1. education
2. school

Glendowie Primary School
Newsletter
Term 1: Week 2
Friday 13th February 2015
217 Riddell Road Glendowie Ph:575 7374 Email: office@glendowie.school.nz
Website www.glendowie.school.nz
IMPORTANT DATES, TERM 1, 2015
th
Tuesday 17 February
Wednesday 18th February
Thursday 19th February
Sunday 22nd February
Friday February 27th
Mon- Wed 9th - 11th March
Friday 13th March
Monday 16th March
Thursday 26th March
Friday 27th March
Thursday April 2nd
Monday 20th April
Monday 25th May
Meet the Teacher Year 5 - 8
Meet the Teacher Year 1-4 and Montessori classes
Parents’ Association Meeting 7.30pm
Weetbix Tryathlon
Return To School Family Picnic 5-7pm
Year 7 School Camp
Montessori Camp
Year 5/6 Swim Sports at Sacred Heart
Year 7/8 Swim Sports at Sacred Heart
Year 1 Swim Sports at school: 11.00am-11.45am
Year 2 Swim Sports school: 11.45am- 12.30pm
Year 3 Swim sports at school: 11.00am – 12.30pm
Year 4 Swim sports at school: 1.30pm – 3.00pm
Last day of Term 1 - school finishes 3pm
Term 2 starts
Term 2 Teacher Only Day – School Closed
School Term Dates 2015
Term 1
Tuesday 3rd February - Thursday 2nd April
Term 2
Monday 20th April - Friday 3rd July
Teacher Only Day: Monday 25th May – School Closed
Term 3
Monday 20th July - Friday 25th September
Term 4
Monday 12th October - Thursday 17th December
Newsletter proudly sponsored by:
Elstree Pharmacy 2006 Ltd
145 West Tamaki Rd, Glendowie
Ph/fax 528 3636
For all your health & beauty needs.
Offering a great selection of accessories, beauty products, jewellery,
toys and gifts for all ages
Message from the Principal
Dear Parents,
We have got off to a great start to the year. The children are very settled and developing really good routines
around their learning. At our Board meeting this week we looked at our 2014 assessment data. The BoT were very
impressed with the children's progress and achievement in relation to the National Standards. Our data is
inclusive of all our students including special need students and children who are new to learning English.
In Reading 92.6% of our children are reading "At or Above" the National Standard. 51.5% of our students are
reading Above the standard. Above the standard means they are learning at a level of at least 1 year ahead of
their present grade level.
In maths 92.7% of our students are "At or Above" the National Standard.38.7% of them are in the "Above
category" In Year 8 2015 51.4% of the students were "Above" the National Standards in Maths
In writing 89.3% of our students are "At or Above” the National Standard These results are very pleasing as the
data includes 72 students who are still English Language learners ( ESOL)
A full report of our data will be on our school website after our Annual Meeting in May. The Government also
displays all schools data on their web site.
The other standardised data that our BOT looked at were the standardised assessments of the Observation
Survey. These assessments are done with children within 3 weeks of them turning 6.
The assessments are around early literacy knowledge and skills.
94-98% of the children were "At" or "Above" the National mean in the 4 reading assessments and 87% At or
Above the National mean in writing.
Our children who were Year 8 in 2014 have got off to a great start in their respective colleges. We understand
that the 55 Year 8 children who enrolled at Glendowie College are recognising how well our Intermediate
department have prepared them for High School. We also understand that 24 of our 55 children qualified for the
colleges ALP ( Accelerated Learning Programme)
We are always pleased to hear of the successes of our former students, and would like to congratulate the
following ex students who have won Prefect roles at Glendowie College:
Sarah Bradley: Head Prefect
Paige O'Connor: Deputy Head Prefect
Isaac Everitt: Sports
Dominic Murrell: Academic
Lewis Wood: Community
Wendy Xu: Environment
Luke Peterson: Events and Promotions
Emma Cairncross: Events and Promotions
Robert Rewcastle: ICT
Ali Ansorali: International
Zoe Fleming: Outdoor Pursuits
Matthew Thomas: Outdoor Pursuits
Lewis McNae: Service
Corban Tupou: Student Support
It is great to celebrate the successes both in terms of academic as well as in leadership. It is always so
encouraging to hear of the high levels of citizenship and care that Glendowie children continue to show at our
school and when they leave Glendowie Primary.
Well done parents, teachers and especially students.
Voluntary Donation
This week we sent home requests for payment of the voluntary donation. We really appreciate any and all
payments you are able to make, and payment can be made by cheque, cash or eftpos at the school office, or
direct to our bank account (details on the request sent home). You are welcome to pay by instalment, either
weekly or by the term. Remember that all donations qualify for a tax rebate, and you can claim 33.33% back by
completing a Tax credit claim form 2014 (IR526) available from the IRD website
News from the Board of Trustees
Hi and welcome back to everyone from the Board of Trustees.
At our first meeting we heard that science plays a big part of at least two units of inquiry at each year level. 100%
of the students surveyed in Year 5 said they enjoyed learning science and 90% said they wanted to do more of it.
YAHOO! As a science educator I was delighted to see such a positive response on both counts!
The Board also set the academic targets for 2015 for Reading, Writing and Mathematics as part of our Charter.
We were so proud of our students’ results last year we have asked our wonderful teachers to match them again
this year. One of the most noteworthy achievements was the 55.4% of Year 8 students in reading who were
“above” the national standards and 51.4% in Maths who were "above" the standard when they left Glendowie
Primary to go to College.
We will keep targeting professional development for our teachers in maths and e-learning and supporting the
special programmes to make sure all of our students are achieving.
Remember that your voluntary donation is absolutely vital for us to keep the school functioning at this fabulous
level so a huge thank you in anticipation to everyone who has already made arrangements to donate. Don't
forget that donations are tax deductible.
Last year we farewelled a Board member Tim Mayston and his family from the area. Following due process, we
have appointed Dave Johnston to fill the casual vacancy on the Board. Dave and Hannah have three children at
our school in Years 7, 5 and 1.
The Board is very excited about another year and new challenges. All the best, Dawn.
Parking and Road Safety
With the start of the new school year it is a timely reminder for parents to please be safe when dropping off and
collecting children from school. Please be aware of children when pulling into driveways. We have seen many
parents double parking and children hopping out of cars on the road, which is very unsafe. Please do not park in
the driveway outside the school hall as this blocks staff cars from entering or exiting this carpark.
Meet the Teacher Timetable:
Meet the teacher evenings will be on Tuesday 17th February and Wednesday 18th February. This is an
opportunity for parents to visit their child’s classroom and meet this year’s teacher. The Meet the Teacher
sessions will be 30 minutes in duration and will involve: an introduction by the class teacher about class
programmes etc, an opportunity for parents to ask questions and time at the end for the teacher to meet-andgreet everyone while parents wander around the classroom and view their child’s desk and books. Further
information will be sent home soon.
Tuesday 17th February
Year 5 and 6
5:30 pm to 6:00 pm
Year7 and 8
6:10 pm to 6:40 pm
Wednesday 18th February
Year 1 and 2
5:30 pm to 6:00 pm
Year 3 and 4
6:10 pm to 6:40 pm
Montessori Room 28 and 20 5:30 pm to 6:00 pm
Montessori Room 27
6:10 pm to 6:40 pm
Could we please ask that at question time, parents limit themselves to one question each, so that all families may
get an opportunity to participate. Please recognise that this evening is not an opportunity for personal 1:1
interviews regarding your child’s progress. There will be an opportunity for this interview later in the year, or
parents may request an interview time with the teacher through the office. It is preferable for the students to be
at home during the Meet the Teacher Evening, however if this isn’t possible please could they be occupied away
from the classroom area so that teachers and parents are not disturbed during the classroom discussions.
Sports News
Weetbix Tryathlon: The Auckland Weetbix Tryathlon is on Sunday 22nd February in St Heliers. Register on-line at
www.tryathlon.weetbix.co.nz. Mr Kloppers will have a gazebo on the corner of Goldie Street and Tamaki Drive for
our school participants.
Glendowie School Hockey Team Trials: If your child is in Years 3-6 and are interested in playing hockey on
Saturday mornings in the Auckland competition during Terms 2 and 3 please contact Brigid (team manager) by
25th February on: 021 521 533 or brigid@brigid.co.uk
Parents’ Association
Return to School Family Picnic – Come along with a picnic and refreshments and meet up with other school
families on the top field on Friday 27th February from 5 – 7pm. There will be games, music and ice-creams for
sale. Look out for the Book Bag Notice with full details coming soon.
Frosty Friday: $2 for an icy treat after school on the courts at the end of each week (from 3pm).
PA Meeting: Our first meeting for the year is Thursday 19th February at 7.30pm in the staff room 7.30pm. This is
an introductory meeting where upcoming fundraising events for the year will be discussed and dates planned.
New members are very welcome to join anytime or if you are just interested to find out what is involved come
along and say hi. The AGM will be held in March to vote in office holders.
Enviro News
Welcome to Glendowie Primary. We are a Bronze Enviro School which means we are on a journey to ‘think’
sustainably about our resources and how we use them. Did you know that our school is part of the ‘Paper for
Trees’ initiative? Every classroom, teaching and office space has a special green bin that is used for recycling our
paper waste. We try to double side, reuse the back of unused paper and print two pages per side in an effort to
lessen the amount of paper that is used at our school. The school then gets paid in trees for the amount of paper
that is recycled / taken from our school grounds. This is our third year using the initiative and so far we have
received over 100 trees. These trees have been planted by our Year 5 students around the back of the Freeman
Building to help re-establish the native bush area destroyed by the fire in 2011.
It would be great if you could support our efforts by encouraging your children to think about what happens to
the paper they use at home. An upcoming event in our school is Purple Cake Day which will be celebrated at
school on Thursday 19th March, children are encouraged to wear something purple and bring a donation to
support children in other countries to receive an education. www.purplecakeday.org (info in the next newsletter)
Religious Education
The Board of Trustees has been approached again this year to allow a Religious Education in Schools Programme
to be taught by bible teachers who have been Police vetted. This is offered to Year 2-4 students.
Board of Trustee approval has been given for the children to be taught from the Religion in life Syllabus by the
Church Education Commission. The Commission represents the concern of twelve denominations for Christian
and general education in New Zealand.
The Board of Trustees made this decision based on the results of the school survey in September 2013. 95.22% of
the community voted in the survey and 75.18% voted for the religious education programme to continue to be
offered at Glendowie. Copies of the Syllabus will be available at the Office for parents to see.
Uniform Me
Parents, a reminder that we are trialling a service called Uniform Me ™, which lets you buy and sell second hand
school uniform from home. The service is free to use, and lets you list surplus uniform items so that other parents
in our school can buy them. Visit www.uniformme.co.nz for more information or email: admin@uniformme.co.nz
Community Notices
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Cartooning Classes: Wednesday 3.10pm in the School Mini Hall. Teaches Cartooning skills and projects including
storyboards, proportions, perceptive – suit all levels (Year 5 -8)Please email: tutorguycapper@gmail.com for more
information.$200 for 8 classes at 90 minute duration.
Tamaki Music School: Enrol tomorrow: SATURDAY 14th FEBRUARY 9 AM - 11 AM
Located at Tamaki Primary School, Alamein Road, Panmure. Offering music tuition on a Saturday morning.
Clarinet, Flute, Guitar, Recorder, Violin. Fees: $10.00 (per term) Instrument Hireage: $10.00 (per term)
For further Information please call: Sylvia Fausett 5709351
Music On Keys: Piano lessons are available at Pt England, specialising in individual lessons for beginner students: children,
adults and those with special learning needs. Qualified primary teacher with over 20 years experience. Ph: 527-4538
Piano Lessons: Have fun learning the piano in the comfort of your own home. Ph: 022 186 0296
Rudd School Of Rock: Modern music lessons, locally. Phone: 021 479 1081 www.ruddschoolofrock.co.nz
Piano Lessons: Learn piano starting with easy steps to give your child an opportunity in playing music.
www.basslines.co.nz or call Jayne Burt: 021 1159 463
King’s School Entrance Scholarship (for Year 7, 2016 entrance): The closing date for this scholarship is Friday 20th
February with the entrance exam taking place on Tuesday 3rd March. For further information, please contact Kirsty Higgs:
520 7774 or download an application form at www.kings.school.nz
Neil Mackay Tour 2015: Come and hear an inspiring speaker who is world renowned expert on supporting children with
learning difficulties. Parents Evening Monday 4th May 9am – 3pm at Alexandra Park. Cost is $30per head or $50 couple.
Pre bookings only. Contact peter@aquilabooks.co.nz or ph: 07 882 1447
Unwanted Board Games WANTED: Room 15 would appreciated any board games or chess sets please, thank you