Week 1 term 1 2024
Kia ora koutou,
I hope this message finds you well and rested after a wonderful summer break. As we begin a new school year, I warmly welcome our returning families and a heartfelt greeting to those joining our Maeroa Intermediate community for the first time.
To our returning families, welcome back! We are excited to continue our journey together and build upon the successes of the previous years. Your ongoing support and commitment to Maeroa Intermediate are genuinely appreciated. We look forward to another year of growth, learning, and shared accomplishments.
To our new families, we are delighted to have you as part of our Maeroa Intermediate community. Starting a new school can be both thrilling and a little nerve-wracking, but please rest assured that our dedicated staff and welcoming community are here to support you every step. Your child is about to start on a journey filled with new experiences, friendships, and opportunities for personal and academic growth.
As we begin this academic year, I want to emphasise the wealth of opportunities that Maeroa Intermediate provides for our students. We have a dynamic curriculum, various extracurricular activities, and a nurturing environment that encourages each child to explore their passions and talents. I urge all families to take full advantage of our programmes and resources, as they play a crucial role in enhancing your child's overall educational experience, especially for the emerging adolescent.
For our students, I encourage you to embrace the multitude of opportunities available to you. Whether it's joining an activity, joining the enviro group or the gardening group, learning to play a musical instrument, participating in a sports team, or exploring a new area of interest, Maeroa is a place to discover your strengths and interests. Take advantage of the supportive community around you, make new friends, and challenge yourself to grow academically and personally.
For families with children joining Maeroa Intermediate for the first time, we understand that this transition can be significant. We have implemented various initiatives to ensure a smooth and positive start for your child. Our dedicated teachers and staff are here to provide the necessary support, and we encourage open communication to address any concerns or questions you may have.
Thank you for choosing Maeroa Intermediate as your partner in education. We look forward to a successful and rewarding school year ahead. If you have any questions or need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our dedicated staff.
Here's to a fantastic school year filled with growth, learning, and success for all our students!
Ngaa mihi nui
Susan Wood - Principal
Open Evening - Wednesday 21 Feb
We will have a drop in the evening on Wednesday, 21 February, between 4 and 6pm. This is an opportunity for students to bring their families to school and show them around the school, reintroduce teachers, look at what they have been up to and receive a report of how they have settled into Maeroa.
Baby needed for Roots of Empathy Programme.
Through The Roots of Empathy Programme, we strive to nurture empathy, kindness, and emotional literacy in children, equipping them with essential tools for navigating the complexities of their own mental health and supporting others. The Roots of Empathy program is delivered to a class in our school who are coached to recognize and connect with the vulnerability and humanity of a baby who visits their classroom throughout the school year with their parent(s), along with a trained Roots of Empathy Instructor using a specialized curriculum.
Rachael Dyer, our Roots of Empathy Facilitator, is looking for a mother and a baby willing to come in a few times over the year to be involved in our programme.
How it works
- Your baby is 2 – 4 months old at the start of the school year
- The program follows the course of the school year
- You and your baby visit the same classroom of children nine times over the year.
- The Roots of Empathy instructor guides the children using an age-appropriate curriculum.
If you have a baby 2 - 4 months old and want to participate in this fantastic programme, please get in touch with Rachael Dyer - rdyer@maeroa.school.nz or phone her at our school 07 8475014.
We would love to hear from you.
Sports Term 1
Last week, we emailed a newsletter and registration forms for Term 1 sports; if you have any questions about these sports, please email the nominated person below;
- Summer Hockey - Rachael Dyer rdyer@maeroa.school.nz
- Touch - Katrina Banks - kbanks@maeroa.school.nz
- Basketball - Tash Strother - tstrother@maeora.school.nz
- Futsal - Mel Rye - mrye@maeroa.school.nz
- Waterpolo - Susan Wood - swood@maeroa.school.nz
- Sports Camp - Luz Rietbrock - lrietbrock@maeroa.school.nz
- Volleyball - Karyn Grey - kgrey@maeroa.school.nz
Swimming at Maeroa Intermediate
Our school has a fantastic pool, and we expect all of our students to swim during their class swimming time. If your child has an occasion that they can't swim, you will need to write a note to excuse them from swimming for that day.
Our pool is not over any student's head, so it is very safe for all students.
Our teachers focus on water safety skills, which are very important for New Zealand children as we all live close to water.
Your child must bring their togs and towels on the designated days their class has swimming.
The weather is so warm at the moment, our students are enjoying being in the pool. We are so fortunate to have a pool and a Board of Trustees that are willing to continue to fund the ongoing maintenance of it.
The Arts
Music Lessons
A newsletter was sent home for students to sign up for Drums, Guitar and String lessons and rock band auditions. If you missed this, then please email our Music Teacher, Ant Hills - at ahills@maeroa.school.nz
School Production
We will have some workshops for students who want to learn about our school production; a newsletter was sent home today. If you missed this, then please email our dance and drama teacher, Dionne Sasso, at dsasso@maeroa.school.nz
Pasifika Group
Our Pasifika Group is starting on Friday afternoons after school. Students were invited to see Livia Tawake in Room 59 if interested. Please email Livia at ltawake@maeroa.school.nz for further information.
Uniform Reminders
Most of our students have come to school this week dressed in the correct uniform - thank you, students and parents! We appreciate your effort in ensuring this happens.
Reminders:
- Shoes or sandals are completely black without white or any other colour soles.
- Sandals with socks are not permitted.
- Students do not need to wear jackets or sweatshirts to school in this hot weather - leave them at home.
- Sunhats are strongly advised.
- No track pants in terms 1 & 4.
- This year, track pants will be uniform ones purchased from NZ Uniforms for terms 2 & 3.
- Students should only wear one earring in each ear. No facial piercings are permitted.
- Name all uniform items. We have white marker pens at the office for use to name uniforms.
Medical Conditions and Medication
If your child has a medical or other need/condition (asthma, allergies or other) and you have not yet filled out a form about this, come into the school office to fill in the form. This helps us to know how to intervene if necessary.
If your child requires medication school, let the office know, as a form needs to be filled out to enable us to administer it.
Children SHOULD NOT have any medication in their bags apart from asthma pumps. This includes panadol.
Safety on the Roads
We all need to work as a team to ensure that our students get safely to and from school. In particular, those walking and riding bikes or scooters and crossing busy roads need special attention. Students who bike to school need to wear helmets to protect their precious heads from injury. We have see many instances where a child has come off their bike and saved from a head injury by wearing their helmet.
We ask parents/caregivers to take particular care in Churchill Avenue when dropping off and collecting their child from our school. Churchill Avenue is a very narrow street that becomes jammed up very easily. It is preferable that students are collected from one of the side streets, such as Matai St or Carey St.
Please make your child use the crossings on Maeroa Rd and Churchill Avenue to cross the roads; please do not call them across the road as this is very dangerous; the crossings are the best place to cross.
Please also speak with your child about taking care on the roads, as all the roads that lead to Maeroa Intermediate are very busy.
School Lunches
We are very fortunate to have school lunches supplied to our school by Bite Lab. These lunches are designed to provide nutritious food for your child. Your child's teacher will be checking if your child has a dietary requirement so we can notify Bite Lab so they can provide that for your child.
If you do not want your child to receive a school lunch for the year, meaning you would instead provide your own, please let their teacher know.
We are also a water-only school, meaning do not send your child to school with fizzy drinks/energy drinks/chocolate drinks/coke, etc. Please send them a water bottle they can refill in their classrooms or at our water stations.
Our Koru System
Koru Award System
Every student in the school has many opportunities to earn Koru Awards across various areas.
- Red Koru - Academic
- Pale Blue Koru - Virtues
- Yellow Koru - Cultural and Arts
- Blue Koru - Sports
- Green Koru - Environmental
- Black Koru - Attendance and Service
- White Koru - Excellence
What is needed for Koru Badges?
- Bronze: One red koru, one blue koru, one black koru, one yellow koru, one pale blue koru, one green koru and any four other koru of any colour, giving a total of ten.
- Silver: Two red koru, two blue koru, two black koru, two yellow koru, two pale blue koru, two green koru and any eight other koru of any colour, giving a total of twenty.
- Gold: Three red koru, three blue koru, three black koru, three yellow koru, three pale blue koru, three green koru and any twelve other koru of any colour, giving a total of thirty.
- Platinum: Four red koru, four blue koru, four black koru, four yellow koru, four pale blue koru, four green koru and any sixteen other koru of any colour, giving a total of forty.
- Star: Five red koru, five blue koru, five black koru, five yellow koru, five pale blue koru, five green koru and any twenty other koru of any colour, giving a total of fifty.
- Super Star: Star badge plus a total of sixty koru flashes.
Through this process, we endeavour to
- Recognise student achievement in key areas.
- Build self-esteem.
- Encourage students to set goals and participate in the corporate life of the school.
- Encourage pride in self, school and personal achievement.
- Place further emphasis on the virtues important to the school culture.
- Encourage students to take reponsibility for filling in their Koru Tracker Booklet, organising information and record keeping.
Process for issuing Koru Flashes and Badges
- Korus are organised by the teacher or teacher in charge of the activity and delivered to students.
- All students have a Koru Tracker Booklet to record their progress.
- Students hand their Koru Tracker Booklet to the office when they have achieved enough for a badge.
- Ms Wood compares the Koru Tracker Booklet with the master sheet to ensure that the correct number of koru have been earned.
- The appropriate badge is presented to the student at Assembly.
- Students are responsible for sewing on the koru flashes.
Ms Wood has the ‘final say’ on any allocation of awards.
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Communication at Maeroa
We have several communication methods at Maeroa to ensure that information is timely and accessible for all students, parents and caregivers.
- Newsletters every 2nd week on a Friday. Newsletters are sent via email, and they are also posted on the school website, www.maeroaintermediate. If you do not receive one, please call the office to check that we have your correct email address.
- Daily notices - these are read to students daily and posted on our school's Facebook page. Please like us on Facebook to ensure you see them each day.
- Emails and text messages - sometimes, we will send every parent a message via email or text, so please ensure we have your correct phone number and email address. Teachers will also send out emails and text messages to their classes.
Please call us if you have concerns about your child at school.
Japan Trip 2024
This is an exciting opportunity for our students to travel to Japan in September as part of our exchange arrangement with Makuhari Junior High School. Our school has been doing this for at least 20 years, only interrupted by the Covid pandemic in the last couple of years.
The trip will be in the last two weeks of term 3.
Cost: $4500 plus spending money of $400-$500
Maeroa has six spaces for students to go to Japan.
Principals from the schools, including myself, accompany the students. We spend almost every day with the students, taking them places. Our base is Makuhari Junior High School.
Students are hosted by a Japanese family from Makuhari Junior High for two weeks and immersed in the Japanese way of life. The Japanese families consider it a privilege for their family to host an NZ student.
The cost includes all flights to and from Japan, all entries to places we go (including Disneyland and Disney Sea), all public transport in Japan (we catch a lot of trains), and the homestay fee.
We visit schools, Disneyland, DisneySea, Museums and many other wonderful places in and around Tokyo.
If you are interested in your child going to Japan this year, we are holding a meeting for interested families on 21 February at 6 pm in our school library.
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