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.
Thank you for your support with winter sports this term. I am a big believer in tamariki being involved in a team as a sport is such a crucial part of a tamariki's growth and development. It creates healthy habits for life and teachers a number of different social skills. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our coaches and managers of our teams. I know the commitment that goes along with this, and it is greatly appreciated by all.
Congratulations to all our netball, basketball and hockey teams this year, with winter sports coming to an end, thank to the students who have been such excellent ambassadors for our school. The finals of the basketball are being held after Open Evening this week, the draw is to be confirmed at the beginning of the week. Basketball players not in the final are welcome to head along and support our teams.
A shout out to North Otago Basketball, Netball and Hockey for the endless support in ensuring that our teams and students get to play.
This year we have had a number of coaches and managers from our community support our exchange teams and weekly competition teams. We love drawing on the expertise from our community to support our programmes. If you would like to be considered for a role in coaching or managing an exchange team next year please email Sharon Wilson our sports coordinator, sharonw@oamaruint.school.nz
This week we have had St John’s starting their programme called “Weaving Well-Being” with all our Year 7 classes. This was an opportunity to practice mindfulness activities and strategies for dealing with emotions. We had Youthtown in the school this week working with both Year 7 and 8 classrooms, focusing on team sports. All of our students are enjoying another rotation of our technology programme again this week, one of our biggest points of difference at OIS is our modern and well-equipped technology rooms. This week Jamie Cowie started our performing arts groups, which will see students who opted in, participate in different groups linked to the Arts Curriculum.
As you know we are an IDEAL school, Acting with Respect and Engaging with Mana are part of our core values. This isn’t just about respect for others but respect for ourselves and our environment. How we treat others and the environment, is a direct reflection of how much we respect ourselves. Lately, I am having to have a number of conversations with students about not getting involved in situations or conversations that don’t pertain to or actively include them. In the words of one of our students, it is important that we all “stay in our lanes”, such good advice from a 12 year old.
I often get asked what can we do to help our child succeed at school, so I have put together a list of key ideas below.
Attendance - ensure your child gets to school on time and attends every day. Make school a priority, this sends a direct message to your child that learning is important and is valued.
Ensure your child gets plenty of sleep - our young people need 9-10 hours of sleep a night.
Fuel our children with nutritious food - we can’t expect our students to run on empty.
Take an interest in what your young person is doing, who they hanging out with, and who they are communicating with online
Keep the lines of communication open
Keep the boundaries and expectations clear so that your young person knows what is expected of them.
And lastly, don’t be afraid to get in touch with your child's teacher. At Oamaru Intermediate we value your feedback and our doors are always open. It is much better to sort things out at a low level and restore understanding early on to ensure we are all on the same page. Please also remember to pass on those positives.
On Monday night at WBHS Auditorium, 7pm - 8.30pm, Ange Rathbone and Marcell Nader-Turner are presenting a workshop on Parenting for Resilience and Resilience for Parenting. This is free and a wonderful opportunity to add to your parenting toolbox.
Open night and Enrolments
Next week we welcome all our whānau who are enrolling or thinking about enrolling at OIS for 2023. I know that the school is amazing and all of our students who are involved in the open night will be excellent ambassadors for our school.
At OIS we spend very little money on marketing as I am a firm believer that in Oamaru especially, the power of "word" is very important. Please encourage your friends or family members who want to enrol at Oamaru Intermediate for 2023 to do so. Whilst OIS is governed by an enrolment scheme, the BOT has advertised a likely number of 41 out-of-zone placements, check out our website for more information. We strongly encourage anyone who is interested in gaining a place at OIS to complete our enrolment form online or make an appointment to talk about the enrolment process
Illness
We have had a large number of children off school with colds and flu. I appreciate that accommodating sick children is extra pressure on families however, we can not have sick students at school. It is really important that you either phone, text, or email the school to let us know when your child is away.
Uniforms
With the weather heating up, students are taking shoes/socks and jerseys off. Please double-check that your child’s uniform is clearly named. We have a number of clothing items turning up at lost property unnamed and unclaimed.
New World
A number of our students are going into New World in the mornings and purchasing large bottles of fizz, chewing gum, big bags of chips, and biscuits. We would really appreciate your support in ensuring students aren’t going into New World on their own in the morning or after school.
Thanks to all of our community for your ongoing wonderful support. Have a great weekend.
Kind regards
Rebecca Meek