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

By Rebecca Meek | Posted: Wednesday March 17, 2021

At the end of last week your child would have been at school for seven weeks, it has been a very busy term and it is starting to show as a number of students are feeling very tired. This weekend is a great opportunity for students to catch up on sleep and recharge their batteries for what will be a busy end of the term.

At OIS we are a part of the Waitaki Ara Community of Learning, this is an opportunity for WBHS, WGHS, Fenwick, North and our Kindergartens to come together for the greater good of our students and our community. Our first meeting is happening on Tuesday 23 March, TOMORROW, a Teacher Only Day, for your child. Thank you for your support in advance.

Last week I was lucky enough to go on a year 7 bike trip. I have been at OIS for many years and I was so impressed with the IDEAL behaviour and the kindness students showed towards each other as well as the support that we had from parents. Well done Year 7 teachers and students.

At OIS we have a number of Education Outside The Classroom activities; we pride ourselves on providing a range of opportunities and activities to help engage and motivate our students. To ensure that these trips are safe and successful we have to complete a process and the appropriate documentation in a timely manner. We need you as parents/caregivers to complete forms and return them on time. If for some reason your child was away and didn’t get the information, it is important that you follow it up with the class teacher ASAP. This will alleviate your child from being disappointed when they are unable to attend an event/activity because they have missed the return date.

On Friday we took over 100 students across to the Rippa Rugby tournament. I enjoyed supporting the OIS teams. Thank you, Kate Lawerence and Sharon Wilson for the organisation, I know a number of students are so grateful. Congratulations to all of those students that completed and an extra congratulations to the OIS Rebels team that placed 1st in the year 7/8 grade.

It was a privilege to watch our House Captains participating in a young leaders day last Monday in our school hall. All of our house captains had the opportunity to develop their leadership skills by participating in a programme called PAL’s delivered by Sport Otago in the morning. The afternoon was a time for Miss Taylor to consolidate skills and discuss opportunities for leadership within the school.

OIS classrooms are places where teachers cater to a wide range of differences between students. As well as this, extra support may be available within the school for students who need it. Occasionally you may hear your child has had contact with Christine Lewthwaite, one of our local Learning Support Coordinators. Her role is in helping to identify the best ways to support learning for particular needs. We are super lucky to have Christine on our team, Christine brings a wealth of knowledge to both supporting teaching and well being for students. If you would like to know more about this please contact the school.

Thank you for your support of our chocolate fundraiser. Just a reminder that all chocolate and money is due back THIS FRIDAY 19 March.

Please do your best to sell any unsold chocolates and get the money in. The Green slip that went home with the chocolates needs to be returned to the school office to ensure that your child’s name is marked off. Remember you can pay online or with cash.

He waka eke noa - We are in this together

Kind regards, Rebecca Meek, Principal