Welcome to the 2017 School Year

It is my pleasure to welcome you all to the new school year. I trust you all had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying the more settled weather at last!

A news letter with lots of 'back to school' information will come home with students tomorrow.

In the meantime a couple of important reminders...

All stationery is already at school so our children can get straight in to their learning. You do not have to pay anything as yet. Stationery will be $20 for the year except new entrants starting school who receive it for free as a special 'starting school special'. An invoice will be sent home  in a few weeks and then payment can be made at your convenience.

Please can you help us avoid students arriving at school before 8:30am in the mornings.

Sunhats a are really important this term. We ask that all students where a school uniform red hat and are happy to provide their first hat free of charge. Year 5-8 students have the option of purchasing a school cap available from the office for $5. Please note that this year personal hats from home are not acceptable.

Please pop in any time to meet any of the team here at Waltham. We wish you all the best for a fantastic start to the year.

Friday 16th December

School closes at 12:30pm today and it is our last day before Christmas.

On behalf of everyone here at Team Waltham I would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

School opens for students on Tuesday 31st January at 8:55am.

Tuesday 15th November

Hi all,

The school is safe and open for normal operations today.

Apologies once again for our forced closure yesterday because of Tsunami Sirens and the need for all schools to be assessed for building safety.

It is great to have the 'all clear' and be up and running again.

Thank you so much to all of our community who continue to stay calm, support each other and stay positive through natures challenges.

If any families have concerns or issues they would like to chat about then as much as possible my door will be open. We have such a fantastic team and we are all keen to support and assist in any way we can.

Kia Kaha to you all.

Gordon

SCHOOL CLOSED TODAY

Hi all,
When I arrived at school to assess things at 6am this morning the Tsunami Warning Sirens were still clearly ringing throughout the area. As a result the closing of the school today seemed the only sensible thing to do. Many off my staff were evacuated during the night which was also a factor. I sincerely apologise if the closure has caused you any inconvenience. The school buildings seem fine and will be assessed today. All going well with that and the Tsunami warnings being lifted we will be all go for tomorrow.

Kind Regards,
Gordon

Monday 15th Feb

Welcome to a new week.
Just a quick note to say we have no problems at Waltham School as a result of yesterdays earthquake and we will be opening at the normal time this morning.
Have a great Monday everyone!

Wednesday 10th February

Hi all,
It's a short week after celebrating Waitangi Day. Just a couple of quick reminders...

School Stationery
All teachers have been issued with your child's stationery and will distribute it . Please don't be worried if your child says they have not been given something as yet. Teachers may hand out the various books etc as they are starting to use them in the class over the coming weeks. We will be processing the invoices for stationery and voluntary school donations etc over the next few weeks. There will be no rush to pay so please don't stress, and once the invoice comes home we can talk about spreading payments as required.

School 'Meet the Team' Picnic Tea
Please keep next Thursday evening free for our annual event. I will send out a notice with times etc. early next week.

Have a fantastic week everyone,

Gordon

Wednesday 3rd February

The day has started overcast and cool but I have a feeling we have a warm one in store!

The children are looking forward to ElGrego the Magician today. This afternoon he will perform for us as he has done over the past few years. His show is filled with thrilling illusions but also a deep and important message about kindness and caring for others. We find it an excellent way to hook our kids in to our own school values (4 R's).

Respect Ourselves

Repect Others

Respect Our Place

Ready to Learn


Here are a couple of  Term Dates to put in to your diaries now...more information and dates to come soon.

Waitangi Day- Monday 8th February (Public Holiday)

School/ Family Picnic Tea and Meet the Team-Thursday 18th February (Evening)

School Photos-Wednesday 24th February

Waltham Walk-A-Thon/ Fun Run-Tuesday 15th March

Parent/Teacher Conferences- Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd March

Easter Holiday-Note that Easter is not in the main Term Holiday this year. All Schools closed Friday 25th, Monday 28th & Tuesday 29th March

Final day of Term 1-Friday 15th April

Have a fantastic day,

Gordon

Tuesday 2nd February

Hi all,

A great day for all!

Thank you to everyone for such a positive and happy start to the school year.

Stationery etc

We have had a few people worried about what to buy their children in terms of books, pens etc. Please do not worry. At Waltham School we have all your child's requirements ready and waiting for them on Day 1. This means parents don't need to stress and everyone starts the year ready to learn.
Over the next few weeks we will organise and send home an invoice which you are then able to pay at your convenience.

Term Events

We are  putting the finishing touches on our Term Events List tonight. I will publish it on this blog tomorrow.

Have a great night.

Gordon

Welcome to 2016

I would like to welcome you all back to the 2016 School Year.
An especially big welcome to our new families and children who started today.
One of my 'New Years Resolutions' is to be a far more regular 'blogger' on this page so  please keep visiting  for regular updates and happenings this year.

Gordon Caddie
Principal

END OF YEAR

Hi all,

Tomorrow (Tuesday) at 12:30pm Waltham School closes for the 2015 school year.   (Woosh-for those students enrolled, starts at 12:30pm)

I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of the school and staff to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
It has been a wonderful year at Waltham School and we all look forward to an equally amazing 2016.

School starts for all students on Monday 1st February at 8:55am.

Latest Newsletter

Dear Parents and friends,

I hope you have all  had a safe and happy week. We have a busy few weeks ahead in our lead up to the end of the year.

School Disco

A reminder that entry to our disco for students is by ticket only (available at the school office). Juniors 6:30-7:30 and Seniors from 7:30-8:30.  For safety reasons children will not be allowed to leave the hall until they are collected by an adult. Please help the event run safely and smoothly by not allowing your children to come before the start time for their age group.

We are really looking forward to an awesome day next       Friday with the ‘Star Search’ in the morning followed by the   disco in the evening.

End of Year Events

Please take careful note of the events coming up on the list to the left of this notice. We have lots of great things happening over the next three weeks.

End of Year Clean Up Days

Just to make it 100% clear...It is last day for regular classes on Friday 11th of December but school is open and children are most welcome on our clean-up days (All day Monday  14th and until 12:30 on Tuesday 15th). Attendance on these 2 days is at parents discretion and children coming  should be dropped off and picked up from their regular classrooms as normal. WOOSH are operating as normal on the Monday and from 12:30 on Tuesday 15th.

WALTHAM’S GOT TALENT Following on from our last successful talent quest we are holding another grand  event on Friday 27 November in the school hall.  Starting at 10 a.m. & finishing at 12.30 p.m..   We welcome you all to  come along to watch this amazing talent quest, support those taking part - you will be amazed at the wonderful talent our students have.  This will be an awesome quest and not to be missed. OUR AMAZING ZONE SPORTS TEAM Congratulations to all our amazing zone sports team who competed at the zone sports Hansens Park last week.  Well done to you all for successfully making the team and doing Waltham School proud with great sportsmanship  and behaviour. A  Big thank you to Mr Weaver, Mr Caddie and Mr Deadmarsh for accompanying the team. Reading Book Amnesty This week and next we are having an amnesty to find as many ‘missing’ reading books as we can. There are lots of books missing in action so could you please have a look under beds, on shelves and anywhere else you suspect they could be hiding. Any returned books will be greeted with a huge smile. New Entrants As we  continue to grow it is becoming increasingly important that we know about children approaching 5 years old that may be coming to Waltham School. Please pass this message on to anyone you know with pre-schoolers and just get them to give the office a ring with names and birthdates. Enrolment Zone Due to our continuing growth the Ministry of Education are directing us to have an enrolment zone. The aim of a zone is to ensure a school does not become over crowed with children who do not live in the local area. It does not mean that any          families or students already here would ever have to leave.  There is quite a process of consultation to establish a zone which is now underway. Coming home on Monday will be an official letter worded to tick all the legal boxes. Basically what it all means is that if you would like to  comment on the boundaries of  our proposed zone you can do so by contacting me. This weeks House Winner is…...                                                  HARVEY We hope you all have had a wonderful week. Have a safe and enjoyable weekend with your  family. Kind regards, Gordon Caddie and all the team. Principal

End of Year Calendar

With the term quickly zooming past we thought we would send home the following dates for the remainder of the year. Many of these have been published previously but could I draw your attention to a change of day for our Final Assembly which is now on Thursday 10^th December at 11am.

School Diary

Canterbury Anniversary Show Day  (All Schools Closed)	Friday 13th November
Helpers Morning Tea	Tuesday 1st December 11am Staffroom
Junior School Picnic	Wednesday 2nd December
Senior School Picnic to Spencer Park	Tuesday 8th December
End of Year Assembly	Thursday 10th December 11am in the Hall
Final Day of Regular Classes End of Year Reports Home	Friday 11th December
Clean-up Days (school open and students welcome)	Monday 14th December (normal hours) Tuesday 15th December (school closed at 12:30pm) Woosh opens at 12:30pm for enrolled students

Latest news and events

Labour Day	Monday 26th October
Junior Trip to Museum	28th & 29th October
Athletics Day	6th November
Show Day	13th November
Junior Picnic	2nd December
END OF YEAR ASSEMBLY	11TH DECEMBER Last day of regular classes
CLEAN UP DAYS School still open-children welcome	Monday and Tuesday (13th/14th December)
SCHOOL CLOSED	12.30 P.M. Tuesday 15th Dec

School Diary

                      Term Events List

Dear Parents and friends,

Term 4 is now in full swing.

Thanks so much to all of you who have helped us out so much this term by remembering to text or phone in before your child is sick or absent for any reason. Our text is 027 379 3137 or landline 379 3137. Thanks also for ensuring children do not arrive at school before 8:30am. These two things save us hours of office time and help get the day off to a safe and happy start. It is very much appreciated.

Last week our Year 6, 7 and 8 Students went on their amazing annual outdoor education adventure. This year we spent 3 days at Wainui Camp on the beautiful Akaroa Harbour.      Activity sessions included High Ropes, Kayaking, Orienteering, and Search and Rescue. We had a ball and learnt heaps. One of my personal highlights were the hours we also got to ‘hang out’ on a beautiful beach, paddle, skim stones and    explore the rock pools. This time was a lovely reminder of just how lucky we are to live in New Zealand and have such easy access to our environment.  Our senior students were once again a wonderful and happy bunch of children who ‘did us proud’.

This Tuesday I took 8 keen Year 6 cricketers to a ‘Hooked on Cricket’ Day at Hagley Park. Each school team was given a member of the Canterbury Kings Cricket Team as  their coach for the day (thanks to Ronnie Hira). We won 2 out of three of our games finishing in 3rd place. This was awesome considering my coaching efforts pre-tournament were       limited to the ten minutes we waited out on the grass for the bus to pick us up! In fact I was so impressed with the teams enthusiasm, talent and team work I have decided to enter a team in to the Year 6 schools competition which starts soon and we will have games on some Thursday or Friday afternoons. I will keep you posted as the draws come out.

Thanks for all of your amazing support,

Gordon