Back to School.....
Kia Ora whānau, Welcome back to Term 2.
Looking at the timetable, students have a lot of different opportunities in store for them this term. We will be commencing with our Cultural groups, Choir, Student Council and Winter Sports programmes. Encourage your child to be a part of one of our Culture groups.
Thank you to those families who completed the survey for Term 1. We had a lot of extremely positive feedback around healthy lunches in schools and our communication. It was also wonderful to see so many of you here to watch your child/ren in the school Duathlon.
On Wednesday 8th June, Week 6, we will be having our Learning Conversations. This is a great opportunity for you to meet with your child's teacher and discuss their learning. We expect every student to be supported by someone in their whānau in these conversations as there is a lot of effort that students put into these.
Work has started on the new classrooms which is very exciting and we are expecting this to be completed by the end of Term 2. Unfortunately, this means that our Dacre Street gate will continue to be closed.
This term we will be running with our new timetable which means Year 7 and 8 both starting at 8.45 am and finishing at 2.45 pm. We are looking forward to running the same timetable for both year groups. We realise that there will be a transition time for some families while they adjust to a slightly earlier start.
As you will be aware the Ministry of Education (M.O.E) has dropped the mask mandate for schools. The M.O.E is encouraging students and staff to continue to wear them, however, this is not mandatory. At O.I.S students are welcome to wear their masks if they want to, and we will still supply masks in classrooms. Students are still required to wear a mask on school buses. We are asking visitors to continue wearing a mask when they come into the school office. Weather permitting, we will be holding assemblies outside, however, if we move indoors we will be asking students who can, to wear a mask. If you can put a mask in your child’s bag for this that would be appreciated.
We will be continuing our cleaning protocols and hygiene standards within the school. Please continue to support us by ensuring that your child is NOT coming to school when they are unwell. If your child is away for any reason please ensure that you contact the school before 8.45 am.
At the end of last term, I noticed we had some students who were not in full school uniform. At O.I.S we take pride in our appearance. As the weather starts to get cooler girls are to wear over the knee navy socks or tights, and boys can wear long dress grey pants if they wish. Students are welcome to wear a jacket during break times however, they must wear their blue polar fleece or jersey as well. School jackets are not compulsory, but can be purchased from the school office. It is essential that your child is wearing black leather lace-up shoes, these can not be canvas. If for any reason your child is not wearing the correct school uniform they are required to bring a note to the office to receive a uniform pass.
We are looking forward to seeing all our students back to school, as always, if you have any questions or concerns please get in touch with your child’s teacher.
Kind regards
Rebecca Meek
Principal