Together We Grow – Ka Tupu Kotāhi ai Tātou- Week 2
Kia ora OVS whanau and caregivers,
With term 2 well underway I would like to bring your attention to the ongoing ‘Structured Literacy’ development happening at OVS. To assist whanau with understanding what this looks like for your child/ren’s learning, we will be holding our first Parent Information Evening, so… come along and Get your slice of OVS PIE!
It is next Wed 14th at 5pm, and the session will focus on spelling and reading. It will give an overview of what structured literacy is, cover the ‘why’ and’ how’ it is being taught, include some handy tips for whanau, and cover implications of the new NZ curriculum implementation in our kura. So come along, get your slice of OVS PIE and be well informed.
When: 5pm
Where: Room 7
SEE YOU THERE!
Literacy – How to help at home ‘Have a go’
Each fortnight over the next few weeks we will add 4 ideas for whanau to try at home to help students with their writing and reading. Check out the ideas below and try one you fancy!
- Tell me stories about whānau/family events, and then ask me to retell them in my own words. (My teacher says it doesn’t matter if I miss some things).
- Help me see that reading and writing go together by leaving notes for me to reply to.
- Ask me to write short messages (for example, e-mails and texts to my nana and grandad).
- When the reading book I choose seems a bit hard, take turns reading it with me and talking about the story. Ask me things like: What do you think will happen next? Do the characters remind you of anyone you know?
BOT SPOT
Building at school.
The Board of Trustees is please to inform our parent community that we have locked in 2 building improvements to our school. We have received final approval for both and are currently already upgrading the bathroom facilities in the admin block. We are also pleased to announce the approval of the new Junior block toilet and decking replacement. This will see a complete rebuild and provision of purpose built toilets, new decking and access ways for the Room 1 & 2 area. This work is scheduled to start in the July holidays and will inevitably mean some disruption. We will bring you more details regarding this in the upcoming weeks.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees
Star Spot – Student Learning @ OVS
RURU Awards
Every week at assembly we celebrate super OVS students, and this week’s shout out is to say a huge congratulations to our R.U.R.U award winner from our last two assemblies .
Week 1: -Neve (Yr 4 ) Max (Yr 2) Week 2: Corbin & Sophia
New Student Shout Out!
A very warm OVS welcome and a shout out to our new students over the past 2 weeks.
Welcome Daisy, Bolyn, Oaklynn Arya, Tayla, Bo, Ragnar and Meiah.
Class Attendance: New ‘Ruru Rockstar’ Award
Each week at assembly we are acknowledging the class with the best attendance for the week…and they win the new ‘Ruru Rockstar’ Award.
This weeks winner is (drum roll please) …
Support our OVS Support Staff
As the principal of Ōtaika Valley School, I want to express my full support for the vital claims being made by our support staff in their current negotiations with the New Zealand Government. OVS has long benefitted from these dedicated professionals who are simply the backbone of our school. Every day they play a critical role in ensuring that our students are safe, supported, and able to thrive every day. From teacher aides and office administrators to caretakers and learning support, their work is essential to the smooth operation and inclusive culture of our school. Yet, despite their invaluable contributions, many continue to face low pay, job insecurity, and limited career pathways. This is not acceptable. Our support staff deserve fair wages, respect, and working conditions that reflect the essential nature of their roles. I stand in solidarity with them, and I urge the government to act swiftly and justly to reach a settlement that honours their contribution to our tamariki and the wider education system. We are acknowledging our fabulous support staff on Monday the 12th of May.
You can help by..
- Sending students to school and explaining why.
- Adding your signature to the open letter at our school gate on Monday afternoon or by scanning this QR code, and help us reach our target of 20,000 signatures by 16 May.
By signing this open letter you are showing support for better investment in a quality public education system, and in support staff and kaiārahi i te reo as essential staff in our OVS kura.
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The tractor has arrived!
OVS has a new addition to our playground … this super old tractor. Mr T needs to do a bit of work to ensure it is safe and it will then go out into the play area. A huge shoutout to the Lyall whanau for their awesome donation !
Bus Bay – URGENT
Please keep our bus bay free– this is a no parking area. The bus cannot back up safely and we have had some recent close calls.
We appreciate your attention to this issue.
Important dates
Youth Week
Youth Week runs from the 19th to the 25th of May, and the theme this year is “take our place- whai wāhitanga”. To get involved, we are joining with two other schools from our Kāhui Ako (Maunu and Morningside) to raise money for the Children’s Ward at Whangārei Hospital.
We will be having a ‘Wacky Wednesday’ on the 21st of May. Students are invited to bring a gold coin and don any weird, outrageous, unusual thing they like, whether its a pink mohawk, rainbow facepaint or a costume that’s half Darth Vader, half Hello Kitty! We’re looking forward to raising money for a worthy local cause and seeing our unique tamariki strut their stuff.
Pink Shirt Day – Anti Bullying. Friday 16 May (next Friday)
Pink shirt day is an anti bullying acknowledgement day, and staff will be wearing pink to show there support. Students are welcome to wear pink also.
Dates for your diary
OVS Literacy PIE evening – 14 May
Pink Shirt Day – 16 May
OVS Kapahaka Festival – 5 June
Morningside Kapahaka Festival – 16 June
Term Dates
| Terms |
Start |
Finish |
| Term 1: |
4 Feb |
11 April |
| Term 2: |
28 April |
27 June |
| Term 3: |
14 July |
19 Sept |
| term 4: |
6 Oct |
16 Dec |
. 
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