Principal's Message....
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
I would like to acknowledge all the students, the staff and the parent community at Oamaru Intermediate School. I know first hand how overwhelming the start of the year can be, settling into new routines, classrooms and learning the OIS way, not to mention the current red traffic light restrictions. I want to commend each and everyone of you for the positive energy and enthusiasm that you have brought to the start of the year. Students are taking on new challenges and new expectations in their stride. We really value your support.
We are going to acknowledge all the hard work that our students are putting in by holding a free mufti day on Friday 18 February, encouraging them to wear something bright.
At OIS we talk about being IDEAL students.. you may often hear the phrase “At OIS we…”
The D in IDEAL is for Daring to Succeed. Examples of this can look like;
being at school on time, being ready to learn and having the right gear
accepting a challenge and being brave when trying new things
setting goals and working towards achieving them
following the rules that keep us all safe when moving around the school, even biking and scootering
taking new opportunities and making the most of them
The E is for Engaging with Mana. Taking pride in ourselves and how we look is a key component of this. At OIS we are very proud of our uniform and how it is worn. An important part of the OIS culture is how we engage positively with people face to face and online on any platform of social media.
We have zero tolerance for hands on, swearing, name calling and racial or repeated bullying comments.
Other ways we can Engage with Mana can look like;
keeping the school tidy by using the bins and our common sense
resolving conflict positively, not resulting to unsafe behaviour or words
standing up for yourself and others in a positive way
being a positive role model to those around us
speaking respectfully, using appropriate words to others, and being kind
Doing the right thing takes courage and can often mean speaking out when we know something isn’t right. We encourage students to stand up for what they know is right. We also encourage students at OIS to live the values both at school, at home and in our community. Over the weekend take a moment to reflect on your values as a family and how they align with the OIS way. Discuss these and how these values can be demonstrated in different contexts.
We are working hard to provide our students as many opportunities as we can, with this in mind we have decided to postpone our Year 8 EOTC Programme until the end of Term 3 and the beginning of Term 4. This will also allow us more time for those students who want to participate in fundraising to do so. It is our intention to run our swimming sports and triathlon, obviously these will look different under our red traffic light restrictions. We will put more information out via class emails over the coming weeks.
Touch
The North Otago Touch Association has let us know this week that their touch tournament is requiring vaccine passes for all coaches, managers and players over the age of 12 years 3 months. They will have committee/referees viewing the vaccination passes on the field before games start.
In order to keep numbers down, unfortunately spectators can not be at the games.