By Rebecca Meek | Posted: Friday July 29, 2022

Our Purpose: To prepare students to be active participants who will contribute to their community.

Tēnā koutou katoa, Malo e lelei, Talofa lava, Bula vinaka 

We are well and truly into the swing of a new term that may be one of the busiest yet. Children will be working hard this term, not only in the classroom but participating in a range of different activities such as Youthtown, OIS Cross Country, James Hargest Exchange, Choir, Kapa Haka and Pasifika groups, just to name a few. 

This week we welcomed Jamie Cowie and Jacob Fowler to the OIS team and are excited to have them on board. We are lucky to have such positive, enthusiastic adults joining our team. It is hard to believe that we are now past the halfway point in the year. Today we had a visit from WBHS and WGHS to kick start the transition process for our Year 8 students. Next week our High Schools are having their Open Nights, these are an important part of your child’s transition to High School. Likewise, today Mrs Hirst, Whaea Jamaya and I visited our three contributing primary schools to share information about our Enrolment process for 2023. 

This year all applications for 2023 enrolments are to be completed online. We invite all whanau/families who are considering enrolling at Oamaru Intermediate for 2023 to go to our website and complete the online enrolment form. While we are governed by an Enrolment Scheme, we welcome all in-zone enrolments and out-of-zone applications. More information regarding the process for out-of-zone enrolments is online. If you know of any families who are thinking about enrolling, please let them know and don’t hesitate to contact one of the Leadership team for more information or support. 

With all the wet weather that we have had, the school grounds are very wet and haven’t had a chance to dry out. This term we are asking students to take shoes off and leave them outside the classroom. Please ensure that your child’s shoes are named inside. Students are welcome to bring another pair of socks or slippers to wear inside the classroom. Obviously, due to safety reasons, students will leave their black shoes on while participating in their technology classes. 

A huge shout out this week to Paul Johnson at Brackens Print for your excellent work on the new sign outside our school hall. If you haven’t seen it, check it out when you are next at school. It looks outstanding. 

A friendly reminder that school starts at 8.45 am. It is important that your child is at school on time as the first 15 minutes are important in ensuring that they have a positive start to their day. If your child is late, it is really important that they come to the office and sign in before they go to class. It is really important that you phone or text school before 9 am to inform us of your child's absence. Thank you for your ongoing support with not sending your children to school when they are unwell. 

Professional Learning and Development day - Monday 1 August. On this day, we are asking that students learn from home while all of our staff will be participating in the Curriculum Refresh that the Ministry of Education is rolling out over the next while, in particular the new Aotearoa New Zealand Histories document. As usual, if you need support with your child because you need to work, please inform the school office or email your child’s teacher and we can have your child at school on Monday. We appreciate your support in enabling us to continue to role model that even teachers participate in learning too. 

Youthline - We are super lucky to have the support of Youthline in our school. This year they supported all of our Year 8 students to complete a programme called Standing Tall. Youthline came to OIS each week with trained counsellors who can support our Whanau and Tamariki as needed. You don’t have to refer your child to Youthline through school, in fact, you can contact Youthline directly. While they use a room at school for their individual sessions with students, this is a completely confidential service. Youthline works with young people, their families, and those supporting young people. Their organisations are made up of volunteer and paid staff members and have centres based across the country. They were established to ensure young people know where to get help and can access support when they need it. At the core of Youthline’s work is the development of leadership and personal skills in young people. They do this by involving young people; both those who seek assistance and those who wish to develop themselves. Contact Youthline Free call 0800 376 633 Free text 234 talk@youthline.co.nz 

Have a wonderful week

Rebecca Meek