is amazing. We will be doing some more spot prize draws on Friday for those students who have returned their donations, so please can we have all money in by the end of the week.

This Term

I will publish a Term Events list this week to let you know key dates and events.

 In the meantime please note that primary schools on our cluster are having a combined training day on Tuesday 3rd June. There will be no school for students on that day. (Monday is Queen's Birthday making it a 4 day weekend for the children.)

Please keep an eye out for our newsletter and term events later this week.

A warm reminder to everyone that we have a very 'open-door' policy at Waltham School. It is always great to see you pop in for a chat anytime.

Have a great term,

Gordon

Last week of term....

In many ways it is  hard to believe Term 1 is fast drawing to a conclusion.

Thank yo so much for all your amazing support with our Walk and Fun Run last week. The sponsorship  is coming in nicely with children receiving a small prize as they return their forms and money. It would be great to have everything in by this Thursday as it is  the last day of the term. We will be awarding some larger prizes on Thursday for a child in each class.


Last week we also had the amazing El Gregoe perform a fantastic magic show for us. His show uses 'illusions' to entertain us while teaching us all about the values that make us good people. It is an excellent way to support out school Values Pogramme which is based on our '4 R's'...

RESPECT OURSELVES

RESPECT OTHERS

RESPECT OUR WORLD

READY TO LEARN

Just a reminder that the term does finish with a short week this week. Friday is 'Easter Friday' which then flows in to the 2 week term holiday.

Have a great week.

Waltham Walk-a-thon Wednesday

A reminder to everyone that it is our 'Waltham Walk and Fun Run' tomorrow (Wednesday). This is an annual fundraiser where all our students complete as many laps of the Waltham Park course as they can in the 30-45 minute time frame.

The students have been collecting sponsors this week (either per lap or for an overall donation) on their cards and these cards should be returned to school for tomorrows event. During the event the cards will be marked and the laps recorded so that the children can take the cards home again and collect in their money.

All students who return their money by the end of the term (next Thursday) will receive an instant prize from my prize-box and go in to the draw for some sports equipment for themselves. Students from each class that raise the most money will also win a special prize.

Parents and friends are very welcome to come down to Waltham Park to support us and watch this fun event. We should be arriving at the park about 1:15pm and the run/walk is timed to start at 1:30pm. 

Friday 28th

Hi all,

No newsletter tonight but if you have returned a booking sheet to school you should get a note telling you exactly what time your interview is next week. Of course all of this relies on the 'posties' who bring things to and from school, so if the system hasn't worked just give us a call at the office.

It has been a great week and our numerous visitors have commented on how polite, tidy and respectful our children are.....WELL DONE to all of you!
have a safe and happy weekend.

Parent Conferences

Next week all  teachers are hosting Parent Conferences and they would love to see all of their families take part. The aim of the 15 minute meeting is to discuss and confirm your child's goals for 2014 and also to generally talk about how your child is settling in to school this year.
Your child should have brought home a booking slip notice last night which you can fill in and return to school by tomorrow. We will then schedule you a convenient time and let you know exactly when to come along next week. If you don't have a notice by tonight please phone the office directly on 379 3137 and we can sort you out a time directly.

We look forward to seeing you next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Friday

Hi all,

There will be a newsletter coming home tonight so please look out for it.

Assembly today at 11:25 and this week it is being run by Room 3. Parents and community are always welcome at our Friday Assemblies.

Gordon

Fruit in Schools and Hepatitis Warning

Dear Parents,

Last week some apples delivered to schools in Canterbury as part of the Fruit in Schools Programme fell within the dates of the 'Hepatitus A' warning period.

The Ministry of Health have asked all schools in the programme to let parents know that there is a very low risk that any children or staff would have been exposed to the virus. However as a precaution they  remind the community of the importance of anyone displaying 'flu like symptoms' over the coming weeks to visit a doctor just in case.

If you would like more detailed information about Hepatitis please  click here

Please be assured that  the risk that we came in to contact with the illness is very low and that this information is being distributed to all schools in the Fruit in Schools Programme.

Gordon

Thursday 13th March

Hi all,

Just a quick post to thank you all for your positive response to our new uniform upgrade. The children are looking fantastic in their new shirts and polar fleeces provided through our Red Cross Grant. Apologies to a few students waiting for new sizes to arrive. They will be here soon!

A reminder that children need to also wear plain black pants, shorts or skirts along with the school tops. Older style red tops are still perfectly OK to wear for the rest of this year.

Extra tops can now be purchased from the Warehouse at 'South City'.

Have a great day,

Waltham Team

Weather Update

Hi all,

We have remained open today  for students who are able to travel to school safely. As always in extreme weather conditions it is important that parents assess their own personal circumstances and listen to public announcements from Civil Defense or the Police.
The fact that our school may remains 'open' in extreme weather should never be interpreted as pressure to send your child if you feel it is unsafe.

Sometimes it is safer for a school  to remain 'open' for those who live nearby rather than ask parents to travel again to pick up their children in a 'closure' situation.

Our thoughts go out to all of you who are experiencing flooding or other hardships relating to the wind and rain. Please feel welcome to call us if there is anything we can do to support you.

Kindest regards,

Waltham School Staff

School is Open

Morning,

School is open this morning. It is very wet and windy, it is at your discretion whether it is safe for your children to come to school.

Please txt the school office to let us know if you're child is away. 027 379 3137

Keep warm and drive safely.

Cheers,

Gordon.

'Meet the Teacher' Picnic and Meeting

Now the year is up and running we are planning our first community event for 2014 which is the annual 'Meet the Teacher' Picnic Tea.

This will be next Thursday 20th February. Parents and friends our invited to bring along 'take-aways' or a Picnic Tea and we will have this in the playground if it's fine weather or in the hall if not. Following tea kids can play outside or join with parents and teachers for a short chat and an opportunity to visit classrooms for a look around.

Further information will come home soon but please mark next Thursday 20th on the calendar now.

Welcome to 2014

On behalf of all of the staff I would like to warmly welcome all students, parents and friends of the school back for the New Year.

Classes start for all students on Tuesday 4th February at 8:55am.

We look forward to seeing you all then.


UNIFORM
A reminder that we will be distributing new shirts and polar fleeces with our new school logo as soon as they arrive from Postie Plus over the next week. These will be paid for by the Red Cross Grant and will come free to all students. 

In the meantime the 'old' uniform will be fine and if families do not have remaining 'old' tops we will be relaxed about uniform wearing until the new supplies are given out.

Once the new uniform has been distributed, replacements and extra uniform will be available from Postie Plus for families to purchase just as it has been in the past.